A Blog Divided's First Bowl Projection Special

This post follows the meandering comments by contributors Jon (J) and Adam (A) as we select the winners of all 2008-2009 Bowls

Eaglebank Bowl: Navy and Wake Forest

A: This Wake team really reminds me of the Wake Forest I've known for so long in the early part of the decade: totally mediocre.

J: Yeah, in a totally mediocre conference.

A: Navy has the better offense. And, they've already beaten Wake once this year, 24-17 at Wake. It's apparently the first time in 63 years that Wake has played the same team twice in one year.

J: Of course, they don't really go to conference championship games...or bowls

A: Which would pretty much explain that stat. Navy wins again. That's my pick.

J: I have to give this one to Navy.

Selection: Navy

New Mexico Bowl: Colorado State and Fresno State

J: Colorado sate is 6-6 in the MWC; Fresno is 7-5 in the WAC.

A: Mountain West actually the better conference this year

J: Fresno is also only 4-4 in conference

A: Fresno has had a really down year for their program, but I still think they've got the talent, and I just can't trust a Colorado State team that lost 38-17 to Colorado.

J: interestingly, all of CSU's losses are to decent opponents except Colorado.

A: I disagree. I think their only quality win was Houston, who they had at home. Yeah, the record says enough about the Rams for me.

J: yep, gotta go with the bulldogs

A: I have a buddy who loves the Rams. Sorry, bud, Dogs Roll.

Selection: Fresno State

MagicJack St. Petersburg Bowl: Memphis and South Florida

A: ....what the hell kind of name is that for a bowl anyway? I don't even know who MagicJack is or what they sell.

J: Hooray, corporate sponsorship. It's also almost a home game for USF; Tropicana field is like 15 miles from the Buccs stadium where USF plays.

A: Which, homefield advantage is nice, but I don't think USF even needs it.

J: Probably not.

A: USF is filled with talent.

J: They upset Kansas (in Florida) and beat the snot out of Syracuse. I actually was in Tampa when they played Pitt, and that was a hell of a close game.

A: only the Rutgers loss makes me nervous.

J: but they're playing Memhpis.

A: Memphis, however, lost to central Florida. Not a good loss, especially coming 2nd to last week of the year. USF should win this one by 13 at least.

J: Yeah, that's about right.

Selection: South Florida

Las Vegas Bowl: BYU and Arizona

J: I want Zona to win it, but they probably won't.

A: I'm sure you do, and we'll get to my partisan game in a minute. I dissed BYU all year - I dogged them when they were ranked highly, but they get a lucky brake getting the unlucky Cats.

J: yeah, nothing convincing in Zona's resume

A: wasn't lil' Stoops [formerly of OU, now head coach at Arizona] a Defensive coach?

J: Yes, and litlest stoops is his DC.

A: Their D just hasn't lived up to the billing. Zona is truly a middle of the pack Pac 10 team, which isn't a ringing endorsement.

J: total defense for Zona is 20^th, Scoring is 36^th. Better than I thought.

A: Better than I thought, too.

J: They're actually pretty good according to the numbers.

A: Still, BYU is the better team.

J: Zona's going to make it close, though.

A: They'll play it well, but BYU will pull a win by 7.

Selection: BYU

New Orleans Bowl: Troy and Southern Miss

A: here's my partisan shout out. Okie State pride - our old Offensive Coordinator is their head coach now. Congrats, Larry F on getting your boys back to a bowl.

J: hope his quarterback likes the taste of dirt.

A: Troy is scary good on defense.

J: Troy is 4th nationally in sacks and 3rd in TFLs. also 3rd in sacks allowed. We're talking scary good lines.

A: They are fast and strong and way too competitive to play in their conference [Sunbelt].

J: We'll trade them Baylor. All Troy's losses are on the road, too

A: Let's see Troy's losses; Ohio State, Oklahoma State, LSU, and La-Monroe by 1 lousy point. They murdered the rest of their conference. On the other hand, Southern Miss has played very well of late.

J: They put up 70 on UAB, but UAB sucks at defending the pass. And losing to Marshall is bad.

