f13.net

Rose Bowl:
USC vs Texas

Orange Bowl:
Penn State vs Florida State

Sugar Bowl:
WVU vs Georgia

Fiesta Bowl:
Notre Dame vs Ohio State


My Picks:

I hate USC, but I don't think Texas will even make this a close game.   USC

We are.....  Penn State

WVU has a wild backfield and the defense is ranked 7th in the nation.  Lets go Mountaineers

I think the last game is a toss up unless ND doesn't bring their A game.  I would like to see ND win, but if I was betting money my pick would be Ohio State.

Your turn

I hate Texas and USC, but I'm going to say Texas 35-31.

Penn State over FSU.

WVU over the Bulldogs.

Notre Dame over Ohio State.

Texas does not have the defense to stop USC.  Unless their D-line brings a wild amount of pressure and Reggie Bush is drunk I dont see them winning.

-USC wins by 17

Penn State will not dominate but will keep the game in hand and beat FSU.  The play calling will be conservative but they will break a few big plays and that will be enough I dont expect either team to score over 21.

-Penn State by 7

I haven't watched any WVU games really except possibly their game against Tech, but that might have been the Commodores.  The Bulldogs have been immpressing me most of the season though, so out of respect for DJ I'll go with the dawgs.

-Georgia by 14

Notre Dame has never seen anything resembling the OSU defense.  Brady Quinn will be hurried, smacked, sacked and confused and all comparisons to Tom Brady and/or Joe Montana will thankfully cease.  Troy Smith will assert himself as one of the most underrated QB's in college football and somebody will return a punt for a TD for the buckeyes.  Ohio State will win this game, either in comeback mode in the second half or after fighting off a comeback attempt by ND after they switch to a lax prevent D being up 17+.

-Ohio State by 6

I think the Colts are going to sweep all the college bowls, too.

 :evil:

I live in Austin, so Texas


Penn State

WVU, I hate Georgia.

Go ND!

Texas, because I can't force myself to pick USC even though they will probably win it.

Florida State, because they play well in big games.

Notre Dame, because God loves the Irish.

And Georgia, because it's bullshit that they even have to play the likes of WVU. I understand picking against Georgia because of the hate, but I don't think anyone would put straight up money on a WVU win. Check their schedule, they've only seen a team in the top 15 once, and they got slaughtered at home.

I do not know why I clicked on this thread, but I did not expect it to be about footbowl.


 :-o

Phear my lewt reading skillz.

Only game I care about is OSU vs ND.

It all depends on which OSU offense shows up that day. OSU's defense is arguably the best in the country right now and even if you want to debate that they would have to be in the top 3 defenses.

A lot will depend on ND's defense. If they can shut down the option then they have a chance. I'm a huge OSU fan and the one thing that has pissed me off this season is their reliance on the option. Yes, Troy Smith is a great college QB but that's all he'll ever be. When OSU plays the really tough D's that can shut down the option that's when the OSU offense starts to struggle. Troy is a bit hit or miss when forced to go down field.

It's really a shame that Justin Zwick was forced into the backup role this year. Given more time I think he has much more potential to be an NFL QB than Smith does.

Edit: Oh my pick is OSU by 10.

Delt I dont know how you can say that after the Michigan game.

If Troy Smith hadn't gotten that money from the booster we might be playing in the Rose Bowl, and we would stand much more of a chance then Texas.

Honestly, out hear in California I dont get to see most games, instead I listen to a lil ghetto radio station in Bowling Green of all places to the game and watch the gamecast so perhaps I'm way off.  But I feel like Troy Smith is a truly great college quarterback.

We're in aggreement on that. What makes him great is the ability to run the option along with an average down-field passing game. The problem is when he runs into really good defenses that can shut down the option and he's forced to go downfield. There's a reason you don't see the option run in the NFL and that's the same reason OSU lost to Texas, Penn St, and almost Michigan. All are teams with very good D's and excellent linebackers.

