Bowl Mania Picks Part I

Finally, as promised, the first in a three part series-the riff's bowl picks. You may need the Tidy Bowl man to clean up these picks, but they're mine and I'm sticking to them (as fast as the snow is sticking to the ground here...). I put in my usual disclaimer to not use these picks as gospel. They are purely for entertainment purposes...merely for my many fans to entertain themselves by laughing at the picks. So sit back, have a hot cocoa after shovelling and enjoy!!

Before we get started, let me start off by saying I think the bowl system is out of control. There are 34 games, meaning that 68 out of 119 Division I teams play in a bowl game. I noticed a lot of 6-6 teams in these games. Since when should a .500 team be rewarded? What is this, hockey??
I will be breaking my picks into three posts...chronologically and 11 games a post. I will update periodically, so you'll know how bad things are going. Here we go!!

New Mexico Bowl. * rating. Fresno State (8-4) vs. Wyoming (6-6). This game kicks off the bowl season. Who the hell goes to New Mexico for anything? Fresno State is my pick.

St. Petersburg Bowl. **1/2 rating. UCF (8-4) vs. Rutgers (8-4). This could be a half decent game. Hope they have fun in Russia. Rutgers is the pick.

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. * rating. Southern Miss. (7-5) vs. Middle Tennessee (9-3). Middle Tennesse did beat Maryland, but I'll take S.Miss.

MAACO Las Vegas Bowl. *** 1/2 rating. Oregon State (8-4) vs. BYU (10-2). I can't believe a good matchup like this gets a bad bowl game. There should be offensive fireworks. My pick: BYU.

Poinsettia Bowl. *** rating. Utah (9-3) vs. Cal (8-4). Both teams had high expectations, but expected better results. A decent game, with Utah my pick.

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. * rating. Nevada (8-4) vs. SMU (7-5). I hear the Pony Express(Eric Dickerson and Craig James) may reunite, but don't count on it. Nevada is my pick and somebody will get laid...errr..lei'd.

Little Caesar's Bowl. *1/2 rating. Marshall (6-6) vs. Ohio (9-4) Pizza pizza. Isn't this a conference game? We aren't Marshal, but we are (picking) Ohio.

Meineke Bowl. *** 1/2 rating. Pitt (9-3) vs. UNC (8-4). I won't pay a lot for this bowl game. Oops...wrong muffler company. Pitt was this close to a BCS game. Pitt is the pick here.

Emerald Bowl. *** rating. Boston College (8-4) vs. USC (8-4). When was the last time USC wasn't playing in a bowl game in January? USC is my pick.

Music City Bowl. ** rating. Kentucky (7-5) vs. Clemson (8-5). Clemson has a dynamic player and that should be enough to win. Clemson is my pick.

Independence Bowl. *1/2 rating. Texas A&M (6-6) vs. Georgia (7-5). Two traditional powers in a crappy bowl game; gotta love independence. Georgia is the pick.


That is the first wave of games. Stay tuned for Part II.

Jp