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

2014 NFL Mock Draft 3.0: Predictions for all 7 Rounds

With all of the picks being announced at this week’s NFL Owners’ Meetings, it is time for the first complete mock draft.

Staying in line with the previous two mock drafts, QB Johnny Manziel remains the No. 1 overall pick to Houston.  For a team needing a quarterback, the Texans cannot afford to pass on the electric athlete who has always played his home games in Texas.

This is much the same reason why Jacksonville should take UCF QB Blake Bortles at No. 3.  Bortles is also from the state of Florida, and it is as important of a business decision to select him.

The undisputed top available athlete, DE Jadeveon Clowney, slips to Atlanta at No. 6.  Clowney is very impressive on the field, but closer review of game tape and the questioning of his dedication to the game will play a role on draft day.

This mock draft does not account for trades.  If it did, if Clowney is still available through three picks, someone will trade.  Moreover, Houston might be in a position to take Manziel, while trading away the top pick.

Lastly, any likenesses to the professionals who earn money making mock drafts is purely coincidental.  If you share, please give credit to where credit is due.  The next mock draft will come up closer to the NFL Draft.

Round 1:

PICK	TEAM	PLAYER	POS.	SCHOOL
1	HOU	Johnny Manziel	QB	Texas A&M
2	STL (from WSH)	Jake Matthews	OT	Texas A&M
3	JAX	Blake Bortles	QB	UCF
4	CLE	Sammy Watkins	WR	Clemson
5	OAK	Darqueze Dennard	CB	Michigan State
6	ATL	Jadeveon Clowney	DE	South Carolina
7	TB	Greg Robinson	OT	Auburn
8	MIN	Teddy Bridgewater	QB	Louisville
9	BUF	Taylor Lewan	OT	Michigan
10	DET	Hasean Clinton-Dix	FS	Alabama
11	TEN	Khalil Mack	OLB	Buffalo
12	NYG	Anthony Barr	OLB	UCLA
13	STL	Mike Evans	WR	Texas A&M
14	CHI	Aaron Donald	DT	Pittsburgh
15	PIT	Justin Gilbert	CB	Oklahoma State
16	DAL	Kony Ealy	DE	Missouri
17	BAL	Zack Martin	OT	Notre Dame
18	NYJ	Marqise Lee	WR	Southern California
19	MIA	Xavier Su’a-Filo	OG	UCLA
20	ARZ	Eric Ebron	TE	North Carolina
21	GB	Louis Nix	DT	Notre Dame
22	PHI	Calvin Pryor	FS	Louisville
23	KC	Odell Beckham Jr.	WR	LSU
24	CIN	Jason Verrett	CB	TCU
25	SD	Timmy Jernigan	DT	Florida State
26	CLE (from IND)	C.J. Mosley	ILB	Alabama
27	NO	Kyle Fuller	CB	Virginia Tech
28	CAR	Brandin Cooks	WR	Oregon State
29	NE	Bradley Roby	CB	Ohio State
30	SF	Kelvin Benjamin	WR	Florida State
31	DEN	Allen Robinson	WR	Penn State
32	SEA	RaShede Hageman	DT	Minnesota

Round 2:

