NCAA College Football 2008 Week 3 Bowl Picks

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Fearless Rick's 2008 College Football Week 3 Bowl Picks

Rick Gagliano | December 31, 2008 - January 1, 2009

All times Eastern

Tuesday December 30

4:30 pm Humanitarian Bowl: Maryland Terrapins vs. Nevada Wolf Pack (-2, 59) - This is a game of starkly contrasting styles. The Terrapins score 20.1 ppg, while allowing 21.4, while Nevada relies on a potent offense (37.8 ppg) to offset a porous defense (31.5). Bowl games, or any game after a long rest, usually favors the offense, because the defense has to react, and may be a step slow due to rust. with that in mind, the 7-5 Wolf Pack, which scored 31 or more points 10 times this season, should run wild. Maryland topped the 30 point mark just twice this season, the last time being on September 20. The Terps also scored just 54 points in their last 4 games, losing 3 of those.

Prediction: Wolf Pack 34 Terrapins 27

8:00 pm Texas Bowl: Western Michigan Broncos vs. Rice Owls (2 1/2, 74) - After watching the Chippewas bow to Florida Atlantic in the Motor City Bowl, there isn't much love out there for the Mid-American conference. Rice is an offensive juggernaut, scoring at a 41.6 ppg pace during the regular season. The Owls don't care much for defense, and it shouldn't matter much here, as the Broncos seem to do everything in just adequate fashion. Both teams finished 9-3, and Rice is looking for its first bowl win in over 50 years. The Broncos are 0-for their last three bowl appearances. Look for the Owls to light it up. QB Chase Clement has a pair of 1200+ yard receivers in Jarett Dillard and James Casey.

Prediction: Owls 54 Broncos 38

8:00 pm Holiday Bowl: Oklahoma State Cowboys (-3, 76) vs. Oregon Ducks - Games don't get any more evenly matched than this years version of the Holiday Bowl. Both teams light it up with the Ducks outpacing the Cowboys, 41.9 - 41.6 ppg. Defense? Who said anything about defense? This is about touchdowns and who can score the most, fastest. Actually Oklahoma holds a very slight edge on defense (26.9 vs. 28.0) over the Ducks, but it is really marginal.

This has all the makings of a shootout, though the Ducks appear slightly more in tune, having won their last three games and five of their last six. Though the Cowboys losses were to Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma, they were pounded in the last two by a combined score of 117-61. The 9-3 Ducks' only horrible defeat was at USC, 44-10. The points just look like a bonus in a game oregon can win.

Prediction: Ducks 45 Cowboys 35

Wednesday December 31

12:00 pm Armed Forces Bowl: Houston Cougars (-3 1/2, 64 1/2) vs. Air Force Falcons - Another contest in which style may become substance. The Cougars love to air it out offensively, but allowed over 2000 yards rushing, which is the forte of the Falcons.

The key is whether Air Force can control the clock with the running game, thus keeping Houston's high-octane offense (41.6 ppg, 10th nationally) on the sidelines. This is actually a rematch of a September 13 game at Houston, won by Air Force, 31-28, so it would seem that the Falcons should be able to keep the Cougars grounded while piling up rushing yards and wearing out the defense. Lightning strikes twice.

Prediction: Falcons 34 Cougars 24

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2:00 pm Sun Bowl: Oregon State Beavers (-2 1/2, 51) vs. Pittsburgh Panthers - Pittsburgh finished second in the Big East conference, while the Beavers - despite beating USC and winning 6 straight PAC-10 games - finished behind USC and Oregon. The Panthers were 9-3 to the Beavers 8=4, but both teams had highly successful campaigns. The Beavers could have reached the Rose Bowl, but were stunned by the Ducks in their season finale, losing by an embarrassing 65-38 tally, easily the most points they allowed all season, so they may come up a bit disappointed or seeking to make amends.

Pitt had an opportunity to win the Big East, but the schedule worked against them, having to play Cincinnati on the road in the most important game of the year. Still, they availed themselves well, losing by a 28-21 score, and followed up with wins over west Virginia and UConn to close out the regular season. The Panthers are a very balanced team and should assert themselves over the Beavers quite well.

Prediction: Panthers 28 Beavers 20

3:30 pm Music City Bowl: Boston College Eagles (-3 1/2, 41) vs. Vanderbilt Commodores - Talk about collapse! The Commodores completely fell apart in mid-season. Right after topping Auburn to go 5-0, they lost six of their last seven games and just barely qualified for a bowl game. And it wasn't like Vandy was playing the SEC elite. Three of those losses were to Mississippi State, Duke and Tennessee. Boston College toughed out the ACC season, finishing a respectable 9-4, including wins over Florida State and Virginia Tech, both bowl teams. This should be more lopsided than the line suggests, with BC romping home a winner.

BC has a stout defense, and Vandy only put up 69 points in their 6 losses.

Prediction: Eagles 34 Commodores 14

5:30 pm Insight Bowl: Kansas Jayhawks (-9, 58) vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers - Overshadowed by teams from the Big 12 South - Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma - the Jayhawks possess one of the most efficient offenses in the country. Led by QB Todd Reesing and running back Jake Sharp, the Jayhawks put up 32.7 ppg. and finished with a 7-5 record overall. The Gophers allowed a middling 23.3 ppg, and don't have nearly the offensive firepower to hang with Kansas for long.

Look for this one to get out of hand early and turn into one of those bomb-fests that so often occur this time of year.

Prediction: Jayhawks 42 Golden Gophers 27

7:30 pm Chick-fil-A Bowl: LSU Tigers vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (-4, 52 1/2) - LSU, a shadow of its former self, needs another year of recruiting to even get close to national championship level. The Yellow Jackets, on the other hand, are a rapidly-improving program with an amazing ground attack and an aggressive defense. This is likely to be one of the bigger mismatches of the week. Tech should roll to a statement win.

Prediction: Yellow Jackets 34 Tigers 14

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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