Look Out Kirsten...

She pretends not to like football...

But she used to take stats in college for Eastern New Mexico. And with Georgia Tech's win, she's tied for first place with Kirsty Bird

Paul Johnson

and Georgia Tech just may save college football. I freaking love the triple option.

Just Because I Can...

I love Tim Duncan...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-_KbUEmgw0

Capital One Orange Bowl

Capital One: I owe you my allegiance. You hold the country in the palm of your hand. All hail Capital One. Make sure you watch their bowl game and charge your pregame meal to one of their credit cards. Thank you for letting us live here Capital One.

Mississippi State almost pulled off a stunning run to the National Playoff. If they had found a way to pull out their game at Alabama, they would have maintained their number one ranking and would be playing for it all. Instead, they lost and then lost again to in state rival Ole Miss. They have a solid SEC Defense led by defensive end Preston Smith. They have a quarterback named Dak. That's right, Dak Prescott. Dak is a throw/run dual threat and has a decent RB named Josh Robinson to share the offensive load.

Georgia Tech saved their coach's job this year. Paul Johnson who previously saved Navy football (look what they've done to Army the last 14 years), has implemented his triple option in Atlanta. I love the triple option, and Tech runs it. But every time I pick them or watch them, they lose. The rumor was that Tech was going to have to win a lot this year in order for Johnson to keep his job. And that's what they have done.

Justin Thomas is Tech's quarterback. He led the Yellowjackets to an incredible upset of Georgia and then almost pulled off the upset in the ACC Championship game against Florida State. Tech won 10 games and wants 11 tonight. But the Bulldogs are three point favorites.

Vizio Fiesta Bowl

Could you use a new flat screen television? Do you want to support the United States of America? Consider a Vizio product.You could get a 50" LED HD TV for less than $600 with free shipping if you take advantage of the after Christmas sale through the internet. Act now.

Arizona won the PAC1000 South Division title. They have an awesome QB/RB duo in Anu Solomon/Nick Wilson. They get to play in Phoenix which will offer them a home field advantage. After years of mediocre football, you know the Wildcats will be excited to be playing in a big bowl game.

Boise State, and their atrocious blue field, are now regulars in the big bowl landscape. Their head coach Bryan Harsin was supposed to save Mack Brown's job as UT offensive coordinator, but that didn't work out. After a year of exile at Arkansas State he returned to Boise State where he had been OC before Mack Brown imported him to Austin. Boise State has a stud running back named Jay Ajayi. Look for a fun game in the desert. Arizona is favored by three points.

Chick-fil-a Peach Bowl

MMMMmmmmmm. Hankerin' for a fine chicken sandwich? Well before the game, why don't you send out your teenager to the local Chick-fil-a for some southern fried chicken deliciousness on a bun. Yuuuummmmmy. These right wingers sure do know how to make some fast food. And the waffle fries? With some honey mustard? HEAVEN! Matthew, get down here! Daddy's hungry.

This game features the Rebels (no political correctness here) of Ole Miss versus the Horned Frogs of Texas Christian University. Mississippi was in the Title race until they lost at LSU, then to Auburn (losing their star wide receiver in the process to a broken leg), and then losing to Arkansas. But they upset Alabama and Mississippi State. They knocked the Bulldogs out of the National Playoff picture in that last game. So, they seem to have recovered from the losing streak. They call their defense the "Land Sharks."

TCU's coach is a badass. His name is Gary Patterson and he looks like the local bakery truck driver, but he can coach up some athletes. He dominates the Big XII by taking two and three star recruits that get ignored by Oklahoma and Texas and teaching them how to be real football players. His quarterback is a prime example. Trevone Boykin looked like a serviceable QB last year. This year he is just a tick below Mariota and Winston. Look also for a kid named Aaron Green. He went to high school with Analicia at Madison in San Antonio. He transferred back to his home state after starting at Nebraska. He can run with the best of them. TCU always features a good to great defense. They score quickly and they have great coaching. The Frogs should be in the National Playoff but they choked away a big lead at Baylor. Unless they have a melt down like that, or the Big XII is as bad as Texas, Oklahoma, and West Virginia made it look on Monday, the Frogs should win. They are 3.5 point favorites. But, Kirsten picked Ole Miss.

