So far this season I sit at 198-82 in the won/loss column. I will try my hand at some of the early bowl prediction and see where I land.
Before we get to all that however, I must congratulate UW Whitewater for again besting the Purple Raiders of Mt Union to become the Division III Champs. Also last night I watched the SHSU/Montana game and was quite impressed. The game was not near as close as the score. SHSU shot themselves in the foot with penalties but for the most part had their way with the Grizz. They are probably the 2nd or third best team in the Texas college ranks. Will the Bearkats have what it takes to defeat Georgia Southern (who will win today) for the IAA Championship? We will see. On to the predictions.......
1. Pittsburg State vs Wayne State: Pittsburg State has been here before. One of the top programs in D2. They will be crowned division champion today. Go with the Gorillas.
2. Georgia Southern vs North Dakota State: I am going with Georgia Southern here. They gave the much ballyhooed Crimson Tide quite a scare earlier this season. I wish they would have won. North Dakota State is not far removed from D2 and has done a very good job in the IAA ranks. I will go with the team from Georgia to win and meet SHSU in the big game. Any team in the IAA semi finals would be a top 25 team in the ranks of D1 this year.
Now we come to the bowls. Too many of these games are of the "who cares" variety to be sure. A lot of 6-6 records there. 6-6 does not a post season team make in my humble opinion but no one asks me. I don't know why. That being said.....
3. New Mexico Bowl. Temple Vs Wyoming: Temple was a bit of a disappointment this year and Wyoming had a pretty good MWC season. A decent MWC team these Cowboys. This may be a good one and I will go with Wyoming in a close one.
4. Idaho Potato Bowl. Utah State vs Ohio: Utah State had a better than expected year but at 7-5 it is a bit hard to say they deserve a post season bid. Ohio had a good year in the Mid American and possibly deserves to go somewhere. Idaho it is...Utah State will again play above their potential here and win this one. Go with these particular Aggies from Utah.
5. New Orleans Bowl. San Diego State vs Louisiana Lafayette: Both teams had pretty darn good seasons. The Cajuns are a good Sun Belt team and SDSU is a good MWC team. This might be a good game. A good bit of money will be spent in the French Quarter and it would be nice to be there. Which team is the better? Probably SDSU. The Cajuns loss to Arizona is enough to give anyone pause. I will go with the Aztecs here to win. Hope not though. I am a Cajuns fan through and through. All apologies to Jayhawk.
6. Beef O'Brady's Bowl. FIU vs Marshall: This one should not be played probably. FIU is marginally deserving of a post season of sorts but Marshall is not. FIU was disappointing this season and I have not heard Mario Cristobal's name being thrown around as much now as the next "savior" of a downtrodden "big time" program. That being said, the Panthers should be able to take it to the Herd. Go with FIU.
7. Poinsettia Bowl. TCU vs Louisiana Tech: Tech deserves this bowl as the winner of the WAC. That conference race was down to the wire. TCU perhaps deserves somewhat of a better game, but it is not to be so. The Bulldogs may surprise though. They are a pretty good, very under the radar, team. It may be close but I will go with the Frogs here.
8. MAACO Bowl. Arizona State vs Boise State: This is hands down the most stupid of all the bowl games this year. Boise State belongs in a BCS, or a least a top tier non BCS bowl. Arizona State deserves no post season game at all. It is likely the Bronco players really don't want to be there and that may make the game somewhat closer than it should be. Boise State will win though. Probably rather easily.
9. Hawaii Bowl. Southern Miss vs Nevada: USM deserves a bowl and I suppose this one is decent. Nevada took it down to the wire in the WAC but fell just short. USM is the better team this year and should win this one. They do have a tendency to play down to the competition though. Remember the UAB game? They will have to bring the team that beat Houston and leave the squad that lost to the Blazers at the airport.
I will put the rest of the Bowl Predictions up later in the week. Have a good time and enjoy the games
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