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It's not every decade that my alma mater, San Jose State, wins a bowl game, but the streak is now three....won one bowl game in the 80s, one in the 90s and now one in the 00s.

Hawaii-Arizona State UNDER 72
As I've been thinking about this game and my bias to ASU, another guy reminded me of something I had not applied to this game. When two opposite teams collide -- one that tends to run and grind clock and play solid defense vs. a run and shoot team -- you can't just average their totals and figure the number. When ASU has the ball, it could take 6 minutes to get it back to Hawaii who will probably possess it for 2 minutes etc. We have a dichotomy of sorts with the pace and this favors the team with the pace furthest from the projected total. Hawaii vs. Hawaii would have a total in the 90's. ASU vs. ASU would have a total in the 40's. 72 is much closer to the Hawaii/Hawaii pace. Remember the SAT question where you have 2 trains going at different speeds... yadda yadda yadda. To me it looks more like the linesmakers took an average of the two teams' performances on totals. You will not get an accurate prediction this way. In this case the bias would fall with the lower scoring ,more defensive team. Most of the time this is the case.

Arizona State and Hawaii over 72- I'm gonna say the over, because I think Hawaii wins this game and should get over 40 points and they will let Arizona State get a couple of touchdowns.

greek 1:55

Over 71.5 Haw/AzSt

Only 1 bowl has gone over so far but I think this one makes it 2. The last 2 years this Bowl has seen 97 and 99 pts scored. Perfect situation for both offenses. 40's for both teams is possible.

Oklahoma State/Alabama under 51
None of Alabama's games this year hit 51, and that was against the speed of the SEC teams. OSU's offense can move the ball very well, but I think the defense of the Tide will be up to the task.

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Middle Tennessee State +8 &
under 51.5
The Blue Raiders are battle tested having played Oklahoma, South Carolina, Louisville, Maryland, and Troy in their conference title game. This is a solid defensive team, only allowing 9 ppg other than the games with the big 4.

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Michigan +1
I know the Wolverines traditionally do not fare well on the left coast, but this is one of the best UM teams in recent history. Michigan is better on both sides of the ball. UCLA was the first team to play defense against the Trojans, and they scored 9 points. Michigan should not have a problem moving the ball with Hart and the talented recievers.

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All picks from the bowl games played through Dec. 25 have been tabulated into the weekly update. This includes picks from:
NIU-TCU
BYU-Oregon
Rice-Troy
E. Carolina-S. Florida
Utah-Tulsa
San Jose State - New Mexico
Arizona State - Hawaii

Picks posted above for games not yet played will be tabulated on each of the next two Tuesdays.

MTSU-CMU UNDER 51-1/2
MTSU a solid defensive team and CMU not far behind. Defensive preparation has been the consistent element in the early bowl games thus far and I'll ride that trend again here.

Texas Tech -6.5
&
under 66
Minnesota is 1-6 against bowl teams, with the only win over a very bad Iowa team. They won 6 games by beating Kent St, Temple, and a thrilling 10-9 win over I-AA North Dakota St. Their top offensive weapon will not play. The Red Raiders on the other hand, beat A & M, and played OU and Texas tough. TTU will throw the ball all over the field, and this one could get ugly early.

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Oregon St -3.5
I was hoping it would drop to 3, but it looks like it might in the other direction. Missouri started hot, but faltered down the stretch, finishing second in the Big 12 North, which is nothing to write home about. Apparently the flu bug has bitten dozens of the Mizzou players. OSU has beaten bowl teams like USC and Oregon. I love the Beavers to win by at least a TD.

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FSU vs. UCLA under 39
Under is 10-2 in UCLA last 12 games overall. Under is 7-2 in FSU last 9 games as an underdog.

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FSU-UCLA Under 39
Doing the limbo again. These two defenses are far ahead of the offenses and currently, there are 30-50 MPH winds in SF. By tonight, the winds are still expected to exceed 20 MPH. High winds will likely affect the passing games and neither team has much of a running game. That makes under the play IMO, though with two lousy offenses and two decent defenses, scores by the Ds are possible.

