Picks record
Rivalry weekend: 6-6 ACC championship: 1-0 Season: 111-41
I hope everyone is having a relaxing and enjoyable holiday season. It's that time of year, when dozens upon dozens of college football teams play in bowl games you've never heard of. Funny story: On Twitter a couple of weeks ago, I saw one of those "your bowl name is" games and this one was "the last place you shopped + last thing you ate + bowl." Mine happened to sound like a real bowl game for sure, and it had an excellent name: The Big Buns Damn Good Burgers Strasburger Bowl. The burger place in Northern Virginia was running a promotion for a $5 "Strasburger" -- named after Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg -- the day after he signed a long-term deal with Washington on Dec. 9. What would your bowl game name be following that formula?
Like last year, I'll just be picking the ACC's bowl games and the College Football Playoff matchups, over a series of however many posts it takes me to do this. :)
Today
Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La.
Rivalry weekend: 6-6 ACC championship: 1-0 Season: 111-41
I hope everyone is having a relaxing and enjoyable holiday season. It's that time of year, when dozens upon dozens of college football teams play in bowl games you've never heard of. Funny story: On Twitter a couple of weeks ago, I saw one of those "your bowl name is" games and this one was "the last place you shopped + last thing you ate + bowl." Mine happened to sound like a real bowl game for sure, and it had an excellent name: The Big Buns Damn Good Burgers Strasburger Bowl. The burger place in Northern Virginia was running a promotion for a $5 "Strasburger" -- named after Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg -- the day after he signed a long-term deal with Washington on Dec. 9. What would your bowl game name be following that formula?
Like last year, I'll just be picking the ACC's bowl games and the College Football Playoff matchups, over a series of however many posts it takes me to do this. :)
Today
Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La.
Louisiana Tech (9-3) vs. Miami (6-6), 4 p.m. ESPN
The Hurricanes are seven-point favorites, but would you really expect them to be the more motivated team? Miami had a disappointing year and finished the regular season in embarrassing fashion, with losses to 6-6 Florida International and a flailing Duke team that didn't make the postseason. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, are playing in their own backyard and beat that same FIU squad by 12. Miami has lost eight of its past nine bowl games, and Tech will probably be eager to get a shot at knocking off an ACC school.
Louisiana Tech 31, Miami 27
Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit
Pittsburgh (7-5) vs. Eastern Michigan (6-6), 8 p.m. ESPN
Again, we find the ACC school traveling to face a Group of Five opponent in its own backyard. For this one, bettors are leaning even more strongly for Pittsburgh than they are for Miami; the Panthers are 13-point favorites. But Pittsburgh lost to Miami, 16-12, and also finished its season badly, with a shutout loss to Virginia Tech and a 26-19 defeat to Boston College, giving the ACC its 10th
bowl-eligible team. And the Panthers haven't performed much better than the Hurricanes in the postseason recently, having lost six of their past seven bowls. I see this one going differently, though, for some reason. Do I really need a reason during this wacky bowl season? EMU is not the caliber of team that Louisiana Tech is, and I think the Eagles will find the going tough against the Panthers. EMU hasn't beaten a team with a winning record since downing Western Michigan on Oct. 19. The Eagles' best victory came against Illinois, which went 6-6 this season, but it was 34-31 way back on Sept. 14. Give me Pitt to get it done.
Pittsburgh 26, Eastern Michigan 20
The Hurricanes are seven-point favorites, but would you really expect them to be the more motivated team? Miami had a disappointing year and finished the regular season in embarrassing fashion, with losses to 6-6 Florida International and a flailing Duke team that didn't make the postseason. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, are playing in their own backyard and beat that same FIU squad by 12. Miami has lost eight of its past nine bowl games, and Tech will probably be eager to get a shot at knocking off an ACC school.
Louisiana Tech 31, Miami 27
Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit
Pittsburgh (7-5) vs. Eastern Michigan (6-6), 8 p.m. ESPN
Again, we find the ACC school traveling to face a Group of Five opponent in its own backyard. For this one, bettors are leaning even more strongly for Pittsburgh than they are for Miami; the Panthers are 13-point favorites. But Pittsburgh lost to Miami, 16-12, and also finished its season badly, with a shutout loss to Virginia Tech and a 26-19 defeat to Boston College, giving the ACC its 10th
Pittsburgh 26, Eastern Michigan 20
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