13 - 7 After 20

Hey, but who's keeping score, right?

I almost pulled the sweep on Saturday except for a careless fumble by Navy that allowed BC to win with a last second field goal. I hope when he's an officer, that running back will leave the hand-grenade handling to those under his command.

We still have the Miami game tonight, but I wanted to get this posted today as I expect to be less concentrated on football tomorrow, at least until I head to Brussels to watch the Rose Bowl at an American sports bar. Fat Boy's is the place and it is located on the Luxembourgplein.

Outback Bowl

Penn State -vs- Tennessee

Well, I've made no mistakes rooting against the Big Ten so far, but I gotta believe Paterno still has some magic left. Besides, Penn State will never be a full-fledged Big Ten team to me, which in this case is a good thing. Tennessee is no slouch, but the Nitany Lions will come out on top.

Cotton Bowl

Auburn -vs- Nebraska

Nebraska is coming off an average season. Auburn's was slightly better and probably deserved a better opponent in the Cotton Bowl. As it is, Auburn is not playing for anything special this year while this game could make the Cornhusker's season a bit more of a success or failure. That should be incentive enough for the Big 12 to be guaranteed at least a .500 Bowl record this year.

Gator Bowl

Georgia Tech -vs- West Virginia

A good match-up. West Virginia had a "dissappointing season" at 10-2. Unfortunately for them, the Big East will no longer be WVU's personal stomping ground and they should be happy anytime their wins reach double digits. Georgia Tech is not in the Top 25 only because two of their losses happened at the end of the season. The ACC was not a power conference this year making their second place finish a little less impressive. Mountaineers should reach the peak of this one without two many bee stings.

Capital One Bowl

Arkansas -vs- Wisconsin

The Badgers feel they have something to prove having finished with only one loss, but being kept out of the BCS because the Big Ten is only allowed two teams. They do have something to prove because they padded their non-conference schedule with weak teams from weak conferences and didn't even play Ohio State in conference play. Arkansas, on the other hand, lost two close games at the end of the season to BCS teams LSU and Florida and only has a shellacking at the hands of USC to hang their head for, but that came in their first game of the season before this team meshed. The Razerbacks are going to remind Wisconsin why they don't play better teams in their non-conference schedule.

Rose Bowl

Michigan -vs- USC

USC was not the same, dominating team this year without their two Heisman trophy winners and the loss to UCLA at the end of the season was a shock to the entire country, but for traditionalists, this is a winner for the bowls. The Pac Ten -vs- The Big Ten in the Grandaddy of Them All and, quite probably, the best bowl game after New Year's Eve.

I have to admit, Michigan is not a great bowl team and the Rose Bowl has not always been kind to the Big Ten even when they were playing a weaker team. Nonetheless, I have to support my Maize & Blue and pick them to win this one. They are due.

Fiesta Bowl

Boise State -vs- Oklahoma

I got people coming over to watch this one if only to ask, "Where is Boise State located?". Well, it is in Idaho and the rumours are true, they play home games on a blue field and they finished the season undefeated...again. You might remember, they were one of 5 teams finishing the 2004 season undefeated and still were left out of the BCS. Not this time.

Oklahoma is a dangerous team that got a lot stronger as the season progressed. Their blemishes were earlier in the season and the conference they won is one of the more balanced in the country. Boise State plays in the WAC and their non-conference schedule did not include any superpowers althought they did dominate USC-killers Oregon State. They lost their last big bowl game, but I'm going to give them this one just to annoy the BCS system.

Orange Bowl

Louisville -vs- Wake Forest

Yes, this is a football game. I'm not sure the Orange Bowl would have ever expected this match-up between traditional basketball powers like these two, but both football programs just might be on this stage for awhile now that they've gotten this far.

Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm is on lists for next year's Heismann and he'll want to raise his stock with this national stage. The problem will come if he tries too hard to do so. However, with family living in the area, I have no choice but to pick the Cardinals. With only Rutgers as a blemish on their schedule, they just missed playing for the national championship and Big East pride. Incidently, for those of you keeping track, I realize my predictions for Big East wins contradicts a prior statement I made on the South Florida game, but that's before I took a better look as to who their opponents were.

