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NCAA College Football Bowl Games Dec. 19-24

DTMagazine Home Sports Home BOWL PICKS 12/19 - 12/24/06 BOWL PICKS 12/26 - 12/28/06 BOWL PICKS 12/29 - 12/30/06 BOWL PICKS 12/31/06 - 1/1/07 BOWL PICKS 1/1 - 1/7/07 National Championship 1/8/07

NCAA College Football Bowl Picks 12/19 - 12/24/06 Rick Gagliano | 12/19/06 Dec. 19, 8 pm Poinsettia Bowl, San Diego, CA, ESPN2 Northern Illinois vs. TCU (-12, 47) - This was a down year for Northern Illinois, usually a contender in the Mid-America conference. While the Huskies were 7-5 overall with three losses in the conference, the defense picked it up late in the season with a pair of convincing wins over Central Michigan (31-10) and Eastern Michigan (27-0). The Horned Frogs are probably wondering how they got into this second-rate bowl with a 10-2 record and a 7-game winning streak. Their only losses were to BYU and Utah, the other top teams in the Mountain West. TCU won most of their games by wide margins and this should serve notice that they don't like being overlooked though the Huskies will put up somewhat of a fight. Prediction: Horned Frogs 34 Huskies 21 Dec. 21, 8 pm Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl, Las Vegas, NV, ESPN BYU (-3.5, 60.5) vs. Oregon - The BYU Cougars are probably of the most underrated teams in the country. They won the Mountain West with an 8-0 record and their only losses were in overtime at Boston College and a 16-13 upset at Arizona. Both of those games were in September and the Cougars have since won 9 straight. Beyond the 33-31 decision over Utah to end the regular season, the other 8 games in that streak were all blowouts of 14 points or more. The #19 ranking for BYU points up just how many high quality teams there are in the top 25. Unfortunately for the Ducks, they're not in that group. The Ducks finished at 7-5, losing their last three straight and it's an insult to the Mountain West having them here. Cougar QB John Beck threw 30 TD passes this season. Add at least 4 more as BYU cruises. Prediction: Cougars 42 Ducks 21 Dec. 22, 8 pm New Orleans Bowl, New Orleans, LA, ESPN2 Rice (-5, 52) vs. Troy - A pair of unknown 7-5 teams playing for God-knows-what with no big difference. Rice has won six straight, Troy 6 of their last 7. One wonders how good a team Rice can be, having lost to Tulane and having been thoroughly trashed by Texas (52-7) and Florida State (55-7). This game offers a good argument for a playoff system and elimination of the bowls. Highlights will be half-empty stands and a late TD by Troy for the win. Prediction: Trojans 27 Owls 21 Dec. 23, 1 pm Papa John's.com Bowl, Birmingham, AL, ESPN2 South Florida (-4, 43) vs. East Carolina - Too bad nobody's going to watch this game, as they'll likely see one (maybe two) of the best non-ranked teams in the country. The South Florida Bulls can best be remembered as the team that ruined West Virginia's season, winning on the road, 24-19 on November 25. The Bulls four losses (vs. 8 wins) were all to quality competition - Rutgers (by 2), Kansas, Louisville and Cincinnati - and a big win here could bring more notoriety to an up-and-coming program. East Carolina is a team that's been in this position before - playing against supposed superior competition - and they should make a good showing. The Pirates finished 2nd in C-USA East at 5-3 and 7-5 overall. They just don't seem to be of the same caliber as South Florida, however. Prediction: Bulls 31 Pirates 17 --- Story continues below --- Dec. 23, 4:30 pm New Mexico Bowl, Albuquerque, NM, ESPN New Mexico (-3.5, 48.5) at San Jose St. - Please. If you've got nothing better to do two days before Christmas than watch this game, you really need to get a life. The Lobos did beat Utah (big deal) and went 6-6, but they also lost to Portland State. The Spartans of San Jose State come out of the WAC with an 8-4 record overall and are probably overlooked. They lost to Boise St. by 3 and have enough offense to turn this into a rout. If you think Boise and the WAC are getting a raw deal, you'll like the Spartans here and I agree. Prediction: Spartans 35 Lobos 17 Dec. 23, 8 pm Armed Forces Bowl, Fort Worth, TX, ESPN Tulsa vs. Utah (-1.5, 50) - Tough call as both the 7-5 Utes and 8-4 Golden Hurricane have good points and bad. Tulsa, however has the double edge in stats, being better both offensively and defensively than Utah. If they're sufficiently motivated to get win #9, Tulsa should handle this. Prediction: Golden Hurricane 38 Utes 21 Dec. 24, 8 pm Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, Honolulu, HI, ESPN Arizona St. vs. Hawaii (-8, 74) - Hawaii scores an average of 48 points at home and have won 7 of 8 on the island. They also led the nation in total offense at nearly 600 yards per outing. Arizona State went 7-5, were completely outclassed in games against quality PAC 10 opponents and should probably not have gotten this invitation. But, everybody needs a little vacation, so the Sun Devils get the trip. This game will only serve to boost Hawaii's claim of being a really, really good team. Aloha. Prediction: Rainbow Warriors 55 Sun Devils 28 Fearless Rick has been picking pro and college football for 25 years and you can help keep these picks FREE with a small donation (yes I'm talking to you, you cheap loser). If you've found Rick's insights helpful, enlightening or entertaining over the course of the season, you can show some support. Sign up for the Back Issue Price Guide newsletter to receive updates and special sale info. Subscribe by entering your email address:

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