Home stretch time. The national championship is set, albeit with a crooked result in the Fiesta Bowl, as the officiating crew in that game clearly had bet big money on Clempson, so they managed to not see several egregious penalties and botched a replay call. Oh, well. Here are predictions for the remaining bowl games.
Citrus Bowl (Orlando), Michigan vs. Alabama – As usual, I’m putting the ‘Bama game first and the Auburn game last in this list, despite them being out of playing order. The Tide seems to be OK offensively without Tua, and few teams are ever more over-rated than Michigan. Of course I always root for the Tide to get beat 900-0, and am usually disappointed. I’m prepared for another day like that. The Evil Empire 38, Michigan 17
Belk Bowl (Charlotte), Virginia Tech vs. Kentucky – I still insist UK is vastly over-rated, and the VT defense is probably very motivated to send coordinator Bud Foster out on a high note in his 47,000th game in that role. I think they do him proud. Hokies 19, Briars 16
Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl (El Paso), Arizona State vs. Florida State – If you can manage to get past the 1 zillion “They’re grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-eat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” jokes, you will see two very inconsistent teams. FSU probably wants to make an impression on new coach Mike Norvell, but ASU can light up a scoreboard. Should be quite entertaining. ASU 33, FSU 28
Liberty Bowl (Memphis), Kansas State vs. Navy – It looks like KSU finally has a coach good enough that 147-year-old Bill Snyder can stay in retirement. But Navy is back after a couple of down years, and they rushed for almost 400 yards against Army. Too much to deal with. Navy 35, KSU 21
Arizona Bowl (Tucson), Wyoming vs. Georgia State – Two pretty good teams almost no one knows anything about. Wyoming is favored by 7 with an over-under of 46.5. I don’t know much about these teams either, so I will use those numbers as a crutch, and go with the favorite and the over – just slightly. The Other Cowboys 27, GSU 21
Alamo Bowl (San Antonio), Utah vs. Texas – This game has a propensity to become a pinball game. Not sure either of these squads is built for that, but it should be close all night. Utes 27, Texas 24
Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA), Wisconsin vs. Oregon – The Badgers can be 2 completely different teams (see the Big 14 title game). This plays well into the hands of the Oregon offense. Ducks 34, Badgers 24
Sugar Bowl (New Orleans), Georgia vs. Baylor – The Baylor coach is hopefully – at least hopefully to me – about to jump ship to an NFL job (CAROLINA????????????). Their opponent is UGA, led by coach Sherman Potter, QB Hawkeye Pierce and head trainer Margaret Houlihan. In other words, they have so many injuries that even their boatload of 5-star recruits are too shorthanded. Baylor 27, Big Ol’ Hairy Dawgs 13
Birmingham Bowl, Boston College vs. Cincinnati – A clunker bowl in a clunker stadium with a clunker team, plus Cincinnati. Why wasn’t this the first bowl game played? An insomnia cure if I’ve ever seen one. Cincinnati 30, Boston College 10
Gator Bowl (Jacksonville), Tennessee vs. Indiana – Two more teams with tremendous potential and several inconsistencies. UT has become respectable if not true contenders. Indy can score, but like Minnesota, is still building. Rocky Medium 27, Hoosier Tires 20
Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise), Nevada vs. Ohio – That blue field is always fascinating to watch a game on. MAC teams have proven to be a tough out this bowl season, and that should continue despite the 150,000-mile trip. Ohio U 24, Nevada 17
Armed Forces Bowl (Ft. Worth), Tulane vs. Southern Miss – Kinda surprised to not see Air Force or Navy in this game. Two pretty strong offenses, and neither had to travel too far. Should be a good game. TOO-Lane 28, USM 24
Lending Tree Bowl (Mobile), Louisiana vs. Miami (OH) – Mobile? On January 6? Another game you think should have been played on December 20. The Cajuns probably should have been given a better spot. They will probably win this one fairly easily, then get to work on that super-scientific “How To Beat App State” problem. ULL 33, The Other Miami 14
Outback Bowl (Tampa), Minnesota vs. Auburn – Gus’s teams have a tendency to not show up in big games, with the occasional exception like this year’s Iron Bowl. Minnesota showed they will have to be reckoned with going forward, but I think they are still building. WAR EAGLE 24, Gophers 21
National Championship (New Orleans), (3) Clempson vs. (1) LSU – As previously noted, Clempson has no business being in this game. In the end, I don’t think it really matters. Ohio State would not have been able to stop LSU any better than Clempson will – or more accurately, won’t. LSU 45, Clempson 21
Last week’s record: 10-3
Season: 126-33
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