College Football Bowl Picks

The College Football Bowl Season begins Saturday.  There are a couple of great match-ups, a few good ones, but a lot of mediocre games as well.  Many of these games provide the feeling of ‘why would I watch this?’

If you notice a couple games missing, those picks will come closer to the beginning of the College Football Playoff.

Last Week: 1-0 (1.000) [Got to keep it positive.]

Overall:  290-83 (.777)

R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl [December 20th – 11:00 AM – ESPN]: Nevada vs. Louisiana-Lafayette

Gildan New Mexico Bowl [December 20th – 2:20 PM – ESPN]:  Utah State vs. UTEP

Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl [December 20th – 3:30 PM – ABC]:  #22 Utah vs. Colorado State (I’d pick the upset if Jim McElwain was still at Colorado State.)

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl [December 20th – 5:45 PM – ESPN]:  Western Michigan vs. Air Force

Raycom Media Camellia Bowl [December 20th – 9:15 PM – ESPN]:  South Alabama vs. Bowling Green (Going with the home team.)

Miami Beach Bowl [December 22nd – 2:00 PM – ESPN]:  BYU vs. Memphis

Boca Raton Bowl [December 23rd – 6:00 PM – ESPN]:  Marshall vs. Northern Illinois

San Diego Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl [December 23rd – 9:30 PM – ESPN]:  Navy vs. San Diego State (Going with the home team.)

Popeyes Bahamas Bowl [December 24th – 12:00 PM – ESPN]:  Central Michigan vs. Western Kentucky

Hawaii Bowl [December 24th – 8:00 PM – ESPN]:  Fresno State vs. Rice

Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl [December 26th – 1:00 PM – ESPN]:  Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech

Quick Lane Bowl [December 26th – 4:30 PM – ESPN]:  Rutgers vs. North Carolina

BITCOIN St. Petersburg Bowl [December 26th – 8:00 PM – ESPN]:  North Carolina State vs. UCF (Going with the home team.)

Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman [December 27th – 1:00 PM – ESPN]:  Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech

Hyundai Sun Bowl [December 27th – 2:00 PM – CBS]:  #15 Arizona State vs. Duke

Duck Commander Independence Bowl [December 27th – 3:30 PM – ABC]:  Miami (FL) vs. South Carolina

New Era Pinstripe Bowl [December 27th – 4:30 PM – ESPN]: Boston College vs. Penn State

National University Holiday Bowl [December 27th – 8:00 PM – ESPN]: Nebraska vs. #24 USC

AutoZone Liberty Bowl [December 29th – 2:00 PM – ESPN]:  Texas A&M vs. West Virginia

Russell Athletic Bowl [December 29th – 5:30 PM – ESPN]:  Oklahoma vs. #17 Clemson (No faith in a Cole Stoudt led Clemson offense, even with the strong defense.)

AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl [December 29th – 9:00 PM – ESPN]:  Arkansas vs. Texas

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl [December 30th – 3:00 PM – ESPN]: Notre Dame vs. #23 LSU

Belk Bowl [December 30th – 6:30 PM – ESPN]:  #13 Georgia vs. #21 Louisville

Foster Farms Bowl [December 30th – 10:00 PM – ESPN]:  Maryland vs. Stanford (Got to go with the home team.)

Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl [December 31st – 12:30 PM – ESPN]:  #9 Ole Miss vs. #6 TCU

VIZIO Fiesta Bowl [December 31st – 4:00 PM – ESPN]:  #20 Boise State vs. #10 Arizona (Got to go with the home team.)

Capital One Orange Bowl [December 31st – 8:00 PM – ESPN]:  #7 Mississippi State vs. #12 Georgia Tech (The Bulldogs will prove why they were on top most of the year.)

Outback Bowl [January 1st – 12:00 PM – ESPN2]:  #19 Auburn vs. #18 Wisconsin

Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic [January 1st – 12:30 PM – ESPN]:  #8 Michigan State vs. #5 Baylor

Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl [January 1st – 1:00 PM – ABC]:  #16 Missouri vs. #25 Minnesota (This is a mis-match.)

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl [January 2nd – 12:00 PM – ESPN]:  Houston vs. Pittsburgh

TaxSlayer Bowl [January 2nd – 3:20 PM – ESPN]:  Iowa vs. Tennessee (This is a mis-match.)

Valero Alamo Bowl [January 2nd – 6:45 PM – ESPN]:  #11 Kansas State vs. #14 UCLA (The Bruins will prove why they were a College Football Playoff pick at the beginning of the season.)

