Sorry I disappeared without saying anything. I took a little week-long retreat to the backcountry of North Carolina with my girlfriend. It was the first time I had ever done that sort of thing and it was a great time. But no Internet and no TV meant I got quite disconnected. Not that that's a bad thing. I needed it. Spending some time in the middle of nowhere with my girlfriend was good for me. I did, of course, have ESPN MVP though, which made me feel like I was in one of those commercials. Anyway, I drove back home from NC to Miami yesterday in a 14-hour trip. Which was followed almost immediately (6 hours later) by a cross country lane ride to San Diego for our big annual family reunion. Usually we go to the Cayman Islands, but for a multitude of reasons we changed it up to San Diego. Which brings a great opportunity, though. Now I can go to a bowl game I've never been to in a stadium I've never seen. The Pacific Life Holiday Bowl. Texas vs. Arizona State. Good game in a great city.

I'll be back on later tonight with my wrap-up of the college bowl season predictions. Should be really good stuff. But I'm going to limit my use this week while in San Diego. You gotta love hotels. Pay out your ass to stay there and you'd think the least they'd do is give you free internet. Or at least $5 for a day at most. Nope, not in SoCal. $12.95 for 24 hours. Are you kidding me!?? Needless to say I'm going to make the most out of the two days I buy.

My friend John Brown is somewhat of a college football guru himself. If you asked him he'd say nobody in the world has worse luck when it comes to sports. So see for yourself as I post his e-mail sent out to the 2 or 3 friends he has (all typos courtesy of John Brown and his Youngstown State education):


San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia
Utah vs. Navy
It's pretty cool that this credit union sponsors this game. I however wish the Greater Warren Federal Credit Union would sponsor a game. Utah sinks Navy, and dances with Poinsettias in their mouth.
San Diego    Dec. 20, 9 p.m.    ESPN HD

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Memphis vs. Florida Atlantic
It's the battle of 2 teams no one gives a crap about. I will say that Memphis is playing for their fallen Offensive lineman this season. I saw Memphis win their last bowl game which was the Motor City Bowl, however I will not see them win this meaningless exhibition game.
New Orleans    Dec. 21, 8 p.m.    ESPN2 HD

Papajohns.com Bowl
Southern Miss vs. Cincinnati
This is actually a decent match up. Cincy should win and my man Anthony Hoke will have 2 sacs and 5 tackles. This is Southern Miss's last game under their current head coach. He will go out on the bottom as Hoke brings the golden pizza box back to Warren.
Birmingham, Ala.    Dec. 22, 1 p.m.    ESPN2 HD

New Mexico
Nevada vs. New Mexico
I know what your thinking. New Mexico is playing a home game in their own home state, they should win. Not so fast my friend. Nevada is the better team. I love the pistol offense they run. Nevada should have beat Hawaii earlier this season, and they will steal the New Mexico Bowl title from the Lobos and New Mexico will be renamed to New Nevada.
Albuquerque, N.M.    Dec. 22, 4:30 p.m.    ESPN HD

Pioneer Las Vegas
UCLA vs. BYU
Remember when UCLA beat USC last season? Yea well that's about the only thing that has gone right with this program in the past 2 years. BYU will go into sin city as "Pioneers" and bring back Las Vegas to all the Mormons.
Las Vegas    Dec. 22, 8 p.m.    ESPN HD

Sheraton Hawaii
Boise State vs. East Carolina
Mike Eisenberg has this listed as his biggest bowl mismatch. ECU has Lou Holtz's son, maybe his dad can give a motivational speech to the Pirates for them not to lose this game by more than 90. Boise State in a route. go to www.eisentower30.com for Mike's bowl picks.
Honolulu    Dec. 23, 8 p.m.    ESPN

Motor City
Purdue vs. Central Michigan
The MAC is down. They will not win a bowl game. CMU is not that good, they got smoked by North Dakota State earlier this season, and will get smoked by Purdue to finish the year. The MAC is a joke!
Detroit    Dec. 26, 7:30 p.m.    ESPN HD

Pacific Life Holiday
Arizona State vs. Texas
Ahh the Holiday Bowl. One of the best pre-new year bowl games. I love this match up and I'm gonna tell you why. Arizona State is underrated in my book, and Texas is overrated. If you remember a few years back when Washington blew a big lead to Texas, but Zona State will not. I'm gonna go with the Sun Devils in an upset special.
San Diego    Dec. 27, 8 p.m.    ESPN HD

Champs Sports
Boston College vs. Michigan State
Great match up. Dantonio is a former YSU assistant and is trying to turn the Spartans around. He will, and in a few years MSU will be good. However Matt Ryan will go out on top and beat MSU in a pretty good bowl game. I like this match up and am somewhat excited for this game.
Orlando, Fla.    Dec. 28, 5 p.m.    ESPN HD

Texas
TCU vs. Houston
Stupid bowl game featuring 2 in state schools. TCU but no one in Texas even cares about this game.
Houston    Dec. 28, 8 p.m.    NFL Network

