The SupaDupa Bowl Pick Post....2007's Finale

The Pats...what can you say?
12-4 to finish the season strong makes me feel better, as well as my lock and upset pick coming through like I said, but I'm not braggin...
With a little more than 12 hours left in 2007, I have so much to do, not least of which is my bowl picks, which have been coming up some kind of rotten this year. Oh well, the pros are more my forte and you can be sure that I will have indepth analysis and picks for those as well. But some quick thoughts on the recently concluded NFL season.

I'll hand out final grade cards after the Super Bowl, postseason work does figure into my grades, so I figure it would be better to give out all 32 grades at once. Still recognition has to be given to some teams.

New England
These cats are going where no one has gone before. But there are still some haters. Witness Bob Kuchenberg, a lineman on that great '72 Dolphins squad who tried to downplay the Pats achievement. Stating that they can never be better only equal and they were the first team and should get more credit. Lets not say anything about the weak division that they were in and the team that they blasted twice on their way to their perfect season was a 3-11 New England team. But enough of the haters, the Pats should be rightly lionized for their accomplishment, but the real season begins in 12 days if the Pats don't win it all they will lambasted as chokers.

Houston
8-8 could get you as high as 2nd in some divisions in the rugged AFC South it puts you in last. The plucky Texans have shed the expansion pushover status and are fast becoming a dangerous team. Too bad they are stuck in the NFL's deepest and toughest division, they would be a playoff team in any other division.

Washington
You have to give some dap to Joe Gibbs whom the media honks and wonks were trying to put out to pasture after the time out debacle against Buffalo, but the Skins rallied and charged into the playoffs winning four ultra critical games to storm past the badly fading Vikings in to the postseason. The Skins may not get far, but they are a feelgood story. Gibbs is still a decent coach and the Skins are using the tragic murder of Sean Taylor as a rallying cry to make a team unified.

On the other hand you have some teams that should be ashamed most notably

Cincinnati
The Bengals looked like a team full of promise, they were instead full of hot air, dissention some infighting, puzzling losses and a ton of injuries derailed a once promising season into a 7-9 campaign. Marvin Lewis has stated that there may be some changes but this team has got to get a lot more mature and cash in that talent.

Baltimore
This was a 13 win team last year? This team got old in a hurry and went from a bully to a bum in a blink of an eye. Steve McNair seemed three steps slower and the once proud defense got soft. Brian Billick's job is supposedly safe but this is a team so bad, Miami got their lone win from them.

Minnesota
I'm a bit conflicted here. This is a team that has a bright future with Adrian Peterson and CHester Taylor at RB and a stout run defense. But their questions at QB undoubtedly cost them a playoff spot. I have said it before Tavaris Jackson is not an NFL caliber quarterback and he proved it in critical losses to the Skins and Broncos to finish out an 8-8 season that should have been a playoff year. Brad Childress saved his job for now, but if he insists on sticking with Jackson long term he wont be around for long.

OK, now with the pros out of the way (Playoff picks on Friday) lets look at the bevy of college bowl games on tap for the next two days. I'll cover all the Post New Years Day bowl games on the 2nd and the BCS title game on the 5th

December 31

BELL HELICOPTER ARMED FORCES BOWL
Air Force (9-3) vs California (6-6)
Amon Carter Stadium; Fort Worth, TX 12:30 ESPN
Favorite California by 4½
Fast Fact Air Force makes it first bowl appearance in five years
This isn't the Air Force squad you're used to seeing, no longer the triple option team it once was. The Falcons can still run as Chad Hall ran for over 1400 yards. The Bears started 5-0 and were talking BCS until a 3 game slide ended all talk of that and the Bears only won one of their last 7. Nate Longshore has had some time to shake off a sore ankle and has thrown for over 2500 yards, still you have to think that the Bears are lucky to be here while the Falcons are excited to be in a bowl. Motivation is a strong factor here.
Pick-Air Force

