NCAA College Football 2006 Bowl Games December 26-28

NCAA College Football Bowl Games Dec. 26-28

NCAA College Football Bowl Picks 12/26 - 12/28/06

Rick Gagliano | 12/21/06

Dec. 26, 7:30 pm
Motor City Bowl, Detroit, MI, ESPN
Middle Tennessee St. vs. Central Michigan (-10, 51) - The Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee went 7-5 overall and 6-1 in the Sun Belt, losing the title game to Troy, 21-20. Outside the conference, the Blue Raiders were pounded by Oklahoma (59-0), Louisville (44-17) and South Carolina (52-7).

Assistant Jeff Quinn takes over the coaching duties for the Chippewas, who finished 9-4 and champions of the Mid-America conference. Former coach Brian Kelly has accepted the head coaching job at Cincinnati.

Still, the Chippewas are the better team. They were 7-1 in conference and won the championship game, 31-10, over Ohio. Their out of conference losses, to Boston College (31-24), Michigan (41-17) and Kentucky (45-36) were not disgraces.

Prediction: Chippewas 27 Blue Raiders 13

Dec. 27, 8 pm
Emerald Bowl, San Francisco, CA, ACC vs. Pac-10, ESPN
Florida St. vs. UCLA (-4.5, 41) - They should call this the "defense bowl" as both teams have rock-solid defense but limited offensive skills. If either has an edge on offense, it would be the Bruins, who scored 24 or more in 7 games this season and played against better teams.

But it's the UCLA defense - one of the best in the nation - that will be the real story here, having solidified the secondary down the stretch. In their final three games, the Bruins allowed 7, 12 and 9 points in wins over Oregon State, Arizona State and USC, respectively, all teams in bowl games. This could be a shutout and will likely be one of the lower-scoring affairs of the bowl season.

Prediction: Bruins 17 Seminoles 6

Dec. 28, 4:30 pm
Independence Bowl, Shreveport, LA, Big 12 vs. SEC, ESPN
Oklahoma St. (-2, 51) vs. Alabama - A real contrast in styles awaits viewers in this mid-week matchup. The Cowboys rank 8th in total scoring at 35.3 points per game, while the Crimson Tide relies on ball control and defense (287.6 ypg) to get the job done.

The Alabama style didn't work out well in the SEC, as they lost every game to a ranked opponent this season - LSU, Florida, Tennessee and Auburn all recorded wins over Alabama. Oklahoma State also played four ranked teams, beating Nebraska 41-29, but losing close calls to Oklahoma (27-21) and Texas A&M (34-33). Texas dumped the Cowboys 36-10.

Both teams are 6-6, so this won't decide anything, though it may give an indication of the relative strength of the respective conferences. Since Alabama's defense isn't exactly impenetrable, look for the Cowboys to light up the Tide pretty well.

Prediction: Cowboys 31 Crimson Tide 21

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Dec. 28, 8:00
Texas Bowl, Houston, TX, Big East vs. Big 12, NFL Network
Rutgers (-7.5, 45) vs. Kansas St. - Rutgers was just a win away from a BCS game and the idea that the 7-5 Wildcats will be competitive against the 10-2 Scarlet Knights is laughable. K-State was beaten convincingly in the regular season by Nebraska, Missouri and Louisville (Rutgers beat the Cardinals 28-25), and lost their rivalry game to Kansas to close out the Big 12 campaign. The Wildcats did beat a depleted Texas team 45-42, however.

Rutgers has had a great season and a win here could land them in the top 10 when the final polling is complete. Coach Greg Schiano has done an incredible job molding the defense into one of the tightest units in the country, ranking in the top 10 in yards allowed (259.8) and points allowed (14.7). The Knights also have one of the top rushing talents in the nation - Ray Rice, who rushed for 1624 yards this season.

This could be a decisive blow-out.

Prediction: Scarlet Knights 38 Wildcats 17

Dec. 28, 8 pm
Pacific Life Holiday Bowl, San Diego, CA, Big 12 vs. Pac-10, ESPN
Texas A&M vs. California (-5, 52) - Oh, God, the Bears are going to get killed. The Aggies missed out on a trip to the Big 12 championship and a perfect season by a total of 6 points. They lost to both Oklahoma and Nebraska by a point and to Texas Tech, 31-27. A&M ended the season by beating Texas, 12-7 and are as good a unit, top to bottom as any team in the country and easily the best team Cal has faced all season.

The Bears put up a nice 9-3 season, but it wasn't enough to unseat USC for the PAC-10 crown, and their offense isn't as good as statistics may indicate. This game will serve notice that the Big 12 was one of the top conferences in the country and that the PAC-10 really needs to learn how to play defense.

Prediction: Aggies 38 Golden Bears 20

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).

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