UCLA appears to be the right side if you look at "motivation", the last few games the teams have played, and crap like that. But IMO, at the start of the season, based on talent, FSU would have been a 9 point favorite. Motivation aside, I'm not about to lay points with the lesser-talented team....let alone one coached by Karl Dorrell. El Paso on the side.

greek 4:15

Over 38.5 FSU/UCLA

Unders have been makin the money so far in the bowls. This total is the lowest bowl total since this same bowl 2 years ago when NM/Navy played with a total of 39.5 and it went way over. I think there will be enough big plays to get the over.

FSU +3.5
I am gonna take the more talented team in bad weather getting points. I am hoping that Free Shoes U shows up.

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greek 9:20

Under[/b] 50 Ala/OkSt

Bama didnt play in one game this year that went over 50 pts while OkSt played in 9 outta 12 that went over 50 and the 3 that stayed under didnt miss goin over by much. Bama in bowls the last 2 years have had 36 and 23 total combined pts scored so I will say their D will be able to keep OkSt in check enough to keep this one under 50.

Oklahoma State-2 vs Alabama-The times I've seen the Cowboys play they have played well and Alabama doesn't have much of an offense and for the Cowboys watch Bobby Reid the quarterback.

California -3 vs Texas A&M- With UCLA losing, there goes the momentum talk and A&M would come in with all the momentum, and Cal hasn't played well since the middle of the season, but teams that play well during the season usually get it back in the bowl game.

Thursday Games

Already on Cal-A&M over.

Oklahoma State -2 vs. Bama
Is Bama focused? No head coach, older guys are going to the local casinos at night, and when the game starts, they have to defend the option.

Kansas State +7-1/2 vs. Rutgers
Rutgers has had a great year, but K State does have a respectable senior-dominated defense to stop the run. KSU had a new coaching staff this year and it seems the team didn't really kick it in gear until November. The win over Texas tells me this team is on the upswing and is a much better team now than it was two months ago. I wonder if Rutgers is thinking back to the big win over Louisville and what bowl they might have been playing in had they not lost two of their last three.

Independence Bowl

Oklahoma State -2 vs. Alabama
Battle of 6-6 teams goes to the team still with a coach. Hopefully it won't snow this there this year.
Ok St. 28 Crimson Tide 13

Texas Bowl

Kansas State vs. Rutgers -7 1/2
30 bowls and Rutgers gets this one? Not where a two loss team should end up. At least the stadium in Houston is nice. Reliant Stadium is sooo nice they never even installed trough urinals.
Kansas State 24 Rutgers 37

Holiday Bowl

Texas A&M +3 vs. Cal Golden Bears
3 man rush attack led by Double Wide Lane. Cal has no defense.
Aggies 33 Cal 14

Music City Bowl

Kentucky vs. Clemson -9
No defense and no run game for Kentucky is a bad combo against Clemson in this catfight.
Kentucky 19 Clemson 30

Sun Bowl

Missouri vs. Oregon St. -3 1/2
I love Beaver. I love lamp. And for the record, I love salsa. How can you go against a team with a fella named Yvenson at RB?
"Sick" Tigers 9 Beavers 44

Liberty Bowl

Houston U vs. South Carolina -5 1/2
Ol' ball coach will have his bag of tricks for Hou QB star Kolb.
Cougars 20 Fightin' Spurriers 30

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Big Eleven 3-team Special

Orlando Sports Bowl

Purdue vs. Maryland +1
Boilermaker QB has 3700 yards passing. But 'Terps have a returner named Oquendo. (Nick Bakay reference) Maryland.
Purdue 2 Maryland 3

Tempe Tecmo Bowl

Minnesota U vs. Texas Tech -6 1/2
11 combined losses add up to one hell of a lineup. Gophers top 40 offense can't keep up with Red Raiders 4100 yard QB.
Minne. 21 Texas Tech 38