Have You Seen this Couple?

Immediately give them as much disposable cash you have and put them on a plane to Las Vegas. Tell Kirsten to bet as much money as she can on college football teams she thinks will win. Get her agree to share all of her winnings with the extended family. Kirsten, people, can pick some college football. Tim, you must be sooooo proud.

Belk Bowl

Belk department stores are having their after Christmas sales. Go online while you watch the game and take advantage of free shipping, 50% of kids clothing, and 30 to 70% off of selected seasonal footwear. You really can't go wrong with some fine apparel or small appliances from Belk.

Tim Smith, are you taking the family to the Belk Bowl? It is in Charlotte you know. How about you, RC and Kathy? It's just a two hour drive down to the Queen City for a chance to watch some excellent football between Georgia and Louisville.

Georgia is a touchdown favorite. But they are known for choking. Did you see the Georgia Tech game they blew? They were supposed to battle for the SEC title by easily winning the east but lost to South Carolina and got their doors blown off versus Florida. They beat the SEC East winning Missouri Tigers 34-0 though. They lost their best running back to NCAA violations but replaced him with a kid named Chubb. He can run, but Louisville can run defend. Louisville is led by Coach Bobby Petrino. Coach Petrino knows his x's and o's but he's known for this:

Petrino was the coach at Arkansas until he wrecked his motorcycle and got caught having an affair with the passenger, someone who got a job with the Arkansas Athletic Department. Petrino had to resign, but of course got hired by Western Kentucky right away and then picked up by Louisville. Look for the devious Petrino to have some special game plan for the Bulldogs. Mark Richt has done less with more over the years at Georgia and somehow still has a job.

Franklin American Music City Bowl

"It all begins with home." That is the Franklin American Mortgage Company slogan and mission. Whether it is a home or some retail property, if you need a mortgage loan, look to the fine people at Franklin American. I don't know about you, but when I think of America, the first name that comes to mind in Franklin. With that sort of name, there is no other company I would choose for a 15 or 30 year relationship. They also sponsor one hell of a bowl game in Nashville, the Music City.

Nashville is where country music dreams come true. Today, in the midst of all that fine composing, Notre Dame and LSU will battle on the gridiron. LSU comes out of the ferocious SEC West. They started strong this year but then faded when they had to duke it out with Alabama and the rest of the conference behemoths. Notre Dame started 6-0, but then lost 5 out of 6 to end the  year. They are too good to stoop to being in a conference. They feature Everett Golson at quarterback, but their defense has been exposed.

San Antonio fun fact here. David Robinson's son plays wide receiver for the Irish.

LSU and its defense are 7.5 favorites. They should win. But, we'll see.

Live shot of Norman, Oklahoma, and Austin, Texas

Once proud college football cities:

The Texas Bowl

Oh now I'm going to find her, for my heart is full of woe,

And we'll sing the songs togeather [sic], that we sung so long ago

We'll play the bango gaily, and we'll sing the songs of yore,

And the Yellow Rose of Texas shall be mine forevermore. [Chorus]

You can cover up "yellow" and you can cover up "rose" buddy buddy, but you better not cover up "Texas"! Or I'll take my snare drum and secede from the band!

"At AdvoCare, We Build Champions^® through physical and financial wellness. Backed by the latest science, AdvoCare provides innovative nutritional, weight-management, sports performance and skin care products. In addition, the AdvoCare business opportunity empowers individuals to explore their ultimate earning potential. AdvoCare was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Plano, Texas." Couldn't have said it better myself. Thank you AdvoCare for safeguarding my health and sponsoring a kick-ass bowl game.

TEXAS plays Arkansas. I have been watching the marathons of Texas versus Arkansas football games on Longhorn Network all week. Earl Campbell's awesomeness, the 1987 Bret Stafford to Tony Jones game (I was a freshman at a sports bar - heaven!), and of course the 1969 Nixon game. Did you know that Analicia and I were hired to be extras for a movie called My All American this summer that is based on the story of Freddy Steinmark who played in the Nixon game? We got paid about a hundred bucks to play fans at the game. Ana got picked to run on the field in the ending celebration scene. Watch for it on the big screen! (or DVD) 

Texas stinks. We have a quarterback who should not be playing. He is actually from Whitewright, Texas. (My grandparents lived there.) His name is Tyrone Swoopes. He tries hard. Our defense is better, but if our offense cannot score it does not matter. Arkansas plays a ball control offense. They have two awesome running backs. They have a good defense. This should be a victory for the Hogs, but.... Their coach did this yesterday...