Sugar Bowl

Notre Dame -vs- LSU

Brady who? Notre Dame is a beneficiary of a traditional schedule that sometimes is among the toughest in the country, but this year turned out to be very weak. They beat bowl teams such as Navy, Georgia Tech & Penn State, but when playing Rose Bowl bound Michigan and USC, they bombed leaving doubts to Quinn's ability to lead his team against top competition.

LSU lost earlier in the season to Florida and Auburn, but waltzed through the rest of the season including a solid win against Arkansas at the end of the season. If they bring their A-game, it will be a tad too much for the Irish and the Tigers might be looking at a number 2 ranking after the dust has settled.

International Bowl

Cincinnati -vs- Western Michigan

Feel sorry for the Canadiens. They could have had British Culture, French Cuisine and American Technology. Instead, they ended up with British Cuisine, French Technology and American Culture. Welcome to the inaugural bowl in "Mounty Land".

They don't get a marquee match-up, but they do get schools close enough to make the trip to Toronto and, as long as they stick with that formule, they should do ok. Cincinnati was Rutger's first loss and, going against my earlier statements about the Big East, they should win this one too. In an interesting storyline, the Cincy coach is taking over right before the bowl game and has already beaten Western once this year while at the helm of Central Michigan.

GMAC Bowl

Ohio -vs- Southern Miss

Nothing against MAC teams, but Southern Miss has not lost to a good team all year. Ohio has (Bowling Green). Strength of schedule and a Southern Belt, home-field advantage give the nod to the Golden Eagles. I actually hope I'm wrong about this one for the sake of MAC pride.

I'm waiting to write on the Fiesta Bowl and the national championship game between Ohio State and Florida as there is more than a week to go and you never know if maybe the entire OSU starting line-up might catch the measles, which is about the only way Florida would have a chance. Hope you'll check it out next weekend.

4 - 3 After the first 7

I survived the first week with a 4-3 record. Actually, I'm kicking myself for the TCU - Northern Illinois game. First, I'm not sure how Garrett Wolfe could have had a better season as he led the nation in rushing. However, to overlook TCU's defense was a big mistake.

This week's games start to feature a few more top-25 teams, but not often against each other. It seems we have a lot of pretenders right now. Mainly, historically strong programs coming off average or even bad years, but who still manage to get into a bowl game based on reputation and the simple fact there are so many games to be filled. Let's get at em...

Motor City Bowl

Central Michigan -vs- Middle Tennessee

Central Michigan is the MAC Champion, but that doesn't really mean a lot this season as the MAC turned out to be a so-so group this year. However, Middle Tennessee is not exactly from a power conference either and their two outings against ranked teams this year were disasterous. Give this one to Central Michigan for having "Home Field" advantage.

Emerald Bowl

Florida State -vs- UCLA

When San Francisco set this one up, I'm doubting if they expected a Prime Time match-up like this one. However, it is not very often that Florida State finishes 6-6 and UCLA is only 7-5 although their season-ending win against USC was certainly impressive. Nonetheless, I have trouble imagining Florida State with a losing record and think they'll find a way to end this season on a high note.

Independence Bowl

Alabama -vs- Oklahoma State

Sure, they are both storied programs, but not this year. They both finished 6-6. Alabama recently fired Mike Shula and Oklahoma State has a couple of quality wins making them my favourite for this one.

Texas Bowl

Rutgers -vs- Kansas State

Rutgers was THE STORY of 2006 until Cincinatti ruined their bid for a perfect searson. West Virginia finished the job in triple overtime. The truth is, Rutgers is probably happy to have had the stage for these reasons considering they were one of the worst teams of the 1990's. However, Kansas State beat Texas this year and plays in a pretty tough conference making them more battle-ready for this one.

Holiday Bowl

Texas A&M -vs- California

In our first bowl match-up of the season featuring two teams in the Top 25, expect California to remind everyone who "The Other Team" of the PAC Ten is. They weren't consistent enough to win the conference, but many thought they could have been the team to knock USC off the number 1 spot and, in fact, they both finished with identical 7-2 conference records. However, Texas Tech will come out on top at the end. They lost 3 games all season including 1-point losses to Oklahoma and Nebraska and are likely to catch the Golden Bears flat-footed.

