The Bowls, 12/19-12/27

There are less than two hours left before the bowl season starts, but I guess now is as good a time as ever to make my predictions on the first week and a half of the postseason. Here are my thoughts (all times Eastern)...

TCU vs. Northern Illinois, The San Diego County Credit Union Bowl (ESPN2, Dec. 19, 8 PM): The CFP picked TCU, and I don't see why to go against it. Northern Illinois lost to Western Michigan, Iowa, and Toledo. Ouch.

BYU vs. Oregon, The Pioneer Pure Vision Las Vegas Bowl (ESPN2, Dec. 21, 8 PM): Oregon's only marquee win was the non-win against Oklahoma. BYU looked better in comparison. The Mormons, I mean, Cougars will continue to an 11-2 season.

Rice vs. Troy, The R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl (ESPN2, Dec. 22, 8 PM): Man, how do teams like Rice and Troy get to play in December? There are definitely too many bowl games. I don't even know who the R&L Carriers are. I'm so annoyed that I'm not going to make a prediction here.

Is college football related to highway transit? Not really.

South Florida vs. East Carolina, The Papajohns.com Bowl (ESPN2, Dec. 23, 1 PM): South Florida beat West Virginia and was very close to doing the same to Rutgers. East Carolina lost to Navy, UAB, and Rice. Also, East Carolina's mascot is a pirate. I'm definitely picking South Florida.

New Mexico vs. San Jose State, The New Mexico Bowl (ESPN, Dec. 23, 4:30 PM): New Mexico lost to Portland State, a Division I-AA school. Even with New Mexico's home-field advantage, I'll stick with San Jose State.

Utah vs. Tulsa, The Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (ESPN, Dec. 23, 8 PM): Tulsa at BYU, 25-49. BYU at Utah, 31-33. Go Utes!

Hawaii vs. Arizona State, The Sheraton Hawaii Bowl (ESPN, Dec. 24, 8 PM): Hawaii will probably beat lackluster and quarterback-less Arizona State (I bet the Sun Devils wish they hadn't let Rudy Carpenter go). Hawaii QB Colt Brennan will throw for 1,424 yards in the first half out of frustration with the awards committees. In the second half, he will throw a pass around the world into the end zone, just for kicks.

Central Michigan vs. Middle Tennessee State, The Motor City Bowl (ESPN, Dec. 26, 7:30 PM): This matchup is so uninteresting that it can only be described by the tagline for Alien vs. Predator: "Whoever wins, we lose."

UCLA vs. Florida State, The Emerald Bowl (ESPN, Dec. 27, 8 PM): This is the first bowl game of the season that I am actually going to try to watch. UCLA just came off a huge defensive win against USC, the greatest offense of all time. Florida State just came off a moral victory against Florida, holding the Gators to only three touchdowns and scoring two of their own. I think the Bruins will turn their momentum into bowl season victory, but it will not be easy.

I'll be back the night of the 27th to close out the calendar year.