Bowl Prediction Contest Day 4- The Papajohns.com, New Mexico, and Armed Forces Bowls Open Threads

Saturday, December 23, 2006

Good day all! Lost the first game of the season last night as Rice laid an egg against Troy.....three games today, ENJOY!
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Papajohns.com Bowl
South Florida (8-4)
v. East Carolina (7-5)



Date/Time: Dec. 23, 1 p.m. ET
Site: Legion Field, Birmingham, AL

Network: ESPN 2



Weather: Mostly Sunny, 62 Degrees

Past Results (0): Inaugural Game


Player(s) to Watch: ECU's
Senior Quarterback #7- James Pickney
Racked up a good number of yards during the season with 2,658, but only put up 11 Tds. He is very inconsistent though.

South Florida's Sophomore Quarterback #13- Matt Grothe
He's responsible for 23 of South Florida's TDs this year. He's had a TD in every game but one, and there's hard to find something wrong with him. South Florida is heading in the right direction with him under center.

Deciding Factor(s): South Florida's Defense forcing turnovers
Pickney is prone to mistakes and South Florida needs to capitalize. They have the 24th ranked defense in D-1, and they should be all over the field today. ECU needs their newly rejuvenated defense to step up in order to keep it close.

Spread: South Florida -5, O/U 43

AA's Pick and Analysis: I'm pretty sure Grothe is a red-shirt freshman for the Bulls (don't quote me), but the kid plays like a 7th year senior. He's fast, durable, and accurate. While he does throw a few INTs per game....he usually makes up for them with more TDs.

While Grothe is the focal point, the members of South Florida's Defense are the heroes. The Bulls have some of the fastest linebackers in the country, so look for them to be flying around the ball all day long.

ECU's offense mirrors that of West Virginia whom the Bulls beat 24-19.

Prediction: South Florida 24-17.
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New Mexico Bowl
San Jose State (8-4)
v. New Mexico (6-6)



Date/Time: Dec. 23, 4:30 p.m. ET
Site: University Stadium, New Mexico

Network: ESPN



Weather: Sunny, 41 Degrees

Past Results (0): Inaugural Game


Player(s) to Watch: New Mexico's Sophomore Running Back #21- Rodney Feruson
No Running Back in the nation is hotter than Rodney at the moment. In his last two games he's put up a total of 348 yards. If he's involved in the passing game.....look out. He'll be in the Heisman race his next two years.

San Jose State's Junior Quarterback #17- Adam Tafralis
SJS has gone away from the pass game, but Tafralis is going to have to show something against this New Mexico team. He has a low number of INTs and has an 80% Comp. game on his resume against Washington (28 of 35).

Deciding Factor(s): San Jose State's Pass Rush
If San Jose State has any chance, in what is a home game for New Mexico, they need tons of pressure. New Mexico is a beatable team (one that gave up 623 total yards to BYU) and their QB should be a bit rusty after missing two games with an ankle injury

Spread: New Mexico -3.5, O/U 48.5

AA's Pick and Analysis: I want to take San Jose State in this game so bad it hurts. The fact that it's a home game for New Mexico makes me hesitant.

You know what.....I haven't taken an under dog yet, so I'm going with the Spartans in the spread, but New Mexico will pull it out.

Prediction: New Mexico 31-28
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Armed Forces Bowl
Tulsa (8-4)
v. Utah (7-5)



Date/Time: Dec. 23, 8 p.m. ET
Site: Amon Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, TX


Network: ESPN



Weather: Cloudy, 40 Degrees

Past Results (3):




Dec. 23, 2005 Kansas 42, Houston 13
Dec. 23, 2004 Cincinnati 32, Marshall 14
Dec. 23, 2003 Boise State 34, Texas Christian 31



Player(s) to Watch: Utah's Sophomore Wide Receiver #5- Brent Casteel
Casteel's involvement with the running game has created a whole new world for Utah. Against BYU he had 4 rushes for 34 yards as well as 100 yards receiving.

Tulsa's Defense
They only give up 19.8 points per in the above average C-USA.

Deciding Factor(s): Utah's Rushing Offense
With Casteel now in a double threat role Utah needs to run...and run often. The offensive is improved, but it gets the chance to show how improved versus a top D-1 defense in Tulsa.

Spread: PICK, O/U 48.5

AA's Pick and Analysis: Utah QB Theo Brett Ratliff is dialed in as of late, and as long as the running game creates opportunities downfield....I think this one is a lock.

Prediction: Utah 31-21.
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Good luck everyone......I'll be in and out of here all day long. Enjoy your Sports filled Saturday!

Wow....if you're not watching Tennessee/Texas in CBB it's one hell of a game. Chris Lofton just hit a ridiculous shot. That kid has no conscience. Tennessee by 1.

Damn, Kevin Durant is a man-child. He hits a running bank-shot and we're going to OT.

Tennessee was just too much for Texas in OT. I have no idea how they do it. They don't even run an offense. They just pass the ball around the permimiter and let Lofton chuck it up. 111-105 Tennessee.

The Bowl game on the other hand....is not exciting. It's been on for an hour and a half and we're only midway through the second quarter. 24-7 SF.

"Chris Lofton is from Maysville, Kentucky. You know who else is from Maysville? George Clooney, and Bruce Pearl is thinking that Lofton is better looking than Clooney about now"- Jay Bilas

Very odd exchange in the booth as Papa John brings Gary Thorne a pizza and tries to talk to the announcer. Problem was he wasn't mic'd
up. Awkward.

Wow there's nothing like having Andre Ware and Gary Thorne sing happy birthday to a random girl. But hey, if I was doing the Papajohns.com Bowl....I'd be acting a little weird too.


24-7 South Florida in the early game, and San Jose State is taking it to New Mexico 20-3 early in the third.

Todd Blackledge and Mike Patrick on the night game. Interesting combos they are throwing at us. Hopefully Dick Vermeil's throat is better tonight.


Good News Dick is okay. He and Bryant seem like they love each other again.

Dick Vermeil could possibly be the best color guy in the biz. He sees things and brings them to light better than anyone I've heard in quite sometime.

Ha....I take that back a bit. After Kendrell Bell tackled Rashard Lee for a loss you could clearly hear Dick say "Good Job". I pretty sure he thinks he's still coaching.

Holly Rowe on Utah player Weddle, "I talked to some NFL scouts before the game and the big question was what position he'd play. Weddle said that he'd like to play cornerback, but he knows there's not a lot of white CBs in the NFL......"


Umm what Holly? What the hell are you saying? Are you starting a race war?


5 Comments:

If bowl games are supposed to be a reward to the players for a great season then why are S. Florida and E. Carolina being sent to Birmingham AL??? That's more of a punishment if you ask me.

Jay said...
Dec 23, 2006, 1:13:00 PM  

Get me down for USF, San Jose and Tulsa. Basically take every pick I have on my blog.

Marco said...
Dec 23, 2006, 1:43:00 PM  

I think I wrote these in my original email, but the Signal to Noise choices are USF, New Mexico, and Utah.

Signal to Noise said...
Dec 23, 2006, 2:55:00 PM  

ok I missed the first two games... give me Utah in the nightcap

WCT said...
Dec 23, 2006, 7:15:00 PM  

the jets have a white cornerback...which doesn't say anything about their defense

Sam said...
Dec 24, 2006, 10:12:00 AM  

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