The Michigan game held to the same as above. I will give him credit though for being a gamer because he did manage to put those last 2 drives together and finally took what Michigan was giving him downfield. A lot of credit as well to OSU's receivers, Holmes, Ginn and Gonzalez are all future NFL players. Holmes will probably be a future #1 receiver and Gonzalez will be a great posession receiver one day. Ginn needs to show more constistency and keep his head in the game (ie muffed punts) next year but has potential as well to be a first rounder.

It's a different story when you can actually watch Smith play on TV and in person. In person is even more telling when you can see the entire field. Smith cannot make more than 2 reads and on most plays he only makes his first read before taking off and running. He and OSU have compensated by running the option, QB draws, and letting Smith rely on his natural athelitic ability.

He will have an NFL future but it's going to be as a Matt Jones/Randle El utlility Slash (Kordell Steward) type player. He won't ever play as a full time NFL QB.

Zwick on the other hand is more of a traditional pocket passer, he has just never been given the time to allow the game to slow down to a point where he's really comfortable and is making his full progression in time.

I predict that I will not watch any of the bowls except MAYBE the first half of USC-Texas. USC will win that one 55-31. btw.

You have to eat 1700 of these bowls to equal one bowl of Total.

Adjust your bowl predictions accordingly...

Update: Texas cornerback part of assault, robbery probe (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2263160&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines)

It's been good, and it's been ugly. Here's my recap of a few of the games you should have seen, and the games you can't miss this bowl season.

Games You Should Have Seen So Far:

1) Navy def. Colorado State 51-30: This game was never close, but it was a fun game to watch. Navy runs an insane option package that made Colorado State look like a bunch of kindergartners tried to play tag on the field. In the end, it was a high scoring offensive fueled shootout.

2) California def. BYU 35-28: It should have never been that close. Cal was up by three touchdowns heading into the fourth quarter and did their very best to give the game away. BYU couldn't get their shit together until the end when they finally started making defensive stands. It was a nailbiter until the last minute when Cal finally realized they might lose and closed it out.

3) Nevada def. UCF 49-48 (OT): Nevada was a clear favorite in this game against a UCF team led by a coach who was fired from his last job for lying on his resume. UCF had never been to a bowl game until this year, but they came out firing in the first half, taking a quick lead. Both teams rode momentum to score massive amounts of points in this barnburner, complete with an onside kick recovery for UCF and an ensuing TD to take the game to OT. However, once there, UCF's kicker missed an extra point after a TD, and Nevada stormed the field victorious.

4) Boston College def. Boise State 27-21: Boston College owned this game early, but as has been typical in a few big lead bowls so far, they gave it away in the second half. Boise State found their offense in the final quarter to try and come back from a 27-0 deficit. Unfortunately, after making it down to the BC 5 yard line, ready to score the game-winning TD, the Boise State QB threw an interception to a BC defender in the endzone, and the game was over.

5) Nebraska def. Michigan 32-28: The first big upset of the bowl season. This game had it all. Big runs, huge passes, big hits, and a game-ending hook and ladder series of laterals that brought both teams out on the field illegally thinking the game was over. Words don't do this matchup justice for how close it really was, and for how poorly it was officiated. Michigan fans will blame the refs for this loss, and they should, but they let the officials screw them over with poor play.

Game You Can't Miss Coming Up:

1) Oregon v. Oklahoma: Remember when OU was playing in the national title game? Yeah, a lot changed in a season. The OU team of today is riddled with position problems on both sides of the ball, and they are facing a #6 ranked, one loss Oregon team that the BCS left out in the cold. Expect Oregon to come out looking for blood and payback with hard-hitting fireworks and high scoring action.

2) Miami v. LSU: The Peach Bowl would be a better game if LSU's starting QB didn't go down with a shoulder injury in the SEC championship that will keep him out of this bowl matchup. However, Miami is overrated as a #9 seed with losses to #24 Georgia Tech and #22 FSU, and they are very vulnerable on offense against a healthy LSU defense. LSU is overrated at #10 by losing to a Tennessee team that didn't even get bowl eligible, and then crapped out in the SEC Championship against a better UGA team. This game will be all about defense, and I don't estimate over 40 total points in this matchup. If you like hard-fought grinder games, this is the one to watch.

