Is New Year's Eve a holiday? IT IS TO ME!

The Holiday last night was awesome.  I now have a new favorite quarterback in college football.  It is 5-10 Jeremiah Masoli.  He is built like a fullback and was out there running people over.  I absolutely loved it.  Well there is a full slate of games and we should get right to them.

The day starts with Armed Forces Bowl.  This is a game between two very good "non-BCS conference" teams.   Houston led the nation in total offense.  The Cougars high-powered offense is led by sophomore quarterback Case Keenum.  Keenum threw for 4,768 yards and 43 touchdowns while only throwing ten interceptions.  In an earlier meeting this year between these two teams, Keenum threw for 362 yards and four touchdowns.  Air Force has a good run defense that could keep Bryce Beall, the second leading rusher among true freshmen, in check.  Also the Air Force pass rush will keep Keenum on his toes.  The Falcons do have a very porous secondary which will be exposed by this pass happy Houston offense.  Air force, on the other hand is a very run heavy team.  The Falcons can put up points and have a good defensive front.  Air Force beat Houston by three points early in the season.  I like Air Force but I like Case Keenum even more.  I watched him play at Wylie High School in Abilene and his dad was my college football head coach.  I am going with my sentimental favorite Houston.  Elysa sided with me and picked the Cougars.  John picked Air Force.

Next up is the Sun Bowl.  This bowl features Oregon State and Pitt.  It also has two great running backs.  Leshon "Shady' McCoy of Pitt is a hard nose gritty runner and Jacquizz "Quiz" Rodgers of Oregon State is a small shifty back.  The deciding factor in this one will be quarterback play.  The Beaver's Lyle Moevao is a great athlete but gets himself into trouble trying to make too many things happen.  Pitt's quarterback Brent Stull is a non-factor and is just asked not to lose the game.  This lets teams stack the line to try and stop McCoy.  Both teams found their groove in hte middle of the season after starting slow and finishing badly.  I think Oregon State has more to prove and will win this one.  John also picked the Beavers and Lys chose the Panthers of Pitt.  

The Music City bowl is the next game to pick.  This will be a defensive struggle between Boston College and Vanderbilt Commodores.  Boston College quarterback Dominique Davis has played well but is not a big threat to throw the ball.  This puts all the load on the Eagles' two freshman running backs Montel Harriss and Josh Harlen.  Both are hard runners but will have trouble finding holes if the Commodores stack the line with their two hard hitting safeties.   If  Chris Crane is ready to start for the Eagles today at quarterback after breaking his collar bone he will add a passing dynamic.  But it may be a moot point because Vandy has one of the best pass defenses in the nation.  Vandy has been shaky on offense and Boston College is great on defense too.  This should be a low scoring affair.  Look for Vandy's offensive speed to be a problem for the Boston College defense.  I am taking Vanderbilt.  John and Elysa prove their loyalties to teams above the Mason-Dixon line and choose Boston College.

The insight bowl should be a good one.  The Kansas Jayhawks and the Minnesota Gophers both have a lot to prove.  Both Teams started out quickly this season then stumbled coming down the stretch.  Kansas' offense, on paper, seems almost perfect.  Todd Reesing at quarterback is a gritty smart leader.  Running back Jake Sharp is a great pass receiver and  blitz stopper.  He is also a great runner but rarely gets a hole opened by the disappointing offensive line.    The Jayhawks have two great receivers in Dezmon Briscoe and Kerry Meir.  Minnesota after starting 7-1 lost its last 4 games.  The Gopher's young quarterback Adam Weber is a proven leader.  He has a got to target in Eric Decker who has caught almost half of Weber's touchdown passes.  Minnesota runs a strange low output version of the spread.  I am picking Kansas.  John also picked Kansas and Elysa sided with the Canadians and chose the Gophers.

Chick-fil-a bowl analysis by John:

LSU looked nothing like a defending national champion team this year with three big losses.  Georgia Tech looked great at the end of their season..  They played well against another SEC team, Georgia, and won.  Look for them to come out and  exploit the weak defense of LSU (It feels so weird to write that about an SEC team.) with their complex triple option.  Calling this one for Georgia Tech.  Elysa and I are both picking Georgia Tech as well.

Watch the games today and enjoy your New Year.  Remember that if it is bad or good for you right now that the best is yet to come.  Thanks for helping me do this all year.  Live like no one is watching and someone hire Mike Shanahan