Comments on Bowls, Part I

We are nine games into my bowl picks, and I am 4-5 in those games. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it appears as if I would be better off flipping a coin.

But let's consider a few factors and mitigating circumstances. Missouri is just snakebitten. Blaine Gabbert plays the game of his life - 41 of 57 passing for 434 yards - but throws a pick 6 late in the game that turns out to be the difference. And the allegedly much-improved Tiger defense couldn't stop Iowa's running game. Mind you, Missouri is the team that fell victim to the "5th Down" play in 1990 against Colorado, with the Buffs going on to win a share of the national championship. Missouri just can't seem to win a big game, sometimes through no fault of their own.

Speaking of winning big games, I should have known that the Fighting Zookers would play well in a relatively meaningless bowl. They can't win the big game either, but they somehow win the ones you would think wouldn't inspire them. This is a team that lost to Minnesota for crying out loud. I should have known they would plow Baylor.

The biggest surprise was SMU not showing up for three quarters of the game in their home stadium against a pretty average Army team. As I noted in my predictions, I was afraid to pick against Army in the Armed Forces Bowl. Never again. Army played their asses off, and came away with a win.  I love watching the service academies play.  They never put more raw talent on the field than their opponents.  They play assignment football, and they play with discipline.  As an example, in the game against SMU, Army had no penalties and no turnovers.  That is amazing.

I would like to point out that the excessive celebration penalty that probably cost Kansas State the game against Syracuse was complete garbage.  As a referee, you CAN NOT make a borderline call like that on a play that may very well decide the outcome of the game.  Terrible.  Horrible.  Shameful.

Lastly, congratulations to the Washington Huskies. If I were picking against the spread, as I did elsewhere, I would have taken Washington. I knew they would play way better than they did back in September, but I still didn't think they could win outright. Nebraska had very little to play for, and they played like it. It's always nice to see Nebraska lose, except when they screw up my bowl picks.

We have a full slate of games in the next couple of days - still time for me to make up some of the ground I lost in the first few... Enjoy!