Weekly Picks of the Week - Bowl Games Part One

Picks in Bold

Rankings based on BCS Standings
All lines provided by BETONLINE.ag

#20 Fresno State Bulldogs (+6.5) v. #25 USC Trojans

Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl
Las Vegas, Sam Boyd Stadium
Saturday Dec. 21
3:30
ESPN

Boise State Broncos v. Oregon State Beavers (-3)

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Honolulu, Aloha Stadium
Tuesday Dec. 24
8:00
ESPN

Miami Hurricanes v. #18 Louisville Cardinals (-3)

Russell Athletic Bowl
Orlando, Florida Citrus Bowl
Saturday Dec. 28
6:45
ESPN

Mississippi Rebels (-3) v. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
Nashville, LP Field
Monday Dec. 30
3:15
ESPN

#10 Oregon Ducks v. Texas Longhorns (+14)

Valero Alamo Bowl
San Antonio, Alamodome
Monday Dec. 30
6:45
ESPN

#14 Arizona State Sun Devils v. Texas Tech Red Raiders (+14)

National University Holiday Bowl
San Diego, Qualcomm Stadium
Monday Dec. 30
10:15
ESPN

Virginia Tech Hokies (+7) v. #17 UCLA Bruins

Hyundai Sun Bowl
El Paso, Sun Bowl
Tuesday Dec. 31
2:00
ESPN

#24 Duke Blue Devils v. #21 Texas A&M Aggies (-11.5)

Chick-fil-A Bowl
Atlanta, Georgia Dome
Tuesday Dec. 31
8:00
ESPN

-Here comes my yearly reminder that bowl games are pointless.  Beyond pointless.  Only one game actually matters (and it isn't even technically a bowl game) and the rest are a bunch of glorified exhibition games.  Not only are they pointless, the players know they are pointless and generally only one team shows up to play and the other one just shows up to have a good time in a random town.  On top of that, 80 of the 126 FBS teams qualified for a bowl game.  That's 63.5%.  Insanity.  It's like giving out Participation Trophies to little league kids because their parents don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.  Look at it this way, all a team has to do is load up on crappy non-conference teams and then win just two conference games and they can play in a bowl game.  How does that make sense?  For example, Texas State (6-6, 2-5 in Sun Belt) beat 0-12 Georgia State and 5-6 South Alabama in conference and then beat four non-conference opponents who had a combined record of 13-35.  Of their six wins, only one was bowl eligible (Prairie View A&M who I've never heard of) and yet they are bowl eligible.  That's so dumb.  Thankfully, there are only 70 available spots for bowl games and Texas State didn't make the cut, but the fact that they are eligible is still stupid.  All I'm trying to say is that bowl games are pointless and I really can't stand watching two 6-6 teams duke it out in the Crappy.com Craptastic Bowl.

The Funniest Sign From Last Week's College GameDay

(I would like to thank my buddy, Ned, for sending me this awesome sign.)

-Alright, enjoy some pointless bowl games.

Last Week's Results: 4-2
Regular Season Results: 40-44-3
Bowl Results: 0-0

"I don't know what I like more, the look on the LG's face or the RG's mustache.  It truly is a toss-up."