3) Alabama v. Texas Tech: Another close matchup in the rankings, but one where the numbers don't represent the teams playing in this game. Alabama was dominate in the beginning of the season, going undefeated until their game against LSU. Since then, they are on a two game losing streak, and they are looking to make a statement with this game. Texas Tech is a passing team and an offensive-oriented squad. Alabama relies on defense to keep the game manageable. Something is going to give in this game.

4) The BCS Bowls: In my opinion, the worst matchup is W. Virginia v. Georgia, and I don't think anyone disagrees. If the game gets exciting, it's because UGA plays very shitty. The best matchup is Ohio State v. Notre Dame. After a rough start with losses to Texas and Penn State, Ohio State rides a six game winning steak with a combined +134 margin in total points in those games. Notre Dame comes in with a five game winning streak and a +98 margin in those games. Expect explosive offense and dynamic playcalling. Penn State v. FSU should be a blowout in favor of 10-1 Penn State, since FSU eeked their way in with an ACC championship victory over a lackluster VA Tech team.

5) The Title Game: Texas v. USC is a battle of who's going to make the least mistakes. If it becomes a shootout, Texas might as well not show up. They have to play solid defense against USC and win the battles in the trenches to come out victorious. USC has to find a way to get Reggie Bush involved early. Establishing the running game in the first half will mean death to the Longhorns. Really, this one is so tight, it might come down to who has the ball last.

How bout them Utes destroying Georgia Tech?

I'm sorry.  All I saw was Rose Bowl blah blah blah blah....

It's the only game that really has any merit and will be better than the majority of NFL games this season.  Having said that, I take USC by 13.

P.S. The BCS can kiss my ass.  Yes, I played division 1 football in the Big 10. 

Fiesta Bowl = Lots of tourists who don't spend any money at the store.

As a UGA fan, I must say I loved that game. Rambling Wreck indeed.

Went to this with the GF as general Big 10 fans.  Great game, cool city (San Antonio).  If your fav team ends up in the Alamo Bowl in the future, I recomend going.  Try to find a hotel near the Riverwalk and you are set.

Go Wisconsin (gunna get killed), go Ohio State, Go Texas.

Well, someone has to give you some crap on this one.  Lots of mistakes and sloppy play by both teams, but that doesn't explain giving up pver 380 yards on the ground in a home game.  That's just being slower than the guys you are trying to catch.

I deserve crap. Despite the loss I still feel the same about WVU. It was bad football on both sides, with the defense just deciding not to show up at all in the first quarter. First quarter WVU gets 28 points, rest of the game they get 10. I think UGA got beat for the reason I feared, they had too long to hear how great they were in this game, and they totally underprepared for the opponent. WVU heard nothing but how great UGA was and got more and more pissed off. I'm in favor of less downtime between these games, but whatever.

We need a playoff.

This could hurt. (http://www.fanblogs.com/ncaa/005660.php)

Awesome. If I cared about any of the bowl games I might try to play it.

Whoops, didn't see that comming I liked what I had seen of UGA but figuring out what is real and what isn't in the SEC is always a problem for me.  For example they had like 6 of the top10 defenses at one point.  Then someone pointed out all the offenses were playing like shit.  The conference as a whole always seems overhyped to me.  I enjoy watching their teams play for the most part and they put a competative product on the field but I no team from the SEC (including that great LSU team, I think I had a problem with the QB's) ever strikes me as a champion.  So I went with the no-brainer pick and got brained.  That's football for you.


Again I got caught up in the hype, if you watched this game and have followed OSU at all this season you would realize they were barely even trying and definately did not bring their A game.  After the first drive of the game, ND never did much.  They were dominated as they deserved to be, the game would have been even more lopsided had we not called a option play when we were about to go up 21, had two field goals not been blocked and had Gonzales not dropped that easy catch (it was incomplete btw) making us settle for 3.  All in all I feel vindicated, Brady Quinn did not look special and Troy Smith deserves much more respect.  I'm not sure he'll ever be a pro QB but he is a great one to watch at this level.

