It's time for the second part of our RSS Bowl Pick 'Em Extravaganza! Part I can be found here. As you know, we've picked every game with confidence points and brought along Brother Yohey to make us feel good about our own picks. It's tight at the top between Y2 and Y1, but who will come out on top? Who will win the once important New Year's Day Bowls? Below will be each bowl game and our picks and confidence points. Play along at home and try and beat the bloggers! Part II starts with Friday's slate...
Jan 1 - Outback Bowl - Northwestern (8-4) v Auburn (7-5)
-Starting off the New Year will be the first of two Big 10/SEC matchups between conference also-rans Northwestern and Auburn. Northwestern should be pumped to be playing in a New Year's Bowl for the first time since Gary Barnett...and to be in sunny south Florida.
Mr. Yoder I: Auburn 11 Mr. Yoder II: Northwestern 5 Brother Yohey: Auburn 20
Jan 1 - Capital One Bowl - Penn St. (10-2) v LSU (9-3)
-The second SEC/Big 10 battle features two tenacious defenses in Penn St. and LSU. Right now I'm listening to Mark May pick against the Big Ten once again...gee, what a shock. Apparently LSU has also won 4 bowls in a row. But, remember, LSU is without leading rusher RB Charles Scott, and that's more important to us than the conference one comes from.
Mr. Yoder I: Penn St. 14 Mr. Yoder II: Penn St. 15 Brother Yohey: Penn St. 22
Jan 1 - Gator Bowl - West Virginia (9-3) v Florida St. (6-6)
-Bobby Bowden's final game with the Seminoles against the team he started with, his home state West Virginia. One could be cruel and joke that Bowden may get confused at some point and try to move across to WVU's sideline, but we're above that at this blog. He may want to though, even the emotion of this swan song can't hide that FSU stinks.
Y1: FSU 9 Y2: WVU 27 BY: WVU 15
Jan 1 - Rose Bowl - Ohio St. (10-2) v Oregon (10-2)
-Oregon will be looking to win their first Rose Bowl since 1917, and people think Ohio St. has performed poorly in the big bowl games! Seriously though, Ohio St. is in a no-win situation with regards to their national reputation. A win, and they didn't really beat one of the big boys. A loss cements that Ohio St. is a second-rate program. With that being said, it's going to be tough for OSU QB Terrelle Pryor to have the breakthrough performance the Bucks need. Of course, that doesn't stop a couple of homer picks from my colleagues.
Y1: OSU 23 Y2: Oregon 17 BY: Ohio St 23
Jan 1 - Sugar Bowl - Cincinnati (12-0) v Florida (12-1)
-Call this the bizarro coach bowl. UC Head Coach has already left for Notre Dame, spurning many of his players and leaving a sour taste in their mouths. Add to that interim Bearcats HC Jeff Quinn will move on to be the head man at Buffalo after the Sugar Bowl before former Central Michigan HC Butch Jones finally takes over in the Queen City. On the other sideline, we have the drama surrounding Urban Meyer. Meyer's shocking resignation made fans around the country sympathize with him for a matter of hours, before he promptly reversed his "tough" decision after one measly practice. Meyer's role reversal and "leave of absence" only proved what many already knew, nothing, not health, family, faith, or friends, is more important to these coaches than their football programs. All the coaching drama aside, Florida is the better team, but you'd know that if you followed our YCS fantasy playoffs, wouldn't you?...Oh no, we've just learned at RSS that the announcer for this game will be, gulp, Thom Brennaman! Let's remind you what happened last year when Brennaman announced Tebow and Florida's national title game win from last season. Imagine what he'll say about Urban Meyer when the guy's coaching off his death bed!
Y1: Cincinnati 8 Y2: Florida 34 BY: Florida 32
Jan 2 - International Bowl - South Florida (7-5) v Northern Illinois (7-5)
-And people wonder why the bowl games have lost some of their luster. If this is truly an international bowl, why not let Cambridge battle Osaka? Or, better yet, why not make this international football and have Manchester United play Barcelona? At least South Florida HC Jim Leavitt has Mike Leach to thank for taking him out of the spotlight, Lord knows this bowl game won't put him back in it, unless he goes all Woody Hayes on some poor NIU player.
Y1: South Florida 10 Y2: South Florida 8 BY: South Florida 8
Jan 2 - Cotton Bowl - Oklahoma St. (9-3) v Ole Miss (8-4)
-Speaking of losing its luster, I hear back in the day the Cotton Bowl use to be one of the most important bowls of all. Apparently now its the haven for highly touted preseason teams that turned into late season busts.
