First, let's do all the upcoming college football bowl games!
NEW MEXICO BOWL: Fresno State 11 over Wyoming. PICK: FRESNO. They can score; and they've played some major-conference opponents tough.
ST. PETERSBURG BOWL: Rutgers 2.5 over Central Florida. PICK: UCF. I think they'll play well close to home.
NEW ORLEANS BOWL: Southern Miss 3.5 over Middle Tennessee. PICK: SOUTHERN MISS. Again, I think they'll play well close to home.
LAS VEGAS BOWL: Oregon State 2.5 over BYU. PICK: COUGARS. Look for QB Max Hall to have a big game.
POINSETTIA BOWL: California 3.5 over Utah. PICK: GOLDEN BEARS. Go with the team from the stronger conference.
HAWAII BOWL: Nevada 13 over SMU. PICK: PONIES. Look for Coach June Jones to have a bunch of new wrinkles, and for SMU to be ready to play.
LITTLE CAESARS PIZZA BOWL: Ohio 2.5 over Marshall. Again, here I go from the team from what I see as the stronger conference.
MEINEKE CAR CARE BOWL: Pittsburgh 3 over North Carolina. PICK: TAR HEELS. Because I suspect Pitt will have a letdown from that tough loss to Cincinnati.
EMERALD BOWL: Southern Cal 9 over Boston College. PICK: TROJANS. Too much talent, and Pete Carroll has an excellent record in bowl games.
MUSIC CITY BOWL: Clemson 7 over Kentucky. PICK: TIGERS. Look for C.J. Spiller to have a big game.
INDEPENDENCE BOWL: Georgia 7 over Texas A&M. PICK: AGGIES. A&M is playing better; they put up 39 points on the very tough Texas defense.
EAGLEBANK BOWL: UCLA 4 over Temple. PICK: OWLS. I think Temple, long starved for bowl activity, will be the more motivated team here.
CHAMP SPORTS BOWL: Miami 3 over Wisconsin. PICK: HURRICANES. I just don't think Wisconsin's defense will slow down the dynamic Miami passing attack.
HUMANITARIAN BOWL: Bowling Green 1 over Idaho. PICK: BG. I go with the team from the stronger conference.
HOLIDAY BOWL: Arizona 1.5 over Nebraska. PICK: WILDCATS. Because Nebraska struggles so much to score.
TEXAS BOWL: Missouri 6 over Navy. PICK: MIDSHIPMEN. They beat Wake Forest and Notre Dame this year, and their option offense can be hard to prepare for.
ARMED FORCES BOWL: Houston 4.5 over Air Force. PICK: COUGARS. Houston can put up a lot of points.
SUN BOWL: Oklahoma 8 over Stanford. PICK: CARDINAL. I think Stanford can and will move the ball against this defense, with Toby Gearhart leading the way.
INSIGHT BOWL: Minnesota 2.5 over Iowa State. PICK: GOLDEN GOPHERS. Their defense will lead the way here.
CHICK-FIL-A BOWL: Virginia Tech 4.5 over Tennessee. PICK: HOKIES. That defense will stuff the Volunteers.
ROSE BOWL: Oregon 3.5 over Ohio State. PICK: DUCKS. They will easily outscore the Buckeyes, who play way too conservatively to beat a team like this.
SUGAR BOWL: Florida 11 over Cincinnati. PICK: BEARCATS. 11 points is way too much in game like this, in which Cincy's offense can score, and Florida is bound to have a letdown from that Alabama game.
OUTBACK BOWL: Auburn 7 over Northwestern. PICK: WILDCATS. Hey, Northwestern is no patsy; they can move the ball offensively and they beat Iowa on the road.
GATOR BOWL: West Virginia 3 over Florida State. PICK: SEMINOLES. FSU will win one for Bobby.
CAPITAL ONE BOWL: Penn State 2.5 over LSU. PICK: NITTANY LIONS. Penn State QB Daryl Clark has for the most part played very well over the past 4 games.
