Tuesday, December 19, 2006

It's the most wonderful time.......

It's one of my favorite time's of the year. Bowl Season!

Time to handicap each bowl game. This will come with a small capsule of analysis. Enjoy!

TCU -12 over NIU : TCU's two losses come via Utah and BYU. They were early in the season and the have rolled since. NIU's star back Garret Wolfe will need to have a monster game in order to beat the Horned Frogs. I think TCU will neutralize him when it counts and I think they come out on top.

Oregon +3.5 over BYU : Former BYU coach Gary Crowton knows BYU's personnel very well. And this will help coach Bellotti gameplan against star QB John Beck and that spread offense. OU tailback Jonathan Stewart figures to be big in this game with his ball control, pounding style of play.

RICE -5 over Troy : I wanted to side with the Troy Trojans here but after studying both sides of the stats it seems that Rice may be too explosive of an offense for Troy to handle. Espeacially if Chase Clement comes back to the QB position. He has been sidelines with a shoulder injury since the East Carolina game.

South Florida -4 over E. Carolina : I think this is a lock. S. Florida is a tough, physical team with a very good freshman QB in Grothe. They played a tough Big East scehdule and gave WVU a scare late in November.

San Jose St. +3.5 over New Mexico : Why not? I love the defense of these Spartans. Dick Tomey has really turned this program around. They fly to the ball, they hit you in the mouth and they play ball control. Throw a stick on the under (48) if your feeling frisky too.

Utah -1.5 over Tulsa : One of the best players the country hasn't seen is Ute safety Eric Weddle who is a ridiculous ballhawk. Tulsa is -5 in turnovers, Ute's are +8. Ballgame.

Hawaii -8 over ASU : Colt Brennan. In Honolulu. ASU didn't have an impressive win the whole year. By the way the over/under for this game is 74. Grab the popcorn.

C.Michigan -10 over Mid Tenn State : No reason to take the Blue Raiders here. Lay the ten and be done with it.

UCLA -4.5 over FSU : I hate the spread cuz I have a feeling this is going to be a FG fest. To make up for the potential loss on the game I'd ride the under (41) for a bone as well.

Bama +2 over OK State : Even with the departed Mike Shula I think you have to take the Tide here. OSU's defense is pitiful and Bama's defense is ranked #18th in the country.

Cal -5 over Texas A&M : You guys know how I feel about Cal. Been touting them all year. Lynch is an NFL back(running with a purpose in a bowl game to raise your stock, um yeah!), Longshore can make any and every throw on the field and DeSean Jackson is super fast. I also like Tedford. I think he is solid. I got no love for the Aggies 9-3 season.

Rutgers -7 over K.State : Schiano finishes his spectacular year off with a bowl victory. Freshman QB Josh Freeman is very inexperienced. Expect a few to's from the K State offense.

Clemson -10 over Kentucky : I don't know which Tiger team is going to show up but I'm hoping for the one that started out 7-1 and outscored their opponents by 305-66. The Wildcats defense got more holes than a poor boy's sock.

Oregon St. -3.5 over Missouri : Missouri struggled against the run this year and the Beavers can run the ball effectively. That coupled with O State riding a 5 game winning streak and you can call me a Beaver believer!

Gamecocks -6 over Houston : Spurrier seeking his first bowl V as S. Carolina's coach. They have been improving all season but I'm still wary of their secondary. And for the record, I think Kolb (QB for Houston) is going to be a good NFL QB.

Minnesota +6 over Texas Tech : No one is giving the Golden Gophers a shot at this game so I'll ride with them. If they can play a ball-control type offense and use the play action well they have a chance.

Maryland pk'em over Purdue : Terps have a better running game. This may force QB Curtis Painter to get antsy and make some stupid decisions. I like the coach too. Big fat fuck.

BC -6 over Navy : Coach O'Brien is drilling the triple-option offense into his team right now. So that idea won't work. Also can Navy's undersized D, stop veteran QB Matt Ryan's balanced attack?

