Friday picks...

Four Bowl Friday

Due to a late night at the baseball park here in Australia, I will just be giving a score prediction for the games on slate for Friday.

So here we go.

Armed Forces Bowl

BYU 34-24 over Tulsa

Pinstripe Bowl

Rutgers 24-22 over Iowa State

Music City Bowl

Wake Forest 30-27 over Mississippi State

Insight Bowl

Oklahoma (14) 40-23 over Iowa

Back with more tomorrow…..

Thursday's Bowls...

Yes, more Bowl Games on Thursday!!

Two more 2011-2012 NCAA bowl games will be decided Thursday when we have the Alamo Bowl and the Champs Sports Bowl take centre stage for the day.

Champs Sports Bowl

(http://www.fcsports.com/ChampsSportsBowl.aspx)

Florida State vs. Notre Dame

According to preseason rankings, this one was destined to be on the high end of the BCS Bowl list. But, the season had to be played on the field and neither of these two lived up to the hype.

In South Bend, the Irish started off the season with a shock home loss to South Florida followed by a loss to Michigan before getting in two four game winning streaks that were broken by losses PAC 12 teams USC and Stanford.

Florida State suffered an early three game losing streak before rattling off five wins in a row and splitting their final two games. The Seminoles feature a defense that was in the national Top 5 in points allowed.

Florida State should be able to pull off the home state win in this one as their defense is strong enough to get them home.

Florida State 26-14

Alamo Bowl

(http://www.alamobowl.com/main/index.php)

Washington vs. Baylor (12)

Washington suffered a few blowout losses this season and could be in for another one when they travel to Texas to meet Baylor and Heisman winner Robert Griffin III.

Baylor features a high octane offense and their “D” should be able to hold fort against the Huskies. RG III will entertain fans in what could be his farewell game.

Baylor should win this one comfortably.

Baylor 44-20

Back with picks for Friday's games tomorrow....

Wednesday Bowl picks...

Bowl Schedule picks up...

The 2011-2012 NCAA Bowl Season continues on Wednesday with two more games on tap leading into the first of the BCS Bowls on the weekend.

Here we go with my picks for the day’s action.

Military Bowl

(http://www.militarybowl.org/)

Air Force vs. Toledo

Toledo is capable of putting basketball type numbers on the scoreboard having scored over sixty points at least twice this season, once in a loss. Air Force will hope their defense can hold the Rockets at bay and will try to help that effort by eating up the clock with their ground control option offense.

All up in this one, expect a high scoring affair with the “military” home crowd advantage being just enough to help Air Force pull it out.

Air Force 37-35

Holiday Bowl

(http://www.holidaybowl.com/)

Texas vs. California

Texas travels to San Diego to meet Cal in this season’s edition of the Holiday Bowl.

The Longhorns come in from a subpar season by Texas standards while Cal finished slightly better than expected.

Match up wise, if Texas comes in flat, they could get ambushed. The Horns will need to use the ground control component of their offense to keep the Golden Bears at bay. If they are successful, expect a Texas win. If it turns into a shootout, Cal could pull it off late.

Texas should be focused and use this one to catapult them into next season.

Texas 30-18

Back with more picks tomorrow...

Tuesday's Bowl games...

Bowl Games 27 December 2011

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl

(http://www.littlecaesarspizzabowl.com/)

Purdue vs. Western Michigan

All indications point to the scoreboard getting a workout in this one. Western Michigan has been known to air it out but facing a Big 10 team they may be slowed slightly.

Purdue faced a much tougher schedule overall but both teams had a loss against Michigan while the Boilermakers beat Illinois and Western Michigan suffered a loss to the Illini.

Western Michigan will be looking to knock of a team from a major conference and Purdue had better come in focused to get a “W”.

Purdue 37-31

Belk Bowl

(http://belkbowl.com/)

Louisville vs. NC State

Charlotte will be a sea of Red Tuesday night when the Cardinals face the Wolfpack.

Both teams had a loss to Cincinnati this season and the only other common opponent North Carolina had a win over Louisville and a loss to NC State. This one will not set any scoring records as Louisville has a stingy defense to combat State’s firepower.

In the end, State will benefit from a slight home advantage and should be able to hold on for a win.

NC State 28-23

More to come in a day or so…..

Independence Bowl Pick...

