Dec. 20 Bowl Games OFFICIAL THREAD

Post #1 » by **PhilipNelsonFan** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 2:27 am

EAGLEBANK BOWL (11 a.m. ET, ESPN): Wake Forest vs. Navy

This game is very hard to predict, yet I don't believe many people will watch it. Wake Forest is absolutely slumping, but as an Oregon fan I've seen what happens to talented teams who have end-of-season slides entering bowl games. (It goes both ways.) I think Wake Forest is more talented than Navy, and Jim Grobe is an excellent coach, but I've got Ken Niumatalolo getting a bowl win in his first season. Navy, in a close upset.

NEW MEXICO BOWL (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN): Colorado State vs. Fresno State

"Colorado State" and "bowl team" in the same sentence doesn't quite seem right, does it? I'm too big on the attitude Pat Hill has instilled in the Bulldogs to deny them of this game, however, and it's on national television to boot. Fresno State, and expect two touchdown receptions for Bear Pascoe.

MAGICJACK ST. PETERSBURG BOWL (4:30 ET, ESPN2): Memphis at South Florida

Only the New Orleans Bowl (Southern Miss vs. Troy) is less appealing, and how appropriate that they're both geographic. South Florida in a walkthrough.

PIONEER LAS VEGAS BOWL (8 p.m. ET, ESPN): BYU vs. Arizona

Now we're talking! Good as BYU was this season, everything seems to be pointing Arizona's way: a potent offense with several passing targets for Willie Tuitama, their first bowl game in nearly 15 years, and a hunger that can only come from being a Pac-10 also-ran. That said, I'm going with my heart over my head, and I hate Mike Stoops with a fiery passion with both. BYU continues their Vegas Bowl supremacy, and Max Hall once again gets to bask in the national spotlight.

(This is how I think I'll do the minor bowl game discussion threads; feel free to voice any objections.)

Post #2 » by **Da Schwab** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 4:45 am

I'll take Navy, USF (Go Bulls!), Fresno State and The Fighting Mormons.

They really have to stop making bullsh*t bowls though. The St. Petersburg Bowl, really?

El Turco · Post #3 » by **El Turco** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 5:03 am

give me wake, fresno, usf and mormons.

A.J. · Post #4 » by **A.J.** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 5:55 am

I'll take Wake, Fresno St., USF, and BYU. None of these game interest me.

hermes · Post #5 » by **hermes** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 3:40 pm

navy, fresno, SF, BYU

Post #6 » by **KingInExile** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 4:08 pm

I want to show loyalty to the Pac10, but Mike Stoops is just a bloody idiot. IMO the better team (better coached team) in the Vegas Bowl is BYU.

As for the others, my picks are: Who cares, Fresno, and Who cares.

A.J. · Post #7 » by **A.J.** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 4:14 pm

Man Shun White is a flipping beast..
Im surprised he isnt a NFL prospect.

A.J. · Post #8 » by **A.J.** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 4:21 pm

What in the heck just happened?

El Turco · Post #9 » by **El Turco** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 11:02 pm

who the hell is gartell johnson? 375 yrds and 2 TDs.

i bet his nfl stock is skyrocketed.

Post #10 » by **Icness** » Sun Dec 21, 2008 4:25 am

BYU getting schooled by Arizona, and that summarizes the game succinctly. Very surprised by that; Tuitama playing a whale of a game, while Max Hall looks very much like Joey Harrington. I had BYU as the #26 confidence pick.

Very surprised by the Fresno/CSU game too. I only watched the 1Q but neither team played any sort of defense then, looks like it stayed that way. That Gartrell Johnson wasn't really all that impressive in what I saw--got run down from behind easily, but he did a nice job gettign thru and reading his blockers. FSU treated every snap like a dash to sack the QB even though the Rams didn't throw a pass on their first two drives.

Post #11 » by **PhilipNelsonFan** » Sun Dec 21, 2008 1:18 pm

Hey now, Ic, Joey had his moments. But I definitely cannot believe BYU could not stop Arizona. Yeah, the Wildcats have some offensive weaponry, but that was pretty ridiculous. I'm disappointed in Fresno State's defense, too; they usually set the tone and they clearly did nothing of the sort.

Post #12 » by **Icness** » Sun Dec 21, 2008 2:47 pm

PhilipNelsonFan wrote:Hey now, Ic, Joey had his moments. But I definitely cannot believe BYU could not stop Arizona. Yeah, the Wildcats have some offensive weaponry, but that was pretty ridiculous. I'm disappointed in Fresno State's defense, too; they usually set the tone and they clearly did nothing of the sort.

You know, being a Lions fan I forget how very good Joey was at Oregon. He was an outstanding college QB, can't take that away from him.

Like I wrote in the preview, Pat Hill has to be thinking why he stayed in Fresno when his star was still high enough to jump to a BCA program (even if it is Washington). I caught about 10 quarters of FSU football this year and they struck me as a team that was not well-prepared for the teams they were facing. I do think Brandstater made some real nice throws yesterday, worthy of a developmental 5th/6th round pick a la Dan Orlovsky.