We'll see what happens tonight, go JoPa and stuff (BigTen football 4tw).

P.S.  Iowa got so hometeamed it was disgusting did anyone else see that game versus Florida?

 :thumbs_up:

Wow, looking back over this thread... some people are eating a big fat crow this morning.

Despite my lack of excitement for college football, I watched most of this game last night, mainly to see what all the hype about Reggie Bush was. I still don't know. He didn't seem to me to have a standout game. Now, he was good, mind you, a nice slashing style of runner who can catch out of the backfield. But Lindale White was a more impressive running back in that game.

Vince Young just stole the show, though. He made Mike Vick look like an amateur, because he could actually deliver a pass accurately. I hope he stays in school for his senior year instead of going out for the draft this year, because if he goes out, he'll likely get taken by New Orleans or some other shitty team. And I still think he needs to take some snaps from center. Does Texas run anything not out of the shotgun formation?

Some things from the Rose Bowl:

1) Defense needs more attention at the college level.  Texas has one of the best defenses in today's college football and I was left unimpressed by what I saw last night.  At least their DB's could tackle in the open field... USC looked terrible on defense.

2) Lindale White seems to be the most prepared for the NFL style of play.  As impressive as Vince Young looked agaist a poor USC defense, he'd get destroyed by the faster and bigger linebackers in the NFL.  His unorthodox throwing motion should be a concern to anyone that drafts him.

3) On the topic of Vince Young: He should go to the draft now while he's a) healthy and b) at the peak of his value.  I see no reason for any player to stay in college when they could be making a living in the NFL.  99% of the people I played football with in college could have cared less about the degree anyway. 

4) The attempted lateral by Bush and the free Texas touchdown the refs gave away decided the game.

Texas was already at the 10 at that point.  The point I made to my wife at the time was that in the long run, maybe it would have been better for Texas if the ref had caught it and marked him down, because they probably would have scored in the next play or two anyway, and Pino probably wouldn't have missed the PAT.

Yes, the off-chance that USC could stop them on the 10 is minute at best.

Completely agree.

"What if"s are a horrible, horrible point of discussion.  He (Young) could have easily got flustered by the call getting reversed, threw an int that gets returned for a touchdown, SC offense warms up before the half, and the rout is on.  One small play going the other direction changes the game completely and how it would.. you'd never know.

Game happened like it did and there's the outcome for you.  What if SC punted instead of going for the jugular? What if Lendale White actually for once gets called for excessive celebration..

I think the no-fumble call in the 4th, which would have pretty much sealed the game, was a much bigger deal than the knee-down touchdown.  The officiating overall was pretty shittty.  Both Leinhart (going it on 4th when his coach was calling for a timeout) and Bush (lateral) did shockingly stupid things early in the game.  Young is one of the best college players I've ever seen.  USC has an almost-NFL caliber offense, but man does their defense suck.  Exciting game.  This year's slate of BCS games pushed back a playoff at least another 10 years!

I want ESPN's Mark May flogged on air for all the USC cock-sucking he did this month. I've sent emails to ESPN to that effect.

Funny that of my 4 points, you all choose to focus on that one.

That lateral Bush tried that turned into a fumble was just mind-numbingly brainfartful stupid. It was grandstanding and not good grandstanding at that.

Of course, I'd have punted in the 4th quarter as well. But shit, USC couldn't tackle an arthiritic grandmother last night.

Your first 3 are no-brainers, IMO. I'm not sold on Vince Young as a NFL quarterback. Then again, I'm still not sold on Ron Mexico as one either.

Being an ex-DB myself, I derived all of my personal enjoyment of the game watching the Texas DB's last night.  I'd be happy to go over my disgust with the USC defense, but I'm not sure anyone cares to hear about it.

Note: I hate seeing officials make such a terrible call as they did with the Texas TD.  You're all right in suggesting it had little impact on the outcome... it just ruined some of the fun.