A: And Troy just scares me. I'll have to go with Troy in a hard fought battle. This game might be the best one of the 'little' bowls

J: it may be. Troy is way better than this one, though.

Selection: Troy

Poinsettia Bowl: Boise State and TCU

A: This is one hell of a matchup.

J: For damn sure.

A: BSU got screwed out of a BCS game, but they drew a great opponent.

J: I don't think they are as good as Utah, and only one non-BCS team will get in any given season.

A: you really think Utah is better than Boise?

J: I think so.

A: well, let's save the argument here for a later time.

J: TCU has one of the best looking defenses in the NCAA.

A: While that's true, they still let enough go in their pass D to be vulnerable to Boise's powerful air game. Let's flash back to the OU game - how did you guys win?

J: over the top and around the corner

A: And while BSU doesn't have the benefit of a Bradford under center, they still put up nearly 300 in the air every game.

J: I hear you, but look at the points TCU has allowed. They even held Utah's Meyer-inspired spread to only 13 points.

A: okay, okay, and D wins championships (and bowl games). you've won me over, I'll pick TCU grudgingly.

Selection: TCU

Hawai'i Bowl: Notre Dame and Hawai'i

A: how the hell did ND even make a bowl?

J: do we even need to discuss this one?

A: they lost to Syracuse! Bloody orange!

J: In South Bend. they only beat Michigan because the wingedy helmet boys couldn't hold on to the ball.

A: (that game or any other this year)

J: oh, and the Navy-Notre Dame game was a really good one. ND won that one on defense.

A: apparently their pass D is good.

J: i'm not sure how many of their opponents actually passed on them, though. USC for the first half, maybe BC, maybe SDSU.

A: They didn't need to pass, eh?

J: well, that too. Navy, Pitt and Purdue are ground teams, Washington couldn't find the endzone with a nuke.

A: It's terribly en vogue to slam Notre Dame... but I'm going to join the club. Hawai'i by 14.

J: 42? What?

A: nah. Maybe 34, but not 42.

Selection: Hawai'i

Motor City Bowl: Central Michigan and Florida Atlantic

A: big ol' *shrug* here.

J: I know. FAU is a Schnellenberger team.

A: Tell ya what, I'm gonna pick it by QB. I know the kid at CMich has a good arm, so I'll go with the LeFevours.

J: sounds good. their only bad loss is to E mich.

A: Ah, “directional Michigan.”

Selection: Central Michigan

Meinike Car Care Bowl: West Virginia and North Carolina

A: the "Car Care" Bowl should also be a good one.

J: WVU has two losses in OT, to CU and Cinci.

A: UNC had a rough time in the ACC (who didn't?), but they've played the Big East well.

J: I'm not sold on UNC. They barely beat Duke.

A: And they got the sh@t kicked out of them by NCState, which is never a good sign.

J: They let a div 2 [ed note: I think he means FCS, kiddos] team score 27 on them to start out the season.

A: Honestly, I think the Heels have what it takes to win this game pretty handily. But it's Pat White's last game in college, and there is no way his team will let him down here.

J: it's gonna be close.

A: Game IS in Charlotte, though.

J: that may give UNC the edge.

A: nah, not enough. WVA by 10.

Selection: West Virginia

Champ Sports Bowl: Florida State and Wisconsin

A: Ooh, it's the "Let Down Bowl"

J: yeah, almost Big 10 champ vs. almost ACC champ.

A: neither title is worth as much as in the past. I am personally so shocked the Badgers fell apart like they did. They had everything at the start of the season.

J: Wisconsin lost to Michigan. i can't go with them

A: The only way this game goes the Badgers way is with a downpour of Floridian proportions. if Orlando is a mudbowl, they could out-muscle the Seminoles.

J: For sure. this should be an ugly, low-scoring affair. FSU will pull it out.

A: give ol' Bobby another trophy, boys. hey, how much longer do you think Bobby's got in him?

J: maybe one or two more seasons. next time he beats Florida, he's gone.

A: That might be 5 years at the this rate.

J: yeah, maybe. Either way, they get this one.