Bowls Continue

Independence Bowl (http://independencebowl.org/)

Missouri vs. North Carolina

This one would not be out of place on a basketball court considering the current form of these schools on the hardwood. On the gridiron, both teams had 7-5 records this season. Missouri, who will be leaving the Big 12, is looking to finish their season on a high note. North Carolina did not lose outside of the ACC this season but will be tested by the Tigers. North Carolina’s defense needs a big game to pull off the win and may be up to the task so I’ll take the Tar Heels in a slight upset.

North Carolina 24-22

I will be back tomorrow with a rundown of the rest of the bowls through the weekend.

Holiday NFL predictions...

Big weekend for NFL Teams

There are a few teams struggling at the wrong end of the NFL season and others are playing strongly but may have left their run too late. So, this week our football stockings will be filled with action starting on Thursday night.

Last week, I went 10-6 sending me 133-91 for the season. I am looking for better production this week.

Here we go with the picks:

Houston @ Indianapolis

Colts pulled a surprise last week but may fall from grace this week. The Texans need a win badly heading into the playoffs.

Houston 23-21

Oakland @ Kansas City

Kansas City 20-16

Jacksonville @ Tennessee

Tennessee 30-20

Miami @ New England

New England 34-21

Arizona @ Cincinnati

Cincy 28-27

Denver @ Buffalo

Denver may be heading for a late season swoon heading into Buffalo. The Bills are due.

Buffalo 27-23

St. Louis @ Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh 24-13

NY Giants @ NY Jets

The Battle of New York with both teams struggling after Week 15 losses. Both teams need to build momentum towards the playoffs. I am going to go with the Giants here.

NY Giants 27-20

Minnesota @ Washington

Washington 30-28

Tampa Bay @ Carolina

Carolina 34-24

Cleveland @ Baltimore

Baltimore 28-13

San Diego @ Detroit

Hmm….have my Chargers left their playoff run too late??? Let’s just win in Detroit and see what happens.

San Diego 35-24

Philadelphia @ Dallas

Eagles are hot and go into Dallas looking for a sweep.

Philadelphia 27-20

San Francisco @ Seattle

The 49ers head north to meet the Seahawks who have been on a tear lately and may have a surprise in store.

Seattle 24-21

Chicago @ Green Bay

Green Bay 31-20

Atlanta @ New Orleans

New Orleans 38-34

Happy Holidays all and I’ll be back next week for the final week of the regular season picks.

More Bowl picks...

Bowls for Christmas!!!

The 2011-2012 NCAA college football bowl season is well and truly underway with three games completed this past Saturday and more on tap over the next few days. In my weekend picks, I went poorly, going 3-4 which put my overall record for the year at 177-101.

So here we go for the next few games:

Beef “O” Brady’s Bowl (http://www.stpetersburgbowl.com/)

Florida International vs. Marshall

Florida International comes in from the Sun Belt Conference to face Marshall from Conference USA. Though FIU had a better record, Marshall faced a slightly tougher schedule so I will give the nod to the Thundering Herd in this one.

Marshall 34-24

Poinsettia Bowl (http://www.poinsettiabowl.com/) 21 December 2011

TCU (18) vs. Louisiana Tech

Both teams come in on seven game win streaks but TCU is always strong at this time of the year.

TCU 41-26

Las Vegas Bowl (http://www.lvbowl.com/) 22 December 2011

Arizona State vs. Boise State (7)

Boise State shunned by the BCS again will face off with underachievers Arizona State. In the last game for record setting quarterback Kellen Moore, the Broncos should send him off victorious over their PAC-12 foes.

Boise State 27-18

Hawaii Bowl (http://www.sheratonhawaiibowl.com/) 24 December 2011

Nevada vs. Southern Mississippi (21)

Southern Miss should be the better of these two teams that get to spend Christmas Eve in Hawaii.

S. Miss 30-20

Back after Christmas with more picks in the lead up to the BCS games.

Let's go Bowling!!

Let’s Go Bowling!!

The NCAA football bowl season kicks off from Saturday with three games opening the curtain on several games over the next three weeks. There are also lower division championships and semi-final games on tap.

Last week I had a 4-0 record in the limited schedule taking me to 173-97 for the season.

Here we go for the Saturday ahead:

FCS Semi-Final #1

Montana @ Sam Houston State

Montana seems to always be there this time of year and will travel to undefeated Sam Houston State looking to advance to the championship game. I just don’t think they will get there this year. Sam Houston will go 2-0 against Montana teams for the playoffs this year.

