The Big E College Football Picks: Phase Three

Well this is it. The last batch of bowl games and picks for the college football season.

After this we settle into recruiting mode, spring practice, and the long, long summer.

As always, a look back at the phase two games before the rest of the picks.

Phase Two: 8-5

Overall: 107-80

Wins

*In a game that featured little offense, Texas slipped past Cal 21-10 as the Longhorns finish with the same record as Notre Dame. ATTENDANCE: 56,313

*Florida State beat and covered the spread by a point over the Irish. ATTENDANCE: 68,305

*In a game where RG3 was good but not Heisman great, Baylor racked up an absurd 482 rushing yards and 777 yards of total offense in an 11-point win over Washington. ATTENDANCE: 65,256

*Rutgers took home a W in Yankee Stadium against Iowa State. Rutgers finishes at 9-4 while Iowa State falls to 6-7 even though they beat Oklahoma State. ATTENDANCE: 38,328

*Mississippi State beat Wake Forest but just missed the cover. That allowed Dan Mullen to finish one game over .500 this season---not exactly what was expected in Starkville this year. ATTENDANCE: 55,208

*Northwestern almost came in with the backdoor cover, but Texas A&M was able to hold off the Wildcats and seal their last victory before joining the SEC. ATTENDANCE: 68,395

*Illinois held off UCLA in the bowl games of all bowl games. ATTENDANCE: 29,878

*Cincinnati played terrible last year but rebounded this year for a 10-3 season after beating Vanderbilt. ATTENDANCE: 57,103

Losses

*Toledo was able to beat Air Force, but they did so only by one point---failing to cover the three point spread. The Rockets finish the season at a solid 9-4 and 7-1 in conference play. ATTENDANCE: 25,042

*A late touchdown by BYU gave the Cougars a three-point win over Tulsa. BYU, who will be featured on the Irish schedule next year, finished 10-3. ATTENDANCE: 30,258

*Oklahoma controlled most of the game against Iowa before a somewhat exciting 4th quarter made it interesting. The Sooners ultimately won and finished 10-3 with the cover. ATTENDANCE: 54,247

*In an overtime thriller, Utah came back and defeated Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets limped to the finish this season losing 5 of their last 7 games. ATTENDANCE: 48,123

*Auburn easily handled Virginia in the Chick Fil-A bowl. SEC! SEC! SEC! ATTENDANCE: 72,919

Now on to the last picks of the year...

Houston (-7) at Penn State

Pick: Penn State

I normally don't like the matchup of potent offense against stingy defense, but I'll take the Nittany Lions and the points here because they might be physical enough to give Keenum all sorts of problems. Hopefully Penn State can score some points themselves.

Ohio State (+2) at Florida

Pick: Ohio State

This game might not feature much offense but the wise move may be to take the young playmaking Buckeye quarterback who can make plays with his feet.

Nebraska (+2.5) at South Carolina

Pick: South Carolina

The SEC reigns supreme. Taylor Martinez has to prove he can throw the ball on a consistent basis to earn a pick here. If Jefferey doesn't play well will Floyd be the second receiver taken in the draft?

Michigan State (+3.5) at Georgia

Pick: Michigan State

The Spartans might not win this outright and they haven't had any success in bowl games of late, but I'll take them here as a surprise. I think Georgia needs to be knocked down a peg or two with a loss here, or maybe not a cover.

Wisconsin (+6) at Oregon

Pick: Wisconsin

I like the Ducks to win this game, but I think it's foolish to not take the points. Our own Whiskey will be in the stands taken in the grandeur that is the Rose Bowl.

Stanford (+3.5) at Oklahoma State

Pick: Stanford

It will be interesting to see how the Okie State offense does against the Stanford defense, but I'll take Luck to work some magic in his final collegiate game.

Michigan (-2.5) at Virginia Tech

Pick: Virginia Tech

I'm not really sure how to pick this game, nor am I sure what to expect between these two teams. Can Michigan really win a BCS bowl game in Hoke's first season?

West Virginia (+3) at Clemson

Pick: Clemson

We had a bunch of people here very excited for this game---still feel that way? I'll take Clemson by 6 and what will end one of the best seasons in Tiger history.

Kansas State (+7.5) at Arkansas

Pick: Kansas State

This seems like too many points to lay on Arkansas when K-State has been scrappy all season.

SMU (+3.5) at Pittsburgh

Pick: SMU

This is really a bowl game after the BCS bowls?

Arkansas State (-1.5) at Northern Illinois

Pick: Arkansas State

Seriously how did these bowls get themselves in this position to be played so late?

Alabama (-1) at LSU

Pick: Alabama

I think it's only fitting that Alabama wins this game so we can have even more controversy. They missed all those field goals before and should have won that game anyway.

This will be the game where LSU's somewhat average offense comes back to bite them in the butt. The Tide roll for their second national title under Nick Saban.

Enjoy the last batch of football games on the season!