PICK	OVERALL	TEAM	PLAYER	POS.	SCHOOL
1	33	HOU	Ryan Shazier	OLB	Ohio State
2	34	WSH	David Yankey	OG	Stanford
3	35	CLE	Derek Carr	QB	Fresno State
4	36	OAK	Dee Ford	DE	Auburn
5	37	ATL	Stephon Tuitt	DT	Notre Dame
6	38	TB	Jace Amaro	TE	Texas Tech
7	39	JAX	Trent Murphy	DE	Stanford
8	40	MIN	Kyle Van Noy	OLB	Brigham Young
9	41	BUF	Austin Seferian-Jenkins	TE	Washington
10	42	TEN	Cyrus Kouandjio	OT	Alabama
11	43	NYG	Marcus Roberson	CB	Florida
12	44	STL	Gabe Jackson	OG	Mississippi State
13	45	DET	Davante Adams	WR	Fresno State
14	46	PIT	Scott Crichton	DE	Oregon State
15	47	DAL	Dominique Easley	DT	Florida
16	48	BAL	Tre Mason	RB	Auburn
17	49	NYJ	Carl Bradford	OLB	Arizona State
18	50	MIA	Morgan Moses	OT	Virginia
19	51	CHI	Jimmie Ward	SS	Northern Illinois
20	52	ARZ	Kareem Martin	DE	North Carolina
21	53	GB	Troy Niklas	TE	Notre Dame
22	54	PHI	Lamarcus Joyner	CB	Florida State
23	55	CIN	Antonio Richardson	OT	Tennessee
24	56	SF (from KC)	Marcus Martin	C	Southern California
25	57	SD	Jordan Matthews	WR	Vanderbilt
26	58	NO	Ka’Deem Carey	RB	Arizona
27	59	IND	Paul Richardson	WR	Colorado
28	60	CAR	Jack Mewhort	OT	Ohio State
29	61	SF	Jaylen Watkins	CB	Florida
30	62	NE	Will Sutton	DT	Arizona State
31	63	DEN	Brandon Thomas	OG	Clemson
32	64	SEA	Donte Moncrief	WR	Ole Miss

Round 3:

PICK	OVERALL	TEAM	PLAYER	POS.	SCHOOL
1	65	HOU	Marcus Smith	DE	Louisville
2	66	WSH	Terrence Brooks	FS	Florida State
3	67	OAK	Jimmy Garoppolo	QB	Eastern Illinois
4	68	ATL	Carlos Hyde	RB	Ohio State
5	69	TB	Jeremiah Attaochu	OLB	Georgia Tech
6	70	JAX	Bishop Sankey	RB	Washington
7	71	CLE	Jeremy Hill	RB	LSU
8	72	MIN	Kelcy Quarles	DT	South Carolina
9	73	BUF	Pierre Desir	CB	Lindenwood
10	74	NYG	Ego Ferguson	DT	LSU
11	75	STL	Trevor Reilly	OLB	Utah
12	76	DET	Bashaud Breeland	CB	Clemson
13	77	SF (from TEN)	Deone Bucannon	SS	Washington State
14	78	DAL	Martavis Bryant	WR	Clemson
15	79	BAL	Jarvis Landry	WR	LSU
16	80	NYJ	Billy Turner	OT	North Dakota State
17	81	MIA	DaQuan Jones	DT	Penn State
18	82	CHI	Weston Richburg	C	Colorado State
19	83	CLE (from PIT)	Stanley Jean-Baptiste	CB	Nebraska
20	84	ARZ	Telvin Smith	OLB	Florida State
21	85	GB	Chris Borland	ILB	Wisconsin
22	86	PHI	Jackson Jeffcoat	DE	Texas
23	87	KC	Keith McGill	CB	Utah
24	88	CIN	Demarcus Lawrence	DE	Boise State
25	89	SD	Dakota Dozier	OG	Furman
26	90	IND	Louchiez Purifoy	CB	Florida
27	91	NO	Christian Kirksey	OLB	Iowa
28	92	CAR	Victor Hampton	CB	South Carolina
29	93	NE	Travis Swanson	C	Arkansas
30	94	SF	Anthony Johnson	DT	LSU
31	95	DEN	Yawin Smallwood	ILB	Connecticut
32	96	MIN (from SEA)	Will Clarke	DE	West Virginia
33	97	PIT*	Devonta Freeman	RB	Florida State
34	98	GB*	Bruce Ellington	WR	South Carolina
35	99	BAL*	Daniel McCullers	DT	Tennessee
36	100	SF*	Chris Smith	DE	Arkansas

Round 4:

