2005-06 College Bowls

How the oddsnark Crew Sees the BCS Games

BCS snarkPicks	oddSeth	oddJoe	oddJosh	oddPetey
Fiesta Bowl: Notre Dame vs. Ohio State	Ohio State	Notre Dame	Ohio State	Notre Dame
Sugar Bowl: Georgia vs. West Virginia	Georgia	West Virginia	Georgia	West Virginia
Orange Bowl: Florida State vs. Penn State	Penn State	Penn State	Penn State	Penn State
Rose Bowl: USC vs. Texas	Texas	USC	Texas	Texas

oddSeth: I nearly went with the Irish, but I think they’re just about out of leprechaun/Jebus mojo, after overperforming all year and playing over their saintly heads. I think this one will be close but that OSU will come out on top.

Georgia gets to essentially play a home game against a Mountaineers team that didn’t exactly dominate this year, with their only win over a top 25 team being Louisville. Georgia wins this one easily.

While it’d be nice to see an epic battle between Penn State and FSU, I think the Seminoles get soundly thumped in this one. Just wasn’t their year, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see them pack it in, especially if they get behind early.

Yeah, there’s a little hometown bias in my Rose Bowl pick, but that’s truly what I’d pick, even if I lived in Nome, Alaska. As long as Texas doesn’t get down early and freak the fuck out, this one should be a close game, with Texas pulling it out in the end. All this talk about USC being the GREATEST COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAM EVER only helps the Horns.

oddJoe: Okay, I’ll admit that I’m one of the slobbering masses with a big old soft spot for the Fighting Irish. It’s the way I was brought up, I can’t help it. But honestly, I just don’t see the Buckeyes overcoming Charlie Weis and his offense, unless they’ve discovered the secrets of the Da Vinci Code or something. This is just another bowl game for The Football Factory of Ohio State; Notre Dame is playing for the glory of a billion Catholics, the Pope, and the Baby Jebus. You can’t compete with that.

I’ll also admit that I know about as much about Georgia and West Virginia as Mike Brown does about disaster relief operations, but I’m taking the Mountaineers here because there’s going to be a big upset in the BCS and there’s no reason it can’t be West Virginia doing the upsetting.

JoePa and the Nittany Lions will crush - I say crush - FSU. Nuff said.

As for the big one in Pasadena, first of all I’m pissed that with all this BCS foolishness there’s no Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day. What reason do I have now to drag my sorry, hungover, one-year-older butt out of bed in the morning? Second, the level of hype over this game has reached epic proportions, and I’ll be glad when it’s done. I understand that ABC and the BCS folks are glad they finally have a real, premier matchup that no one can argue about, but all the wild-eyed, histrionics is just ridiculous. And as for the pick, someone around here has to take USC, right?

oddJosh: It’s been a good run for Touchdown Jesus and his eleven apostles, but surely they used up their miracle juice in the Stanford game. Notre Dame’s defense is suspect and its offense is merely good. (Sorry, but putting up 31 against the Toejams doesn’t make them great — Arizona St. managed 28 and Fresno St racked up 42.) Ohio St.’s defense is great. The Irish have burned me so regularly a lesser heathen would have converted, but my money’s behind A.J. Hawk and the rest of the Buckeye defenders in a close one.

Maybe I’m missing something, but if the same Georgia team that stomped LSU shows up on January 2 — and I don’t know why it wouldn’t, having won three straight and playing in their back yard — seems to me Georgia should win, Georgia should cover, Georgia should spend some quality time pondering how they lost two games this season.

Battle of the crazy old coots. Bowden’s as wily a sumbitch as has ever walked the sidelines, but Joe Pa’s got the better team. Maybe even 10 points better.

Listening to the national media coverage of the Rose Bowl has become so entertaining I don’t want to interrupt the crazy. (For a break from frothy-mouthed babbling, look here.) Texas hasn’t faced the likes of USC’s offense this year, but they’ve damn sure seen a better defense. USC will face its toughest competition on both sides of the ball on the 4th. Horns force more turnovers to edge out a win in a classic.

oddPetey: The Fiesta pick is essentially about Charlie Weis. I hate it that it’s happened, but I’ve fallen for the big tub. I think his big Irish brain — Weis is an Irish name, right? — figures out a way to get by the scariest set of linebackers college football has seen in a decade. And Troy Smith is nice, sort of a Diet Vince, but The OSU’s running game does nothing for me (or, more importanly, for them) and I think a one dimensional team won’t be able to win this game.

In the battle of West Virginny coal mining hillbillys against Deep South moon shining rednecks, I will always go with the black lung. That shit makes you tough.

Have you seen Florida State play this year?

And, for the GrandDaddy of them all, I think VY’s big game mentality and a better-than-you-think offensive supporting cast combine with what will be far and away the best defense the Trojans have played since Auburn in the regular season 2 years ago to push the Horns to their first championship in 35 years. And, yes, I too am something of a homer. (And, yes, I’m scared of the possibility of a replay of last year’s title game. I don’t think it’ll happen. But it scares me a bit.)

Happy New Year.

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