Texas -11 over Iowa : I tried to think of a reason to pick Iowa but I couldn't. Even with the status of Colt McCoy unknown I can't trust Tate and his banged up body. Texas has better talent anyway.

VaTech -2 over Georgia : Talk about a good two-loss team? Hello Va Tech. Another El Padrino lock as Georgia will need big plays to beat Va Tech and they don't do that well. Stafford's only thrown 6 TD's to a doubling 12 INT's. I also think the Hokies will make a play or two on speacial teams.

Nevada +3 over Miami : I can't see taking Miami right now. Coker is dead, the players don't care, Nevada has the #22 ranked rushing game in the country and Boise, Idaho is a long way from south Florida. P.S. I like that safety for Nevada, good prospect for the pro's.

Nebraska +3 over Auburn : As much as it pains me to say this, I have to agree with some pundits that Callahan has great job in re-building this storied program. I think if Nebraska can get off a couple of big plays they may be able to hold off the Auburn offense. Because there wouldn't be much to hold off.

Tennessee -4 over Penn State : The offense led by a much improved Erik Ainge will smoke that suspect secondary of the Nittany Lions. The only hope is on the shoulders of Tony Hunt who is ranked #14 in the nation in rushing. Good luck Mr. Hunt.

Wisconsin +1.5 over Arkansas : Basically a pick'em this game will be won on the ground. And even though Arkansas is battle-tested I'm going with P.J Hill. I think Wisconsin has a little chip on thier shoulder in regards to the weak sked talk they've been hearing. Let's see them prove themselves.

W.Virginia -7 over G.Tech : No one is giving them a chance and right now, I can't defend them. Lost two straight by three points on bad QB play and stupid coaching. Meanwhile WVU pulled off a dramatic triple OT game win vs. Rutgers to close out the season. What if Calvin Johnson had a good QB lobbing him passes. He might of broken every WR record on earth. Dude is man.

Michigan +1 over USC : Mich proves they belong. The trio of Manningham, Henne and Hart proves to be too much and the overhwhelming eigth ranked total defense will stifle the USC offense. This is going to be a classic game. Put your feet up and save some beer for New Years Day.

Boise St. +7.5 over Oklahoma : I just like the points. I think Ian Johnson can neutralize the OU defense enough for the safeties to cheat up a bit. This enables Zabransky to do what he does best. Throw it. Kid just makes plays with his arm. I hope the coaching staff prepared well for these Broncos....under-estimating this team would be a huge mistake.

Louisville -10 over Wake Forest : Nice season by Wake. Unfortunetely I don't think they can hang with the Cardinals on a national stage. Too much offense.

LSU -9 over Notre Dame : Unless Quinn can play on his back they ain't winning shit. That o-line is terrible. Look for Laron Landry to make a few plays in this game.

Western Michigan +8 over Cincinnati : I expect a cover here. I know the Bearcats are a better team but Western Mich will hang around. The real question is why is this game being played on Jan. 6th?

Ohio U -6 over Southern Miss : Another WTF? Ohio to cover. If they can run the ball effectively they'll get the job done.

Ohio St. -7.5 over Florida : C'mon. Do you really think Florida belongs? True all they did was win this year but they barely won every big game they played. By one point over the Vols, a late TD to beat Georgia (who stunk this year btw), 6 points better than a crappy Vandy team, one point better than a spunky SC team, and a painful win over FSU by aTD. The only team they beat pretty good was LSU. I can't see OSU having any trouble with Florida. Let's see how much of a genius this Urban Meyer is.

4 comments:

El Padrino said...

zeke i know he's out but i think he's staying for the game....or at least gettin them prepared

crass- thanks bro
he'll need 170 for them to have a shot

Anonymous said...

Penn State's defense played very well after getting crushed by Notre Dame ... it's the offense that will bring them down.

El Padrino said...

sorry los, i aint givin them a chance in that game

and zeke, the civic will be on hawaii

El Padrino said...

I think USF is a lock too