Bowl Predictions: Can You Beat ESPN's Bloggers?
Take your shot at picking the bowl games against ESPN's college football bloggers.
Updated: January 12, 2009, 10:57 AM ET
SportsNation
Unlike Las Vegas, 21 isn't a winning number here, SportsNation. In each of the last two years, SportsNation voters have correctly picked the winner in 21 of 32 bowl games. Unfortunately, the competition -- Howie Schwab two years ago and Colin Cowherd last year -- blew that mark out of the water.
This year, on the other hand, SportsNation finally prevailed against our stable of experts. It was a close matchup -- two games either way, and the two sides would have been tied. But in the end, the wisdom of the crowd prevailed over insider knowledge -- proving once again that, perhaps, nobody knows anything. Congratulations, SportsNation!
Just who were our bloggers of good gridiron repute?
ACC: Heather Dinich
Big 12: Tim Griffin
Big East: Brian Bennett
Big Ten: Adam Rittenberg
Pac-10: Ted Miller
SEC: Chris Low
Indepedents/Other: Graham Watson
2008 vs. Bloggers: SportsNation 18-16 | Bloggers 16-18
2007 vs. Colin Cowherd: SportsNation 21-11 | Colin Cowherd 25-7
2006 vs. Howie Schwab: SportsNation 21-11 | The Schwab 24-8
| Bowl Pick 'Em! Pick the Winners with ESPN.com's Bloggers! | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bowl Game | |||
| EagleBank
(Dec. 20: 11 a.m. ET, ESPN) Wake Forest vs. Navy "The Deamon Deacons had six turnovers in their 24-17 loss to Navy on Sept. 27. The odds of that happening again? Slim." - H. Dinich |
Wake Forest |
Wake Forest |
Navy 19 |
| New Mexico
(Dec. 20: 2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) Colorado St. vs. Fresno St. "The Bulldogs should have a healthy group for the first time since the beginning of the season, which will energize them." - G. Watson |
Fresno State |
Frenso State |
Fresno St. 35 |
| magicJack St. Petersburg
4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2) Memphis vs. South Florida "Neither team is very good, but the Bulls have more talent, more big game experience and a home-state edge." - B. Bennett |
South Florida |
South Florida |
Memphis 14 |
| Pioneer Las Vegas
(Dec. 20: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN) BYU vs. Arizona "BYU's offense will rule the day." - T. Miller |
BYU |
BYU |
BYU 21 |
| R+L Carriers New Orleans
(Dec. 21: 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN) Southern Miss vs. Troy "Both teams put up serious offensive numbers this season, but Troy is better on both the OL and DL." - C. Low |
Troy |
Troy |
Troy 37 |
| San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia
(Dec. 23: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN) Boise State vs. TCU "TCU's tougher schedule should have them seasoned for the win." - T. Miller |
Boise State |
TCU |
Boise State 16 |
| Sheraton Hawaii
(Dec. 24: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN) Notre Dame vs. Hawaii "Turnovers will determine this game and Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen is prone to interceptions." - G. Watson |
Hawaii |
Hawaii |
Hawaii 21 |
| Motor City
(Dec. 26: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN) Fla. Atlantic vs. C. Michigan "This will feel like a home game for the Chippewas, who will roll over the nation's 93rd-ranked defense."- A. Rittenberg |
C. Michigan |
C. Michigan |
C. Michigan 21 |
| Meineke Car Care
(Dec. 27: 1 p.m. ET, ESPN) W. Virginia vs. N. Carolina "The Tar Heels blew out two Big East teams this season and will make it three on their home turf." |
W. Virginia |
North Carolina |
North Carolina 30 |
| Champs Sports
(Dec. 27: 4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) Wisconsin vs. Florida St. "A bit of an upset here, but Wisconsin got things together late in the season and should be able to run on the Seminoles with P.J. Hill and John Clay." - A. Rittenberg |
Florida State |
Wisconsin |
Wisconsin 13 |
| Emerald
(Dec. 27 8 p.m. ET, ESPN) Miami vs. California "More than 3,500 miles is a long way to go to play a team sleeping in their own beds." - T. Miller |
California |
California |
Miami 17 |
| Independence
(Dec. 28: 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN) N. Illinois vs. La. Tech "The Bulldogs are playing in front of a home crowd in their first bowl game since 2001. Momentum will be on their side." - G. Watson |
La. Tech |
La. Tech |
N. Illinois 10 |
| Papajohns.com
(Dec. 29: 3 p.m. ET, ESPN) NC State vs. Rutgers "Rutgers averaged 50 points a game over its last four contests and Mike Teel and Kenny Britt will be too much for NC State to handle." - B. Bennett |
N.C. State |
Rutgers |
N.C. State 23 |
| Valero Alamo
(Dec. 29: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN) Missouri vs. Northwestern "Northwestern's much improved defense might slow down Chase Daniel for a while, but the high-powered Tigers will put up enough points to win." - A. Rittenberg |