Y1: Ok St. 15 Y2: Ok St. 14 BY: Ole Miss 21
Jan 2 - PapaJohn's.com Bowl - South Carolina (7-5) v Connecticut (7-5)
-On par with the history of the Cotton Bowl, South Carolina and Connecticut will battle for the historic PapaJohn's.com Bowl trophy (and yes, apparently the .com is important). Does anyone think the ol' ball coach, Steve Spurrier, will be happy playing in this game? Meanwhile, Connecticut continues to inspire with their play in the memory of slain teammate Jasper Howard.
Y1: South Carolina 7 Y2: UConn 16 BY: UConn 9
Jan 2 - Liberty Bowl - East Carolina (9-4) v Arkansas (7-5)
-Just what you need for your post New Year's Day hangover...more mediocre football! This dandy does feature a conference champ in East Carolina, and the usual middle of the pack SEC team in Arkansas. To be honest, I don't even remember who I picked in this game...looking at the spreadsheet...apparently the pick is Arkansas. You can bet that's the last interest I show in this game.
Y1: Arkansas 16 Y2: Arkansas 13 BY: Arkansas 23
Jan 2 - Alamo Bowl - Texas Tech (8-4) v Michigan St. (6-6)
-By now everyone knows Mike Leach has been fired from Texas Tech for locking Craig James's kid in a broom closet. What's the big deal? When I was a kid, I had to walk uphill both ways in a driving rain before I could be locked in a broom closet! ESPN also took away all watchability by pulling Craig James from the broadcast...apparently it wasn't a conflict of interest before the Mike Leach scandal to have James broadcast his son's school. Oh yeah, that's right, his kid never played any way! You'd think all of the uproar would be a detriment to Texas Tech's chances, except Michigan St. suspended practically half of their knuckleheaded team for on-campus shenanigans. Can't both of these teams forfeit this game for advanced levels of stupidity and selfishness? Or at least be forced to dress up in an Alamo reenactment?
Y1: Texas Tech 21 Y2: Texas Tech 6 BY: Texas Tech 7
Jan 4 - Fiesta Bowl - TCU (12-0) v Boise St. (13-0)
-Expect this to be just as competitive as last year's bowl game between TCU and Boise St., except this will be on the national BCS stage. Here's hoping both teams show they belong in the discussion with the BCS conferences. Of course, FOX ruins the potential showcase by sending ultra meathead Tim Ryan and Sam Rosen to broadcast. Once again, as I've said before, FOX is simply giving every college football fan a big middle finger on its way out of broadcasting college football. Please, don't let the door hit you on the way out!
Y1: TCU 26 Y2: TCU 26 BY: TCU 30
Jan 5 - Orange Bowl - Georgia Tech (11-2) v Iowa (10-2)
-Iowa will have the final chance to make a good impression for the Big Ten against the triple option attack of ACC Champs Georgia Tech. While Iowa lived a charmed existence for much of their season, they'll need more than luck to counter the punishing ground game of the Wreck led by Nesbitt and Dwyer, even with a month to prepare. Oh by the way, this is FOX's last bowl game, and of course, we get Dick Stockton to close out in style. If you have any left over champagne or beer from New Year's, you could easily finish it off in this one. Take one drink every time Dick Stockton makes a mistake, and chug every time Stockton acts like he's covering a different sport. If Dick Stockton suddenly flashes back to Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, smash every beer bottle you own over your own head. (Of course, we at RSS don't promote binge drinking, so maybe don't try this extreme drinking game unless you are a trained professional).
Y1: Ga Tech 20 Y2: Ga Tech 28 BY: Ga Tech 24
Jan 6 - GMAC Bowl - Central Michigan (11-2) v Troy (9-3)
-At first, you may merely dismiss this as another mediocre bowl game, but don't! The matchup between MAC champs Central Michigan and Sun Belt champs Troy should be a matchup of two quality mid-majors, not the retread contests between mediocre teams from BCS conferences. Also take the chance to check out CMU QB Dan LeFevour, who may be a legit dark horse prospect at the next level.
Y1: CMU 25 Y2: CMU 32 BY: CMU 25
Jan 7 - BCS National Championship - Alabama (13-0) v Texas (13-0)
-Finally, the long, arduous journey to reach the national championship has arrived! From the very beginning, these two have been in the Top 3 of the YCS. Can Colt McCoy recover after his shaky performance in the Big 12 title game? How will 'Bama RB Mark Ingram respond after winning the Heisman Trophy? The way we see it, it should be another low-scoring affair, but 'Bama's defense is too stout and the strides made by 'Bama QB Greg McElroy and WR Julio Jones will more than make up for any lack of performance by Ingram.
Y1: Alabama 32 Y2: Alabama 23 BY: Alabama 27
Happy New Year from RSS! Don't forget to check back after the bowl season to see how we stacked up! Tune in tomorrow for the conclusion of our Top 10 Stories of the Decade and the last of our blogging in 2009...we hope you'll stick with us as we move into the teens! Don't forget to follow us on Twitter, until next time, it's bye for now!
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