The 2010 football season is officially over.
It’s time to turn our heads toward recruiting, spring practices and debates about whether Auburn will keep their recent national championship victory in the coming years as we learn more about Lowder & Co.
Let’s revisit the last group of bowl games, and see where I ended up on the year against the spread.
*Virginia Tech played Stanford tight in the first half before the Cardinal came out and obliterated the Hokies in the second half.
This is the pinnacle for Stanford football and there’s absolutely no shame in that. That is why Jim Harbaugh left town.
More on the Stanford situation in the coming weeks.
Bet: Stanford -3.5 (Win)
*Ohio State just sneaked by Arkansas even though the Buckeyes played really well and the Hogs flat out did not. This was the one small victory for the Big Ten against the SEC this year.
Now we turn to Arkansas post-Mallett (anyone want to jump on that bandwagon that’s saying they won’t have a drop off next year?) and the 2011 Ohio State season without the Tattooed Five.
Bet: Arkansas +3.5 (Loss)
*Miami of Ohio came out inspired and took care of business against Middle Tennessee State in the GoDaddy.com bowl.
Sadly, I watched a lot of this game…nothing else was on at the time. I feel a deep shame.
Bet: Middle Tennessee +1 (Loss)
*LSU looked really good in a solid beat down of Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl that wasn’t played at the Cotton Bowl.
That would have been a tough situation for Les Miles to walk away from because the Bayou Bengals could be tough to beat next year.
Bet: LSU -1 (Win)
*Pittsburgh somehow managed to keep their stuff together amid a series of coaching fiascos and beat Kentucky.
Maybe they didn’t meet expectations, but at the end of the day Pitt finished 8-5 with a lot of new faces on offense. I still think the Stache should be coach there.
Of course we’ll take a look at the hiring of Todd Graham soon.
Bet: Kentucky +3 (Loss)
*Boston College continued their "we have literally zero offense but we’re bringing a defense that plays so out of its mind that we keep games close" ways and stayed with Nevada in the seasons last non-championship bowl game.
That is a tough ending for Nevada (they just missed the cover…come on!) who could have tested their fortitude against a top 10 team in a playoff, but had to settle for this lovely bowl game in a baseball stadium.
Bet: Nevada -7.5 (Loss)
*As many of you know, Auburn beat Oregon in the national title game.
Sloppy game that it was, it was very entertaining to me and I thought it was better that the Tigers won.
Why?
Simply because we can enjoy their championship being taken away, and there is another Kelly from New England that has to win a title first.
Get it?
Bet: Auburn -2.5 (Win)
Bowl Record: 16-17
Overall Record: 104-107
It hurts to be under .500 with both the bowl and overall records.
It hurts a lot.
Can I chalk it up to this being a crazy year or would that excuse not work?
Whatever, I’m coming back strong next year, so you can ba-lee-dat.
Next season we’d like to get more readers and fans involved and possibly give out some nice Notre Dame swag as a gift to the best predictions.
It’s a fluid idea right now but just keep that in mind as we inch closer to next season. Consider it a challenge!
Shout out to Marathonman for winning the One Foot Down Bowl Pick ‘Em Contest on Yahoo.com, where he just edged out Jim Miesle by picking the winner in the national championship.
It came down to a tie-breaker and Marathonman smartly picked the Auburn Tigers. It was an intense finish.
See you in eight months, loyal readers.