Do you see what he is doing (he's the tall guy)? That's a horns down sign while shaking hands with our coach Charlie Strong! That jerk! We hate that! Everybody does that when they play against us. It's classless and makes us mad. GGGRRRRRRRR.... Down with the Hogs.

Previews for Monday

Three bowls for your viewing pleasure on Monday. Heeeeerrreeeee they are:

I'm an O'Reilly's man myself, so I could give a crap about Autozone. The bowl features West Virginia and Texas A&M. West Virginia lost its starting quarterback to concussions, and the Ags have struggled all year now that they are Johnny Football-less. Both teams have won 7 games. Vegas says the game is a Pick 'em. The Aggie coach, Kevin Sumlin, is a recruiting, offensive coaching SOB. West Virginia is known for its fun offense (they destroyed Clemson two years ago in a bowl). In other words, this should be fun. Tune in and watch some scoring.

Speaking of Clemson, the Tigers will play the Land Thieves of Oklahoma in the Russell Athletic Bowl. The South Carolina scoundrels are ranked higher but the Sooners are 4.5 point favorites. The Sooners destroyed Alabama last year with a kid from San Antonio named Trevor Knight as quarterback. He has been hurt a lot this year but should be back for the bowl game. Clemson has 9 wins and rely on its defense to stop the Sooners, and will be without its offensive coordinator who returned home to Texas to coach SMU (Chad Morris). By the way Russell Athletic makes kick butt athletic wear. Pick up a pair of their comfortable athletic sweats at a local Dick's Sporting Goods store. I think Nacho wore Russell Athletic sweats.

The nightcap will have its own post because it features -

National University is a private, non-profit university offering a unique educational experience for its students. Students take one course per month as they progress towards a degree in their field of choice. The second largest such university in California and the 12th largest in the United States, National University is a great choice for anyone who wants to get ahead in this increasingly competitive world.

This match up features two former perennial powers, both experiencing some obstacles in their journey back to national prominence. The Cornhuskers of Nebraska won 9 games but still fired their coach, the loud mouthed Bo Pelini. While the Cornhuskers have already hired a replacement - Mike Riley formerly of Oregon State, they will be coached in this game on an interim basis by Barney Cotton.

Southern Cal won 8 games. They feature a passing attack led by Cody Kessler. Coach Steve Sarkisian is miffed that his quarterback did not receive more attention from the press and award entities in the post season. This game is listed as EVEN by Vegas. So flip a coin and enjoy what is usually one of the best bowl games of the season.

New Era Pinstripe Bowl

New Era makes great caps. Stop in your local sporting goods store and find a baseball cap from your favorite pro or college team. Fine quality meets superb styling at New Era. You'll definitely be the envy of your school or neighborhood or office with a New Era cap.

Played at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, this game can feature some questionable bowl weather. This year's contest features Boston College and Penn State. The BC Eagles are three point favorites. BC has seven wins and Penn State has 6. This is Penn State's first bowl appearance post Sandusky. Penn State has a stingy defense led of course by its linebackers. The Eagles have a highly regarded dual-threat quarterback named Tyler Murphy. I hope it snows. I love snow football.

Duck Commander Independence Bowl

Ah Duck Commander. That's all you need to say. The boys featured on A&E's Duck Dynasty run a great company that sells the best Duck Calls in the world. Phil Robertson (the man in the middle) was a former quarterback at Louisiana Tech (home of Terry Bradshaw). Instead of pursuing pro football, he started this little duck call company instead. The company is now run by son Willie (one bearded fellow to the left) and the hilarious high-jinks of the family are chronicled on the television show. It's great, wholesome Christian family entertainment - southern style.