Music City Bowl

Clemson -vs- Kentucky

Kentucky making a bowl in football used to be big news in the Bluegrass State until Louisville started making national noise. Now, nobody really pays attention to them even when they have a respectable season. Clemson, on the other hand, got as high as Number 10 in the nation before the rug came out from under them. Despite a missing cornerback (on a drug charge) against a pretty good passing offense at Kentucky, expect the Tigers to win the Cat Fight.

Sun Bowl

Oregon State -vs- Missouri

Oregon State beat USC and won the Civil War in a close, but ugly game. They have a lot of heart and seem to know how to win games, although their losses were pretty lopsided leaving questions about what team shows up on game days. Missouri only has two wins against teams with winning records and one of those is a MAC team leaving a lot a doubt to their ability to win against a quality opponent. Oregon State should prevail.

Liberty Bowl

Houston -vs- South Carolina

Steve Spurrier is the coach of South Carolina and this already gives them some credible chance of winning this one. Houston won't let it be easy having had 10 wins this season, but most of their opponents are a level down from South Carolina's who, incidently, beat both Kentucky and Clemson this year. South Carolina will take this in a close one.

Insight Bowl

Texas Tech -vs- Minnesota

I always root for the Big Ten...I seldom expect them to win. Texas Tech plays in the Big 12 and played good opponents close even in losses. Minnesota plays in the Big 2 and little 9 this year, only finished 6-6 and got man-handled by teams like Michigan and Ohio State. Tech is going to kill them.

Champs Sports Bowl

Purdue -vs- Maryland

Same problem. Maryland plays a tougher conference and still managed alright while Purdue lined their non-conference schedule with weak teams from weak conferences and didn't beat a team all year that had a winning record. Unless Purdue found a secret weapon during the last month, this will be a laugher for Maryland.

Meineke Bowl

Navy -vs- Boston College

I saw the Navy - Notre Dame game and although the longest winning streak against one team in NCAA history stayed intact that day, I felt that Navy should not be taken too lightly. They lack quality wins and will naturally field a smaller team, but the school that produced Doug Flutie should know better than to judge talent by sheer weight and they'd be mistaken to look past our future Navy & Marine officers. I'm going to give this one to our military.

Alamo Bowl

Texas -vs- Iowa

Before the Big Two made their statement, people were talking about Iowa making their mark this year. It never happened and playing Texas in a bowl named after the Alamo is asking for a massacre with the Texans coming out on top this time.

Chick-fil-A Bowl

Georgia -vs- Virginia Tech

Playing in Atlanta certainly plays to Georgia's advantage, but Virginia Tech comes in number 14 in the country with some quality wins under thier belt including Clemson and Wake Forrest. Georgia finished the season knocking off Auburn and Georgia Tech and should finish their season with a home-bowl win.

MPC Computers Bowl

Miami (Fl) -vs- Nevada

What annoys me most about this match-up is that the Hurricanes are backing into a bowl after a stinky season and an on-field brawl that should have put them on probation. Since Nevada is a slightly above-average team from a weak conference where an undefeated team cannot even be considered a national champion contender Miami will probably end the season with a win and continue annoying all of us who hate her so much.

That's all for now. I'll start on the New Years day and beyond match-ups before they start. Hope you'll tune in.

Games for everyone

With a bowl season approaching 40 games, just about anybody can get into a bowl game making my Wolverines' record streak of 31 bowl appearances looking pretty safe for a long time.

So who are these great teams qualifying for extra curricular assignments in the school of College Football? I'll give you a breakdown of each game and how they got there from a complete idiot's point of view...











In another universe, a Texas Christian University team finishing 10-2 would be in BCS discussions, but that was when they were in the Southwest Conference. This program is a long way from the teams that won national championships back in the 1930's. Their opponent is Northern Illinois who only finished 3rd in their division in that powerhouse conference, the MAC. The only thing right about this game is that the bowl season starts with a representative of the Mid American Conference against someone who used to be in the WAC.

Prediction: Northern Illinois has a back that could have had a better season. He'll want to show the NFL scouts something and will lead his team to a victory.