ROADY'S HUMANITARIAN BOWL
Fresno State (8-4) vs Georgia Tech (7-5)
Bronco Stadium; Boise, ID 2:00 (ESPN2)
Favorite Georgia Tech by 6
Fast Fact Both teams have won their only other appearances in this bowl game
The Bulldogs are familiar with the smurf turf, having battled WAC rival Boise State the YellowJackets are waiting on their new coach as the former Navy head coach Paul Johnson will take over next year until then defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta will guide the Ramblin Wreck. Tech's defense is a big play ballhawking type that will force the issue. Both teams run very well and are ranked in the top 20 nationally, Tech's Tashard Choice led the ACC in rushing and will be the big factor in this game. The combination of Tech's defense and Choice's running should wear the Bulldogs down.
Pick-Georgia Tech

SUN BOWL#21 South Florida (9-3) vs Oregon (8-4)
Sun Bowl; El Paso, TX 2:00 (CBS)
Favorite South Florida by 6
Fast Fact South Florida DE George Selvie needs one tackle for a loss to set the NCAA record
One of the better matchups of the bowl season, both the Bulls and Ducks have high powered spread offenses. The Ducks fell hard and fast after losing Dennis Dixon to a season ending knee injury and after backup Brady Leaf was hurt against UCLA seemed to be putting out want ads for a quarterback. Redshirt freshmen Cody Kempt or Justin Roper may get the starting nod. This puts even more pressure on RB Jonathan Stewart to carry the offensive load. The Bulls have dual threat Matt Groethe to rely on, call him Tim Tebow lite he can run (10 TDS) and throw (13TDS) He does throw a few picks though and the Ducks can keep it close if they force bad throws, but I don't think that the Ducks offense has recovered from the loss of their dynamic QB and it will show.
Pick-South Florida

GAYLORD HOTELS MUSIC CITY BOWL
Florida State (7-5) vs Kentucky (7-5)
LP Field, Nashville 4:00 ESPN
Favorite Kentucky by 9
Fast Fact The Seminoles are making their 26th straight bowl appearance.
Call this the attrition bowl, the Seminoles are leaving 26 players at home in the wake of a cheating scandal. The Wildcats have a couple players of their own suspended but not to the scale that the Seminoles have. This might have been a fairly even game with a slight edge to Kentucky with their fabulous passing game led by Andre Woodson, but the Seminoles losses have exacerbated this. The Wildcats have not won back to back postseason games in 55 years, that streak will end today
Pick-Kentucky

INSIGHT BOWL
Oklahoma State (6-6) vs Indiana (7-5)
Sun Devil Stadium; Tempe AZ 5:30 (NFLN)
Favorite Oklahoma State by 5
Fast Fact The Hoosiers are making their first bowl appearance since 1993
The Hoosiers are playing like gangbusters in memory of their recently deceased former coach Terry Hoeppner and are plenty motivated. The Cowboys Mike Gundy made headlines with his classic meltdown earlier in the year but his Pokes are no better than they were last year, 6-6 and in danger of a losing season. The Hoosiers are led by Kellen Lewis and his passing should be the difference
Pick-Indiana

CHICK-FIL-A PEACH BOWL
#15 Clemson (9-3) vs #23 Auburn (8-4)
Georgia Dome, Atlanta 7:30 ESPN
Favorite Clemson by 2
Fast Fact These two teams have played each other often, 45 times since 1899
This clash of the Tigers is the last game of the calendar and has plenty of intrigue. Clemson has a potent, balanced offense with James Davis and CJ Spiller sharing the bulk of the running duties. Cullen Harper is a solid QB that has tossed a school record 27 TDs this year. Auburn has a hard charging stingy defense that has been hampered by the losses of OLB's Tremaine Billie and Nick Watkins who were declared academically ineligble. Those losses will hurt Auburn more than it can make up.
Pick-Clemson

Tuesday January 1, 2008

OUTBACK BOWL
#18 Wisconsin (9-3) vs #16 Tennessee (9-4)
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa 11:00 (ESPN)
Favorite Tennessee by 1½
Fast Fact This is Wisconsin third appearance in the Outback Bowl (0-2)
A pair of young but rising teams square of in the calendar years first game.
The Vols are led by senior QB Erik Ainge who has tossed 29 TD and over 3100 yards. The Vols have a young defense that gives up a number of big plays. The Vols are also dealing with the imminent departure of offensive coordinatior David Cutcliffe to Duke. The Badgers are a stout Big Ten team that is suprisingly soft on defense. Badger RB PJ Hill is a definite TD threat in a game that is really too close to call.
Pick-Tennessee