TicketCity Cactus Bowl [January 2nd – 10:15 PM – ESPN]:  Washington vs. Oklahoma State

Birmingham Bowl [January 3rd – 12:00 PM – ESPN]:  East Carolina vs. Florida

GoDaddy Bowl [January 4th – 9:00 PM – ESPN]:  Toledo vs. Arkansas State

NFL Week 15 Picks (and then some)

The season is winding down, and it has become clear that at least one team with a losing record will likely make the playoffs.

Last Week: 11-5 (.688)

Overall: 137-70-1 (.657)

Cardinals vs. Rams

Steelers vs. Falcons

Redskins vs. Giants (Bad game #1)

Dolphins vs. Patriots

Raiders vs. Chiefs

Texans vs. Colts

Jaguars vs. Ravens

Packers vs. Bills

Buccaneers vs. Panthers (Bad game #2; Panthers should win regardless of whether it is Newton or Anderson.)

Bengals vs. Browns

Jets vs. Titans (Bad game #3)

Broncos vs. Chargers

Vikings vs. Lions

49ers vs. Seahawks

Cowboys vs. Eagles

Saints vs. Bears (Bad game #4)

But wait, there’s more…

It’s not worth making a post for one game, but there is one last regular season college football game.

Last Week: 9-5 (.643)

Overall: 289-83 (.777)

Navy vs. Army

College Football Picks Week 15

With the exception of Army vs. Navy, it’s the last week of the college football season.  This week is a mix of regular season finales, and conference championship games.  It is also the annual week where we pick every college football game.

The bowl picture is also taking shape.  It’s about time to start the hash-tag: #BringBacktheBCS.  If you want to see the latest bowl projections, CLICK HERE.

Last Week:  19-7 (.731)

Overall:  280-78 (.782)

UCF vs. East Carolina

Northern Illinois vs. Bowling Green (MAC Championship Game)

#7 Arizona vs. #2 Oregon (Pac-12 Championship Game; This may be a play-in game to the College Football Playoff.)

Louisiana Tech vs. Marshall (Conference USA Championship Game)

Houston vs. Cincinnati

SMU vs. Connecticut (Good luck next year Chad Morris.)

Iowa State vs. #3 TCU

Oklahoma State vs. #20 Oklahoma

#1 Alabama vs. #16 Missouri (SEC Championship Game; It is impressive for Missouri to win the SEC East in its first two seasons in the SEC.)

Temple vs. Tulane

#9 Kansas State vs. #6 Baylor

#4 Florida State vs. #11 Georgia Tech (ACC Championship Game)

#13 Wisconsin vs. #5 Ohio State (Big Ten Championship Game)

Fresno State vs. #22 Boise State (Mountain West Championship Game; All Boise State has to do is win and they are in as the ‘non-power 5’ team in the top bowls.)

2013-14 Bowl Picks

Throughout the College Football season, we’ve tried to predict which team was going where when it came to bowl season.

Now that the bowls are here, it’s time to actually pick the winners.

The table you’ll see probably looks familiar.  Like the normal picks, the team that is bold, in italics, and underlined  is the team that is being picked.

This season’s college football picking record (including last week’s win by Navy):  317-69 (.821)

