NFL Picks needed...Bowl Update & Preview

First - I still need NFL picks from the following people:

ROE, BOMB, HEINERT, CORCORAN - please send these over as soon as you can so we're locked for the final Sunday.

KOBOW won 2 more Bowl games yesterday to increases his lead in the overall standings.

CURRENT STANDINGS
MK-24
JR-14
JG-14
MH-14
MC-14
SS-13
MR-10
AW-10
GR-10

15 points available today with 5 bowl games being played - this is the end of the 3 pointers.

AF-HOU (-4.5)
ARMED FORCES Bowl

The early kickoff game of the day is a rematch from last season. These two met in the regular season last year, the bowl game last year, and the bowl again this season. They split last season with AF winning the bowl game. AF won 3 of their last 4, HOU only lost 2 games all year long. Everyone knows HOU has a ridiculous passing offense...but these types of teams tend to struggle a bit after a lay-off like this. We saw AF first hand, and they are a solid club. They only allowed 15 ppg this season, which is outstanding. The Gophers putting up 20 on them was the 3rd highest pt total they allowed all year. BYU did hang 38 on them to end the season, but I think HOU struggles a bit today, and you know that AF offense will put up numbers on a HOU defense that is barely there.

Who you got? JR, JG, MK, MC, SS all on AF....MR, AW, GR, MH on HOU. Good parity here.

Note: the least popular pick in the pool in each game has won the last 3.

STAN-OK (-10)
SUN Bowl

At first glance, I loved STAN in this game. After looking at some notes and doing a little studying, I reversed field. STAN offense was tremendous this year, 36 ppg and 441 ypg. However, their stud frosh QB Andrew Luck just had pins removed from a repaired arm and is very questionable. Without him they have Gerhart...and that's it. The backup QB is a senior, but not a good one. A one dimensional run offense aginst the OK D, even with all the injuries, doesn't look like a good matchup to me. OK has something to prove and is looking, like NEB, to kick start its way into a much better 2010. The Landry Jones era is officially starting and you know Stoops has got that D ready to show up. I know OK has been horrible in bowl games of late, but I really think the whole world is on STAN here so I'm going against it.

Who you got? JR on OK...everyone else loves STAN...just like I thought.

NAVY-MIZZ (-9)
TEXAS Bowl

The infamous Texas Bowl, worst game of the day. I'm developing a theory on games like this...bet against small conf (or Independent) teams against big-time BCS competition. I think the MIZZOU offense will run wild on these guys today. 30 ppg, won 4 of 5 against bad teams to close the year, and an underrated D, and they played well on the road this season. NAVY, you know what you're going to get. I wish the line was less than a TD, but I think a lot of people gravitate to the service academies in games like this, so I'm betting against that public opinion as well.

Who you got? AW, MH, MC are on the NAVY...All else on MIZZOU.

TEN-VT (-4.5)
CHICK-FIL-A Bowl

This could be a classic. Defense vs. defense...have to love the under on this one. VT appears to be the much better team, but I really think TEN could be building this up to be something crazy good for 2010. Monte Kiffin is a defensive genius, even though you don't really have to be to stop the Hokie offense. They can definitely run it well, but this is a good SEC D...so running the ball usually doesn't really happen. Can TEN move it? Well, they scored over 30 in 4 of their last 5...so that's a good sign. They have lots of RB's and Crompton the QB has improved greatly throughout the season. The deciding factor for me SEC>ACC...when in doubt bet the better conference and better competition.

Who you got? JR, JG, MR, MH on TENNESSEE...MK, AW, GR, MC, SS on VTECH.


And finally..........

CYCLONES vs. GOPHERS (-3)
INSIGHT Bowl

The game we've all been waiting for, right. Well, I know I woke up with a little fire this morning knowing it's the last GameDay we'll get until next Sept. when we travel to MID TEN ST. to open 2010. I think the longer the Gophers don't play, the better I feel about them. After SDSU and IOWA I felt like we were horrible and couldn't be fixed. Amazing what a month does to you...and watching the MSU game on replay about 3 times! Here's the deal, both teams have horrible offenses and pretty okay defenses. The Clones have lost 3 of 4 coming into the bowl game. They beat nobody this year except the +8 turnover game against the Huskers. They like to run it, and throwing it is a little suspect. The Gophs, well...I think we all know their story. The D should play well, we'll see a lot of time for the younger guys with 9 senior starters on D. The offense should hopefully be better than what we've seen pretty much all year. I really think we'll be able to run the ball tonight, and hopefully AWEB will be on target and not terrible. MGRAY is going to see some time at QB and WR tonight, sounds like lots of potential 2010 jobs are being put up for grabs starting tonight. What's going to happen? Well, I expect both offenses to perform better than expected and make this one kind of fun to watch. But I'll make the call that a Gopher defensive play will make the difference late in the game and put them in front for good...GOPHERS 27-24...push!

Who you got? I was very angry when making this pick so JR, MR, GR, SS are on the Clones....all else on the Gophers.

Should be a fun night - enjoy it, the last real game until next September!

Happy New Year - don't forget to send over your final NFL Picks for the regular season. Or MR could just not send picks and go 0-15...that might give us all a chance!