Bowl Season Heats Up Today/Tomorrow - Who are You Picking to Win?
Mates,
Today has some interesting match-ups and tomorrow has the start of the CFP. With a nod to the Hawaii/BYU and EMU/Pitt games that were actually pretty entertaining, the real bowls start today and especially tomorrow. List of the games below, with the favorite listed first, then the point spread, then the dog.
sparty 4 Wake Forest
Texas A & M 5.5 Okla St
Iowa 2.5 USC (YTUSC)
USAF 2.5 WSU (Pirate alert)
Saturday's games here:
PSU 7 Memphis
ND 3.5 Iowa St.
LSU 13.5 Oklahoma
Clemson 2 ohio
Pick 'em with the points. I admit some real curiousity about sparty's game today. If they lose another game, does it really look like dantiono is staying on even though he knows he is very likely augering sparty into the ground at a time when they need to get a complete coaching change, including jettisoning him?
I hope you are having some time off, or at least a very easy day at work.
XM
December 27th, 2019 at 6:51 AM ^
Wake Forest over Sparty
Clemson and LSU win
Memphis over PSU
December 27th, 2019 at 6:55 AM ^
Rooting for Clemson over OSU but don't see it happening. LSU over depleted Oklahoma but it will be high scoring. Wake over Sparty in a boring game and PSU over Memphis in a shootout.
December 27th, 2019 at 10:45 AM ^
Nailed it.
December 27th, 2019 at 10:45 AM ^
Nailed it.
December 27th, 2019 at 10:54 AM ^
Michigan exposed Ohio State's weakness in their pass defense and so did Wisconsin. Trevor Lawrence is 1000 times better than Shea Patterson not to mention they have a great RB and WR's. The kicker is that Brent Venables is the BEST DC in college football. Even Urban Meyer admitted to that and Clemson is awful experienced in this situation. They have been overlooked because of the Joe Burrow, Chase Young/Justin Fields hype all season-never mind the fact that they pummeled Alabama last year. Lot's of talk that they play in the ACC but what conference did they play in the last two times they won it? Until OSU proves they can over come that then I pick Clemson to beat BOTH OSU and LSU. LSU losing their RB is going to kill them offensively. He was a huge part in their success this year and he will be no where near 100% even if he does play.
December 27th, 2019 at 1:33 PM ^
Rooting for Clemson as hard as I have ever rooted for a team other than Michigan.
December 27th, 2019 at 2:18 PM ^
Yep. Michigan has scored enough points the last two yrs to beat OSU had our D not have given up a seasons worth of points in two games. Clemson returns their entire offense minus 1 player from a yr ago. Living in ohio I just saw a plethora of buckeye folks raiding the roots bbq display at meijer wearing strings of nuts around their necks seeking confirmation how great they are. If Clemson starts routing them I’ll make sure to stop into the local BW3 tomorrow to enjoy the meltdown.
December 27th, 2019 at 2:10 PM ^
Michigan exposed a bunch of stuff that Clemson doesn't do. Specifically throwing over the middle behind the LBs, but in front of the safeties while OSU was in a 4x4 front. Once OSU switched up defenses at half, Michigan stopped completing passes. Obviously Clemson is way better, but their passing attack is full of RPOs and downfield shots outside the hashes. OSU is specifically aligned to stop that type of base offense. I do think Clemson will have a lot more success running the ball against OSU's 4x2x5. Michigan didn't, but the 2nd half score had a lot to do with that too.
tl;dr Clemson isn't going to change their entire offense to try what Michigan had success with for a half. If they do, I'd love it, because they'll be in 12 personnel targeting their slot guy over Ross and Higgins.
December 27th, 2019 at 2:15 PM ^
LSU will beat OSU by 20.
December 27th, 2019 at 2:34 PM ^
Way more afraid of Clemson.
December 27th, 2019 at 3:40 PM ^
Why do you say that jon? What's your analysis on your game tomorrow?
December 27th, 2019 at 4:41 PM ^
I think Clemson wins a high scoring game. I trust Lawrence over Fields. And Dabo over Day.
I think even with OSU's wildest fantasy day on the ground, the potential is still there for Lawrence to average 10 ypa, and that beats Dobbins' 6.5 ypc. OSU's d-line needs to reveal the Lawrence who turned it over a bunch at the start of the season, and not the one currently on a 20:0 TD/INT streak.
I do have some faith that Clemson's D is a bit of an impostor propped up by playing a bunch of bad Os. The recruiting rankings of their starters feature a lot of triple digits beginning with a 3 or more. But again, Clemson's offense is legit, and even if OSU plays well on D, I feel like Clemson can get to 35 points. Can OSU ride Dobbins to more than that? We'll see.
December 27th, 2019 at 2:36 PM ^
Clemson doesn’t have to change anything to beat OSU. They are the better team this year and have been the better program the last few years.
