| There's an old adage: Always go with your first instincts. On the morning
of Dec.10 and without looking too hard at the matchups, here are our early bowl picks.
These will change over the next few weeks as we analyze the matchups more in depth. Also
included is our ranking of the bowls — from the ones we really want to see to the
ones that don’t peak our interest. 1. Fiesta Bowl, Jan. 1 in Tempe
Colorado (10-2) vs. Oregon (10-1)
Including the Rose Bowl, you're not going to see a bowl game with a more competitive
fire or with two teams who are going to put out more effort than this one. This game will
have everything: controversy, ticked off teams, outstanding running games, marquee players
and really fired-up fans. The winner will hope for a Nebraska win to stake a claim to the
national title.
Line: Colorado by 3
Our off-the-cuff early prediction: Colorado 31, Oregon 27
2. Liberty Bowl, Dec. 31 in Memphis
BYU (11-1) vs. Louisville (9-2)
If you haven't seen BYU play this year, just wait until you see the 1,000+ yards of
offense and 80+ points scored between these two teams and if you haven't seen RB Luke
Staley yet, (questionable with a broken leg) hope he's healthy and ready to play. Also be
sure to check out the spectacular Louisville defensive ends. We absolutely guarantee that
there will not be a more entertaining bowl game this season.
Line: Louisville by 2.5
Our off-the-cuff early prediction: Louisville 52, BYU 48
3. Silicon Valley Bowl, Dec. 31 in San Jose
Fresno State (11-2) vs. Michigan State (6-5)
Forget the goofy name, this will be a tremendous bowl if you're a fan of watching NFL
talent. David Carr, Bernard Berrian, T.J. Duckett, Charlie Rogers, Josh Thornhill, Alan
Harper and Rodney Wright are all going to be strong pro players and should put on a
tremendous show. Fresno State has sort of fallen out of national favor after its two
losses, but this is still a top team.
Line: Fresno State by 6
Our off-the-cuff early prediction: Fresno State 38, Michigan State 31
4. Gator Bowl, Jan. 1 in Jacksonville
Florida State (7-4) vs. Virginia Tech (8-3) -2.5
Maybe it's because we still believe Michael Vick and Peter Warrick, the college version
and not the NFL model, will come out and put on a show, but we're really looking forward
to seeing these two teams play. Both will be great next year and we want to see if a team
can build on the success of a win.
Line: Virginia Tech by 2.5
Our off-the-cuff early prediction: Florida State 24, Virginia Tech 20
5. Alamo Bowl, Dec. 29 in San Antonio
Iowa (6-5) vs. Texas Tech (7-4)
All we ask of the "lesser" bowls is to produce an interesting matchup and
lots and lots of offense. Save the defense for the big rivalry games, we want to see two
above-average teams bomb away and Iowa and Texas Tech will certainly do that.
Line: Texas Tech by 1.5
Our off-the-cuff early prediction: Texas Tech 41, Iowa 38
6. Jeep Seattle Bowl, Dec. 27 in Seattle
Stanford (9-2) vs. Georgia Tech (7-5)
Thank goodness Jeep moved the bowl sponsorship from Hawaii to Seattle. There's nothing
worse than being in 20-below temperatures, turning on the tube and watching a bowl in
Hawaii. We're all for bowls in lousy weather sites and can't wait to see these two teams
shoot it out.
Line: Georgia Tech by 3
Our off-the-cuff early prediction: Stanford 38, Georgia Tech 34
7. Rose Bowl, Jan. 3 in Pasadena
Nebraska (10-1) vs. Miami (11-0)
Heisman Trophy winner Mike Rozier, Turner Gill and Irving Fryar might be rolling, but
watch out for the hot Hurricanes. Bernie Kosar hasn't looked like a freshman yet and if
Miami can get hot early ... what? This isn't 1983? Oh, well this should be a good game
between the Big XII champion ... uhhh ... Big XII North champion ... uhhh ... Nebraska
State champion and this outstanding Miami team.
