[NU Sports] PIGSKIN PICKS - Bowl Pool

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

There probably won't be any standings until vacation
begins in a few days, but the bowl season begins this
week so I wanted to get this list out. However ...

There are just too many darn bowl games this year and
it's getting ridiculous. So we're going to handle it
like a regular week, picking all the Big Ten games and
the best of the rest instead of doing all of 'em.

So here we go ... one last shot at victory this
season, with everyone starting out with a blank slate.
Get your picks in by kickoff of the first game in
Vegas on Dec. 21.

PIGSKIN PICKS - Bowl Pool
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Name: 

BIG TEN
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BCS CHAMPIONSHIP: Ohio State vs. Florida
WINNER: 

ROSE BOWL: Michigan vs. Southern Cal
WINNER: 

CITRUS BOWL: Wisconsin vs. Arkansas
WINNER: 

OUTBACK BOWL: Penn State vs. Tennessee
WINNER: 

ALAMO BOWL: Iowa vs. Texas
WINNER: 

INSIGHT BOWL: Minnesota vs. Texas Tech
WINNER: 

CHAMPS BOWL: Purdue vs. Maryland
WINNER: 

NATIONAL
========
SUGAR BOWL: Louisiana State vs. Notre Dame
WINNER: 

ORANGE BOWL: Louisville vs. Wake Forest
WINNER: 

FIESTA BOWL: Boise State vs. Oklahoma
WINNER: 

GATOR BOWL: Georgia Tech vs. West Virginia
WINNER: 

COTTON BOWL: Auburn vs. Nebraska
WINNER: 

PEACH BOWL: Georgia vs. Virginia Tech
WINNER: 

HOLIDAY BOWL: California vs. Texas A&M
WINNER: 

LAS VEGAS BOWL: Brigham Young vs. Oregon
WINNER: 

HAWAII BOWL: Arizona State vs. Hawaii
WINNER: 

MOTOR CITY BOWL: C. Michigan vs. Mid. Tennessee St.
WINNER: 

EMERALD BOWL: Florida State vs. UCLA
WINNER: 

TEXAS BOWL: Kansas State vs. Rutgers
WINNER: 

SUN BOWL: Missouri vs. Oregon State
WINNER: 

MY PICKS
========
* OHIO STATE 27, Florida 7
C: The Buckeyes consider Phoenix a second home and
Tressel wins his second title in five years. Best
team, best player, best coach. No question about it.

* MICHIGAN 35, USC 31
C: Could be the best bowl of 'em all, with two teams
who thought they'd be in Arizona instead. Michigan's
defense is the difference as they jump out early and
hold on late.

* WISCONSIN 28, Arkansas 21
C: Another dandy of a game with two terrific ground
games and lots of physical play up front. Bucky makes
it two Citrus wins in a row and proves they should
have been a BCS team this year.

* PENN STATE 17, Tennessee 16
C: Great battle here of teams that were this/close to
BCS bowls. PSU had the defense to beat Michigan and
OSU, but the O kept turning it over. Tennessee had
Florida beat, but let a few games slip away this year.
With a month to prepare, hard to bet against JoePa.

* TEXAS 56, Iowa 10
C: Gonna be ugly in the AlamoDome here as the hometown
Horns were seriously snubbed by bigger bowls while
mega-slumping Iowa shouldn't have been chosen over
Purdue or Minnesota.

* TEXAS TECH 45, Minnesota 35
C: Tough call here as you have the pass-happy Raiders
against the run-happy Gophers. Something tells me the
Gophers will pull the upset, but I just can't pick
'em.

* PURDUE 41, Maryland 37
C: Good ole' shootout in Orlando as the Boilers
rebound from Hawaii to outscore the Terps.

* LSU 41, Notre Dame 14
C: The Irish haven't shown they can beat a top 20 team
this year ... or even stay close to one. With the
Tigers basically at home, this one gets ugly early.

* WAKE FOREST 23, Louisville 20
C: The ACC may be a mess, but the Big Least is still
waaaaaay overrated. Go Wake!

* OKLAHOMA 34, Boise State 10
C: I'd love to see the underdog win, but the Sooners
are just too talented and have done a great job
dealing with anything thrown at 'em this year. The
Broncs aren't ready for the big boys yet.

* WEST VIRGINIA 38, Georgia Tech 24
C: Fun scorefest and some individual talent to watch,
but is there really anyone who watches the Gator Bowl
instead of the better games in Orlando, Tampa and
Dallas year after year?

* AUBURN 20, Nebraska 16
C: The Tigers were embarassed in the bowl last year
and this time they come out solid and win the war in
the trenches.

* VIRGINIA TECH 27, Georgia 21
C: The Dawgs may be at home, but that didn't help 'em
last year. Besides, the Hokies are playing the best
ball in the ACC at season's end.

* TEXAS A&M 26, California 22
C: I'd like to say the Bears should roll or that after
20 tries they can get this Holiday Bowl thing down,
but I've been burned by Cal in Holiday Bowls past.

* OREGON 38, BYU 35
C: Vegas could have one of the more entertaining bowl
games this year - take the over!

* HAWAII 49, Arizona State 37
C: Another wild shootout, but the Warriors are at
home.

* CENTRAL MICHIGAN 31, Mid. Tennessee St. 20
C: The Chippewa know the building better???

* UCLA 27, Florida State 23
C: Good matchup in San Fran this year as well and even
though it's tough to pick against Bobby in a bowl, the
Bruins are still flying high after the SC win.

* RUTGERS 35, Kansas State 27
C: Good game in Houston with the upstart Wildcats, but
the Knights rebound from the BCS bummer to end a great
year on a high note.

* OREGON STATE 37, Missouri 31
C: It won't be as wild as our game in El Paso last
year, but it still should be a fun track meet with the
Beavers emerging on top.

Remember, picks due by kickoff THURSDAY!!!
GO CATS!!!
Go Big Ten!!!
-SjT

* * * * * * * * *
STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!!

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