The game features the U versus the Ball Coach. Miami and South Carolina are both barely eligible with 6 wins a piece. Watch Miami running back Duke Johnson to see if he can gash a poor South Carolina defense. The Gamecocks were supposed to challenge for the final four playoff, but from the first game on their defense showed they were never really a threat for the big time. If you get bored during the game, flip on over to A&E to see if there is a Duck Dynasty marathon going on. I love the episode where the wives get stuck on the roof of the warehouse - HILARIOUS!

Miami is a 3.5 point favorite in Vegas.

It's time for the Hyundai Sun Bowl! Hyundai may be a Korean company, but did you know many of its vehicles are designed and built here in the USA? That's right. If you want a socially conscious vehicle that is both stylish and environmentally friendly, consider a Hyundai. A perennial to safety pick, Hyundai features the best warranty in the auto industry.

Duke and Arizona State both have 9 wins. Matt Baker has applied to both schools. This game will go a long way to deciding which school he will go to. I watched Duke lose to North Carolina late in the year. I watched a little of Arizona State's loss to Arizona. Watch for Duke's Jamison Crowder. He is a stud receiver and return man. Arizona State has a similar weapon in Jaelen Strong. Should be a fun game in what we will call the Matt Baker Recruiting Bowl.

Vegas has Arizona State as a touchdown favorite. One of the biggest spreads of the bowl season.

Day 2!!!

Well, let's preview Day 2. Margaret, I hope you get your picks in on time. First game starts at 10 a.m. Pacific. Let's start with the Military Bowl! Sir, yes Sir!

Brought to you by the USO. Support the USO. They provide entertainment and more to our troops in all services. The USO might bring in a big celebrity like Joan Jett for a concert (she's a liberal too), or they just might provide a place for a service man or woman to rest in a strange town (we have such a place in downtown San Antonio).

Also brought to you by Northrop Grumman. The mission of this friend of the military is to "be at the forefront of technology and innovation, delivering superior capability in tandem with maximized cost efficiencies." It is their "moral imperative" to protect our country from its enemies. Rah America!

Today's game features the Cincinnati Bearcats versus the Hokies from Virginia Tech. The Bearcats are 3 point favorites. Cincinnati has won 9 games, the Hokies have won 6. The Hokies upset final four participant Ohio State. Cincinnati is on a seven game win streak. Hokies have defense. The Bearcats have a coach named Tommy Tuberville. He's known as a "riverboat gambler." Enjoy!

The Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl

Bitcoin is virtual currency. Currently 328 bitcoins equal one dollar according to Google. It is an attempt to create an online payment system. Or it is a way to sponsor a kick butt bowl game in beautiful St. Petersburg, Florida!

Today's game features the Wolfpack of North Carolina State. The red men from Raleigh have increased their rushing acumen and have won three of their last four games. They are 7-5 going into the bowl game. Watch the quarterback because he can run.

The Wolfpack's adversaries are the Knights of Central Florida. Central Florida upset Baylor last year in the Fiesta Bowl. This year they are American Athletic Conference champions and are 9-3. Their coach was famous for lying on his resume that he sent in to Notre Dame, but the man can coach. O'Leary's team is appearing in a bowl game for fifth time in six seasons and has won their last three in a row.

Vegas says the Wolfpack is favored by 2.5 points.

The Quick Lane Bowl

Beautiful downtown Detroit hosts the Quick Lane Bowl. Quick Lane Tire and Auto Center features quality Ford products and has quality trained personnel to help with auto and tire maintenance for all makes and models. Stop in today for a tire rotation, an oil change, or a tune up. If you buy four select tires you may be eligible for a $140 mail-in rebate. See your local Quick Lane Tire and Auto Center for details.

The Quick Lane Bowl features 7-5 Rutgers versus 6-6 North Carolina. Vegas sees North Carolina as a 3.5 point favorite. This is despite a defense that was considered horrible during the season, giving up over 50 points to East Carolina, Notre Dame, and Clemson. The offense is better, averaging over 30 points a game. Rutgers has a senior quarterback and the second leading receiver in the Big 10. Their first string running back is out but the back ups are considered more than adequate. This should be fun with lots of offense. Just hope the crowd will resist the beautiful eastern Michigan climate and go inside for football in a dome.

Let the Bowling Begin!!!

Of course Margaret is the last entry in.