Remember The Alamo Bowl

Iowa vs. Texas -9
Hawkeyes only win in the last six games was vs. NIU at home. Colt McCoy will not go on a 3 game losing streak. Big Ten has owned this bowl except 2000 Wildcats vs. Nebraska(yikes!).
Iowa 20 Texas 38

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Charlotte Fix Yo Bucket Bowl

Navy +6 vs. Boston College
Midshipmen lead the nation in rushing and confirmed kills. BC only gives up 90 yards a game.
Navy 27 BC 24

Atlanta Bullcock Fight Bowl

Virginia Tech -2 1/2 vs. Georgia
Attention, attention please. This is the only game in the whole bowl season with the total under 40. VT has number one pass defense.
VT 19 Georgia 16

New Years In Boise

Nevada +3 1/2 vs. Miami Florida
Where do I start...? Some teams get punished for bad conduct, but fucking Boise! Hey coach, err, former coach Coker, I didn't sign up for this destination dammit.
Nevada 26 Hurricanes 19

Cotton Bowl

Nebraska + 1 1/2 vs. Auburn
Fightin' Callahans have a top ten offense. Losses to USC, Texas, and the Oklanhoma's. Tigers will try to keep Bugeaters QB off the field.
Nebraska 16 Auburn 17

New Years Day In Tampa

Penn State +4 vs. Tennessee U
Joe Pa returns to the sidelines and I hate Danny Ainge enough to wager against his children.
Penn State 27 Tenn. 30

Citrus Furry Orgy Bowl

Wisconsin vs. Arkansas -2
McFadden and Co. "Go Crazy" as Farmio would say. Badgers won't match SEC speed.
Wisconsin 13 Arkansas 24

Gator Bowl

Georgia Tech +11 vs. West Virginia
WV can't stop the pass no matter how good their option is. They do not pull away to win by two TD's.
GT 27 WV 37

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I am buying back my Oklahoma State play by buying Bama at +3 and will wait a little while longer to see if I can find a 3.5. But officially,

Bama +3
The more I thought about this one, the more I keep questioning whether I have the right side. OSU has not been able to match the talent of the upper tier Big 12 teams and Bama's talent on defense rivals that of Texas, Oklahoma, A&M, etc. The net effect of this is that I now have a very small chance at a partial middle in this game. Otherwise, I just lose the juice.

Alabama +3
I was waiting for 3. OSU has played a lot of patsies in the Big 12 North. Alabama has not seen a lot of option offense, but they have the speed to defend it.

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Kentucky vs. Clemson under 57-1/2
Clemson's D is too good for this many points to be scored. Clemson will sit on lead and be happy pounding the ball all day.

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Minor detail: The Tenn QB is Ainge's nephew.

greek 4:20

Over 44 KState/Rutgers

I think both offenses will be able to move the ball and should each reach the 20's so I will go with the over. 62/55/67/59 pts scored in 4 of last 5 KST games. 85 pts scored in Rutgers bowl game last year.

Texas AM +3 over Cal

Should have gotten on this one a few days ago when it was 5. Both teams 9-3 but the 3 AM losses came by a total of 6 pts with 2 of them by 1 pt each. AM was a money machine covering 8 of 10 with a push this year. Cal didnt get the money in any of their last 5. Also for whatever reason this is a bowl that the dog always seems to cover. This should be one of the better bowls. Alot of points are possible.

Texas AM +3 over Cal Another over-ranked Pac 10 team and another loss for the Pac 10. AM wins by 10.

Rutgers -7 over KSU Rutgers got screwed out of a good bowl game. Maybe they screwed themselves. Either way, I like them winning big in this one. And at this point I just need to get some plays in.

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Missouri +3.5 vs Oregon State- I know Oregon State is on a hot streak, but Missouri has been under the radar, look out for Chase Daniel in this one to show the rest of the country how good he is.

Purdue -1 vs Maryland- Tiller has kept his players under wraps this week after letting them do to much partying previous years and I beleieve Maryland is overrated, so I say Go Purdue.