Today marks the start of the College Football Bowl season. The Courtesy Wave has followed, previewed, and picked our way through the College season. Therefore its only fitting to continue on with the Bowl season in hopes that you put all of your faith in our picks. Because there are so many bowls they'll be broken down and picked apart every few days in order to give each their respective spot in the limelight.
Saturday, December 18th
NEW MEXICO BOWL- UTEP (6-6) vs BYU (6-6) 1p in Albuquerque
Tune in for: A battle of .500 teams from smaller conferences won't excite a lot of people, especially a UTEP team losing 5 of their last 6. Unless your a UTEP or BYU alum, this one might be hard to watch, I would tune in just because its the first game of the Bowl season.
Who to watch:
Fan Advantage: UTEP - Only a 4 hour drive away, compared to BYU's 10 hours.
Local Connection: BYU -Reed Hornung, Anoka. Reed is a sophomore and you can find him on the field every time the Cougars are in punt formation, he's the long snapper.
Courtesy Pick: When you compare the two schedules of these teams side by side, there's no question BYU has played a tougher schedule and their 6-6 record is a lot better than the Miners 6-6 who could only muster a 3-5 record in Conference USA. BYU 27-24
HUMANITARIAN BOWL - Northern Illinois (10-3) vs Fresno State (8-4) 4:30p in Boise
Tune in for: A dogfight, literally. The Huskies of UNI face the Bulldogs of Fresno. The Bulldogs definitely had the tougher schedule, but came up short in every big game matchup. The Huskies are coming off a tough MAC championship game loss to Miami (OH) and will be playing without most of its coaches, as Jerry Kill and his staff are already in place at Minnesota.
Fan Advantage: Fresno State - Not really though, by car it'll take you 13 hours still from Fresno (25 hours from DeKalb). Can't imagine flying into Boise will be cheap, so its more of a toss up.
Local Connections: Northern Illinois - Dan Edem, LB Apple Valley & Trevor Olson, OT Richfield.
Courtesy Pick: Northern Illinois is the hotter team coming in, but its tough to pick them knowing the head of the snake and most of its scales are cut off. The Bulldogs have faced a tougher schedule which at least gives them experience. Plus they have a head coach in this game too. FRESNO STATE 38-30
NEW ORLEANS BOWL - Ohio (8-4) vs Troy (7-5) 8p in New Orleans
Tune in for: The Trojans QB, Corey Robinson is 11th in the nation in passing yards. He's got a wildcat player to toss the rock to in Jerrel Jernigan, who has scored touchdowns this season rushing, receiving, passing and on punt and kickoff returns.
Fan Advantage: Troy - A doable 5.5 hour trip from Troy, AL. If you're headed from Athens, OH, then pack a bunch of snacks for your 16 hour trip.
Local Connections: None
Courtesy Pick: These 2 teams have beaten virtually no one worthy of noting. Troy seems to take annual trips to New Orleans for this bowl which represents the Sun Belt victor. Experience and a shorter drive might be in their favor. TROY 33-28
Tuesday, December 21st
ST. PETERSBURG BOWL - Southern Miss (8-4) vs Louisville (6-6)
Tune in for: A high powered offense clashing against a high powered defense. Southern Miss is 15th in the nation is scoring, whereas Louisville is 15th in the nation is scoring defense.
Shortest Drive: Southern Miss - But neither fan base has a short drive. Golden Eagle fans still have a 11 hour trek to St. Petersburg as opposed to Cardinal fans 15 hour jaunt.
Local Connections: None
Courtesy Pick: These teams are pretty equally matched. Louisville comes from a tougher conference, although the Big East was way down this year and it could be said that Conference USA was just as good. The Golden Eagles are just a few points away from an 11-1 record, having 3 of their 4 losses by less than 7 points. A more established quarterback is also key. SOUTHERN MISS 38-26
Next 4 Bowl previews: Las Vegas, Poinsietta, Hawaii, Little Caesars...
until then, hedge your bets!
bsv
the courtesy wave
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