NCAA College Football 2008 Week 1 Bowl Picks

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Fearless Rick's 2008 College Football Week 1 Bowl Picks

Rick Gagliano | December 20-24, 2008

All times Eastern

Saturday, Dec. 20

11:00 am EagleBank Bowl: Wake Forest Demon Deacons (-2 1/2, 43 1/2) at Navy Midshipmen - I'm thinking that EagleBank has received TARP money to host this bowl game, the first of the season, so one should lean toward the most financially stable institution. That would be Wake Forest, as the Navy is owned by our bankrupt federal government.

Seriously, though, the Deacons are a very solid team, even though Navy beat them during the regular season, 24-17. That game should have served as good preparation against the Midshipmen's exceptional running game, the best in the nation, which operates the option offense quite well. The Deacons finished 4-4 in the very tough ACC, and should make amends here as they have had plenty of time to prepare for this contest.

Prediction: Demon Deacons 24 Midshipmen 17

2:30 pm New Mexico Bowl: Colorado State Rams at Fresno State Bulldogs (-3, 60) - If you don't know much about these two teams, join the club. The Rams gave up more points (29.8) than they allowed (23.9). Those numbers are largely the result of four lopsided road losses at Cal, Colorado, Utah and Air Force. They simply cannot stand up to a well-oiled offense.

The Bulldogs can move the ball, scoring nearly 30 ppg on average during the regular season. Of course, they were ranked in the Top 25 preseason, but, after a 3-1 start, really fell out of contention in the WAC after losses to Hawaii and Louisiana Tech. and, their season ended with a thumping by Boise St.: a 61-10 beat-down. Since neither team is particularly noteworthy on defense, this one should provide plenty of offense, and OVER is probably the best bet. Since I have to take a stand, I'll go with the slight favorite Bulldogs and pray.

Prediction: Bulldogs 41 Rams 33

4:30 pm St. Petersburg Bowl: Memphis Tigers at South Florida Bulls (-11, 53) - South Florida was far overvalued through most of the season. After their narrow home win over Kansas, many thought they could do no wrong and would win the Big East going away. Instead, the defense collapsed while the offense floundered and the Bulls ended up just 2-5 in the conference. They've lost four of their last five and are only big favorites here because they don't have to travel far and Memphis isn't exactly an imposing foe.

After an 0-3 start, Memphis finished up 6-3, for an overall .500 season, the same as their 4-4 record in Conference USA. The offense can get after it pretty well, to the tune of 28.3 points and 432.2 yards per game. That should be enough to hang close or even run the Bulls out of this game.

Prediction: Tigers 31 Bulls 27

8:00 pm Las Vegas Bowl: Brigham Young Cougars at Arizona Wildcats (-3, 61 1/2) - Of the early bowl contests, this ranks as one of the best. BYU finished 10-2, their only losses to conference foes TCU and undefeated Utah. The Mountain West was particularly strong this year, with three teams in the Top 25 (BYU, 17), so it's a bit of a mystery why the Wildcats are favored here. Sure, Arizona had a solid season and they lost at home to USC by only a TD, 17-10, but there are also losses to stanford, Oregon, Oregon St. and New Mexico in there.

Arizona came down the stretch 2-3, so they are not going to blow anybody away, especially BYU, who lit up the scoreboard at the rate of 35 points per game. The wildcats will be able to slow them down a little, but not enough to win.

Prediction: Cougars 27 Wildcats 21

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Sunday December 21

8:15 pm New Orleans Bowl: Southern Miss Golden Eagles at Troy Trojans (-4 1/2, 55) - Troy finished the regular season at 8-4, champions of the Sun Belt conference. They played exceptionally well against Ohio State and LSU, though lost both games. Southern Miss went 4-4 in the flimsy Conference USA and 6-6 overall. A win by Troy could get them a final ranking in the Top 25. One wonders how this game was set up, because it has all the makings of a complete blowout.

Prediction: Trojans 35 Golden eagles 24

Tuesday December 23

8:00 pm Poinsettia Bowl: Boise State Broncos at TCU Horned Frogs (-2 1/2, 46 1/2) - This is the best of the early bowl games, and it's too bad it comes so early in the bowl season, but maybe that was the plan - a little something to keep everyone interested. It should be pointed out that both teams are ranked (in the BCS, Boise is #9, and TCU is #11) and they have the 2nd and 3rd ranked scoring defenses in the country. (TCU, 10.9 ppg; Boise St., 12.3). In another universe, these two could be playing for a national championship, but, being that the current state of college football is already an out-of-student-body experience, we'll just have to call this the championship of the lesser conferences. The winner of this game could end up as high as #5 or 6 in the final polling.

While TCU had an exceptional season, finishing 10-2, Boise State went undefeated at 12-0 and they know how to win bowl games. They won the classic 2007 Fiesta Bowl over then-#7 Oklahoma on a statue of liberty two-point conversion. The key will be Boise's freshman QB Kellen Moore against the fast, hard-hitting Horned Frog defense, which is prone to blitzing and various coverage schemes. This should be a close call, but Boise St., without a loss, getting points, is just too juicy to resist.

Prediction: Broncos 27 Horned Frogs 24

Wednesday December 24, 2008

8:00 pm Hawaii Bowl: Hawaii Warriors at Notre Dame Fighting Irish (-1, 48) - Heck, it's no secret that i just don't like the Irish (an unintended consequence of Catholic rearing) and think Charlie Weis is nothing more than an overpaid fat man. Of course, since this game is going to be played on Christmas Eve, the pious and correct thing to do would be to pick the Irish by a dozen. But, how would that affect the global balance of Karma?

A good question, but, being that this game is being played in Hawaii, that gives he Warriors somewhat of an edge. Also, the Irish come into this game losers of 4 of their last 5, including being shut out by Boston College and upset at home by Big East patsy, Syracuse. They obviously are not anywhere near the powerhouse status of their former glory years. Hawaii won three straight down the stretch before losing a close call to a very solid Cincinnati team, and they were 5-1 at home this season. Their only home loss was by 3 points to San Jose State. The Warriors finished strong and should realistically be favored by 6 here.

Prediction: Warriors 34 Fighting Irish 21

All times Eastern

Copyright 2008, 2009, Rick Gagliano, Downtown Magazine. All rights reserved. Downtown Magazine is located in the Uinted States of America and is not affiliated with the National Football League or the NCAA. For more information, contact us here. Use of this site is for entertainment purposes only.

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