Selection: Florida State

Emerald Bowl: Cal and Miami

A: please, Cal will wipe the floor with the Miami "d"

J: this is a battle of who could suck less.

A: Cal could. Cal by a handful of points and 300 rushing yards.

J: probably so.

A: only USC ever slowed down Jahved Best this year. Miami? Not so stout in the middle.

J: Not really. Even Texas A&M gave them a run for their money.

A: That makes this pick easy.

Selection: Cal

Independence Bowl: Louisiana Tech and Northern Illinois

J: I actually have no clue about this game.

A: Uh-oh, another game I'm woefully unprepared to select. They're both on my list of favorite underdog teams.

J: nope, NIU was shut out by Navy, they're done for.

A: Navy's decent, though!

J: not good enough to shut out a bowl-bound team.

A: la tech lost 29-0 to kansas.

J: Kansas beat Missouri, though.

A: La Tech then lost to Army.

J: Oh. No clue then. Flip a coin?

A: nah, I like the Salukis just a little more. NIU by a field goal.

J: I can go with that.

Selection: Northern Illinois

Papajohns.com Bowl: Rutgers and North Carolina State

A: why not just the Papa Johns bowl? Why the “.com?” here are two very confusing teams that both played well at the end.

J: yeah, for sure

A: all of rutgers losses come to teams going to bowls, and I don't like how NCState played: big losses at bad times.

J: i don't like who NC State lost to.

A: I'm going to have to go with the State University of Jersey here

J: Yeah, me too.

Selection: Rutgers

Alamo Bowl: Missouri and Northwestern

J: another good one!

A: This is the battle of strikingly similar logos.

J: i'm actually picking NWern here. they looked solid through the big 10 and Mizzou was really weak against anyone with strength.

A: The only reason I'll agree is the expectations were way different for the two teams: Mizzou expected a BCS game, and NW didn't. Mizzou gets pounded every time they play someone great, and NW held their own throughout.

J: yeah, only win over a ranked team for Mizzou is the Illini in week 1.

A: watch out if Mizzou scores early, though. That could blow this prediction up, because I can't see NW playing catchup.

J: I just don't trust Chase [Daniel] to not crumble under pressure.

A: Okay, conditional pick [ed: doesn't count! Nice try.] - If Tigers score 10 points before NW, they win. otherwise, it's NW by 13.

J: i'll sign off on that.

Selection: Northwestern.

Humanitarian Bowl: Nevada and Maryland

A: ...with a whopping 24 tickets sold.

J: oh...really? Wow. i can't really blame anyone for not wanting to go to idaho in the middle of the winter though. Especially when one's on the balmy Atlantic coast and the other's in the desert.

A: I'm gonna go with the Wolfpack since they've at least been consistent - consistently mediocre, but consistent. who knows how Maryland will do? Great? Terribly?

J: yeah, maryland's on a down swing too.

A: Okay, Wolfpack by a touchdown late.

Selection: Nevada

Texas Bowl: Rice and Western Michigan

A: Rice, Rice, Baby!

J: rice has the history, for sure.

A: Home team with a great receiver. they're playing in their back yard, for pete's sake. no way will Rice lose this one.

J: and a 6 game winning streak coming in.

A: They're just way too good to fall now. Rice by two scores.

Selection: Rice

Holiday Bowl: Oklahoma State and Oregon

A: I predict: whoever touches the ball last wins. Lots of offense. Middling defense.

J: OState has the edge on d, though. stop them twice and you're golden.

A: I'm going to give OK State the advantage on the ground. Hunter and Toston should tear them up and open up the biiiiig play action pass. I say Okie State by 4 with less than a minute to go.

J: with oregon driving on the 6?

A: nah, we'll hold em back at the 30. hail mary swatted down in the endzone. This game should be worth every penny of the ticket.

J: I think it's Ostate by at least 7.

Selection: Oklahoma State

Armed Forces Bowl: Air Force and Houston

A: I'd love to pick air force, because I love how they play the game.

J: at least on offense.

A: but there is simply no way I cannot pick Houston.

J: I agree. Sumlin's gonna take them to the wood shed.