The officiating was pretty odious, especially considering they have the use of replay. But I take it that someone somewhere has to initiate the replay, since the coaches can't like in the NFL. The Texas DB's did pretty well, especially in comparison to the USC DB's, who couldn't cover a tight end.

I agree, there are some people in the sport's world who do as well.  But they were wrong in what they said.  I read several articles that wanted to see USC vrs Ohio State because they didn't realize how good Texas' D was.  Me personally I thought the OSUvTexas game was a better game then the Rose Bowl because it matched two great D's and if that fucking booster hadn't given Smith $500 we would have won and then everything would have been different.  I love what ifs   :-P

I had to see for myself... I'm glad that Texas played USC.  I'm not a huge fan of the Big 12 and felt that much of the success of the Texas defense was merely a result of there being mostly subpar offenses in that conference.  I played in the Big 10 and realize that it too is a conference that suffers from the same lack of a powerhouse offense.  Matching up the Texas defense with a legitimate powerhouse offense really showed off how good the Texas defense was (though it also clearly demonstrated their lack of linebacker talent.)

Of course, ex-players often make for lousy analyzers. I may be guilty of that.

God damn what a bowl season. 

I know everyone here will say WVU didn't deserve to win and blah blah, but I watched every game of theirs this season and I had good hopes going in.  Steve Slayton might be a hiesman contender in a couple of years.  He put yards up against every team he played this season and he is a freshman.  Pat White also has potential as a QB once WVU gets some receivers for him to throw to too.  You noticed WVU only scored 10 points in the second half and the reason was because they stopped giving the ball to Slayton.  The touchdown and fieldgoal can be credited to him because he drove the ball down the field on those drives.  Say what you will, but he is a damn good back and will bring WVU success for a couple of years.

Ohio and the Dame was a worthless match-up.  ND sucked so bad it wasn't even fun to watch.

Penn State and Florida State was exciting.  Penn State either played bad, or is not as good as many people expected.

Rose Bowl.... USC is overrated DEAL WITH IT.  When they come play the ACC and Big Ten I will give them props, but until then, the rose bowl for me this year was Ohio State and Texas....  Which if was replayed would be a even better match-up than before.

Overrated? They lost in the last 20 seconds to one of the greatest single game performances by a college football player, ever.  Bad defense, sure, but offense could probably put up more points than some pro teams.  It was a great game, I'd leave it at that.  Texas could have easily lost.

A half yard going USC's direction, and Texas was done. I don't see how that qualifies as an asskicking or USC being overrated. It was probably one of the best national championship games you'll ever see in your lifetime.

Ohio State/Miami was the best national championship game in the history of the universe and all other universes, but this one came close.

I'd have to disagree.  I was really anticipating this being an outstanding game, but other than it having a close score it was a pretty poorly played game.  The USC defense was a no-show.

It was a no-show all year. I don't see how people were expecting different.

Edit: Watching either their ASU, Fresno State, or Notre Dame games you could see that the defense was just nothing special. 

Great players rise to the occasion in great games. I had high expectations and they were dashed on the rocks.

Heh, the thing is, USC really didn't have any great players on defense.  Don't they have a true freshman starting at OLB? They didn't make the stops when it counted.  That's pretty much why USC had to go for that last 4 and 1, Carrol had no confidence in his team to stop Vince Young given any sort of time left.  Edit: I just can't see how anyone could have had expectations for this unit, they were mediocre and unspectacular all year. 

Texas made a few key stops when it mattered but they had some of the best defensive players in the country (Huff) and still managed to give up 38 points and 574 yards of offense. Still, 4 and 1, game on the line, and they held.  One play between chumps and champs, eh?

And yah, I like the Miami-Ohio State game better on my list of all timers for the sole reason of Miami losing.  Anytime Miami loses a major bowl game is a good day for humanity. 

I'm wasn't emotionally invested in the game and really didn't care who won.  I expected USC to outgun Texas, but USC just couldn't do anything to stop Young.  Texas also won the openfield tackling war.  Their better defensive backs made the difference.

