Let's Go Bowling

Yes people, the most wonderful time of the year is upon us! That's right, after another memorable college football season, we finally get to see the best of the best battle it out on the gridiron in college football's 34 postseason bowl games. What begins tomorrow in Washington D.C., with Wake Forest taking on Navy, and ends in Miami, with Oklahoma battling it out with Florida, this bowl season will no doubt provide the memorable moments, spectacular performances, and heart-stopping drama that is always does. And here to break it all down (and of course, wrap it back up) is Barney. Starting with the four games tomorrow, and ending with the BCS National Championship, Barney will be here to give his opinion on all 34 games, the good and the bad. We'll start with the bad. 

EagleBank Bowl

Wake Forest vs. Navy

Saturday, 11 a.m. ET (ESPN)

RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

 Why to Watch: If you love the run, then this is the game for you. Navy ran it 667 times this season (2^nd most in the nation) and Wake Forest ran it 108 more times than it passed. Both teams also feature pretty sound defenses. Wake has not allowed more than 30 points in a game all season, and senior Aaron Curry won the Butkus Award honoring the nation's top college linebacker. The Midshipmen haven’t allowed a point since playing Notre Dame on November 15^th. Oh, and Navy’s quarterback is named Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada (which roughly translates to Jim Jones in English). How fun will it be to hear Terry Gannon and David Norrie (the distinguished team who will be calling the game) try to pronounce that right every time? I’ll be keeping track at home.

Why not to Watch: Both these teams squared off earlier in the season in Winston Salem. The Demon Deacons turned the ball over six times, yet Navy still only managed to win by a touchdown (24-17). If that’s not a poor tackle football game then I don’t know what is. Also, because it is the first bowl game of the season, it’s bound to be bad. I mean, how often to you see a highlight clip from the first bowl game on ESPN’s post bowl game Ultimate Highlight? Didn’t think so.

Randomness: There are a few things that annoy me about sports. One of them is sports ads that have fake teams and fake players. Or even sports ads with real players on fake teams Yes, there are copyright laws and such. But it annoys me nonetheless. For example, EagleBank’s website features an obligatory promotion for its inaugural bowl game. The picture shows a man dressed in a yellow and green uniform holding a football, wearing the number 50. A quarterback wearing 50? Excuse me? Is it that hard to get it right people?

Pick: Wake Forest 24, Navy 20

 New Mexico Bowl

Colorado State vs. Fresno State


Saturday, 2:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)

University Stadium, Albuquerque, New Mexico

 Why to Watch: The most compelling match up in this game is between the coaches, which doesn’t boast well for the quality of the actual game. Veteran coach Pat Hill leads the Bulldogs while first-year man Steve Fairchild leads the Rams. In his 12 years at Fresno State, Hill has amassed a 92-60 career record, which includes 4 bowl game victories. It was also a great first year for Rams coach Steve Fairchild, a former Buffalo Bills assistant. He became the first coach in Colorado State history to direct his team to a bowl game in his first season. Then again, Colorado State football’s history isn’t exactly the most prestigious. So, to those few, but fervent, players of Madden Head Coach, be sure to tune into to this one. 

Why not to Watch: If you like quality football, this is not the game for you. In fact, the Food Network’s “Holiday Cake Off” is probably more compelling than this game. As my TV tells me, “Teams have six hours to create cake masterpieces.” Does it get more riveting?

Randomness: This is the first ever New Mexico Bowl without New Mexico playing in it. The hometown Lobos played in the only two previous installments. Also, the New Mexico Bowl is sponsored by the New Mexico Department of Tourism. Are they really that desperate to get people to come to their state? Apparently.

 Pick: Fresno State 35, Colorado State 30

 magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl

Memphis vs. South Florida


Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)


Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Fla.

Why to Watch:  South Florida’s head coach, Jim Leavitt, has some of the best facial expressions in the league. Also, who doesn’t like watching what football looks like in a baseball dome? In terms of the game itself, there isn’t much to like, but points could be aplenty. South Florida QB Matt Grothe is a great dual-threat QB who leads a South Florida offense that averaged 397.4 yards a game and 26.5 points a game. Junior RB Chris Steele leads the Memphis attack that averages 432.2 yards per game and 28.3 points.

Why not to Watch: Once again, the quality of the game will be low, not only because of the teams involved, but because it will most likely be a one sided affair. Memphis started the season 0-3 and had to battle to get to 6-6 even though they play in the Conference USA. South Florida was ranked 10^th in the nation at one point, but have struggled recently. Even still, they shouldn’t have much trouble dismantling the lowly Tigers. Also, the game is called the magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl. And you thought the Papajohns.com Bowl was bad.

Randomness: As mentioned previously, the sponsor of this game is magicJack. What does this company make you ask? It’s quite confusing but I’ll attempt to explain. Essentially a magicJack is a USB device that allows the user to make internet-based telephone calls. And here’s a fun fact. The magicJack was named the Best Product of the Year in 2008.

Pick: South Florida 38, Memphis 10

Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl

No. 16 BYU vs. Arizona

Saturday, 8 P.M. ET (ESPN)

Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, NV

 Why to Watch: In my mind, the first game of the 2008-2009 Bowl Season that has potential to be a good, possibly great, football game. BYU was a BCS buster sleeper team coming into the season, but a midseason loss to TCU all but knocked them out of the picture. Nonetheless, they are still a good football team. Led by QB Max Hall, who threw for 3629 yards and 34 TDs on the season, the offense averaged 444 yards a game and 35 points. Arizona has a great QB in Willie Tuitama, who passed for 2763 yards and 21 TDs on the season, while leading Arizona to its first bowl game in a decade. With both defenses being mediocre at best, look for some fireworks, and a close game, in Sin City.

 Why not to Watch: The Dick LeBeau’s of this world will cringe at the lack of quality defense in this one. BYU’s defense has given up 32 or more points in four of its past six games. Arizona has given up 21 points a game on average and has struggled to slow down big, powerful runners this season, which the Cougars have in 239-pound Harvey Unga. Also, if you’re one of the 69,456,897 who voted for change in this year’s election than you probably won’t tune into this one. It is the fourth straight year that BYU will play in the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl.

 Randomness: The game originated from the California Raisin Bowl, which was played in Fresno from 1981-1991. In 1992, the game reorganized and relocated to Las Vegas and was renamed the Las Vegas Bowl. Since then, it has changed names four times. In 1999 it was renamed the EA Sports Las Vegas Bowl. From 2001-2002, it was named the Sega Sports Las Vegas Bowl. From 2003-2006 it was called the Pioneer Purevision Las Vegas Bowl. And in 2007 it changed from that to simply the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl, much to the chagrin of viewers because of the lack of pure vision involved in the viewing experience (Yeah, I’m really struggling here).

Pick: BYU 38, Arizona 31