A: it'll be ugly, kiddos. Houston wins big in grand fashion. I'm thinking by 17 at least.

J: yeah, sounds good.

Selection: Houston

Sun Bowl: Pittsburgh and Oregon State

A: It's that other other OSU. nice neutral site [El Paso, TX] for teams from opposite coasts.

J: oregon state fell a lot after losing to oregon.

A: and pitt has finished strong. no need to banter stats, it's all toughness at this point.

J: probably so... but if Jacquizz is back, oregon state is really gonna kick it.

A: oh, good point. Is the kid going to be healthy and ready?

J: should be.

A: I love that kid, but even with him, I think Pitt wins.

J: pitt has a good rush defense in the big east, slightly anemic o. I'll go with that other OSU on this one.

Selection: [Split!] A-Pittsburgh, J-Oregon State

Music City Bowl: Boston College and Vanderbilt

J: BC was on a tear this season.

A: I would love to see Vandy win this one for their program.

J: i just can't see it happening, as much as it would be great for them.

A: nope, BC will whoop them with their stout D. And, uh, Vandy lost at Duke. 'Nuff Said.

J: Vandy lost 6 of their last 7. Ouch.

Selection: Boston College

Insight Bowl: Minnesota and Kansas

A: I think momentum favors Kansas. A big win in their finale versus a terrible loss for Min.

J: I think Mangino and his boys will pull it out.

A: yeah, poor golden gophers, dontchaknow.

J: they've been right...on the edge of being good this year too.

A: it'll be aboot a ten point game for those gosh darn hawks.

Selection: Kansas

Chik-fil-a Bowl: Georgia Tech and LSU

J: I don't think LSU has anything left in the tank and gt is riding high.

A: Agreed 100% Sorry coach Miles, not this year. triple option will run down the already beat up D.

Selection: Georgia Tech

Outback Bowl: Iowa and South Carolina

A: It has to be Iowa.

J: Their RB is kick a$$.

A: Shonn Greene will run up down and over the gamecocks.

Selection: Iowa

Capital One Bowl: Georgia and Michigan State

J: tough one to pick.

A: Toughest one so far, I think.

J: georgia got embarrassed twice this year at home.

A: I don't trust Sparty, but I don't know if Georgia is recovered from the Tech whooping.

J: i feel that MSU has a bad tendency of folding in big games

A: Okay, I'll take the Dawgs in a close one.

Selection: Georgia

Gator Bowl: Clemson and Nebraska

J: probably gonna be the beginning of Pelini's legend at N.

A: I think the established Ganz will tear through Clemson's D.

J: time for a big red return to glory.

A: well, not too glorious, I hope. Huskers by 9.

Selection: Nebraska

Cotton Bowl: Texas Tech and Ole Miss

A: TTech by 30.

J: it's a blowout.

A: not even close. Poor Tech. they really got shunted to a much lower Bowl than they deserved. Cotton Bowl is a great bowl game, don't get me wrong, but it's sad for them. Honestly, it couldn't have happened, but with OU in the NC game, Texas and Tech both deserved BCS slots.

J: Damn BCS rules.

A: yeah, sad.

J: oh well, Tech gets a blowout victory.

Selection: Texas Tech

Liberty Bowl: East Carolina and Kentucky

J: ECU almost certainly.

A: Kentucky always plays better than I expect and never as good as I imagine they could be. ECU should be a step ahead – Skip will have them ready.

J: for sure.

A: ECU by 4-9 points.

Selection: East Carolina

International Bowl: Connecticut and Buffalo

J: great game for Toronto.

A: both northeastern teams with a great passion for the game. That said, I'll take UConn's D and rushing attack slightly over Buff's great O

J: buffalo went to ot vs army.

A: UConn proved they could play with the big boys. I saw Uconn by two touchdowns, 17-3.

J: Maybe not that much, 13-10.

Selection: Connecticut

GMAC Bowl: Ball State and Tulsa

A: good game, also, this year.

J: another tough pick.

A: Hometown pride prevents me from going with the cards though. sorry, boys, I think you might win, but I've gotta pick the Hurricane.