BOWL	TEAMS
Gildan New Mexico Bowl	Washington State	Colorado State
University Stadium – Albuquerque, N.M. – Saturday, December 21st – 2:00 p.m. – ESPN
Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl	Fresno State	USC
Sam Boyd Stadium – Las Vegas, Nev. – Saturday, December 21st – 3:30 p.m. – ABC
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl	Buffalo	San Diego State
Bronco Stadium – Boise, Idaho – Saturday, December 21st – 5:30 p.m. – ESPN
R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl	Tulane	Louisiana-Lafayette
Mercedes-Benz Superdome – New Orleans, La. – Saturday, December 21st – 9:00 p.m. – ESPN
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s St. Petersburg Bowl	Ohio	East Carolina
Tropicana Field – St. Petersburg, Fla. – Monday, December 23rd – 2:00 p.m. – ESPN
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl	Boise State	Oregon State
Aloha Stadium – Honolulu, Hawaii – Tuesday, December 24th – 8:00 p.m. – ESPN
Little Caesars Pizza Bowl	Pittsburgh	Bowling Green
Ford Field – Detroit, Mich. – Thursday, December 26th – 6:00 p.m. – ESPN
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl	Utah State	Northern Illinois
Qualcomm Stadium – San Diego, Calif. – Thursday, December 26th – 9:30 p.m. – ESPN
Military Bowl Presented By Northrop Grumman	Marshall	Maryland
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium – Friday, December 27th – 2:30 p.m. – ESPN
Texas Bowl	Syracuse	Minnesota
Reliant Stadium – Houston, Texas – Friday, December 27th – 6:00 p.m. – ESPN
Fight Hunger Bowl	BYU	Washington
AT&T Park – San Francisco, Calif. – Friday, December 27th – 9:30 p.m. – ESPN
New Era Pinstripe Bowl	Rutgers	Notre Dame
Yankee Stadium – Bronx, N.Y. – Saturday, December 28th – 12:00 p.m. – ESPN
Belk Bowl	Cincinnati	North Carolina
Bank of America Stadium – Charlotte, N.C. – Saturday, December 28th – 3:20 p.m. – ESPN
Russell Athletic Bowl	Miami (FL)	Louisville
Florida Citrus Bowl – Orlando, Fla. – Saturday, December 28th – 6:45 p.m. – ESPN
Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl	Michigan	Kansas State
Sun Devil Stadium – Tempe, Ariz. – Saturday, December 28th – 10:15 p.m. – ESPN
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl	Middle Tennessee	Navy
Amon G. Carter Stadium – Fort Worth, Texas – Monday, December 30th – 11:45 a.m. – ESPN
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl	Ole Miss	Georgia Tech
LP Field – Nashville, Tenn. – Monday, December 30th – 3:15 p.m. – ESPN
Valero Alamo Bowl	Oregon	Texas
Alamodome – San Antonio, Texas – Monday, December 30th – 6:45 p.m. – ESPN
National University Holiday Bowl	Arizona State	Texas Tech
Qualcomm Stadium – San Diego, Calif. – Monday, December 30th – 10:15 p.m. – ESPN
Advocare V100 Bowl	Arizona	Boston College
Independence Stadium – Shreveport, La. – Tuesday, December 31st – 12:30 p.m. – ESPN
Hyundai Sun Bowl	Virginia Tech	UCLA
Sun Bowl – El Paso, Texas – Tuesday, December 31st – 2:00 p.m. – CBS
AutoZone Liberty Bowl	Rice	Mississippi State
Liberty Bowl – Memphis, Tenn. – Tuesday, December 31st – 4:00 p.m. – ESPN
Chick-fil-A Bowl	Duke	Texas A&M
Georgia Dome – Atlanta, Ga. – Tuesday, December 31st – 8:00 p.m. – ESPN
TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl	Nebraska	Georgia
Everbank Field – Jacksonville, Fla. – Wednesday, January 1st – 12:00 p.m. – ESPN2
Heart of Dallas Bowl	UNLV	North Texas
Cotton Bowl – Dallas, Texas – Wednesday, January 1st – 12:00 p.m. – ESPNU
Capital One Bowl	Wisconsin	South Carolina
Florida Citrus Bowl – Orlando, Fla. – Wednesday, January 1st – 1:00 p.m. – ABC
Outback Bowl	Iowa	LSU
Raymond James Stadium – Tampa, Fla. – Wednesday, January 1st – 1:00 p.m. – ESPN
Rose Bowl Game presented by VIZIO	Stanford	Michigan State
Rose Bowl – Pasadena, Calif. – Wednesday, January 1st – 5:00 p.m. – ESPN
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl	UCF	Baylor
University of Phoenix Stadium – Glendale, Ariz. – Wednesday, January 1st – 8:30 p.m. – ESPN
Allstate Sugar Bowl	Oklahoma	Alabama
Mercedes-Benz Superdome – New Orleans, La. – Thursday, January 2nd – 8:30 p.m. – ESPN
Discover Orange Bowl	Clemson	Ohio State
Sun Life Stadium – Miami, Fla. – Friday, January 3rd – 8:30 p.m. – ESPN
AT&T Cotton Bowl	Oklahoma State	Missouri
AT&T Stadium – Arlington, Texas – Friday, January 3rd – 7:30 p.m. – FOX
BBVA Compass Bowl	Vanderbilt	Houston
Legion Field – Birmingham, Ala. – Saturday, January 4th – 1:00 p.m. – ESPN
GoDaddy Bowl	Arkansas State	Ball State
Ladd-Peebles Stadium – Mobile, Ala. – Sunday, January 5th – 9:00 p.m. – ESPN
VIZIO BCS National Championship	Florida State	Auburn
Rose Bowl – Pasadena, Calif. – Monday, January 6th – 8:30 p.m. – ESPN

Week 15 NFL Picks

Last Week: 9-7 (.563)

Overall:  132-75-1 (.635)

Chargers vs. Broncos

Redskins vs. Falcons (Could be a make or break game for each team’s coach.)

