Three weeks, 34 games and one big dent in the couch cushion when
all is said and done.
Ah, there is nothing like the college football bowl season.
Three weeks, 34 games and one big dent in the couch cushion when all is said and done.
Ah, there is nothing like the college football bowl season.
How can you not tune into the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl? Yes, that is real.
I’m not here to debate the Bowl Championship Series and its wacky computer rankings and the strength-of-schedule argument.
I’m over that.
The five BCS games – Rose, Sugar, Fiesta and Orange – along with the championship game all have must-see, marquee match ups. Well, the Orange Bowl seems a bit boring on paper but it should still be fun to watch and I am looking forward to all of them.
Watching the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day at my great grandmother’s house is a tradition that has been in my family for years and something I always enjoy to each season. By the way my Nonie is 94 years old.
When I was younger my dad and I used to go through each game and select who we thought would win and then enter our picks in his office pool.
We usually finished five to 10 games over .500 mainly because we would go for teams based on our likes or dislikes of each. We always went against USC, which, over the past six years turned out to be wrong, and we always went for Notre Dame, also a mistake.
This season I have gathered four football minds to share with us their insight and test their football knowledge – and luck – with predictions of the five big games.
Gilroy High coach Greg Garcia, Anchorpoint’s KC Adams, Gavilan’s John Lango and Christopher’s Tim Pierleoni, were gracious enough to lend a helping hand and divulge their predictions.
The Games:
Rose Bowl: Jan. 1
No. 7 Oregon (Pac-10 champ) vs. No. 8 Ohio State (Big Ten champ)
Sugar Bowl: Jan. 1
No. 3 Cincinnati (Big East champ) vs. No. 5 Florida (SEC runner up)
Fiesta Bowl: Jan. 4
No. 4 TCU (MWC champ) vs. No. 6 Boise State (WAC champ)
Orange Bowl: Jan. 5
No. 9 Georgia Tech (ACC champ) vs. No. 10 Iowa (Big Ten runner up)
National Championship: Jan. 7
No. 1 Alabama (SEC champ) vs. No. 2 Texas (Big 12 champ)
The predictions:
Rose Bowl:
Lango: Oregon.
Oregon’s offense may be too much for Ohio St. to handle. The Ducks’ defense will do just enough to win. Uniform prediction – Oregon in all black uni’s.
Garcia: Oregon.
I’ll keep this short since my high school friend works for Oregon State football, but I feel Oregon’s high powered offense will come out on top of this match up.
Adams: Oregon.
Just for the simple fact that they have the two running backs. I like LeGarrette Blount coming in for LaMichael James. It’s like taking out a rocket for a Mack truck.
Pierleoni: Oregon. 45-14.
Pac-10 champions too strong for the Big Ten champions.
Weaver: Oregon. 42-28. The scrambling ability of Oregon’s quarterback Jeremiah Masoli and the speed and shiftiness of running back LaMichael James will be too much for Ohio State. The Buckeye’s had a mediocre season in a weak Big Ten conference.
Sugar Bowl:
Lango: Florida.
The Bearcats just do not have the fire power to stay with Florida. Their defense will have trouble with Florida’s offense.
Garcia: Florida.
Let’s just start off with, wow, a lot of press time on this one. Tim Tebow’s last game as a Gator and now Urban Meyer’s leave of absence from the program. I don’t plan on looking past Cincinnati’s well earned undefeated season either.
Adams: Florida.
Before (Brian Kelly) left I would have taken Cincinnati. But I think Florida and Tim Tebow want to go out on top.
Pierleoni: Florida. 38-28.
Tim Tebow will “will” his team to victory.
Weaver: Florida. 38-20. Even with the distraction of head coach Urban Meyer stepping down, Tim Tebow will be a beast in his final collegiate game. Cincinnati’s QB, Tony Pike will throw a couple touchdowns but it won’t be nearly enough.
Fiesta Bowl:
Lango: TCU.
This was a tough one. TCU’s defense is really good, and its offense will score some points. Boise State’s offense will score, but can they score enough points vs. the TCU defense?
Garcia: Boise State.
Boise works their plays to perfection. They train and play with a lot of heart. They are never the biggest or fastest players around but they always play to win.
Adams: TCU.
Best game of all the bowl games. Both are underrated. TCU has more size and speed. I wish one of them was playing Texas.
Pierleoni: TCU. 45-35.
TCU shows everyone why they should have been in the BCS Championship game.
Weaver: TCU. 28-24.
A rematch of last season’s Poinsettia Bowl, which TCU won 17-16. This year’s game will be close once again. Both teams want to prove they belong in the BCS bowl games. This should be one of the more entertaining contests.
Orange Bowl:
Lango: Georgia Tech.
Not a lot of fan fare with this one. GT is a really good team. I don’t see Iowa keeping up.
Garcia: Georgia Tech.
I’m still not too excited for this game. In my opinion Georgia Tech has a more powerful offense than Iowa can handle.
Adams: Georgia Tech.
They are hot right now. I thought Iowa would be good this year but when it came down to the big games, they didn’t cut it.
Pierleoni: GT. 35-21.
Georgia Tech’s option is to strong for Iowa’s defense
and Iowa’s luck runs out.
Weaver: GT. 30-13.
Iowa’s offense is conventional and boring. Georgia Tech runs a nice spread-option attack. All Yellow Jackets in this one.
n National Championship:
Lango: Alabama.
Roll Tide Roll. Too good of a team. Only thing that will help Texas is if Bama turns the ball over.
Garcia: Alabama.
I see Alabama squeaking by Texas this year, something they haven’t been able to do in quite some time. The Tide is too strong defensively for the Longhorns’ offense
Adams: Alabama.
I feel like they deserved it. Texas got in on a prayer. I was very impressed with the way Alabama looked against Florida.
Pierleoni: Alabama. 35-28
Alabama’s defense will make the difference in this game. Mount Cody will dominate.
Weaver: Texas. 23-20.
This is the toughest one for me. Each team has great players, i.e. Bama’s Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram and Texas QB Colt McCoy. I’m picking an upset just for the heck of it.