Line: Miami by 10
Our off-the-cuff early prediction: Miami 27, Nebraska 20
8. Florida Citrus Bowl, Jan. 1 in Orlando
Michigan (8-3) vs. Tennessee (10-2)
Both teams will be looking to erase memories of lousy last games. We can't wait to see
if Tennessee can run on Larry Foote and the Wolverines while Michigan's offense needs to
prove it can produce against, the tough Vols defense, SEC title game aside.
Line: Tennessee by 4
Our off-the-cuff early prediction: Tennessee 27, Michigan 17
9. Music City Bowl, Dec. 28 in Nashville
Boston College (7-4) vs. Georgia (8-3)
Both teams should be in bigger bowls, but they should play a whale of a bowl game.
Boston College hasn't beaten anyone of substance yet, but as long as William Green is
running, we'll watch.
Line: Georgia by 4.5
Our off-the-cuff early prediction: Georgia 27, Boston College 21
10. Sugar Bowl, Jan. 1 in New Orleans
Illinois (10-1) vs. LSU (9-3)
Can Illinois overcome the huge LSU home-field advantage? If Rohan Davey is hobbling at
all, Illinois will win easily. The Illini will be solid with time off to heal and a
secondary led by Eugene Wilson that’s good enough to slow down WR Josh Reed.
Line: LSU by 3
Our off-the-cuff early prediction: Illinois 31, LSU 17
11. Holiday Bowl, Dec. 28 in San Diego
Texas (10-2) vs. Washington (8-3)
This all depends on which Texas team shows up. If they're fired up and take this lesser
bowl seriously, the Longhorns will roll. If they just assume they'll win and the
Washington running game does its Colorado impersonation, the Huskies will pull off the
upset.
Line: Texas by 12.5
Our off-the-cuff early prediction: Texas 41, Washington 20
12. Insight.com Bowl, Dec. 29 in Phoenix
Kansas State (6-5) vs. Syracuse (9-3)
We dig punishing running games and with Josh Scobey and James Mungro grinding out
yards, this bowl should take about two hours.
Line: Kansas State by 5.5
Our off-the-cuff early prediction: Kansas State 27, Syracuse 20
13. GMAC Bowl, Dec. 19 in Mobile
Marshall (9-2) vs. East Carolina (6-5)
If you like huge quarterbacks with strong arms, this is your dream game as David
Garrard and Byron Leftwich should bomb away. Marshall throws the ball a ton and has a
defense that can't stop anyone. That's always a great formula for a fun bowl.
Line: East Carolina by 1
Our off-the-cuff early prediction: Marshall 38, East Carolina 35
14. Outback Bowl, Jan. 1 in Tampa
Ohio State (7-4) vs. South Carolina (8-3)
Ohio State Jim Tressel already established himself as The Man in Ohio by beating
Michigan, now he can totally exorcise the demons of the John Cooper era with a win over
Lou Holtz and the Gamecocks.
Line: South Carolina by 2.5
Our off-the-cuff early prediction: Ohio State 20, South Carolina 17
This is the cutoff point. Two teams that are bowl worthy, Mississippi and UCLA, would
make for a fun bowl to watch. All the games below this would be less compelling than an
Ole Miss-UCLA shootout.
15. Humanitarian Bowl, Dec. 31 in Boise
Louisiana Tech (7-4) vs. Clemson (6-5)
This is traditionally one of the most wide-open and fun bowls of the year. We'll take
any chance we can get to watch a game on the screaming blue field of Boise. QBs Woody
Dantzler and Luke McCown should put on a show.
Line: Clemson by 6.5
Our off-the-cuff early prediction: Louisiana Tech 38, Clemson 35
16. Tangerine Bowl, Dec. 20 in Orlando
North Carolina State (7-4) vs. Pittsburgh (6-5)
The Panthers have been amazing over the last month of the season while N.C. State is
still one of the nation's most fun teams to watch. This should be a shootout.