Bears vs. Browns (Doesn’t matter who starts at quarterback for the Bears.)

Texans vs. Colts

Patriots vs. Dolphins

Eagles vs. Vikings

Seahawks vs. Giants

49ers vs. Buccaneers

Bills vs. Jaguars

Chiefs vs. Raiders

Jets vs. Panthers

Packers vs. Cowboys (Won’t matter who starts at quarterback for the Packers.)

Cardinals vs. Titans

Saints vs. Rams

Bengals vs. Steelers

Ravens vs. Lions

 

And one college football game…

Last Week:  9-5 (.643)

Overall:  316-69 (.821)

Army vs. Navy (Navy continues its recent domination of this rivalry.)

Updated Bowl Projections: Northern Illinois Returns to BCS

Two weeks left in the season (except for Army-Navy), and there is a major shake-up in the teams making BCS games.

This past week, Northern Illinois jumped Fresno State in the BCS rankings.  With both teams in the top-16 in the BCS rankings, and an automatic-qualifying champion finishing below both teams, one of them is likely to make a BCS game.

The other deciding factor for Northern Illinois to now jump into a BCS game comes down to one game.  Fresno State will finish the season playing only 12 games (including a conference championship game), while Northern Illinois will play 13.  Fresno State was forced to cancel a game due to weather earlier in the season, and could not find an opponent to play a 12th game.

Looking at the other BCS games, many remain the same.  Oregon’s unexpected loss to Arizona knocks them out in favor of Stanford, who will claim the Pac-12’s bid to the Rose Bowl.

With Alabama and Florida State going to the National Championship, the Orange and Sugar Bowls preserve their normal automatic bids and choose Clemson (Orange) and Auburn (Sugar) as replacement teams.  Michigan State picks up the last available spot as an at-large team.

When figuring out the rest of the projections, teams potentially playing in conference championship games run the risk of slipping.  A perfect example of this is South Carolina.  In these projections, Missouri loses allowing the Gamecocks to reach the SEC Championship Game.  If they lose, it is likely they could fall below other teams with the same amount of wins (this would include a loss this week to Clemson).

After this week, several schools should begin to accept bowl bids, allowing the bowl picture to get a little clearer.

BOWL	TEAMS
Gildan New Mexico Bowl	Utah State	Arizona
Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl	Fresno State	UCLA
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl	Buffalo	UNLV
R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl	North Texas	Louisiana-Lafayette
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s St. Petersburg Bowl	Middle Tennessee	Southern Methodist
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl	East Carolina	Colorado State
Little Caesars Pizza Bowl	Bowling Green	Arkansas State
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl	San Diego State	Toledo
Military Bowl Presented By Northrop Grumman	Tulane	Pittsburgh
Texas Bowl	Michigan	Texas Tech
Fight Hunger Bowl	Washington	BYU
New Era Pinstripe Bowl	Houston	Notre Dame
Belk Bowl	Louisville	Georgia Tech
Russell Athletic Bowl	Virginia Tech	Cincinnati
Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl	Minnesota	Texas
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl	Boise State	Navy
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl	Vanderbilt	North Carolina
Valero Alamo Bowl	Oregon	Oklahoma
National University Holiday Bowl	Kansas State	USC
Advocare V100 Bowl	Boston College	Central Michigan
Hyundai Sun Bowl	Miami (FL)	Arizona State
AutoZone Liberty Bowl	Marshall	Ole Miss
Chick-fil-A Bowl	Duke	South Carolina
TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl	Iowa	Georgia
Heart of Dallas Bowl	Ohio	Rice
Capital One Bowl	Wisconsin	Missouri
Outback Bowl	Nebraska	Texas A&M
Rose Bowl Game presented by VIZIO	Stanford	Ohio State
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl	Oklahoma State	Northern Illinois
Allstate Sugar Bowl	Auburn	UCF
Discover Orange Bowl	Clemson	Michigan State
AT&T Cotton Bowl	Baylor	LSU
BBVA Compass Bowl	Mississippi State	Rutgers
GoDaddy Bowl	Western Kentucky	Ball State
VIZIO BCS National Championship	Alabama	Florida State