Emerald
Maryland vs. Oregon State
I hate this bowl game because it's played on Balco Field, I mean AT&T park. Why play a game at a baseball stadium when you have a NFL team in your city??? Maryland travels as far as any team can in the continental US and beats OSU.
San Francisco    Dec. 28, 8:30 p.m.    ESPN HD

Meineke Car Care
UConn vs. Wake Forest
This is another good bowl game. UConn is an upstart team, and Wake is just one year removed form their ACC title. I like Wake in this game, staying in their own home state, plus I think they are the better team.
Charlotte, N.C.    Dec. 29, 1 p.m.    ESPN HD

AutoZone Liberty
UCF vs. Mississippi State
Kevin Smith is a great running back, however there is no team in Conference USA that is going to scare MSU. After being humiliated by LSU on opening night MSU has a respectable season. But as I said, MSU survived the SEC season and UCF isn't going to scare them. The Rebels edge out UCF, and Kevin Smith doesn't break Barry Sanders record.
Memphis, Tenn.    Dec. 29, 4:30 p.m.    ESPN HD

Valero Alamo
Penn State vs. Texas A&M
I hate that the Big-12 has to drive 30 minutes just to play this bowl game. However the Big-10 does reasonably well in this bowl. Penn State is down this year, but A&M is without their head coach. Paterno remembers the Alamo and brings the title to Happy Valley.
San Antonio    Dec. 29, 8 p.m.    ESPN HD

PetroSun Independence
Alabama vs. Colorado
I don't like this match up. Both teams are somewhat up and down this season. I do know Alabama lost to a Sun Belt team this year, and I do know that the Bama players don't want to play in this game. I can't say the same about Colorado though. They are Hungary to score even more points after killing Nebraska. I like Colorado in an upset.
Shreveport, La.    Dec. 30, 8 p.m.    ESPN HD

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces
California vs. Air Force
Please don't buy your next Helicopter from Bell, and please don't watch this game. Cali wins... but everyone who watches this game loses.
Fort Worth, Texas    Dec. 31, 12:30 p.m.    ESPN

Roady's Humanitarian
Georgia Tech vs. Fresno State
There was once a time when Fresno State was to college football, what UNLV was to college basketball. However the WAC has since shifted to Boise State and Hawaii. Georgia Tech is the better team, and by all means should win easily against Fresno. However, why am I taking Fresno State? Maybe because the Bulldogs are playing on the, Blue Turf a conference field and the WAC has faired well in this game.
Boise, Idaho    Dec. 31, 2 p.m.    ESPN2

Brut Sun
South Florida vs. Oregon
We all know Oregon is a one man team, and we all know South Florida is an up and coming program. Both of these teams had ambitions that by far topped the Sun Bowl seeing as they were both ranked #2 at one point this season. The past of college football (Oregon) falls to the future of college football (USF) by 17 points. South Florida will win a national championship in the next 10 years.
El Paso, Texas    Dec. 31, 2 p.m.    CBS

Gaylord Hotels Music City
Kentucky vs. Florida State
Kudos to Gaylord hotels for making this match up possible. But the entire FSU athletic academic supervisors should be fired. How are 25 guys form one team ineligible to play in this game? That is inescusable! FSU has been a huge disappointment since losing the Shepard of the Valley Nursing Home Orange Bowl between Bowden and Paterno. For that reason I like Kentucky. Plus the fact 25% of FSU's team is suspended. Ohh yea also Andre Woodson, he's a great QB.
Nashville, Tenn.    Dec. 31, 4 p.m.    ESPN HD

Insight
Indiana vs. Oklahoma State
If a football game is played on the NFL Network does it really happen? The reason I ask is because no one gets the NFL network therefor no one watches. But by all means this game should be buried in the networks TV lineup, for lack of a decent match up. I'm gonna go with OSU because there coach is a man and he's 40.
Tempe, Ariz.    Dec. 31, 6 p.m.    NFL Network

Chick-fil-A
Clemson vs. Auburn
A great matchup on New years eve. I always enjoy watching the Chick-fil-a bowl. I like this match up because Clemson has the ability to win any game. However I don't think Bowden is going to take Clemson to being a national football powerhouse. Now if Clemson is fine with being a "good" team then by all means Bowden is there man, but if they want to win an ACC title and a national title he's not. I'm going to go with Clemson in this game because this team loves being in this bowl. That is not a good thing, this Clemson team should want to play in a new year, and this game should be a let down to them in the future. We will see.
Atlanta    Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m.    ESPN HD

Outback
Wisconsin vs. Tennessee
Phil Fulmer is almost as stupid as Les Miles, but Wisconsin is almost as bad as Florida Atlantic. Therefore I will flip a coin and pick Tenn to win.
Tampa, Fla.    Jan. 1, 2008, 11 a.m.    ESPN HD