Overall, I was pretty unimpressed by the game given all the hype.  It's pretty obvious who the talented players are though I doubt many will fluorish in the NFL.  If anything, the game should elevate the value of LenDale White and Huff.  I guess it's tough to elevate Huff... he was already projected in the top 10 and it's tough to take a DB early unless they're something really special.  It's likely Huff will get moved to CB after being drafted making his first NFL season something of an adjustment. He'll have to deal with NFL speed on faster fields with a bump and run style.  He's up for it and has all the skills to do well. 

Dwayne Jarrett really impressed me as a sophomore and he could develop into something special.  I also liked the Texas TE.  I imagine that Leinhart and Young will go high in the draft, but neither sees the field well.  Young lacks the athletic ability and the accuracy of Vick and will have a tough time with his playing style working in the NFL.  As for Bush, he has incredible athletic ability.  If he learns to be more patient, he could really do well at a higher level.  The guys I'm keeping my eye on are the USC linemen and the Texas defensive line.  Those guys were the unsung heros over the season.

The USC offensive line is just stupefyingly good as a unit.  So good that I sometimes wonder how good Leinhart, White and Bush will be, because there is no way they'll see protection/holes like that in the NFL.

Considering where Bush and Leinhart are projected to go in the draft, they are indeed going to have a rude awakening.  Barry Sanders overcame it, but Bush is no Barry Sanders.

LenDale White could be the one to succeed here.  He'll go late enough in the first round that he may end up on a team with a solid offensive line.  It's quite likely that this could give him a better rookie year than Bush given the right situation (i.e. he isn't in a platoon).

Let me just see if we're on the same page here. You played football and you have a thing for defensive games. You didn't like this game because the defense on one side was a no-show. You were unimpressed with the game given the hype. You said you believe that great players should rise to the occasion in great games, but you were disappointed.

Well, to start, nowhere in any of the hype did anyone talk about defense. The over/under in Vegas was 69.5 points. And they beat the over. That's ungodly high for that kind of bet even in college. As far as the great players not rising up, I just have to say I totally disagree. Vince Young was a great player going into the game, but he was absolutely god-like for 60 minutes of football. The man put up 200 yards of rushing on his own. That's essentially the same amount as both of the other RBs on USC. Leinert had a 70%+ completion rate and threw for over 350 yards. The game was decided on gutsy 4th down calls and incredible late drives.

I'd really like to know what the expectation was here. If you were hoping for a defensive struggle, there was no hope you'd ever love this game as that is not the style of either team.

I do enjoy a defensive struggle, but didn't expect one here.  A good game to me is when all players are playing at or near the peak of their ability.  Players making good decisions and rising to the occasion.  Watching an underappreciated player really show their worth.  Though this was the case for a few of the players on the field, I felt that many have shown better during the course of the season.  Texas gave up too many points given their talent, Young ran amok, and there were NUMEROUS mental errors by players on both sides of the ball.  I wish I had recorded the game so that I could cite specific examples.  It's playing on ESPN Classic, so I may watch it again and give you more of my views. 

Don't get me wrong, it was a very fun game to watch.  I just found myself a bit disappointed.  Too many mental errors and too many players underperforming left me cold.  I'm sure some of that was due to my own inflated expectations. 

I really hope the Texans don't fall into the trap and draft Reggie Bush first. I really do. That would be a disaster of epic proportions. Bush would get creamed, Carr would continue to lead the league in being sacked, and the Texans would suck even worse. They should trade Bush for like 5 picks and draft an entire O Line, maybe USC's O line. They have the offensive talent to win, just not the line to block for it.

I also hope New Orleans doesn't draft Vince Young 3rd. He would be completely wrong for that team, but he'd make a big splash given the media hype about him. They spent years sucking with Aaron Brooks, they don't need years more trying to teach this guy how to QB in the NFL.

We should do mock drafts or something, that would be cool.

Also I'd love to have the time to analyze all these coaching changes, and think about what 32 QB's will be starting where next season.

You couldn't pay me enough to go to NO right now. That team has issues well outside of football. They are dreaming if they think the Saints shouldn't be moved out of that market now.