INTERNATIONAL BOWL: South Florida 6.5 over Northern Illinois. PICK: USF. Stronger conference.
PAPAJOHNS.COM BOWL: South Carolina 4.5 over Connecticut. PICK: GAMECOCKS. The ol' ball coach will have some wrinkles for the bowl game.
COTTON BOWL: Ole Miss 3 over Oklahoma State. PICK: REBELS. They've played well at the end of the season.
LIBERTY BOWL: Arkansas 7.5 over East Carolina. PICK: RAZORBACKS. Stronger conference.
ALAMO BOWL: Texas Tech 8 over Michigan State. PICK: RED RAIDERS. Too much turmoil and uncertainty at State.
FIESTA BOWL: TCU 7 over Boise State. PICK: HORNED FROGS. Too much speed, too good of a defense, not to pick them; though this should be an excellent game.
ORANGE BOWL: Georgia Tech 4 over Iowa. PICK: YELLOW JACKETS. The Hawkeyes should be healthy; but that Ramblin' Wreck offense is hard to prepare for.
GMAC BOWL: Central Michigan 3.5 over Troy. PICK: CHIPPEWAS. Look for QB Dan Lefevour to once again showcase his talents.
BCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: Alabama 5 over Texas. PICK: LONGHORNS. I suspect that maybe, just maybe, the Tide expended a lot of energy and emotion in that Florida game; and Colt McCoy has dealt with tough defenses before.
NFL PICKS:
Last Week I was 10-6 again, for the second straight week. Let's keep it going:
NEW ORLEANS 7.5 over Dallas. PICK: SAINTS. Nobody's slowed the Saints down yet; hard to see how the Cowboys will be much different.
Arizona 13 over DETROIT. PICK: CARDINALS. Normally this would be too many points, but it's hard to see how the battered, beaten-down Lions can slow down the Cardinals' attack...at all.
BALTIMORE 11 over Chicago. PICK: BEARS. The Bears will run it enough and put up enough opposition to Joe Flacco to keep this one close.
DENVER 14 over Oakland. PICK: RAIDERS. Again, I think 14 is too many at this point of the season; I wouldn't be surprised if the Raiders respond well to Charlie Frye, and the Broncos offense isn't that dynamic.
KANSAS CITY 2 over Cleveland. PICK: CHIEFS. Hey, somebody's got to win this one...
Minnesota 9 over Carolina. PICK: PANTHERS. The Vikings struggled in their last road game; I suspect they will here, too, as the Panthers will want to look good on a national stage.
New England 7 over BUFFALO. PICK: BILLS. Buffalo should have won the game back in week 1 at New England; they'll keep this one close, too.
NY JETS pick 'em vs Atlanta. PICK: JETS. Atlanta has too many injuries.
PHILADELPHIA 8.5 over San Francisco. PICK: NINERS. I suspect Philly will win this, but they might be looking ahead, and San Fran's defense and run game can keep them in this one.
PITTSBURGH 2 over Green Bay. PICK: PACKERS. The Steelers have faded; the Packers are coming on.
SAN DIEGO 6.5 over Cincinnati. PICK: CHARGERS. San Diego is playing some of the best football in the league right now.
SEATTLE 6.5 over Tampa Bay. PICK: SEAHAWKS. They're at home, where they usually play well; and the Bucs have played some of the worst football all year in this league.
ST. LOUIS vs Houston. This game was off the boards last I checked. PICK: TEXANS. Too much offense not to pick them over the lowly Rams.
TENNESSEE vs Miami. This game too was off the boards; lots of injury concerns. PICK: DOLPHINS. Chad Henne has played remarkably well; and while Vince Young might start for the Titans, I question whether that hamstring will allow him to finish the game.
NY Giants 3 over WASHINGTON. PICK: GIANTS. The Redskins have played better lately, no doubt. But the Giants still have more talent and they need this game more.
