28 Bowl Games, 16 Days

[jiggafini19]

Tonight is day one of the bowl season. College football is college football and while two 6-5 teams butting heads in December doesn't excite me, I can't help but watch parts of the games. So here goes:

THE NEW ORLEANS BOWL
Southern Miss (6-5) vs. Arkansas State (6-5)

Southern Miss had a 30-21 loss on the road to Alabama and a 21-17 loss to NC State, also on the road. They feature twin brothers Trevis Coley, safety and Kevis Coley, Linebacker. Both are very good players and draftable. QB Dustin Almond is also someone to keep an eye on.

Arkansas State is in a bowl game for the first time in school history. They were 3-8 last year. Indians feature a running attack led by RB Antonio Warren and Shermar Bracey, along with FB Oren O'Neal. They had one road victory all year against North Texas, which finished the season and made them bowl eligible.

The line is 17, Sagarin's line is 13.39 both in favor of the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. The game is being played on ESPN tonight at 8 PM EST in Shreveport, LA rather than New Orleans due to Hurricane Katrina.

 

[Rip Rap]

There's an Arkansas State?

 

[jiggafini19]

There's an Arkansas State?

http://www.asuindians.com/

From the Sun Belt, I-A's outhouse and I-AA's penthouse.

 

[jiggafini19]

GMAC BOWL
December 21, 8 PM EST ESPN
Mobile, AL

UTEP (8-3) vs. Toledo (8-3)

Mike Price, after his Alabama fiasco, has UTEP in a bowl for the second consecutive year. But they lost their last two games of the year and have somewhat limped into this one having missed the C-USA title game. Keep an eye on the QB for the Miners, Jordan Palmer. He is the younger brother of Cincinnati Bengal Carson Palmer. Linebacker Thomas Howard is a good player.

Toledo comes in on a high note, having beaten archrival Bowling Green in overtime to close out the season, but missed out on the MAC title game after a loss to Northern Illinois. Rocket senior QB Bruce Gradkowski is a player who will get looked at closely by NFL scouts. 2171 yards and 24 TD this season. CB Antonio Malone will try to lock down on Palmer's favorite target Johnnie Lee Higgins.

 

[guff]

The New Orleans Bowl - also known as The Battle of Who Could Care Less

 

[Vince Young]

The New Orleans Bowl - also known as The Battle of Who Could Care Less

"Eeeeeeevery day... you waaaaaake up late... sometimes I wish I was that way!"

Sorry, I don't know if you were quoting Ben Folds Five, but I couldn't resist.

 

[jiggafini19]

POINSETTA BOWL
San Diego, CA
Colorado State (6-5) vs. Navy (7-4)
December 22, 10:30 PM EST ESPN 2
Line: Navy -1 Sagarin: CSU + 0.97

After losing key offensive starters and 8 on defense from 2004, Navy started to rebuild earlier than expected. A "quality" win for ND, Navy's 7 wins were not against anyone that was bowl eligible (Beat Air Force 27-24). They lost by a field goal to both Maryland and Stanford, lost by 10 to Rutgers and 42-21 to Notre Dame. LB Rob Caldwell and SS Jeremy McGown lead the Midshipmen. QB Lamar Owens is the team's leading rusher.

Colorado State was 4-7 in 2004 and started off this year 0-2, closing the season with a win over UNLV. Beat Nevada, Air Force (41-23) and Utah in consecutive games. Being familiar with Air Force's offense should help the Rams against Navy. Look for CSU QB Justin Holland and David Anderson to hook up often since Navy has trouble getting to the QB. CSU will use their size advantage up front.

 

[jiggafini19]

LAS VEGAS BOWL
Las Vegas, NV
Cal (7-4) vs. BYU (6-5)
December 22, 8 PM EST ESPN
Line: Cal -6 Sagarin: Cal +4.40

Cal started 5-0 and does not have a win against anyone worth mentioning. They have struggled to replace Aaron Rogers, who was drafted by the Green Bay Packers. Keep an eye on FS Harrison Smith and WR DeSean Jackson. DT Brandon Mebane is tough.

BYU is back in a bowl for the first time in four years. ND shredded their 4-4 defense, as have many others as the Cougars are ranked 93rd nationally in total defense. WR Todd Watkins and QB John Beck are players to watch for BYU. Curtis Brown rushed for 1,095 yards and 14 TD.

 

[Rip Rap]

There is a poll at ESPN asking if there are too many bowl games and a whopping 50% is saying no!

Now, obviously I am in the other half. I have no desire to watch anything other than Notre Dame/OSU; Penn State; and the national championship game. The Sugar and the Peach will at least be good games to have on at a bar, and the Gator and Alamo bring nice sub-plots.

Most of these games are truly worthless. I'm glad hockey season is back.

 

[Folsteam_Ahead]

i used to think there were too many. but can you imagine how much more people would whine if they got rid of half of the current bowls? they just need to find a way to make the bowls sound more respectible, like the "insert name here" bowl presented by "insert sponsor name here". maybe that would help.

 

[BGIF]

GMAC Bowl

Gradkowski looked like he was throwing against a Baer coached defense.