Of course despite their records and performances most of us have picked Texas and North Carolina.

Today we start with two bowls: The Quick Lane Bowl and the Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl.

Previews to follow.

Kirsten in a Tie Break

Margaret. That is a heart breaker. Two years in a row only to lose in a tie breaker. But, Kirsten by choosing a higher point total is the champ of the Family Bowl Pool. Pack up the Plaque Chris Ross. Send it to me. I've got some engraving to do.

Delicious

Kirsten, RC, and Margaret... Good Luck!!!!

Auburn represents the SEC and they have won about 110 championships in a row.

Florida State from the ACC is favored.

Who will win? Sit back and relax and enjoy the fun!

Three Way Tie

RC, Kirsten, and Margaret/Candace are all tied at 12-8 going into Monday's championship. RC has Auburn. If Auburn wins, RC wins. Kirsten and Margaret/Candace have Florida State. If Florida State wins then we go to a tie breaker. Tie breaker is closest to point total. Kirsten predicted 57 points, and Margaret/Candace predicted 45 points. This is two years in a row that Margaret/Candace has gone to the last day. Impressive Margaret/Candace. Impressive.

This is why we love the Bowls

Makes CFB unique. So sad that the play-off advocates have won out.

More Fun with Fake Lou Holtz

@FakeLouHoltzKSR can you say Metamucil?
— Family Bowl Pool (@FamilyBowlPool) January 4, 2014

“@FamilyBowlPool: @FakeLouHoltzKSR can you say Metamucil?” I literally cannot shay Metha- Methamushil- Thitrushil? No.
— Fake Lou Holtz (@FakeLouHoltzKSR) January 4, 2014

I'm Also Having Fun with Crazy Lee Corso

@FamilyBowlPool only if they'll let me wear the Hook 'em head while I coach!
— Crazy Lee Corso (@CrazyLeeCorso) January 3, 2014

@CrazyLeeCorso and @FakeLouHoltzKSR seen smoking Buckeyes outside the #OrangeBowl
— Family Bowl Pool (@FamilyBowlPool) January 4, 2014

@CrazyLeeCorso @KirkHerbstreit @Lastjwfan As long as @espn has a budget for large mascot costumes.
— Family Bowl Pool (@FamilyBowlPool) January 3, 2014

The Fake Lou Holtz

If you haven't been following my back and forth with the Fake Lou Holtz on Twitter here's a sample:

@FamilyBowlPool 2001 UKvsSCar I took a shafety and field pothishun late 4th quarter to sheal the game #shtrategery
— Fake Lou Holtz (@FakeLouHoltzKSR) January 4, 2014

“@FamilyBowlPool: Remember Coach @FakeLouHoltzKSR when Tim Brown took you to victory v. the Aggies in the Cotton Bowl?” Hewathoutshtanding.
— Fake Lou Holtz (@FakeLouHoltzKSR) January 4, 2014

“@FamilyBowlPool: @FakeLouHoltzKSR Is that a mouthpiece on the ground?” Losht my teeth again. Operating my shpare #teampolygrip
— Fake Lou Holtz (@FakeLouHoltzKSR) January 3, 2014

Kirsten and Analicia

DO NOT ACT LIKE THIS WHILE YOU ARE IN COLLEGE!!!

http://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2014/1/3/5270468/female-alabama-fan-tries-to-fight-every-oklahoma-fan

Cotton Bowl and the Curse of Fozzy: RC's Chance

I forgot that they are playing the Cotton Bowl tonight too. This is a huge bowl for RC. If he wins this he is really sitting pretty in the pool. He has Oklahoma State and Kirsten and Margaret went with the SEC's Missouri Tigers.

Missouri shocked the football world with their run in the SEC. They wound up in the SEC Championship game where they lost convincingly to Auburn. Oklahoma State absolutely choked to OU in their last game and lost their chance to go to the BCS. They had beaten Baylor but inexplicably had lost to West Virginia. They killed Texas. 

I hate Missouri. When they were in the Big XII they had a notoriously bad field. One of my favorite players Fozzy (yes that was his name) Whitaker tore up his knee on that field stepping into a divot making a cut. Pretty much ruined our season that year. They went to the SEC, and like A&M were supposed to struggle and languish in last place. But they have thrived. We'll see if Oklahoma State can get revenge for the BigXII on Mizzou.

