Here are my preview and predictions for the remaining bowl games, starting with those being played on December 30th and going clear through the BCS title game.
Upset picks are in italics.
December 30th
Fort Worth - BYU vs. Tulsa - Golden Hurricane by 4
The same logic that has put Alabama at #2 in the national rankings would put Tulsa in the top 20 of the national rankings, since each of their losses were to opponents ranked in the top 10: Houston, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, and Boise State. BYU got better as the season went on, but the Golden Hurricane were good from the beginning of the season, and are more likely to have a good game against the Cougars, who are hoping that quarterback Riley Nelson is fully recovered from his lung and rib injuries suffered in November.
Pinstripe - Rutgers vs. Iowa State - Scarlet Knights by 5
Iowa State played one of the toughest schedules in the whole country this year, with 8 opponents who were or should have been ranked, and they won two of those, one which cost the Big 12 a berth in the title game, when they upset Oklahoma State in overtime. Rutgers, meanwhile, played a relatively weak schedule, but never found themselves out of a game and are playing much closer to home than the Cyclones.
Music City - Mississippi State vs. Wake Forest - Bulldogs by 12
Wake Forest looked good early in the season, especially after upsetting Florida State, sending the Seminoles to their third straight loss and knocking them from the national rankings, but it was just fool's gold, as the ACC was much weaker than most people knew. Mississippi State played a tough SEC schedule, and won two conference games only because they got to face Ole Miss and Kentucky. Luckily, the Bulldogs took care of all non-conference opponents, and this game shouldn't be any different.
Copper - Iowa vs. (14) Oklahoma - Sooners by 18
The Sooners certainly didn't expect to be playing this early in bowl season when they entered the season ranked #1, but after losing three games, the first one to unranked Texas Tech, they ended up out of the BCS picture. Iowa had another average year, winning most of their home games but struggling on the road, and unless Oklahoma doesn't show up ready to play, they should make easy work of the Hawkeyes.
December 31st
Texas - Northwestern vs. Texas A&M - Aggies by 21
This is another case of two 6-6 teams from very different conferences playing each other. A&M played a very tough conference schedule, then supplemented it with Arkansas, and built a reputation of building huge leads on good teams before choking in the second half. Northwestern, however, doesn't have the firepower to make that kind of comeback, so I don't see the Wildcats coming close in this one.
Sun - Georgia Tech vs. Utah - Utes by 6
The Yellowjackets were 6-0 in mid-October, a far cry from where they are now, sitting at 8-4 with losses to a pair of unranked conference opponents. Utah had a chance at the Pac 12 title game up until the final game of the season, when they choked against conference doormat Colorado. The Utes haven't beaten a ranked opponent yet, but Georgia Tech is heading the wrong direction at this point.
San Francisco - Illinois vs. UCLA - Bruins by 3
Illinois started the season 6-0, then lost 6 straight and lost Coach Ron Zook his job. UCLA lost consistently down the stretch and backed their way into the Pac 12 title game after a 50-0 loss to USC to close the regular season. They were allowed by play in a bowl despite a losing record because the final loss came in a title game, and they are also playing with a coach who has lost his job. The Bruins seem to have rallied around their fired coach, however, while the Illini have given up on theirs.
Liberty - Cincinnati vs. Vanderbilt - Commodores by 6
Cincinnati may have tied for the Big East title this season, but Vanderbilt played much better opponents all season, which account for their 6 losses, while the Bearcats lost to other Big East schools. Vandy is not the type of team that gets to play in a bowl very often, so look for them to be very motivated to pull off an upset.
Peach - Virginia vs. (25) Auburn - Tigers by 4
Virginia made a major run at the ACC title before falling completely flat against rival Virginia Tech, and Auburn had a very up-and-down season following their championship run last year. All 5 of Auburn's losses came to teams that were in the running for the BCS on the final day of the season, and since Virginia was out a week earlier, the Tigers should take down another lesser opponent.
January 2nd
TicketCity - (19) Houston vs. (22) Penn State - Cougars by 19
The first matchup of ranked teams in the bowl season, this game pits one team that was
so close to making the BCS before getting a case of the drops against one that is dealing with one of the biggest scandals in recent memory. Both lost coaches, with Coach Sumlin leaving Houston before the bowl game, and Coach Paterno being very publicly relieved of his duties several weeks ago. Look for Case Keenum to atone for his poor showing in the last game and go out a winner.