Sam Houston State 31-22

FCS Semi-Final #2

Georgia Southern @ North Dakota State

Georgia Southern is also a team that seems to always be on the verge of playing for the FCS title. This year they are on the road for a semi-final match up with North Dakota State. I will still go with the visitors to advance.

Ga Southern 27-24

Division II Championship

Wayne State (MI) vs. Pittsburgh State

Pittsburgh State looks to be the stronger of the two in this one so that is who I will go with.

Pittsburgh State 30-17

Division III Championship

Mount Union vs. Wisconsin Whitewater

Both teams have been here before and both come in undefeated. I will give the nod to Mount Union again.

Mount Union 35-31

Gildan New Mexico Bowl (http://www.gildannewmexicobowl.com/)

Temple vs. Wyoming

Not much info on either of these teams but I did see Temple a couple of times during the season and they gave Penn State fits so I will go with the Owls.

Temple 37-27

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (http://www.famousidahopotatobowl.com/)

Ohio vs. Utah State

Utah State had close calls against some biggies this season and Ohio is a very exciting team. I will take Utah State in one that could go down to the wire.

Utah State 43-38

R+L Carries New Orleans Bowl (http://www.neworleansbowl.org/)

San Diego State vs. Louisiana Lafayette

LA-Lafayette will have a home state advantage but SD State looks to be the stronger team in this one.

SD State 40-34

That will do it for this weekend’s action, back with more in a few days as bowl games continue.

NFL Predictions for the week...

NFL Week 15 picks…

A 10-6 record for my Week 14 picks has taken my NFL prediction record to 123-85 for the 2011 season. Heading into the stretch run, there are a few big games on tap as usual so here we go:

Jacksonville @ Atlanta

Falcons are looking to get into the playoffs but Jacksonville could be tricky after their big win over Tampa Bay last week. Falcons in the dome will be a tougher prospect.

Atlanta 34-20

Dallas @ Tampa Bay

Dallas has been on a downer and it is December. It will be interesting to see if they can bounce back in a Saturday night showcase in Tampa. There could be trouble again for Cowboy fans.

Tampa Bay 24-22

Carolina @ Houston

Houston 27-17

Washington @ NY Giants

NY Giants 30-17

Miami @ Buffalo

Buffalo 24-13

Seattle @ Chicago

Seattle has been a tough proposition lately; they could be again this week!!

Seattle 23-17

New Orleans @ Minnesota

New Orleans 40-24

Cincinnati @ St. Louis

Cincy 31-14

Tennessee @ Indianapolis

Tennessee 34-10

Green Bay @ Kansas City

Green Bay 41-13

Detroit @ Oakland

Detroit has been more like the Raiders of old this season. It will be interesting to see how they are treated in by the Raider fans!!

Detroit 27-24

New England @ Denver

Hmm…can Tebow and company do it again?? Can Brady stake the Pats to a big lead?? It will be a wild one.

New England 28-20

NY Jets @ Philadelphia

NY Jets 23-17

Cleveland @ Arizona

Arizona 17-10

Baltimore @ San Diego

Chargers are looking to keep recent roll going.

San Diego 27-24

Pittsburgh @ San Francisco

This one will be the second big game in the Bay area this weekend. $9ers need to reverse their recent form while Pittsburgh will be looking to get out healthy.

San Francisco 31-27

That will do it for this week’s predictions…..I will be back in a day or so with some bowl picks for NCAA games.

NCAA Week 15 picks...

Light Week for NCAA teams

With Montana blasting Northern Iowa on Friday night, there are three FCS Division games left this week for me to have a crack at.

Last week, I went 2-0 in the early NCAA games that I picked before missing out on getting my picks done for Saturday’s games so I stand at 169-97 for the year.

Here are my four picks for this weekend:

Army vs. Navy

Navy 23-20

Montana State @ Sam Houston State

Sam Houston 37-22

Maine @ Georgia Southern

Ga Southern 40-24

Lehigh @ North Dakota State

North Dakota state 31-10

That’s all for now…see you for bowl picks soon. 

VHSL Finals picks...

State Championship Saturday for VHSL

Virginia’s high school season culminates with six championship games across the state Saturday.

Last week, I went 4-1 in my Blog Picks sending my season record to 117-28 on the year.

Here we go for the title tilts:

Group A Division 1

Galax over Clintwood by 8

Group A Division 2

Gretna over Goochland by 6

Group AA Division 3

Brookville over James Monroe by 3

Group AA Division 4

Christiansburg over Briar Woods by 7

Group AAA Division 5

Phoebus over South County by 3

Group AAA Division 6

Oscar Smith over Centreville by 10

Good luck to all teams …. 