Orange Bowl: Someone Call Kirsten

Hey Kirsten,
If you win tonight with your Clemson pick, you are back in this thing. Rumor is you lived in South Carolina too long and got hypnotized by people who like Tigers. You have a real shot. Ohio State usually struggles with speed. Many people say that have a soft schedule. Clemson has played FSU and other tough southern competition.

You know what this match up is famous for don't you? I was watching. It was the first time I had ever heard of Clemson. It was 1978 in the Gator Bowl:

I was stunned as all night Keith Jackson had been talking about the greatness of Woody Hayes. Clemson is ahead at the end of the game. Ohio State had the ball. A Clemson player makes an interception near the Ohio State sideline and Woody Hayes steps up to the kid and slugs him in the mouth. Hilarity! I love sports. Old man Hayes lost his job for this. Poor Hayes, evidently he was a great coach. But when you are nine years old and you are just developing your consciousness of the world, such an outburst sticks in your sports-loving brain forever. To me, Woody Hayes is the crazy old man who punched a kid from Clemson in the mouth through his helmet. What the hell is wrong with you Ohio? 

Anyway, someone call Kirsten. She probably doesn't care, but she has a shot tonight if the Tigers can upset the Buckeyes again. Then we'll all have to watch to see what Urban Meyer does.

RC in Control

The group alive is three: Kirsten (two games back), Margaret (one game back), and our new exclusive leader RC (the original Commish). Tomorrow night is the Orange and Cotton Bowls. RC: Oklahoma State and Ohio State. Margaret: Missouri and Ohio State. Kirsten: Missouri and CLEMSON. Should be FUN.

You are not reading the blog, but...

I'll be live tweeting on Twitter. Follow @FamilyBowlPool

RC v. Us: The Sugar Bowl

RC Smith has won the bowl pool on many occasions. He is poised to win it again. More below.

RC has picked Oklahoma. It's a bad pick, but Central Florida was a bad pick. And how did that work out for Kirstie Bird? Especially after Baylor's choke last night, it should be evident that OU does not belong in this game. After all Alabama's only loss was because of a fluke Auburn return of a missed field goal. They rolled everyone else they played including Johnny Football's Aggies in College Station. OU lost to Case McCoy and Texas on a neutral field. Let that sink in. Case freaking McCoy.

OU got killed by Baylor. You saw what Baylor was about last night. The Big XII is a wreck and that was so evident last night. OU has no decent quarterback. They have a senior Blake Bell who could not even get through a porous Texas rush defense. They have a freshman from San Antonio, Trevor Knight, who has been inconsistent at best and injury prone. Yet, somehow they beat Oklahoma State on the road in a massive choke job by the Cowboys. With their losses to Texas and Baylor (by large margins by the way), there was no way they should have been picked for a BCS bowl over the Ducks of Oregon. Conspiracy? Pay back to Phil Knight for buying a team in Eugene for Nike?

I could tell you a lot of juicy stuff about Nick Saban, the coach for Alabama. It has been crazy here in Texas with the collapse of the football program under Mack Brown. There are all sorts of rumors about Big Money Longhorns courting Saban and trying to get him to come to Texas. But, it's all rumor, so I won't report it here. What am I, some desperate blogger looking for advertisement dollars? (By the way Golden Chiropractic and TDS Law, I would appreciate you boys paying your advertisement bills.)

What does all mean for us? If Oklahoma pulls the upset, RC goes ahead and is in the cat bird seat. If Alabama wins, RC falls back to a tie with Kirsten and Will. Margaret will assume the solitary lead again and will have the advantage. Fun. Delicious fun. All of you bowl system haters can... well, this is a family website. The bowls are awesome, unique, and fun. Play-off systems are for other sports. You play-off lovers are going to ruin college football just like the one and dones have killed college basketball.

What a Day

Usually New Year's Day gives us a dividing line between the contenders and pretenders. Young Matt had a real chance to put it to the rest of us with his picks of Duke (the day previous) and Iowa. But alas, in both games he got close but couldn't seal the deal. But Kirsten, surprised us all with a gutsy pick of Central Florida. The Knights pulled off the upset of the Bowl season and took down Baylor (stay in Phoenix losers - see previous post). Therefore, the UNC Charlotte student has a shot to take the title.