Gator - Ohio State vs. Florida - Gators by 8
Ohio State had a very difficult first season without Jim Tressel, losing Terrelle Pryor to the NFL before the season and dealing with numerous suspensions early in the season, but this wasn't the same Buckeye team that has been a fixture in the top 10 for a decade or more. Florida wasn't a powerhouse either, but they had some good performances against some of the top teams in the SEC, and they should win the Urban Meyer bowl with no problem.
Hall of Fame - (17) Michigan State vs. (16) Georgia - Spartans by 5
This is about the only time I'm picking against the SEC this year, but Georgia is not as good as their record looks. They failed to beat a team that ended the season ranked (unless you count overrated Auburn), while Michigan State beat Michigan and Wisconsin in consecutive weeks in the middle of the season and lost a close one to Wisconsin with the Big Ten title on the line. The Spartans are better, and Georgia will once again fail to beat a ranked team.
Citrus - (20) Nebraska vs. (9) South Carolina - Gamecocks by 4
South Carolina somehow held it together despite losing quarterback Stephen Garcia to another drug suspension and Marcus Lattimore to a knee injury, losing only to Arkansas and Auburn as they played the weakest schedule in the SEC, which sure helped out. Nebraska beat some good teams, but they also had some weeks where they didn't show up, like their huge losses to Wisconsin and Michigan. When in doubt, go with the SEC.
Rose - (10) Wisconsin vs. (5) Oregon - Ducks by 1
These two teams ended the season with identical records, but Oregon's losses were easier to understand, with close games against LSU and USC, both of which ended the season in the top 5, while Wisconsin lost to Michigan State and Ohio State. Both teams have awesome offenses, and we'll get to see two of the best running backs in the nation square off, with touchdown leader Montee Ball facing yardage leader LaMichael James. Should be a shootout, with the Ducks finishing in the top 5 yet again.
Fiesta - (4) Stanford vs. (3) Oklahoma State - Cowboys by 9
If you pick teams based on who they lost to, you'd have to take the Cardinal, which only lost to Oregon, while Oklahoma State lost to Iowa State, but if you look at how they lost, you'd see that OK State's loss came in overtime after a tipped pass interception while Stanford was out of their game with the Ducks before the 4th quarter started. That is why the Cowboys will win, and why they should have played for the national title.
January 3rd
Sugar - (13) Michigan vs. (11) Virginia Tech - Wolverines by 11
Michigan, although they may not deserve a BCS berth, at least played some teams worth mentioning during the season, while the Hokies didn't play a single team worthy of rating among the top 25 at the end of the season, and their pair of losses to Clemson, neither of which was competitive, make it a joke that they're even here. Michigan in a blowout.
January 4th
Orange - (23) West Virginia vs. (15) Clemson - Mountaineers by 1
As bad as the Big East has been in recent years, the ACC was just as bad this year, but somehow nobody noticed that no ACC team had a win worth mentioning all season. Since neither team really deserves to be here, I'll take West Virginia in an upset.
January 6th
Cotton - (8) Kansas State vs. (6) Arkansas - Razorbacks by 4
The should-have-been-a-BCS-bowl is being played right in the middle of the big games, and matches up two teams that lost only twice, but all four losses were blowouts against top 10 teams. Because of that, it's kind of tough to read either of these teams, but Arkansas was a little closer to winning their blowouts than Kansas State, so I'll take the SEC team again.
January 7th
Birmingham - SMU vs. Pittsburgh - Panthers by 9
The Panthers may have lost their coach yesterday, but they are still a much better team than SMU, which had only one good win all year, somehow taking out TCU in overtime right in the middle of their schedule. Pitt didn't have a great victory this year, but they played well against several good teams, including Notre Dame and West Virginia, and they have plenty of time to regroup under a new coach.
January 8th
Mobile - Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois - Red Wolves by 4
These are two teams that would be included in a 16-team playoff if the NCAA would allow it. Arkansas State lost only twice early in the season, to Illinois (back when they were good) and Virginia Tech, before reeling off 9 straight wins to take the Sun Belt title easily. Northern Illinois had to make a big comeback to win the MAC, but they definitely deserve to be here, but they won't be the top dogs in this matchup.
January 9th
BCS - (2) Alabama vs. (1) LSU - Tigers by 10
This game doesn't make much sense to me. If LSU wins, they just prove once and for all that they are the best team in the SEC, which we already know. If Alabama wins, the two teams have split the season series 1-1, which makes them co-champions in my mind. If the SEC really wanted proof that their conference was better than the Big 12, which had a much better strength of schedule this year, it would have been advantageous to have them face their conference champion. The best we can hope for is that the Tigers win and give us the closest thing to a national champion we can get this year.
Hope you enjoyed my picks and predictions, and have a great bowl season.