Missouri |
Missouri |
Northwestern 23 |
| Roady's Humanitarian
(Dec. 30: 4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) Maryland vs. Nevada "Maryland has been held to negative rushing yardage twice this season and will face the No. 3 rushing defense in the country, not to mention one of the most productive offenses in the nation." - H. Dinich |
Maryland |
Nevada |
Nevada 35 |
| Texas
(Dec. 30: 8 p.m. ET, NFL Network) W. Michigan vs. Rice "A classic shootout, but Western Michigan has a pretty decent defense to keep Rice's high-powered offense in check." - G. Watson |
Rice |
W. Michigan |
W. Michigan 14 |
| Pacific Life Holiday
(Dec. 30: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN) Oklahoma St. vs. Oregon "The Cowboys have a fancy offense this year, but the Ducks have been fancy for a lot longer." - T. Miller |
Okla. St. |
Oregon |
Okla. St. 31 |
| Bell Helicopter Armed Forces
(Dec. 31: 12 p.m. ET, ESPN) Air Force vs. Houston "Case Keenum already has 43 TD passes and should have several more against the Falcons' slower secondary." - T. Griffin |
Houston |
Air Force 28 |
|
| Brut Sun
(Dec. 31: 2 p.m. ET, CBS) Oregon St. vs. Pitt "Losing one Rodgers brother is bad, but losing two may doom the Beavers." - T. Miller |
Pittsburgh |
Pitt 0 |
|
| Gaylord Hotels Music City
(Dec. 31: 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) Boston College vs. Vanderbilt "The Eagles have one of the best defenses in college football, and scoring points has been a problem for the Commodores all season." - C. Low |
Boston College |
Boston Coll. 14 |
|
| Insight
(Dec. 31: 5:30 p.m. ET, NFL Network) Kansas vs. Minnesota The Jayhawks' big-play offense has too many weapons for the slumping Gophers." - T. Griffin |
Kansas |
Minnesota 21 |
|
| Chick-fil-A
(Dec. 31: 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) LSU vs. Georgia Tech "Ga. Tech is 2-0 against the SEC this year, and if they can beat Georgia, they should be able to handle an LSU team that has had issues at QB and finished the season with back-to-back losses." - H. Dinich |
Ga. Tech |
Ga. Tech 3 |
|
| Outback
(Jan. 1: 11 a.m. ET, ESPN) S. Carolina vs. Iowa "The Hawkeyes continue to surge against a South Carolina team that stumbled badly down the stretch." - A. Rittenberg |
Iowa |
S. Carolina 10 |
|
| Capital One
(Jan. 1: 1 p.m. ET, ABC) Georgia vs. Michigan St. "Oh you Knowshon Moreno. The Bulldogs' sophomore running back will get the best of his duel with Javon Ringer." - C. Low |
Georgia |
Michigan St. 12 |
|
| Konica Minolta Gator
(Jan. 1: 1 p.m. ET, CBS) Nebraska vs. Clemson "Bo's first season has been good, but the Tigers just have too much speed for the Cornhuskers." - T. Griffin |
Clemson |
Clemson 21 |
|
| Rose Bowl Presented by Citi
(Jan. 1: 4:30 p.m. ET, ABC) USC vs. Penn St. "This will be closer than a lot of people expect, but the Trojans' lock-down defense will prevail in a low-scoring affair." - A. Rittenberg |
USC |
Penn St. 24 |
|
| FedEx Orange
(Jan. 1: 8:30 p.m. ET, FOX) Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech "Bearcats quarterback Tony Pike will pick apart the Tech defense with short, effective passes." - H. Dinich |
Cincinnati |
Cincinnati 7 |
|
| AT&T Cotton
(Jan. 2: 2 p.m. ET, FOX) Texas Tech vs. Ole Miss "Crabtree and Harell will enjoy their homecoming with one more big game." - T. Griffin |
Texas Tech |
Texas Tech 34 |
|
| AutoZone Liberty
(Jan. 2: 5 p.m. ET, ESPN) Kentucky vs. E. Carolina "The Wildcats won't have freshman quarterback Randall Cobb, but a rested, refreshed defense will be too much for the Pirates." - C. Low |
Kentucky |
E. Carolina 19 |
|
| Allstate Sugar
(Jan. 2: 8 p.m. ET, FOX) Utah vs. Alabama "The Crimson Tide will play keep-away from the Utes with their big, physical offensive line." - C. Low |
Alabama |
Alabama 17 |
|
| International
(Jan. 3: 12 p.m. ET, ESPN2) Buffalo vs. UConn "Turner Gill's surprise MAC champions cap their magical season with a Canadian-style bowl win." - B. Bennett |
Buffalo |
Buffalo 20 |
|
| Tostitos Fiesta
(Jan. 5: 8 p.m. ET, FOX) Ohio St. vs. Texas "The Longhorns will take out their BCS aggression on the Buckeyes." - T. Griffin |
Texas |
Ohio St. 21 |
|
| GMAC
(Jan. 6: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN) Ball St. vs. Toledo "The Cardinals will be eager to finish what is already the best season in Ball State history." - G. Watson |
Ball State |
Ball St. 13 |
|
| Allstate BCS Championship Game
(Jan. 8: 8 p.m. ET, FOX) Florida vs. Oklahoma "Sam Bradford will finally face a top 10 defense, one that is second in pass efficiency defense, second in turnover margin, and compliments arguably the most balanced offense in the country (229 rushing, 213 passing)." - H. Dinich |
Florida |
Oklahoma 14 |
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