We have four contenders going into the last four games: Margaret/Candace (although Analicia is really questioning whether your picks should count), RC, Will (me), and Kirsten. Tomorrow is huge for RC. He picked Oklahoma in a huge upset of Alabama. The rest of the contenders have Alabama. See you tomorrow!

Now on TWITTER!!!

Follow the bowl pool commissioner on Twitter @FamilyBowlPool

New Year's Day: Bowlapalooza

Five, count them, five games today!!! Let's get the preview out of the way.

We open with the SEC again. The Bulldogs of Georgia are an annually underachieving team. They were supposed to have a hotshot QB lead them to glory this year yet again. But they could not get through the SEC unscathed and even had problems at home against North Texas. However, that is nothing compared to the train wreck that is Bo Pellini and Nebraska. At one point the Cornhusker head coach was caught on tape disparaging the fans of his team. He is cocky and gruff, but his team underachieves. This is really the Underachievement Bowl. Bulldogs are 8.5 point favorites.

The old ball coach Steve Spurrier takes his Gamecocks of South Carolina to Orlando to play the Wisconsin Badgers. This may be the best match-up of the day. Spurrier has SEC talent and the Badgers usually perform well in bowl games. In a rarity the SEC team is an underdog here, but only by two points. I don't know much about the players in this game other than South Carolina's stud defensive end Jadeveon Clowney. Known for his helmet busting tackle in last year's bowl game against Michigan, Clowney has seemed disinterested in the regular season this year. He just got busted for speeding over 100+ miles an hour for the second time to which the old ball coach commented: "He needs to go to driving school." Aaahhh the SEC. Just win games for us son. Just win games.

Another Big 10 v. SEC challenge. This one appears to be a mismatch though. LSU is always stacked with athletic talent. This year they could not match Alabama or Auburn, but they killed Johnny Football. They barely lost to Ole Miss, but took out everyone else for nine wins. I know nothing about Iowa other than they lost to the Big 10 powerhouses like Michigan St. but beat everyone else. Iowa has historically done well in bowl games and are good for an upset every now and then. LSU is a 7.5 point favorite.

The granddaddy turns 100 this year. A classic Big 10 v. Pac 12 match-up as Michigan State arrives in California to play Stanford. Michigan State has a studly defense and workman like offense. Stanford has a coach that I want to head to Austin. They also feature defense and rushing. This game should be a great battle for the true football fan. Stanford is a 6.5 point favorite. Who's got tickets? Rose Bowl is on my bucket list.

Really? Central Florida? Texas had to play Oregon in the Alamo Bowl, but Central Florida gets to go to a BCS game. Ugghh. Baylor if you don't win this, stay in Arizona. Move your right wing school president Ken Starr, the cheating basketball programs, and the whole metropolitan area of Waco (including the new football stadium) to the outskirts of Phoenix and start over. You'll love Gov. Jan Brewer and the rest of the reactionaries out there and feel right at home. Seriously, this should be a snoozer. Baylor coach Art Briles has installed a high powered offense with a decent defense and his squad is full of pure athletic Texas talent. The Bears are 17 point favorites. Central Florida will need a miracle.

Enjoy the games. See you tomorrow!

What.A.Game

Poor young Matthew. So close to scoring a huge upset and sweeping yesterday's games to grab first place in the Bowl Pool only to be thwarted by Johnny Football.

In a stunning comeback, the Aggies came back on the Dukies and won free Chick-fil-A for life. Down 38-17 at half, the SEC giant killers took down the egg heads from Durham with five second half touchdowns. Duke QB, Anthony Boone, threw a pick 6 in the fourth to give Rick Perry's alma mater the lead, and Johnny Football goes down in Aggie lore as the greatest College Station signal caller ever. Meanwhile in a living room in San Antonio, Texas, a young man named Matthew learned that during Bowl season no halftime lead is safe. His forlorn expression and pacing in the fourth quarter forced his father to give the following bit of annoying advice: "Just wait until tomorrow. Five more games to come."