Usually December to early January is my favorite time of the year, because Michigan is preparing for it's annual BCS/High-level bowl and I'm able to watch other teams compete until then. Well.. that didn't happen again this year, but there are a number of intriguing bowl games to watch.
As the bowl season begins I'll be making picks and keeping my record throughout it. Today we have two bowl games to start off with, The New Mexico Bowl and the St. Petersburg bowl.
Nothing like some good old football to start the Christmas holidays!
New Mexico Bowl - Wyoming vs. Fresno State
Fresno State had another solid year under long-time Head Coach Pat Hill, finishing 8-4 overall and 6-2 in the WAC. Bulldog running back Ryan Mathews was one of the nation's best kept secrets, as the talented junior led the nation in rushing at 151 YPG. He finished the year with 1,664 yards and 17 touchdowns.
The Bulldogs will take on Wyoming who's under the guidance of first-year coach Dave Christensen. Wyoming didn't take on Fresno State- even though they play in the same conference, but they'll have a chance to do so tonight. The Cowboys had a fairly balanced offense with 2,000 passing yards and 1,500 rushing yards, but their biggest priority will be stopping Mathews. Wyoming finished 91st in the nation against the run, so you can be sure they will have their eyes on Mathews the entire game.
The pick: Fresno 28, Wyoming 14.
St. Petersburg Bowl - UCF vs. Rutgers
Rutgers finished the season 8-4 and are in their 5th straight bowl game under Greg Schiano. The offense is led by freshman quarterback Tom Savage, who threw for 1,912 yards with 12 touchdowns in the regular season. But watch out for all-purpose threat Mohamed Sanu, who will line up in the Wildcat, throw it, run it, and catch the ball downfield. Rutgers also finished with the 19th best defense in the nation, so when they can't score, they sure can stop it.
UCF continued it's trend of going to bowl games every other year (a strange trend) finishing 8-4 overall and 6-2 in Conference USA play. Like Rutgers, the Black Knights don't score a lot of points, but play solid defense (#3 against the run) and are led by a solid quarterback in Brett Hodges.
The pick: UCF 21, Rutgers 17.
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