College Football Viewer's Guide: Bowl Season, Part One

I love bowl season. Some people scoff at bowls because they think no one wants to watch East Carolina play Ohio. Well, I want to see East Carolina play Ohio. More college football is always better than less college football.

With Whiskey retiring to a life of bad-assery, I will be splitting Viewer's Guide duty with one of the Brothers Rigney (who knows which one). This first installment will take us through December 27th.

Saturday December 21^st

Gildan New Mexico Bowl

Washington State (6-6) vs. Colorado State (7-5) 2:00 ESPN

Yarr. The Dread Pirate be bowling again. Remember when USC lost to Wazzu? Wasn't that great? The Cougars will take on the Rams of Colorado State. Did you know CSU running back Kapri Bibbs (besides sporting an awesome name) is second in the country in rushing touchdowns with 28? Washington State isn't very good at stopping the run, so expect the Rams to sink Leach's party boat.

Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl

Fresno State (11-1) vs. USC (9-4) 3:30 ABC

The Sarknado makes its debut in Sin City. Will the Trojans come out fired up for their new coach or disinterested since Coach O was shown the door? Derek Carr will certainly throw for a lot of yards, but USC has Nelson Agholor and Marqise Lee. I think the Trojans take this.

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

Buffalo (8-4) vs. San Diego State (7-5) 5:30 ESPN

Some people think there are too many bowls. Maybe that's true and we could live with fewer bowl games, but I demand the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl live on. Why, you ask? This is the Potato Bowl's logo:

via upload.wikimedia.org

That's a baked potato football with sour cream and chives. Long live the Potato Bowl.

As for the game, Buffalo has Khalil Mack, who is a top ten NFL prospect, so let's go with them.

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

Tulane (7-5) vs. UL-Lafayette (8-4) 9:00 ESPN

I don't know anything about these teams. The Ragin' Cajuns are practically playing a home game, so I guess that gives them an edge.

(EDIT: I've been informed that this is basically a home game for Tulane as well.  This game has officially entered "Toss-Up" territory.)

Monday December 23^rd

Beef ‘O' Brady's Bowl St. Petersburg

East Carolina (9-3) vs. Ohio (7-5) 2:00 ESPN

While the Potato Bowl should exist until the end of time, the Beef ‘O' Brady's Bowl needs to die a swift death. Frank Solich has turned Ohio into a consistent bowl team, but this year's squad isn't great. East Carolina's offense is manned by Mike Leach disciple Lincoln Riley, so that should be enough for you to pull for the Pirates. Yarr.

Tuesday December 24^th

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl

Boise State (8-4) vs. Oregon State (6-6) 8:00 ESPN

Start your Christmas off right by ignoring your family to watch two mediocre teams duke it out on an island far away. When in doubt, I tend to pick the team with the best player, and Oregon State has the nation's leading receiver, Brandin Cooks. Go Beavs, I guess.

Thursday December 26^th

Little Caesars Bowl

Pitt (6-6) vs. Bowling Green (10-3) 6:00 ESPN

Remember when Notre Dame played Pitt? Me neither. Bowling Green lost their coach but did knock off Northern Illinois in the MAC championship. I like the Falcons.

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl

Utah State (8-5) vs. Northern Illinois (12-1) 9:30 ESPN

The San Diego County Credit Union is paying good money to sponsor this bowl and I have no idea why. I live in Ohio, so the odds of me ever doing business with the San Diego County Credit Union are slim. Anyway, I'm sure Jordan Lynch will do a lot of Jordan Lynch things in his last college game. MAC coaches are rejoicing.

Friday December 27^th

Military Bowl

Marshall (9-4) vs. Maryland (7-5) 2:30 ESPN

Randy Edsall has Maryland back in a bowl! I'm sure Maryland fans will now forgive the administration for forcing out Ralph Friedgen, chasing off James Franklin, and then missing out on Mike Leach! I think Marshall takes this one behind dynamic QB Rakeem Cato.

Texas Bowl

Syracuse (6-6) vs. Minnesota (8-4) 6:00 ESPN

Well, look at you, Minnesota! Sitting there with eight wins! Scott Shafer should be commended for getting the Orange back to a bowl after losing coach Doug Marrone and QB Ryan Nassib to the NFL. But I'll take the Gophers to keep this train rolling. Rolling all the way to nine wins.

Fight Hunger Bowl

BYU (8-4) vs. Washington (8-4) 9:30 ESPN

Sark Week has ended at Washington. In steps college football's proverbial Stoop Kid, Chris Petersen. Petersen has decided to leave his stoop in Boise to coach the Huskies after turning down numerous high-profile jobs. Irish fans know this BYU team isn't that great. Washington takes this one.

That's it for this round of bowl games. One of the Rigney Bros. will be around shortly to take us to New Years.