AT&T Cotton
Missouri vs. Arkansas
Can't wait to roll out of bed and watch this one. McFadden is a hell of a back and will be a great NFL player. Chase Daniel's is a great QB and runs a good offense. This is a let down game for Missouri they feel that they have as much of a right to play for the national title as Ohio State and LSU does even with 2 losses. They almost certainly feel like they deserve a BCS game over Kansas. I don't think Mizzou will be ready for McFadden. The razerbacks in a close one.
Dallas    Jan. 1, 2008, 11:30 a.m.    FOX

Konica Minolta Gator
Texas Tech vs. Virginia
I love Mike Leach's offense. We will see how Howie Long's son reacts to the passing offense the Redraiders have. Michael Crabtree, the future of college football, is just too much for Virginia and Leach takes a step towards bringing the Texas Tech program to a national stage. The Red Radiers win, but they don't need the miracle comeback like the needed to beat Minnesota last year.
Jacksonville, Fla.    Jan. 1, 2008, 1 p.m.    CBS

Capital One
Michigan vs. Florida
Ohio State, Texas, USC, Appalachian State and now Florida what do these schools all these schools have in common? Well since 2002 they have all won the national title. And since 2002 they have all played Michigan. Florida should continue the trend and beat Michigan, however that won't happen. Michigan will win one last game for Lloyd Carr, and this bowl win will go down in Michigan history. I feel bad for coach Carr, he's a good person and a good coach.
Orlando, Fla.    Jan. 1, 2008, 1 p.m.    ABC HD

Rose Bowl presented by Citi
Illinois vs. USC
One teams garbage was another teams treasure. That was the story with Ron Zook. Since being run out of Florida, Zook has turned this Illinois program around. Making it to the Rose Bowl is a big step up for this program. However, they will need to play as well as they did against Ohio State to win. I don't see them doing that, and USC repeats as Rose Bowl champs.
Pasadena, Calif.    Jan. 1, 2008, 4:30 p.m.    ABC HD

Allstate Sugar
Hawaii vs. Georgia
This game has upset written all over it. No one gave Boise a chance, and the same goes with Hawaii. Here's why I love Hawaii in this game. Non BCS conference teams are 2-0 in BCS bowl games. Utah and Boise both won the fiesta bowl. Hawaii adds another BCS bowl win to the mid-majors and pulls another college football upset.  (My upset special of the Bowl season.)
New Orleans    Jan. 1, 2008, 8:30 p.m.    FOX

Tostitos Fiesta
Oklahoma vs. West Virginia
Welcome back OU, after an embarrassing loss to a team from Idaho last year in this same exact bowl, you somehow find yourself's back here. Congratulations to both OU and West Virginia for losing to four teams that they should have never lost to (OU- Colorado and Texas Tech WVU - South Florida and Pittsburgh) and playing in this bowl game. I know Pat White was hurt for the Pitt game, but why didn't Steve Slaton touch the ball more? Rich Rodriguez looks like he will fit into Michigan pretty well with decisions like that. Both teams feel like they should be playing for a National title, but WVU is playing without their head coach. I give the nod to OU in this game but I think both teams will just be going through the motion.
Glendale, Ariz.    Jan. 2, 2008, 8 p.m.    FOX

FedEx Orange
Virginia Tech vs. Kansas
This game is a BCS bowl game where both teams are excited to be here. After Virginia Tech's embarrassing loss early in the season to LSU, the Va Tech has rebounded well. Just imagine if VT didn't give up the late TD on Thursday night to Boston College, they'd be playing for a national championship. Meanwhile the fighting Mangino's have come out of nowhere to be playing in a Bowl game of some importance. Mangino of course is a product of YSU and coach Tressel (big surprise). I love Kansas's offense and always root for KU because of the Youngstown ties. For that reason and that reason alone I like Kansas in this game.
Miami    Jan. 3, 2008, 8 p.m.    FOX

International
Rutgers vs. Ball State
This game isn't even worth me wasting my breath. Ray Rice a lot of yards, Rutgers a lot of points, Ball State hardly any points.
Toronto    Jan. 5, 2008, Noon    ESPN2 HD

GMAC
Bowling Green vs. Tulsa
Who cares... who cares... who caress. NO ONE CARES ABOUT THIS GAME! If my opinion mattered in the world I would just boycott picking this game. However, much like this game, no one cares about my opinion. I like Tulsa because there not in the MAC.
Mobile, Ala.    Jan. 6, 2008, 8 p.m.    ESPN HD

Allstate BCS Championship Game
LSU vs. Ohio State
This is a vintage Tressel game. When Tressel coached Youngstown State to 4 I-AA national titles, his team was an underdog against Marshall. Much like this game, YSU played Marshall in their own home state.. hmmm sounds familiar. With everything going against Tressel he won at Marshall and brought the National title back to Y-town. Although I hate most Ohio State fans, I respect the football tradition. Ohio State wins in an instant classic and JT cements himself as one of the greatest coaches of all time with his 6th national title.
New Orleans    Jan. 7, 2008, 8 p.m.    FOX