9 down, 26 to go. As it stands, the Courtesy Wave is 5-4 on Bowl predictions, just enough to keep me going! Get ready for the whirlwind...the first 10 days of the bowl season brought 9 games, the next 5 days will have 19 bowl games! We'll keep the same format here to give you a different flavor than the rest of the sports world. Short and concise with enough info to be dangerous.
Tuesday, December 28th
CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL - #22 West Virginia (9-3) vs North Carolina State (8-4) 5:30p Orlando
Tune in for: The Big East's best non-BCS team versus the best QB in the nation under 6 feet tall (NC State's Russell Wilson). Wilson is 16th in the nation in passing yards and averages 307 yards per game in overall offense (yeah he's mobile). He'll be facing one of the nation's best defenses in West Virginia, who are 3rd in yards allowed and 2nd in points allowed.
Shortest Drive: NC State. Another one of those long hauls by both fans. However, the drive from Raleigh is about 5 hours shorter at 10 hours for the trip.
Local Connections: None.
Courtesy Pick: The Mountaineers are on a 4 game winning streak against decent Big East competition, albeit not tough, they did win those 4 games decidedly. The Wolfpack are coming off a tough close loss at Maryland but they can claim something West Virginia cannot, a win against a ranked team this year. NC State beat then #16 Florida State on October 28th, whereas West Virginia's greatest victory comes against that same Maryland team, who finished 8-4. It's a tough call and should be a close game, if West Virginia's defense lives up to there calling, that could be the difference.
WEST VIRGINIA 27-21
INSIGHT BOWL - #12 Missouri (10-2) vs Iowa (7-5) 9p in Tempe, AZ
Tune in For: The crushed dreams bowl. Both teams are very talented and both have suffered heartbreaking losses that defined their season. Don't be fooled by Iowa's record, after 6 weeks, they were 5-1 and very much in the Rose Bowl discussion. They finished 2-4 and put a stamp on their disappointing, underachieving season by losing to the lowly Minnesota Golden Gophers, a team that had lost to nearly everyone including South Dakota earlier in the year (sorry, had to bring it up). Missouri, on the other hand, was 7-0 and fresh off a victory against then #1 Oklahoma when they marched into Nebraska and fell flat on their face against the Cornhuskers. With a chance to redeem themselves the next week against Texas Tech, they again failed to rise to the occasion. The Tigers finished off the season with 3 straight wins, but the damage was already done and a BCS game out of the picture.
Shortest Drive: Long trips on either end, the slight edge goes to Missouri who's fans only have to travel 23 hours, as opposed to Iowa's 26 hour plight.
Local Connections: Iowa - Broderick Binns DE, Junior, Cretin Derham Hall. Binns is one of the top DE's in the Big Ten, no surprise coming out of CDH. Karl Klug DT, Senior, Caledonia. Klug will be watched heavily by NFL scouts as he is widely considered a 1st or 2nd round draft pick.
Courtesy Pick: If you go by records, its an easy pick, however if we look at Iowa closer, you'll see that all 5 losses are by 7 points of less. They were in every game until the final tick. However, Missouri's 2 losses weren't blowouts either (lost by 14 & 7), and they beat 6 bowl teams to Iowa's 3. Winning close games is more crucial.
MISSOURI 30-29
Wednesday, December 29th
MILITARY BOWL - Maryland (8-4) vs East Carolina (6-6) 1:30p in Washington DC
Tune in for: Dominique Davis, the QB from East Carolina. Davis finished 4th in the nation in passing and tied for 1st in passing TDs (36). He's going to have to pass like a madman again as the Pirates rank 2nd to last in points allowed at 43/game.
Shortest Drive: Maryland. East Carolina fans can rejoice in a doable 5 hour trip to DC, but Maryland wins hands down with a 10 mile skip and a jump to RFK stadium. The Terrapins will easily have the home-field crowd advantage.
Local Connections: None
Courtesy Pick: Maryland is coming into the game after a 4-2 push to finish the season, including a big win over then #22 North Carolina State. The Pirates, however, are limping in on their wooden leg having finish 2-4 after their promising start. In their last 5 games, East Carolina has given up an average of 55 points. Only a win over 4-8 UAB saved them from a 5 game losing streak.
MARYLAND 43-38
TEXAS BOWL - Baylor (7-5) vs Illinois (6-6) 5p in Houston
Tune in for: The first Bowl game for Baylor in 16 years. Plus two 1,000 yard rushers and top 30 backs in the country in Mikel Leshoure, Illinois (9th) and Jay Finley, Baylor (29th).
Shortest Drive: Baylor. Another hands down win, although still a little jaunt, but only a 4 hour drive for the Baylor Bears, whereas Illini fans will have to take a 16 hour trip.
Local Connections: Illinois - Fritz Rock (awesome name), Fr. CB from Wayzata.
Courtesy Pick: When you think about the 2 teams, think Baylor = Balance and Illinois = Inconsistency. Baylor is not only solid in the run, they have a remarkable QB in Robert Griffin III, the 17th best passer in the nation. So if the running game is stopped, they have options. Whereas Illinois has the 13th best rushing game (242 yards/game), but the 5th worst passing (143 yards/game). Baylor may be limping, losing their last 3, but those came against Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma, all ranked teams. Illinois finished 1-3, not much better and they lost at home to Minnesota, a notably horrendous team this year.
BAYLOR 32-21
ALAMO BOWL - #14 Oklahoma State (10-2) vs Arizona (7-5) 8:15p in San Antonio
Tune in for: Oklahoma State's 3 headed offensive monster. The Cowboys are led by gunslinger Brandon Weeden's 4,037 passing yards (3rd in the nation), Kendall Hunter's 1,516 rushing yards (7th), and Justin Blackmon's 1,665 receiving yards (2nd). If that's not enough, their kicker, Dan Bailey leads the nation in scoring with 137 points.
Shortest Drive: Oklahoma State. A 9 hour trip down I35 doesn't sound very fun, but a 16 hour jaunt awaits Arizona fans.
Local Connections: Arizona - Derek Earls LB, Jr. from Waconia. Earls is a JuCo transfer from NDSU, who's done fairly well for the Wildcats. Willie Mobley DT, So. from Eden Prairie. Another JuCo transfer, Mobley has brought depth and raw power to the the D-Line.
Courtesy Pick: Oklahoma state scored 41 points in each of their 2 tough losses against #16 Nebraska (51-41) and #13 Oklahoma (47-41). That's what separates the Cowboys from a BCS bowl. Arizona on the other hand, lost their last 4 games after starting the season 7-1. Their defense will have to show up in a very big way to reverse there current trend.
OKLAHOMA STATE 45-22
Happy watching and look for my previews of the 8 Bowl games on the 30th & 31st coming soon!
bsv
the Courtesy Wave
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