2008 College Bowl Preview All Games thru Dec. 26th!!

          Dec. 20th Eagle Bank Bowl  Navy vs. Wake Forest

This is 1 of 2 Bowl Games that has a rematch as Navy shocked Wake Forest earlier in the year on the road. The Midshipmen picked Riley Sknner off 4 times and won this game with a backup QB for the majority of the game. Wake Forest will be happy with this matchup and Navy is always ready to play no matter who the opponent is. The big surprise here as I have been saying the past 2 games where I took Navy each time is that they have a legitimate defense. Last year they had to outscore you, but this year they can beat a good team 20-17 because they control the clock and they stop the run. The Middies played 7 bowl teams and went 4-3 with their wins being over Wake, AFA, Rutgers and NIU. This is a virtual home game for Navy so that also gives them a slight advantage. The winner here comes from one feature...can Wake run the ball effectively? If they can they'll win because they have a very good defense also and if they can't Navy will win. I have a play on this game so check back with me late night on Dec. 19th!

          Dec. 20th  New Mexico Bowl  Fresno St. vs. Colorado St.

Fresno St. was a major disappoinment this year having started the year as a potential BCS buster and finishing it with a mediocre 7-5 mark. Colorado St. was a bit of a surprise as they really improved late in the year and they will come in here on a roll. The big problem with the Bulldogs has been defense as they are being steamrolled on the ground by decent teams. Colorado St. has 2 pretty good backs so that could be a problem. The Ram QB Farris has really improved and he should make some plays downfield against the Bulldog defense. I would have a slight lean on the Rams here, but if I'm wagering I may check the weather and play the over if it will be decent!

          Dec. 20th  St. Petersburg Bowl  Memphis vs. South Florida

This game is a tale of two teams. USF has to be wondering what happened to a team that was supposed to challenge for the Big East title and was looking at a 10 win season especially after their big win against Kansas. Memphis is ecstatic to be in a bowl after losing a lot of seniors last year on a team that didn't even go bowling. Hall has done a nice job for the Memphis offense making plays and he should be matched by Grothe for the Bulls. I don't like this matchup but I have no faith in USF laying double digit to anybody that qualified for a bowl. The home field edge though gives me pause to waste my own money on it. I'll say Memphis covers but loses 30-20!

         Dec. 20th Las Vegas Bowl  BYU vs. Arizona

BYU is another team that had aspirations to be a BCS Buster and quite frankly I thought they would be. There defense went into a deep freeze for the second half of the year and the offense started turning the ball over. That will get a trip to Las Vegas every time when you have TCU and Utah in your conference. Arizona played pretty solidly this year they had 2 poor performances against New Mexico and Oregon, but they played tough against USC and they have a legitimately solid defense and the ability to be explosive on offense. I have this game as my best play on Saturday so check it out at Noon because it's a FIVE STAR PLAY!!!

         Dec. 21st New Orleans Bowl  S. Miss vs. Troy

The Golden Eagles may very well have their best QB since Favre left the program as Austin Davis is a duel threat that has accounted for 30 Td's. Daimon Fletcher had another 1,000 yard season and averaged 6 yards/carry. S. Miss comes in on a roll having won their last 4 games to turn around what looked like a lost season. The difference was defense as they stoned their last 4 opponents including ECU. Troy is a good football team just ask LSU and Ohio St. who both needed a full 4 quarters to beat this team. This game means more to Troy and because of that I'll take them to win this game and cover but it should be a decent game.

         Dec. 23rd Poinsettia Bowl  TCU vs. Boise St.

This game along with the Oklahoma St/Oregon bowl game are the two most intriguing matchups before New Year's Day. TCU hurt me when they gave up that late TD to Utah, but I really like this team. There offense is better than people think although their kicker killed them when they should have won the Mountain West conference. Boise St. had a great year and Peterson is one heck of a coach and you know he'll have a couple of tricks up his sleeve for this game. This will be one great football game and I have a FIVE STAR PLAY that will be going in this one so check back on the 23rd!

         Dec. 24th Hawaii Bowl  Notre Dame vs. Hawaii

What a disaster the Notre Dame team was over the last 5 weeks of the season. This team should have finished at 8-4, but brutal losses to Pitt and Syacuse and and embarrassment in LA gave them a 6-6 mark. Hawaii is always tough away from them mainland so the Irish will have their hands full. If Claussen can stay away from mistakes Notre Dame should win, but I don't think he can so I will lean with Hawaii here as Alexander has been making plays down the stretch and they really should have beaten Cincy in their final game. Notre Dame hasn't even played competitive with a team lof Cincinnati's caliber so home field and a fired up team should give the Rainbow Warriors a 31-24 win!

         Dec. 26th Motor City Bowl  Florida Atlantic vs. Cent. Michigan

Thank god this game is on Friday Night because it means there is no reason to stay home and watch it. Neither one of these teams has much of a defense. FAU was a bit of a disappoinment this year, but they still were able to get to a bowl. That may give them a psychological edge because they should be more jacked up for this game. C. Michigan had a chance against Ball St. and came up just short of possibly getting to the WAC Championship game. Even though you won't catch me watching this game I do have a FIVE STAR PLAY on it so be ready!

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