Bowl Season Viewing Guide: Volume V (New Year’s Eve Edition!)

The Dry Cheerios Bowl (aka “the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl”)
Air Force vs. Houston / Fort Worth, TX / December 31st, Noon / ESPN

On mornings when I’m in a hurry or on the road early, I have dry Cheerios in a bag for breakfast (plus a banana). That’s what this game is- a bag of dry Cheerios. Houston’s favored by 5.

The Sweet First Names Bowl (aka “the Sun Bowl”)
Oregon State vs. Pittsburgh / El Paso, TX / December 31st, 2pm / CBS

LeSean, meet Jacquizz. Jacquizz, meet LeSean. Two of the best names in all of football and two of the best backs in the country. Unfortunately Jacquizz got Jacquizzed and will not be playing. Oregon State also has to recover from the ass-kicking they took at the hands of Oregon that kept them out of the Rose Bowl. Believe it or not, this is the first bowl game for the Wannstache in the four years he’s been at Pitt. Oregon State is favored by 1.5.

The ‘Hey Look! Another 6-6 Team Bowl Game’ (aka “the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl”)
Boston College vs. Vanderbilt / Nashville, TN / December 31st, 3:30pm / ESPN

Vanderbilt is still living off the glory of the lone impressive win- a victory over 7-5 South Carolina. Other than that, they took a bunch of lumps in what was a down year for the SEC. Boston College is in the ACC so say it with me- go Vanderbilt. Boston College is favored by 4.

The Damn Back-Loaded Schedules Bowl (aka “the Insight Bowl”)
Minnesota vs. Kansas / Tempe, AZ / December 31st, 6pm / NFL Network

Minnesota was all tough-looking until they hit their last four games (Northwestern, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa) and lost four in a row, including a 55-0 loss to Iowa. Missouri salvaged the end of their season with a win over Missouri but still managed to lose four of their last six. Winner gets the boosters off their back for a few months. Kansas is favored by 7.5.

The LSU Dunking Booth Bowl (aka “the Chick-Fil-A Bowl”)
LSU vs. Georgia Tech / Atlanta, GA / December 31st, 7:30pm / ESPN

It’s quite stunning to think that defending national champ LSU could finish the season 7-6. Is the Les Miles magic finally starting to wear off? LSU lost in blowout fashion to Georgia and Florida while losing closer games to ‘Bama, Ole Miss and Arkansas. Now they’ve got to deal with Georgia Tech and the triple option. Uh oh. Could be a problem for an LSU defense that ranked at or near the bottom of most statistical categories. Georgia Tech is favored by 5.

More installments to follow…