Tis the Bowl Season to Be Jolly: Part 1

The College Football Bowl Season begins on Saturday, and lasts over 23 days, ending with the BCS National Championship between # 1 Auburn and # 2 Oregon at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.


NEW MEXICO BOWL:
University Stadium; Albuquerque, NM- Saturday @ 2PM EST on ESPN
Brigham Young (BYU) Cougars (6-6; regular season) vs. University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP) Miners (6-6; regular season)
It's not easy being the first bowl. One of these two teams will finish at 7-6, while the other will be 6-7.
Pick: BYU 23-14

uDrove HUMANITARIAN BOWL:
Bronco Stadium; Boise, ID- Saturday @ 5:30PM EST on ESPN
Northern Illinois Huskies (10-3; regular season) vs. Fresno State Bulldogs (8-4; regular season)
Northern Illinois lost in another MAC Title Game, losing to Miami of Ohio. The Huskies have to travel to a stadium painted in smurf blue to play Fresno State.
Pick: Fresno State 29-10

R+L Carriers NEW ORLEANS BOWL:
Louisiana Superdome; New Orleans, LA- Saturday @ 9PM EST on ESPN
Ohio Bobcats (8-4; regular season) vs. Troy Trojans (7-5; regular season)
Pick: OU Bobcats 27-19

Beef 'O'Brady's ST. PETERSBURG BOWL:
Tropicana Field; St. Petersburg, FL- Tuesday @ 8PM EST on ESPN
Southern Mississippi Eagles (8-4; regular season) vs. Louisville Cardinals (6-6; regular season)
Pick: Southern Miss 30-16

MAACO LAS VEGAS BOWL:
Sam Boyd Stadium; Las Vegas, NV- Wednesday @ 8PM EST on ESPN
Utah Utes (10-2; regular season) vs. Boise State Broncos (11-1; regular season)
Both of these teams had high hopes of being BCS busters when the season began in September. Along the way, Utah suffered back-to-back thumpings to TCU and Notre Dame, while Boise State was upset on Black Friday by Nevada in nearby Reno. Can recent BCS-buster Boise State knock off 2008 BCS-buster Utah?
Pick: Boise State 40-20

San Diego County Credit Union POINSETTIA BOWL:
Qualcomm Stadium; San Diego, CA- Thurs. Dec. 23 @ 8PM EST on ESPN
Navy Midshipmen (9-3; regular season) vs. San Diego State Aztecs (8-4; regular season)
I was going to give the Aztecs props and the edge for playing in their home city, but it's not going to happen.
Pick: Navy 28-14

and
Sheraton HAWAII BOWL:
Aloha Stadium; Honolulu, HI- Fri. Dec. 24 @ 8PM EST on ESPN
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (10-3; regular season) vs. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (9-3; regular season)
This is going to be a good matchup between two great teams- Hawaii and Tulsa. I'm not going to give the Rainbow Warriors the edge based on their home field advantage, but because Hawaii had to deal with Nevada and Boise State all year long (the Warriors knocked off Nevada while losing to Boise State).
Pick: Hawaii 35-32

And looking ahead to Next Week's Post:
Little Caesar's Bowl (Ford Field; Detroit)- Florida Int'l (6-6) vs. Toledo (8-4)
AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl (Independence Stadium; Shreveport, La.)- Air Force (8-4) vs. Georgia Tech (6-6)
Champs Sports Bowl (Florida Citrus Bowl; Orlando)- West Virginia (9-3) vs. NC State (8-4)
Insight Bowl (Sun Devil Stadium; Tempe, Ariz.)- Missouri (10-2) vs. Iowa (7-5)
Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grunman (RFK Stadium; Washington D.C.)- East Carolina (6-6) vs. Maryland (8-4)
Texas Bowl (Reliant Stadium; Houston)- Illinois (6-6) vs. Baylor (7-5)
Valero Alamo Bowl (Alamodome; San Antonio)- Oklahoma State (10-2) vs. Arizona (7-5)
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces (Gerald J. Ford Stadium; Dallas)- Army (6-6) vs. Southern Methodist (7-6)
New Era Pinstripe Bowl (Yankee Stadium; The Bronx)- Kansas State (7-5) vs. Syracuse (7-5)
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl (LP Field; Nashville)- North Carolina (7-5) vs. Tennessee (6-6)
Bridgeport Education Holiday Bowl (Qualcomm Stadium; San Diego)- Nebraska (10-3) vs. Washington (6-6)
Meineke Car Care Bowl (Bank of America Stadium; Charlotte, NC)- South Florida (7-5) vs. Clemson (6-6)
Hyundai Sun Bowl (Sun Bowl; El Paso)- Notre Dame (7-5) vs. Miami (7-5)
AutoZone Liberty Bowl (Liberty Bowl; Memphis)- Central Florida (10-3) vs. Georgia (6-6)
Chick-fil-A Bowl (Georgia Dome; Atlanta)- South Carolina (9-4) vs. Florida State (9-3)