NFL Week 14 predictions...

NFL Heads to Crunch Time!!

Ok, there are four weeks left and there are some teams hanging by a thread for NFL post season spots while battling severe injury problems at the wrong time of the year. Others are looking to next season and the future is bleak for a few coaches and GM’s.

After an 8-8 effort last week I am at 113-79 for the predicting season.

This week there are some juicy games that could help settle the playoff and divisional pictures.

Here we go with the picks:

Cleveland @ Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh 30-13

Kansas City @ NY Jets

Jets 21-17

Tampa Bay @ Jacksonville

Tampa Bay 34-20

New England @ Washington

New England 38-24

Atlanta @ Carolina

Atlanta missed a golden opportunity in Houston last week and could be in for a surprise this week.

Atlanta 38-34

Indianapolis @ Baltimore

Baltimore 27-3

Philadelphia @ Miami

Miami 27-23

Minnesota @ Detroit

Detroit 24-20

New Orleans @ Tennessee

Tennessee may surprise the Saints at home.

Tennessee 28-27

Houston @ Cincinnati

Cincinnati 24-21

Chicago @ Denver

Can the Bears “D” get the job done?? Seems harder than thought for others. May be time for the Broncos to drop one.

Chicago 21-13

San Francisco @ Arizona

San Fran 28-20

Buffalo @ San Diego

Chargers may be peaking but it may be too late.

San Diego 30-17

Oakland @ Green Bay

Green Bay 34-24

NY Giants @ Dallas

Is Dallas experiencing their annual December Swoon?? Could be.

NY Giants 35-27

St. Louis @ Seattle

Seattle 27-21

That will be all until next week….good luck!!

VHSL picks....

VHSL Semi Finals on tap

Back in Virginia, the VHSL football playoffs have reached the semi-final round with most of the teams that I remotely know anything about having been eliminated last weekend. On VarsityCast in the Roanoke Times I had a 4-3 record sending me to 238-83 for the season. In my Blog Picks, I had a 5-5 week putting me at 113-27 for the season, not too bad.

For this week, I will take a stab at five games and then next week…pick all of the state championship games.

Here we go:

Brookville @ Cave Spring

Cave Spring pulled a surprise last week but Brookville will come in prepared.

Brookville by 8

Central-Lunenburg @ Galax

Galax by 4

Christiansburg @ Broadway

Broadway by 3

Amelia County @ Gretna

Gretna by 2

Wilson Memorial @ Goochland

Goochland by 10

Congrats to the teams that have made it this far…..better luck next season to all of the rest!!

NFL Predictions for Week 13....

NFL Reaches Week 13

An 11-5 prediction record for Week 12 has me sitting at 105-71 for the 2011 season. There are several juicy games on tap for the weekend with divisional races and the wildcard picture muddled in bot conferences.

So here we go straight into this week’s predictions.

Philadelphia @ Seattle

Philly has gone down the tubes for this season but this game should be an entertaining match up. I will give the slight not to the Seahawks.

Seattle 24-21

Carolina @ Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay 27-21

Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh

Big divisional game…will give the nod to the home team.

Pittsburgh 30-28

Atlanta @ Houston

Texans are hurting at QB so I will give the Falcons the advantage in this one…

Atlanta 34-20

NY Jets @ Washington

NY Jets 27-17

Indianapolis @ New England

New England 40-17

Oakland @ Miami

Oakland 23-20

Denver @ Minnesota

Denver 21-17

Tennessee @ Buffalo

The Bills still have something left!!

Buffalo 31-21

Kansas City @ Chicago

Chicago 34-14

Baltimore @ Cleveland

Baltimore 28-13

Dallas @ Arizona

Dallas 24-21

Green Bay @ NY Giants

Ok, upset special in NYC.

NY Giants 27-21

St. Louis @ San Francisco

San Francisco 30-17

Detroit @ New Orleans

Detroit 28-27

San Diego @ Jacksonville

San Diego 31-21

Ok, this is all for this week’s NFL action…

Early NCAA games…

West Virginia (23) @ South Florida

West Virginia 27-22

UCLA @ Oregon (9)

The first PAC 12 Championship game looks to be a mismatch!!

Oregon 51-8

Back with the rest of my NCAA predictions in a day or so….