PICK	OVERALL	TEAM	PLAYER	POS.	SCHOOL
1	101	HOU	Robert Herron	WR	Wyoming
2	102	WSH	Joel Bitonio	OT	Nevada
3	103	ATL	C.J. Fiedorowicz	TE	Iowa
4	104	NYJ (from TB)	Charles Sims	RB	West Virginia
5	105	JAX	Jordan Zumwalt	OLB	UCLA
6	106	CLE	Ed Reynolds	FS	Stanford
7	107	OAK	Lache Seastrunk	RB	Baylor
8	108	MIN	E.J. Gaines	CB	Missouri
9	109	BUF	Shayne Skov	ILB	Stanford
10	110	STL	Rashaad Reynolds	CB	Oregon State
11	111	DET	James Gayle	DE	Virginia Tech
12	112	TEN	A.J. McCarron	QB	Alabama
13	113	NYG	JaWuan James	OT	Tennessee
14	114	JAX (from BAL)	Jared Abbrederis	WR	Wisconsin
15	115	NYJ	Zach Mettenberger	QB	LSU
16	116	MIA	Chris Davis	CB	Auburn
17	117	CHI	Nevin Lawson	CB	Utah State
18	118	PIT	Josh Huff	WR	Oregon
19	119	DAL	Christian Jones	ILB	Florida State
20	120	ARZ	Cameron Fleming	OT	Stanford
21	121	GB	Craig Loston	SS	LSU
22	122	PHI	Jordan Tripp	OLB	Montana
23	123	CIN	Terrance West	RB	Towson
24	124	KC	Dion Bailey	FS	Southern California
25	125	SD	Deion Belue	CB	Alabama
26	126	NO	Mike Davis	WR	Texas
27	127	CLE (from IND)	Cyril Richardson	OG	Baylor
28	128	CAR	Anthony Steen	OG	Alabama
29	129	SF	Ryan Grant	WR	Tulane
30	130	NE	Arthur Lynch	TE	Georgia
31	131	DEN	Josh Mauro	DE	Stanford
32	132	SEA	Antone Exum	CB	Virginia Tech
33	133	DET*	Lamin Barrow	ILB	LSU
34	134	BAL*	Adrian Hubbard	OLB	Alabama
35	135	HOU*	Andre Williams	RB	Boston College
36	136	DET*	Bryan Stork	C	Florida State
37	137	NYJ*	Crockett Gillmore	TE	Colorado State
38	138	BAL*	Ahmad Dixon	SS	Baylor
39	139	ATL*	Prince Shembo	OLB	Notre Dame
40	140	NE*	TJ Jones	WR	Notre Dame

Round 5:

PICK	OVERALL	TEAM	PLAYER	POS.	SCHOOL
1	141	HOU	Phillip Gaines	CB	Rice
2	142	WSH	Devin Street	WR	Pittsburgh
3	143	TB	Aaron Murray	QB	Georgia
4	144	JAX	George Uko	DT	Southern California
5	145	CLE	James Hurst	OT	North Carolina
6	146	SEA (from OAK)	Jon Halapio	OG	Florida
7	147	ATL	Ricardo Allen	CB	Purdue
8	148	MIN	Tyler Gaffney	RB	Stanford
9	149	BUF	Kenny Ladler	FS	Vanderbilt
10	150	JAX (from DET)	Jay Prosch	FB	Auburn
11	151	TEN	Caraun Reid	DT	Princeton
12	152	NYG	Trai Turner	OG	LSU
13	153	STL	Jerick McKinnon	RB	Georgia Southern
14	154	NYJ	Brandon Coleman	WR	Rutgers
15	155	MIA	Isaiah Lewis	SS	Michigan State
16	156	CHI	Ed Stinson	DE	Alabama
17	157	PIT	Morgan Breslin	OLB	Southern California
18	158	DAL	Charles Leno	OT	Boise State
19	159	JAX (from BAL)	Terrance Mitchell	CB	Oregon
20	160	ARZ	Jalen Saunders	WR	Oklahoma
21	161	GB	Ronald Powell	OLB	Florida
22	162	PHI	Justin Ellis	DT	Louisiana Tech
23	163	KC	Xavier Grimble	TE	Southern California
24	164	CIN	Kevin Pierre-Louis	OLB	Boston College
25	165	SD	Brent Urban	DE	Virginia
26	166	IND	Michael Schofield	OT	Michigan
27	167	NO	Kirby Van Der Kamp	P	Iowa State
28	168	CAR	Nat Berhe	SS	San Diego State
29	169	NO (from NE, PHI)	Preston Brown	ILB	Louisville
30	170	SF	Chris Watt	OG	Notre Dame
31	171	DEN	Bennett Jackson	CB	Notre Dame
32	172	SEA	Joe Don Duncan	TE	Dixie State
33	173	PIT*	Dontae Johnson	FS	North Carolina State
34	174	NYG*	James White	RB	Wisconsin
35	175	BAL*	Tyler Larsen	C	Utah State
36	176	GB*	Michael Sam	DE	Missouri