December 27th, 2019 at 2:45 PM ^
First point remains to be seen. Second point is correct. And irrelevant.
December 27th, 2019 at 3:53 PM ^
My point. You are ? and so is your team.
December 27th, 2019 at 4:31 PM ^
You're easily one of the dumbest people on this website, so I'm taking that as a complement.
December 28th, 2019 at 10:40 AM ^
Compliment.
December 27th, 2019 at 7:05 AM ^
December 27th, 2019 at 8:10 AM ^
All bowl games are hit-or-miss. Some of the early games have been incredibly fun to watch and highly competitive (BYU-Hawaii, Pitt-EMU, USU-Kent) along with a few clunkers. However, this can be equally true for "marquee" matchups - just recall the MSU-Bama playoff game or the Auburn-Purdue game.
December 27th, 2019 at 7:17 AM ^
As things stand at this time I am more than fine if MSU looses every game from now into eternity-what a despicably lost university. Otherwise I will root for the B1G schools-even a despicably lost OSU winning the NC.
December 27th, 2019 at 7:42 AM ^
December 27th, 2019 at 7:57 AM ^
My biggest pet peeve. Shocked how many times I read this each week all over the internet
December 27th, 2019 at 8:15 AM ^
A lot of stupid people out there.
December 27th, 2019 at 10:02 AM ^
Their are a lot of stupid people out they're.
Fify
December 27th, 2019 at 11:59 AM ^
Looks like an msu grad posting how he wants his alma mater to loose.
December 27th, 2019 at 7:30 AM ^
XM - enjoy your heatwave until Winter Storm Gage hits! Happy New Year to you.
December 27th, 2019 at 11:29 AM ^
EQ, happy new year to you, too. i had to look up winter storm gage. looks like we'll only get rain up here. wimpy storm. that said, we are on the road saturday and sunday and while i actually kind of like driving in the snow, i don't like it as much when i have to go around all the nervous-nellies hanging out in the passing lane going 25 mph below the speed limit. get a 4wd, get out of the passing lane, but you can stay on the lawn, just watch out for the meadow muffins....
December 27th, 2019 at 1:09 PM ^
Don't even necessarily need 4WD, just use common sense. Grew up in northern Michigan, drove a 1980 TransAm (Knight Rider woooot) year round for a couple years. That thing was a pig in good weather, let alone in snow.
December 27th, 2019 at 4:36 PM ^
all of us older types learned on rear wheel drive cars/trucks. but with front wheel drive/AWD/4WD available for most vehicles there is no excuse for this younger generation not to be driving one, especially if they are white-knuckle drivers in the snow.
December 27th, 2019 at 7:50 AM ^
I like Wake Forest
December 27th, 2019 at 9:44 AM ^
Definitely a demon deacons fan today.
December 27th, 2019 at 8:22 AM ^
Only games of interest now are the final 4. LSU over Clemson in the end. The other games will not be viewed esp. the local 6 and 6 team. Bad for your karma.
December 27th, 2019 at 8:23 AM ^
I wish Michigan was playing today vs. USC.
I'm going with Clemson tomorrow. They are flying under the radar. They've scored more than 8 ppg and given up almost two TD'S less per game than OSU over the last 4 games. I know their schedule is a joke but they've been trending up.
LSU vs Clemson should be a hell of a final.
December 27th, 2019 at 8:26 AM ^
First to 100 wins the WSU/AF game
First to 5 wins the Sparty game
LSU and Clemson are the favorites I’m going with. All the others I’m taking the dogs.
December 27th, 2019 at 8:28 AM ^
LSU OU will watch...LSU by 2 TDs
Iowa vs USC ... Iowa blows games like this so USC by 10
Hoping Clemson blanks Ryan Day but won't watch unless I hear Clemson is beating them down then it's bandwagon time.
Rest of those games I don't care about.
December 27th, 2019 at 8:42 AM ^
sparty over Wake Forest
Texas A & M over Okla St
USC over Iowa
WSU over USAF
PSU over Memphis
ND over Iowa St.
LSU over Oklahoma
OSU over Clemson
LSU over OSU
December 27th, 2019 at 8:47 AM ^
Take Clemson and give the points.
December 27th, 2019 at 9:39 AM ^
Go to a different blog and get a fuckin life.
December 27th, 2019 at 9:46 AM ^
Lighten up MK, chuck is very gracious when he posts here.
chuck, I think you guys beat Clemson easily, but would be interested in hearing your take on the game.
December 27th, 2019 at 10:01 AM ^
Clemson is such a hard team to read this year since they haven't played a truly challenging team. They might be great, or just a decent team that lucked into a weak schedule.
December 27th, 2019 at 6:38 PM ^
I think Clemson might be the best team in the nation...but they haven't had an opportunity to prove it yet. They'll have a chance to prove it tomorrow.
It's a premium matchup and it's gonna really suck for somebody.
