Week 2 of Bowling!

Saturday brought our first bowl games of the season, and all three finished in blow out fashion. BYU, Northern Illinois, and Troy all looked fantastic and ready to play in their games. My worries about Fresno St. not showing up became real, as they were dominated.

Bowl Record: 2-1

Upcoming Games this week:

Tuesday, Dec. 21:

Beef O'Brady's Bowl:  Southern Mississippi vs. Louisville

Southern Mississippi looks to fly by Louisville 

Southern Mississippi: You want to see a high octane offense? Well check out the Golden Eagles who are 15th in the country in points per game. Aside from a regular season opening trouncing to South Carolina, the Eagles lost three games by a combined 7 points and could easily be 11-1. Louisville has been extremely inconsistent this season, posting a 26-0 win over Big East champion UCONN, but also playing a close game with FCS opponent Eastern Kentucky. I'm going with consistency over, and taking the Golden Eagles. The Louisville defense vs. the Southern Mississippi offense will be a great matchup to watch!

Wednesday, Dec. 22

MAACO Bowl: No. 19 Utah vs. No. 10 Boise State

Boise St: The most intriguing bowl game of the week, and is the only game to feature two ranked teams. Boise St. was a couple missed field goals away from a magical season, and is led by Heisman finalist Kellen Moore. Moore is a complete quarterback, and probably is the best decision maker in the country. In the last two seasons Moore has thrown for 72 touchdowns and only eight interceptions. Utah has struggled down the stretch posting close victories over San Diego St. and BYU, while being blown out by a underachieving Notre Dame and TCU. I'm taking Boise St. in a blowout. 

Thursday, Dec. 23

Poinsettia Bowl

Navy vs. San Diego St.

Navy Makes its eighth consecutive bowl appearance

Navy: I love Navy in this game. The Naval Academy will be ready to play in every game, and motivation is no problem. While this is San Diego St.'s first bowl game in years, the excitement might be downplayed by the fact they are playing in their own stadium and don't even get to travel. Navy can take the "us vs. the world" approach into the game, essentially playing on the road. It takes a while to adjust to Navy's rushing attack, and by the time San Diego St. does it may be to late. I'm taking Navy over San Diego St.

Friday Dec. 24

Hawaii Bowl: Tulsa vs. Hawaii

Moinz leads the nation in passing

Hawaii: This game will be an absolute shootout. The ninth and 10th best offenses will go at it in Hawaii, and their will not be much defense played. Tulsa is coming off of a 56-50 Conference USA championship victory over Southern Mississippi. It's been typical Hawaii, as Bryant Moinz leads the nation in passing, racking up over 4,500 passing yards this season. Hawaii always plays tough in this bowl, as they get a home game and are able to pack the stadium.  I'm going with the Warriors in a shootout over the Golden Flashes. Be sure to check this game out if you like offense. 

Sunday Dec. 26

Florida International vs. Toledo

Florida International: The Golden Panthers will be making their first trip to a bowl game in school history, while the Toledo Rockets will be returning to a bowl game for the first time in 5 years. The fact the Golden Panthers is an impressive feat, considering they started the year 0-4. Two feel good stories, but nobody is going to take much interest in this game. I'm taking the Golden Panthers because their program should be playing with a lot of fire in their first bowl game.