Round 6:

PICK	OVERALL	TEAM	PLAYER	POS.	SCHOOL
1	177	HOU	Ryan Carrethers	DT	Arkansas State
2	178	WSH	Cassius Marsh	DE	UCLA
3	179	TB	Cody Latimer	WR	Indiana
4	180	CLE	Devon Kennard	OLB	Southern California
5	181	HOU (from OAK)	David Fales	QB	San Jose State
6	182	ATL	Avery Williamson	ILB	Kentuky
7	183	CHI (from TB)	Storm Johnson	RB	UCF
8	184	MIN	Kevin Norwood	WR	Alabama
9	185	BUF	Dri Archer	WR	Kent State
10	186	TEN	Isaiah Crowell	RB	Alabama State
11	187	NYG	Brett Smith	QB	Wyoming
12	188	STL	Shamar Stephen	DT	Connecticut
13	189	DET	Chris Boswell	K	Rice
14	190	MIA	James Wilder Jr.	RB	Florida State
15	191	CHI	Tyler Starr	OLB	South Dakota
16	192	PIT	Seantrel Henderson	OT	Miami (Fla.)
17	193	KC (from DAL)	Matt Patchan	OT	Boston College
18	194	BAL	A.C. Leonard	TE	Tennessee State
19	195	NYJ	Ross Cockrell	CB	Duke
20	196	ARZ	Russell Bodine	OG	North Carolina
21	197	GB	Marqueston Huff	FS	Wyoming
22	198	NE (from PHI)	Khairi Fortt	OLB	California
23	199	CIN	Vinnie Sunseri	SS	Alabama
24	200	KC	Deandre Coleman	DT	California
25	201	SD	J.C. Copeland	FB	LSU
26	202	NO	Anthony Fera	K	Texas
27	203	IND	Aaron Lynch	DE	South Florida
28	204	CAR	Kasim Edebali	OLB	Boston College
29	205	JAX (from SF)	Jeff Janis	WR	Saginaw Valley
30	206	NE	Tom Hornsey	P	Memphis
31	207	DEN	Rajion Neal	RB	Tennessee
32	208	SEA	Howard Jones	OLB	Shepherd
33	209	NYJ*	Tre Boston	FS	North Carolina
34	210	NYJ*	Max Bullough	ILB	Michigan State
35	211	HOU*	Colt Lyerla	TE	Oregon
36	212	CIN*	Connor Shaw	QB	South Carolina
37	213	NYJ*	Walt Aikens	CB	Liberty
38	214	STL*	Rob Blanchflower	TE	Massachusetts
39	215	PIT*	Michael Campanaro	WR	Wake Forest

Round 7:

PICK	OVERALL	TEAM	PLAYER	POS.	SCHOOL
1	216	HOU	Kadeem Edwards	OG	Tennessee State
2	217	WSH	Bene Benwikere	CB	San Jose State
3	218	CLE	Calvin Barnett	DT	Oklahoma State
4	219	OAK	Kerry Hyder	DT	Texas Tech
5	220	ATL	Ryan Hewitt	FB	Stanford
6	221	TB	Taylor Hart	DE	Oregon
7	222	JAX	John Urschel	OG	Penn State
8	223	MIN	Jeremiah George	ILB	Iowa State
9	224	BUF	Ethan Westbrooks	DE	West Texas A&M
10	225	CAR (from NYG)	Cody Hoffman	WR	Brigham Young
11	226	STL	Marion Grice	RB	Arizona State
12	227	DET	Jonathan Newsome	OLB	Ball State
13	228	TEN	Andre Hal	CB	Vanderbilt
14	229	DAL (from CHI)	Aaron Colvin	CB	Oklahoma
15	230	PIT	Corey Linsley	C	Ohio State
16	231	DAL	Spencer Long	OG	Nebraska
17	232	IND (from BAL)	Jay Bromley	DT	Syracuse
18	233	NYJ	Alden Darby	SS	Arizona State
19	234	MIA	Logan Thomas	QB	Virginia Tech
20	235	OAK (from ARZ)	John Brown	WR	Pittsburg State
21	236	GB	Justin Britt	OT	Missouri
22	237	PHI	L’Damian Washington	WR	Missouri
23	238	DAL (from KC)	Jemea Thomas	FS	Georgia Tech
24	239	CIN	Austin Franklin	WR	New Mexico State
25	240	SD	Wesley Johnson	OT	Vanderbilt
26	241	STL (from IND)	Andrew Jackson	ILB	Western Kentucky
27	242	SF (from NO)	De’Anthony Thomas	RB	Oregon
28	243	SF (from CAR)	Richard Rodgers	TE	California
29	244	NE	Larry Webster	DE	Bloomsburg
30	245	SF	Lavelle Westbrooks	CB	Georgia Southern
31	246	DEN	Dezmen Southward	SS	Wisconsin
32	247	SEA	Cornelius Lucas	OT	Kansas State
33	248	DAL*	Trey Millard	FB	Oklahoma
34	249	STL*	Christian Bryant	FS	Ohio State
35	250	STL*	Tom Savage	QB	Pittsburgh
36	251	DAL*	Derrell Johnson	OLB	East Carolina
37	252	CIN*	Eathyn Manumaleuna	DT	Brigham Young
38	253	ATL*	Ryan Groy	OG	Wisconsin
39	254	DAL*	Marcel Jensen	TE	Fresno State
40	255	ATL*	Trey Burton	WR	Florida
41	256	HOU*	Devekeyan Lattimore	ILB	South Florida

* denotes Compensatory selection

Breaking Down the BCS Bowl Projections

It is less than a week before we officially find out who will play in the five BCS games.  Let’s see how they will shape up.

The bowl projections for the rest of the games will be posted soon, but a special post for just the BCS games was needed.

There are a couple teams that are into a BCS game, regardless of outcomes this weekend.  As current No. 1 and No. 2 in the BCS standings, Florida State and Ohio State are in BCS games, regardless of how they play in their conference championship games.

Despite not playing this week, Alabama is in a BCS game.  As the top team in the country for practically the entire season, the Crimson Tide will play in one of the country’s top bowl games.

The Buckeyes’ opponent in the Big Ten Championship Game, Michigan State, will also play in a BCS game, no matter what.  The Spartans will either be the Big Ten representative, or a replacement team for Ohio State.

Champions of the SEC, Pac-12, Big 12, and American conferences all gain automatic bids to BCS games.  In each conference, only one team will make it, and it is too close to call.  The one exception might be the Big 12 Conference, which could have two one-loss teams as attractive alternatives.

Northern Illinois is in a ‘win-and-in’ situation.  The Huskies should qualify as a non-AQ (automatic qualifier), at-large team for the second straight year.  Since Northern Illinois is not in one of the major conferences, they qualify by either being in the top-12 of the BCS standings, or in the top-16 with a qualifying conference champion ranked lower.

In the end, it leaves one spot open.  Despite Clemson’s loss to South Carolina, the Tigers may squeak into a BCS game.  The Orange Bowl may attempt to preserve its ACC tie-in, and opt to take a two-loss Clemson team, rather than a more qualified team.

Here are the projections:

Rose Bowl – Stanford (Pac-12 Champions) vs. Michigan State (replacement team for Ohio State)

Fiesta Bowl – Baylor (Big 12 Champions) vs. Northern Illinois (3rd at-large pick; non-AQ team finishing high in BCS (see above explanation)

Sugar Bowl – Auburn (SEC Champions) vs. UCF (American Conference Champions; no direct conference tie-in, 2nd at-large pick)

Orange Bowl – Clemson (replacement team for Florida State) vs. Alabama (1st at-large pick)

BCS National Championship – Florida State (No. 1 in BCS Standings) vs. Ohio State (No. 2 in BCS Standings)

Bowl Projections: The 4th Edition

We are in the final month of the season, and there are many teams right on the edge of making or missing a bowl game.

As I have mentioned in the past concerning my projections, any likenesses to bowl projections done by experts is simply coincidental.  If you care to share, just make sure to give the credit to where credit is due.  Also, teams in BOLD indicates the team has already accepted an invitation and will go to that bowl.