December 27th, 2019 at 9:05 AM ^
Sparty will slip past wake in a low scoring and boring game like 10-7
Iowa over USC
LSU wins big and OSU by 6 over Clemson
December 27th, 2019 at 9:38 AM ^
I find the PSU Memphis game interesting. Seems like a no win for Penn State. If they win, eh, not a P5 team. However, if they aren’t prepared there is a large chance they can lose.
December 27th, 2019 at 9:47 AM ^
got a feeling Wake hangs 30 on MSU. Can't cover Scotty Washington
December 27th, 2019 at 10:02 AM ^
our pool with weighted picks 1-40.
- nc 30
- wake 15
- ok st 25
- iowa 32
- air force 16
- nd 21
- ped st 38
- lsu 38
- clemson 29
- w ky 9
- miss st 11
- cal 7
- florida 31
- ky 23
- ariz st 21
- navy 33
- wyoming 13
- utah 34
- auburn 37
- alabummer 40 sorry
- wiscky 35
- ga 36
- cinci 26
- indy 2
- ohio 6
- tulane 4
- loui lafeyette 3 in the who gives a fuck bowl
- lsu cfp
- ttl points in cfp 75
- byu, smu, bit me in the ass.
December 27th, 2019 at 10:06 AM ^
I think PSU will win with the coaching change going on at Memphis.
December 27th, 2019 at 10:07 AM ^
Wake and Sparty will likely be an extremely boring affair. Something like a baseball score of 6-3. Dantonio will still somehow keep his job because he and MSU are made for each other, and MSU will be desperate for him to find a way to rekindle the magic his teams had from ~2010-2015.
I would've picked PSU as a slam dunk over Memphis, but given how awful they played at the end of the year vs. Rutgers, I do have some pause. Then again, Memphis lost its coach to FSU, so the X-factor here may be dependent on what their mental state is when they show up. I'll still say PSU by 14, but the game is close for a bit. If Memphis shows up jacked up and plays well, who knows? I wouldn't bet on it, but it wouldn't be the biggest shock to see PSU lose.
OSU by 6. Clemson will definitely be the toughest team OSU has faced all year, and by far the most talented. Clemson has the horses to keep up on offense, but Clemson hasn't been tested the way OSU has. OSU's schedule wasn't murderer's row, but it definitely had some tough teams sprinkled in. Clemson faced a cakewalk all year and was never tested. That and its so hard for any team to repeat, no matter how good they are. Definitely the better game of the two semifinals, but Fields makes a play late on 4th and 12 to set up OSU in the red zone, OSU scores game winner with 20 seconds left, and we all just have to sit here and watch.
LSU by 17. Oklahoma has the offense to keep up, but its defense is very blah. LSU has arguably the best offense in the country, and the defense has been playing more like an LSU defense in the last few weeks of the season and the championship game. Oklahoma keeps up for about a half or so, going into the half down 7. But LSU's defense adjusts, largely shuts Oklahoma down in the second half, and Oklahoma can't stop Burrow at all from start to finish.
Bonus pick: OSU by 3 in the title game. Just because OSU would fucking win it all with a first year head coach, and whatever sporting gods are out there seem to pleasure themselves by continually twisting the serrated knife in Michigan's gut. Burrow will pick the worst possible time to look mortal, Dobbins scores the go-ahead with a minute to go, and once again, we all just have to sit there and watch after we get our clocks cleaned by Alabama 51-24.
December 27th, 2019 at 10:55 AM ^
unfortunately i agree with just about everything you've posted. stop it.
December 27th, 2019 at 11:55 AM ^
A lot of people call this being negative. Its not. Its being realistic. I've seen enough over the last two decades to know that this is probably just going to be another chapter in the very long volume of heartbreak that is 21st Century Michigan Football.
OSU will waltz its way to another national championship, continuing to further the divide between our two programs. Michigan has definitely elevated its game since Hoke left, and I know we're a much better program now than when Harbaugh first arrived, but OSU has elevated its game considerably in that time as well. This year's OSU team looks like it could've beaten any Meyer-coached OSU team. We're a better program than we were in 2014, but given OSU's ascension as well, I honestly don't think that we're any closer to their level than we were when Harbaugh was hired. We were damn close in 2016, but I'm afraid that kind of soul-crushing, program-defining defeat destroyed the ground Michigan had made up.
Go ahead and neg away, folks. I'm not a troll. I hate OSU as much as the next person on this board. But it sure seems like whenever we think we're close to getting over that hill, OSU is waiting at the top to drop kick us right back down to the bottom.
December 27th, 2019 at 10:09 AM ^
I can't decide if I want Clemson to obliterate tOSU or if I'd rather see the Buckeyes limp through and then get obliterated by LSU. Either one would be just fine I suppose.
I have little confidence in Wake beating Sparty because the ACC is abysmal but one can always hope.
Go Iowa State Awesome.