COTTON BOWL
#6 Missouri (11-2) vs Arkansas (8-4)
Cotton Bowl, Dallas 11:30 (FOX)
Favorite Missouri by 3
Fast Fact Retring Arkansas AD Frank Broyles once was head coach of Missouri
Shafted out of the BCS bowl, Mizzou has a right to brood. The Tigers face the potent running attack of junior RB Darren McFadden who is the engine of the Hogs offense. Chase Daniel threw for better than 4100 yards and like McFadden was also a Heisman candidate. The Hogs may take advantage of the Tigers bowl inexperience and their possible pouting over a BCS snub. This may be McFadden's last college game and he'll want to shine for the pro scouts.
Pick-Arkansas

CAPITAL ONE BOWL
#12 Florida (9-3) vs Michigan (8-4)
Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando 1:00 (ABC)
Favorite Florida by 10½
Fast Fact: These storied college teams have only met one before, in 2002 (Michigan 38-30 in the Outback Bowl)
Heisman winner Tim Tebow will try to shake the supposed Heisman QB Jinx (QB winners are 5-7 in bowls since 1980) as he leads a decent Gator squad against Michigan. The Wolverines have plenty of talent. Chad Henne is a capable QB and Mike Hart is a scoring threat from anywhere on the field, but both are susceptable to injuries. The Wolverines want badly to send retiring coach Lloyd Carr out with a win. The Gators are well aware of the Wolverines troubles with mobile QB's Vince Young, Troy Smith, Dennis Dixon and Appy State's Armanti Edwards all ran wild against the slower Michigan D. As much as I love the Big Blue, I'm seeing a painful repeat
Pick-Florida

GATOR BOWL
Texas Tech (8-4) vs #20 Virginia (9-3)
Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville 1:00 (CBS)
Favorite Texas Tech by 6
Fast Fact The Red Raiders were sixth in the nation in offensive scoring
Classic opposite meet here, the Red Raiders are led by Graham Harrell who threw for a mind boggling 5298 yards (thats not a misprint) and 45 touchdowns equally impressive was his favorite target Michael Crabtree who caught 125 and 21 touchdowns. The Cavs hope to use their solid defense led by DE Chris Long, son of NFL hall of Famer Howie. The Cavs have held their opponents to under 19 points a game and have won five games by 1 or 2 points, a NCAA record. The Cavs had best keep this game low scoring and close. The word here says that they can't
Pick-Texas Tech

ROSE BOWL GAME PRESENTED BY CITI
#13 Illinois (9-3) vs #7 Southern Cal (10-2)
Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA 4:30 (ABC)
Favorite USC by 13½
Fast Fact USC is playing in the Rose Bowl for the third straight year
An old school Big 10-Pac 10 Rose Bowl features a team used to being here (USC) and a surprise team (Illinois) The Trojans are that same old punch you in the mouth team with good running and solid passing. The return to health of John David Booty will be a boon to the Trojans. Meanwhile the Illini live on the freewheeling style of Juice Williams. The Illini opened a lot of eyes with their stunning upset of top ranked Ohio State but the Trojans should be able to umm..keep the Juice from getting loose.
Pick-USC

ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL
#10 Hawai'i (12-0) vs #5 Georgia (10-2)
Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans 8:30 (FOX)
Favorite Georgia by 7½
Fast Fact This is the Rainbow Warriors second ever bowl game on the mainland
This should be called the anger bowl. Both teams feel slighted, the Bulldogs are annoyed that they aren't playing a week later in the Big Easy and the Warriors wonder why their unbeaten mark doesn't get them more love from the BCS. Both teams are very good and this will make for an exciting game. Colt Brennan can and will throw the ball all over the place and put the points up. The Bulldogs have an impressive freshman RB in Knowshon Moreno as well as highly underrated senior RB Thomas Brown who give the Bulldogs a nasty 1-2 punch and can control the clock. The Warriors want to sell themselves as a latter day Boise State with the pluck and ambition to knock off a highly rated big name team. I'm not buying it this year.
Pick-Georgia

Previous Pick Set: 4-3
Overall: 8-9

I don't wear stupid hats, I might blow one of those silly horns or something like that, but I just want to wish everyone a safe, sane and happy new year. I'm wishing everyone the same thing, A great '08!

Until next year Fellow Sports Fans!