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

Week 12 College Football Picks

With a big battle in the MAC on Wednesday night, this week’s picks are coming a day early.

Keep and eye out later for a new batch of bowl projections, as the final few weeks of the college football season are upon us.

Last Week:  18-6 (.750)

Overall:  242-50 (.829)

Ball State vs. #15 Northern Illinois (Huge game in the MAC with BCS implications as well.)

Georgia Tech vs. #8 Clemson (Could be a trap game for Clemson.)

Washington vs. #13 UCLA

#1 Alabama vs. Mississippi State

Syracuse vs. #2 Florida State

#3 Ohio State vs. Illinois

#4 Stanford vs. USC

Texas Tech vs. #5 Baylor

Utah vs. #6 Oregon

#25 Georgia vs. #7 Auburn

Florida vs. #10 South Carolina

#12 Oklahoma State vs. #24 Texas

#16 Michigan State vs. Nebraska

#17 UCF vs. Temple (Fresno State will keep a close eye on this game.)

Iowa State vs. #18 Oklahoma

Oregon State vs. #19 Arizona State

Houston vs. #20 Louisville

Indiana vs. #22 Wisconsin (Could be a trap game for Wisconsin.)

#23 Miami (FL) vs. Duke (This game could determine who will step up and get a whipping in the ACC Championship Game.)

North Carolina State vs. Boston College

North Carolina vs. Pittsburgh

Maryland vs. Virginia Tech

Troy vs. Ole Miss

Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt

College Football Week 11 Picks

Here are this week’s picks.  A new batch of bowl projections will come out next week.  With several key games this week, it’s best to let it play out.

Last Week:  16-4 (.800)

Overall:  224-44 (.836)

#3 Oregon vs. #5 Stanford (I’ve had a hunch on this game since the start of the season.)

#10 Oklahoma vs. #6 Baylor (Could be an unofficial Big 12 Championship game.)

#20 Louisville vs. Connecticut

#13 LSU vs. #1 Alabama

#2 Florida State vs. Wake Forest

#8 Missouri vs. Kentucky

#9 Auburn vs. Tennessee

Virginia Tech vs. #11 Miami (FL)

Kansas vs. #14 Oklahoma State

Mississippi State vs. #15 Texas A&M

#16 Fresno State vs. Wyoming

#19 UCLA vs. Arizona

Houston vs. #21 UCF (Key game in the American.)

#22 Arizona State vs. Utah

#23 Notre Dame vs. Pittsburgh

BYU vs. #24 Wisconsin

Kansas State vs. #25 Texas Tech

Virginia vs. North Carolina

Syracuse vs. Maryland

Boston College vs. New Mexico State

NC State vs. Duke

Vanderbilt vs. Florida (Loser probably doesn’t go to a bowl game.)

Arkansas vs. Ole Miss

Appalachian State vs. Georgia

College Football Week 5 Picks

This is when the games begin to count so much more.  Many teams are beginning their conference schedules, which creates bigger opportunities for upsets.

Last Week:  28-2 (.933)

Overall:  113-14 (.890)

#21 Ole Miss vs. #1 Alabama (This one might be closer than the experts think, but home-field advantage makes the difference.)

California vs. #2 Oregon

Wake Forest vs. #3 Clemson

#23 Wisconsin vs. #4 Ohio State

#5 Stanford vs. Washington State

#6 LSU vs. #9 Georgia (The best match-up of the weekend.)

#8 Florida State vs. Boston College

#10 Texas A&M vs. Arkansas

#11 Oklahoma State vs. West Virginia

#12 South Carolina vs. UCF (Gamecocks have to be on trap game watch.)

#14 Oklahoma vs. #22 Notre Dame

#15 Miami (FL) vs. South Florida

Arizona vs. #16 Washington

#20 Florida vs. Kentucky (Driskel’s injury might not be as bad for the Gators as they think.)

#25 Fresno State vs. Hawaii

Virginia Tech vs. Georgia Tech

East Carolina vs. North Carolina

Virginia vs. Pittsburgh

Troy vs. Duke

Central Michigan vs. North Carolina State

South Alabama vs. Tennessee

Arkansas State vs. Missouri

UAB vs. Vanderbilt