J: yeah, but TU lost to some poor teams at the end of the year. Damn hometown pride. Yeah, I can go with TU.

A: hometown pride, bucko. It may not work out, but I gotta believe.

Selection: Tulsa

Rose Bowl: Penn State and USC

A: stats don't mean much to me for this game. We have teams from two polar opposite conferences.

J: yeah, for sure.

A: both teams play hard smash mouth D

J: that's always the problem with this game when they get who they want. USC hasn't beaten anyone that made me turn their head. Ohio State is the only impressive victory. I'm leaning towards PSU.

A: me too, but I'm just worried. USC always plays well in their back yard, and PSU hasn't played west of the Mississippi

J: it's a tough one.

A: I have to go with my gut and say USC.

J: i can respect that, but i'm gonna stick with PSU.

A: I can respect that.

Selection: [Split!] A-USC, J-Penn State

Orange Bowl: Cincinnati and Virginia Tech

A: not as good as some small games, but still a good match up.

J: Big East vs ACC. Cinci is really dominant in the secondary. VT has a kick-a$$ linebacker.

A: Yeah, but, VaTech doesn't pass. Ranked 111 in passing.They don't really run well either. it's all about Beamer Ball: Turnovers, good D, and blocked punts.

J: wow, cinci is 13th nationally against the run.

A: okay, that sealed it. Cinci, baby, in an ugly game.

Selection: Cincinnati

Sugar Bowl: Alabama and Utah

A: Bama, bama, bama!

J: man, i dunno.

A: I've ragged Bama as a good-not-great team for quite a while, but that's what utah is also.

J: Utah runs the same offense that just beat bama, but not with as good of a QB.

A: and that's where it counts in the spread!

J: For sure. Okay, Alabama.

A: Close one though.

Selection: Alabama

Fiesta Bowl: Texas and Ohio State

A: Texas, texas, texas! Shouldn't even be close. Shouldn't be a good game.

J: For sure. I want tOSU to win, but they won't.

A: forget the Buckeyes and their mediocrity. Texas is damn good.

J: tOSU just got in because they were second-best in a sh!tty conference..

A: Texas was a few seconds from being NC contenders. (as they like to remind us every 3.8 seconds)

J: I feel ya.

A: Texas big, probably by 18.

J: oh, at least. Texas it is.

Selection: Texas

National Championship Game: Oklahoma and Florida

A: f#ck if I know.

J: it's gonna be a hard game. As you can imagine, i've spent a lot of time thinking about it. i can't really see a way for Florida to beat us. they're good, they have a great offensive punch, but they haven't played anyone like us.

A: do we get the '01 Sooners with their great discipline? Or the 04 Sooners with the USC debacle? You lose if you beat yourselves.

J: the USC game was a fluke. they were just better. we didn't belong there that year.

A: and LSU?

J: that was a broken toe and thumb on our qb. and the oc not trusting the backup enough to put him in. The LSU game was a shame. 5 minutes longer of a game, we'd have that one won though.

A: yes, you likely would have, but you didn't.

J: Jason [White] figured out how to throw the ball with a broken hand, which is really kind of amazing.

A: I don't think Bradford will let the offense beat themselves this year. But okay, I've gotta say, this will come down to the Florida secondary. if they find a way to hold the receivers down with Murray being out, they might win it. But I just don't see it. I'm going with the sooners

J: Brown also has 1000 yards this season. Murray is important, but he's not been 100% all season.

A: alright, I'm going to give it to OU by 10. 17 if the gators give up in the fourth quarter.

J: yeah, or if we hang 35 by halftime.

A: hell, I'll pick any team that hangs 35 by half. I'd pick the University of Washington if they scored that much at half. Well, maybe not UW.

J: wow, just looked at TO margin rankings. Florida is #2, OU is #1. Neither team gives up the ball.

A: You're nearly identical squads, if you ask me. Your quarterback is more pro-type.

J: They probably win out at top wide receiver. But overall, i think we have better depth.

A: in a game that hard fought, it may come down to that.

J: It may.

A: okay, we have a winner, folks.

Selection: Oklahoma wins the National Championship.