Bowl Bonanza Part I

MIAMI (CBS4) - There is an old football cliché…big players make big plays in big games. I think you can amend that to include the way this little competition between myself and Tim…big prognosticators (myself) make big picks in big weeks. After two straight weeks of setbacks to Tim, allowing him to sniff a shot at winning the "big man lunch", I came back on championship week to widen my lead. Really, Kephart? South Carolina over Auburn? Come on, Man! (Tim: No arguments from me, that was a pretty boneheaded pick!)

So now, it has come down to this. With apologies to Bing Crosby, or whoever sang that song, college football bowl season is indeed "the most wonderful time of the year." And lets get this over with before everyone asks…yes, I watch every bowl game, from the Armed Forces Bowl to the St. Petersburg Bowl to the Sugar Bowl. If you don't know by now, I have a problem, and there is no cure.

Luckily this season, the "Worldwide Leader in Sports" has made it easy by buying every bowl game sans two (including the Sun Bowl featuring Miami vs. Notre Dame December 31st at 2 pm on CBS4…cheap plug). Remember when you had bowls on different networks at the same time, forcing you to have to move televisions to one room so you could watch them all? Thanks a lot, self appointed "Worldwide Leader".

For our bowl picks, as this decides who will make it rain at lunch, we're breaking it up into two parts. Part one starts from now until December 30th, and can be titled "They actually have these Bowl Games?"

Jason This Season: 97-48 (.669) Last Week: 8-2
Tim This Season: 93-52 (.641) Last Week: 7-3

New Orleans Bowl: Troy vs. Ohio: Had the Panthers of FIU not lost their final game of the season, their fans would be getting drunk on Bourbon Street instead of Troy's. Ohio, home of a fine journalism school, faces the Sun Belt dynasty known as the Trojans. A decent start.
Jason and Tim's Pick: Troy

St. Petersburg Bowl: Southern Miss vs. Louisville: You thought Tropicana Field was bad for baseball? Try holding a football game in that embarrassment of a facility. Best part of this game…the sponsor is Beef O'Brady's. Not trying to sound biased here, but Beefs is some good eats. Maybe that's where the winners lunch will be (probably not, but maybe I can get some free grub next time I go in.)
Jason and Tim's Pick: Louisville

Las Vegas Bowl: Boise State vs. Utah: So, let me get this right…you lose one game, in overtime, to a ranked team, and you drop all the way from a potential BCS game to playing before Christmas? Its getting harder and harder to defend you, Bowl Championship Series. Broncos are angry…poor Utes don't know what's coming. (Tim: And let's face it, Utah never recovered from their disastrous loss to TCU)
Jason and Tim's Pick: Boise State

Pizza (Pizza) Bowl: FIU vs. Toledo: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…by choking to Middle Tennessee State, the Panthers go bowling in Detroit instead of New Orleans. That sounds like more of a punishment then a reward. All kidding aside, this is a gigantic step for Mario Cristobal and company, and will go a giant way toward maybe not being one of the big boys just yet, but no longer being the little sisters.
Jason and Tim's Pick: Toledo

Insight Bowl: Missouri vs. Iowa: In honor of Tim's alma mater playing in this game, I'm going to let him analyze this game. Go for it, Timbo: On the one hand, you have an impressive defensive line from Missouri versus the always stout offensive line of the Hawkeyes. Mizzou needs a victory here to try and recover from last year's shellacking by the NAVY Midshipman. In year's past, I would have picked Iowa, simply because Missouri's defense has been, well, awful. But this year, the Zou has been a defensive scoring machine, finishing number 6 in the country in scoring defense. Daddy, which I will soon be, always said bet on defense!
Jason and Tim's Pick: Missouri

Champs Sports Bowl: West Virginia vs. N.C. State: An old school feel hits the magic kingdom when these two southern powers meet in one of the worst stadiums to host a bowl game. Sorry, city of Orlando, but you know it's true. You have to feel for WVU's Bill Stewart, who was essentially fired after next season this week. You have to wonder if Tom O'Brien is hearing the same footsteps in Raleigh…hello, Bill Cowher.
Jason and Tim's Pick: West Virginia

Texas Bowl: Baylor vs. Illinois: Gee, I wonder who is going to have home field advantage in this one. The Bears are just happy to be back to playing in the postseason. At this point, Illini coach Ron Zook is happy to still be employed. I wonder if he applied for the Gators job when it was open last week…like a Styx reunion tour.
Jason and Tim's Pick: Illinois

Alamo Bowl: Oklahoma State vs. Arizona: The Cowboys pulled the classic move of losing to the wrong team at the wrong time. Their loss in the Bedlam Series with rival Oklahoma sent OSU plummeting from the BIG XII title game and a BCS bowl, all the way down to San Antonio. No shot intended at the city…the Riverwalk is awesome and the Spurs are playing red hot right now. Arizona poses a formidable challenge to Mike Gundy, but I think he'll lead OSU to victory…after all, he's a man…he's 42 (you didn't see that coming?)
Jason and Tim's Pick: Oklahoma State