Line: Pick ‘em
Our off-the-cuff early prediction: NC State 38, Pittsburgh 31
17. Orange Bowl, Jan. 2 in Miami
Florida (9-2) vs. Maryland (10-1)
We have all the respect in the world for the job head coach Ralph Friedgen has done and
the season Maryland has had, but this will be a massacre.
Line: Florida by 16
Our off-the-cuff early prediction: Florida 48, Maryland 20
18. Cotton Bowl, Jan 1 in Dallas
Oklahoma (10-2) vs. Arkansas (7-4)
The offenses will really be rolling in this one … zzzzzzz. With an 11 A.M. start
on Jan. 1, this game will be nice and slow to cure your hangover. Unless Lou Holtz returns
to Arkansas and suspends half the team and Barry Switzer comes back to Norman and takes
the Hogs too lightly, the Sooners will win in a blowout.
Line: Oklahoma by 13.5
Our off-the-cuff early prediction: Oklahoma 31, Arkansas 10
19. Peach Bowl, Dec. 31 in Atlanta
North Carolina (7-5) vs. Auburn (7-4)
After seeing Auburn's last two games, we're not all that wild about watching the Tigers
play again. We do want to see UNC DE Julius Peppers' last college game.
Line: North Carolina by 2
Our off-the-cuff early prediction: North Carolina 31, Auburn 24
20. Mainstay Independence Bowl, Dec. 27 in Shreveport
Iowa State (7-4) vs. Alabama (6-5)
The Crimson Tide have been playing extremely well the last few weeks of the season, but
there's something about this Iowa State team we really like and if last year was any
indication, they Cyclones will be extremely pumped up for this bowl. ’Bama will have
the home-field advantage, but Iowa State travels extremely well.
Line: Alabama by 6.5
Our off-the-cuff early prediction: Iowa State 27, Alabama 24
21. Wells Fargo Sun Bowl, Dec. 31 in El Paso
Purdue (6-5) vs. Washington State (9-2)
At first glance, this would seem to be a fun offensive shootout, but Purdue's offense
has been non-existent this season and this could be the sloppiest of the bowls. Washington
State will suffer big-time from a huge layoff.
Line: Washington State by 8.5
Our off-the-cuff early prediction: Purdue 27, Washington State 24
22. Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 25 in Las Vegas
Utah (7-4) vs. USC (6-5)
USC might be really hot right now and Utah is probably the most underrated team in the
bowl picture, but this game isn't going to fire anyone up. A win by USC would put a cap to
a very successful first season for head coach Pete Carroll as he turned the Trojans’
fortunes around after a disastrous start.
Line: USC by 3
Our off-the-cuff early prediction: USC 23, Utah 17
23. Motor City Bowl, Dec. 29 in Pontiac
Toledo (9-2) vs. Cincinnati (7-4)
We always like watching Rockets RB Chester Taylor do his thing and a young Cincinnati
team can use this game to build on something positive for next season. There should be
some fireworks, but unless you live in Ohio, this just isn't all that compelling a
matchup.
Line: Toledo by 4
Our off-the-cuff early prediction: Toledo 38, Cincinnati 31
24. Galleryfurniture.com Bowl, Dec. 28 in Houston
Texas A&M (7-4) vs. TCU (6-5)
We know TCU has been hot and Texas A&M isn't all that bad, but it'll be hard for
anyone outside of Texas to really find any interest in this game. A&M's offense should
sputter and wheeze against a good TCU defense while the Wrecking Crew will keep this low
scoring.
Line: Texas A&M by 7
Our off-the-cuff early prediction: Texas A&M 20, TCU 10
25. New Orleans Bowl, Dec. 18 in New Orleans
North Texas (5-6) vs. Colorado State (6-5)
Not to beat a dead horse, because everyone's going to rip on this bowl, but we have
little interest in seeing these extremely dull offenses. We'll be sort of interested to
see how fired up North Texas will be to be playing in a bowl, but we wish Middle Tennessee
was in it instead.
Line: Colorado State by 12.5
Our off-the-cuff early prediction: Colorado State 23, North Texas 13 |