Las Vegas Bowl



In our second straight match-up of 10-2 -vs- 7-5 records Brigham Young should enjoy home field advantage in Las Vegas. If you're not from the West Coast or not a Mormon, there is absolutely nothing interesting about this match-up. BYU does enter on a hot streak having won their last 9 games while OU is sneaking in the back door losing their last 3 including the Civil War due to a horrible kicking game.

Prediction: BYU owns Vegas. I mean literally. They'll own this game too.



I'm having a lot of trouble accepting a Rice -Troy matchup in post season when they are both only 7-5, but here we are and here they are. In defence of both clubs, their losses were mostly to ranked teams, but that only demonstrates they really are not power programs and are normally cannon fodder for the big boys.

Prediction: I really don't have a clue. Anyone who lives more than 5 miles from one of these schools won't either. I guess Rice.

Papajohns.com Bowl


Papa John's probably started arranging this game thinking they could land the local heroes almost every year. I'm wondering if they anticipated the Cardinals going national so quickly. As it is, South Florida was 8-4 in a conference featuring Louisville, Rutgers and West Virginia losing a close one to Rutgers and beating West Virginia, so their presence seems justified. East Carolina is the unknown here coming from Conference USA and not really playing anyone of note other than West Virginia (losing 27-10) all year.

Prediction: Other than the Big Ten's Michigan - Ohio State drama, no conference got more great press this season than the Big East. Ironically, this will be one of the only wins for the Big East in the Bowls.

New Mexico Bowl

New Mexico -vs- San Jose State

In a perfect example of what has gone wrong with all of these bowl games, a 6-6 New Mexico who has only 1 ranked team on their schedule and only beat one team with a winning record all year gets to host San Jose State at 8-4. The fact that San Jose couldn't get anything better deserves a Congressional Inquiry considering their much tougher schedule and the fact they were the only team all year to give Boise State a scare.

Prediction: Either San Jose is going to be so mad at not being in a better bowl they will kick the tar out of New Mexico or they are going to be caught flat footed and get the tar kicked out of them. No close game and I say New Mexico ends the season with a losing record.



Tulsa and Utah have had average seasons in average leagues and this will be an average match-up. Nothing more, nothing less.

Prediction: Utah is always trying to prove they are not BYU. They're not. BYU will win their bowl game and Utah won't.

Hawaii Bowl

Arizona State -vs- Hawaii

In the first bowl game of the season with an interesting story line, Hawaii features a quarterback (Colt Brennan) who figured in this year's Heisman voting and is mentioned as a dark horse for next year's award. Arizona State is the sneaker here coming in out of the PAC Ten, but not accomplishing anything significant during the season having lost to all the ranked teams and not beating a single PAC Ten opponent with a winning record.

Prediction: Big game for Brennon setting him up as a dark horse for next year's award. Arizona State will just be happy they got to a luau.


Well that covers us until Christmas. Enjoy the post and we'll catch you again before the next set gets started.

Confusion is Status Quo

When I first moved to Europe in 1990, there were already 19 bowl games, national championships were sometimes imaginary and there was talk of the need for a play-off system to sort everything out.

This year, there are 32 Bowl games I could count, the BCS still is less-than-perfect and there is talk of the need for a play-off system to sort everything out.

At least in the old days, some things could be counted on. The Big Ten had 10 teams and its champion traditionally got a trip to the West Coast so they could be humiliated by a lower-rated team from the Pac Ten in the Rose Bowl. A MAC team would play a WAC team for bragging rights of the mid-level conferences. Alabama -vs- Auburn and Nebraska -vs- Oklahoma were season finales and Michigan -vs- Ohio State would be called "The Game" and would determine the Big Ten title and maybe have implications for the national championship.

Well, at least one thing stayed the same.

Thanks to the Internet and North American Sports Network, I no longer have to count on the Monday edition of USA Today to get my sports news from back home and suddenly I feel like I know things again, although still not with the intimacy of the fan back home.

Nonetheless, I'm going to try and offer my own take of things based on what I do see and hope that other overseas fans like me will enjoy and chip in when they've got something to say. Let's get this show on the road...