December 22nd & 23rd - 4 bowls

the Papajohns.com Bowl Saturday, December 22nd, 1:00pm Birmingham, Alabama
Cincinnati (9-3)_____Big East____298.97				Southern Miss (7-5)_____Conf USA____53.31
Week	Opponent	oPts	Res, Score	Week	Opponent	oPts	Res, Score
10	@ South Florida	316.42	W, 38-33	3	@ East Carolina	89.72	W, 28-21
11	Connecticut	232.43	W, 27-3	13	Arkansas State	-63.38	W, 16-10
2	Oregon State	209.72	W, 34-3	12	@ Texas-El Paso	-110.58	W, 56-30
6	@ Rutgers	146.23	W, 28-23	8	@ Marshall	-158.83	W, 33-24
3	@ Miami (Ohio)	-62.84	W, 47-10	10	@ Alabama-Birmingham	-232.53	W, 37-7
5	@ San Diego State	-84.17	W, 52-23	7	Southern Methodist	-292.91	W, 28-7
13	@ Syracuse	-156.53	W, 52-31	1	Tennessee-Martin	-	W, 35-13
4	Marshall	-158.83	W, 40-14	2	@ Tennessee	349.37	L, 19-39
1	Southeast Missouri State	-	W, 59-3	9	Central Florida	266.42	L, 17-34
12	West Virginia	364.93	L, 23-28	5	@ Boise State	229.42	L, 16-38
7	Louisville	106.21	L, 24-28	11	Memphis	21.53	L, 26-29
8	@ Pittsburgh	76.94	L, 17-24	6	Rice	-221.20	L, 29-31

The Bearcats have the clear edge in this game - better record, a lot of quality wins, no real bad losses.

Cincinnati had a drop-off in the middle of the season but has since rebounded. Southern Miss has worked their way back up from the red too, but they're much more stop and go.

Intangibles: Southern Miss is the opposite of interim'd for this game - it's Jeff Bower's last one, and you can bet he's going to do everything in his power to show the school's administration what a huge mistake they made in forcing him to resign.

The Line: Southern Miss +11.5

The Story: Cincinnati's skills vs Southern Miss's heart

The Call: Cincinnati wins, but Southern Miss covers the spread

The Result: Cincinnati 31-21 = Right on the money.

the New Mexico Bowl Saturday, December 22nd, 4:30pm Albuquerque, New Mexico
New Mexico (8-4)_____Mtn West____154.27				Nevada (6-6)_____WAC____54.01
Week	Opponent	oPts	Res, Score	Week	Opponent	oPts	Res, Score
9	Air Force	233.04	W, 34-31	14	Louisiana Tech	-48.56	W, 49-10
3	@ Arizona	69.56	W, 29-27	10	@ New Mexico State	-156.16	W, 40-38
7	@ Wyoming	-10.46	W, 20-3	5	Nevada-Las Vegas	-178.30	W, 27-20
8	@ San Diego State	-84.17	W, 20-17	8	@ Utah State	-209.20	W, 31-28
11	Colorado State	-109.69	W, 26-23	9	Idaho	-335.67	W, 37-21
2	New Mexico State	-156.16	W, 44-34	3	Nicholls State	-	W, 52-17
13	Nevada-Las Vegas	-178.30	W, 27-6	12	Hawaii	395.58	L, 26-28
4	Sacramento State	-	W, 58-0	7	@ Boise State	229.42	L, 67-69
5	Brigham Young	341.36	L, 24-31	6	Fresno State	151.92	L, 41-49
12	@ Utah	213.09	L, 10-28	2	@ Northwestern	30.45	L, 31-36
10	@ Texas Christian	152.78	L, 0-37	1	@ Nebraska	29.14	L, 10-52
1	@ Texas-El Paso	-110.58	L, 6-10	13	@ San Jose State	-53.89	L, 24-27

New Mexico has the edge in how much they've been tested, winning a good game vs Air Force, while Nevada hasn't beaten anyone of note.

Not too much difference in these teams' seasons - both started with a loss but have pulled themselves back up.

Intangibles: The game is basically a home one for New Mexico, which is good because the Lobos only lost one (to BYU) this season at home.

The Line: Nevada +3

The Story: New Mexico's leading rusher Rodney Ferguson and backup rusher Mike Love are both out for the game, and though coach Rocky Long says that plugging in Paul Baker will work just fine, I don't think it's going to be that simple. It might be just enough though.

The Call: New Mexico by 6

The Result: New Mexico 23-0 = Maybe it was that simple - Paul Baker racked up 167 yards rushing. Who knew? (Besides Coach Long, that is.)

the Las Vegas Bowl Saturday, December 22nd, 8:00pm Las Vegas, Nevada
BYU (10-2)_____Mtn West____341.36				UCLA (6-6)______Pac 10_____117.96
Week	Opponent	oPts	Res, Score	Week	Opponent	oPts	Res, Score
4	Air Force	233.04	W, 31-6	2	Brigham Young	341.36	W, 27-17
13	@ Utah	213.09	W, 17-10	13	Oregon	251.78	W, 16-0
5	@ New Mexico	154.27	W, 31-24	5	@ Oregon State	209.72	W, 40-14
11	Texas Christian	152.78	W, 27-22	8	California	87.95	W, 30-21
1	Arizona	69.56	W, 20-7	4	Washington	-9.10	W, 44-31
12	Wyoming	-10.46	W, 35-10	1	@ Stanford	-46.40	W, 45-17
14	San Diego State	-84.17	W, 48-27	14	@ Southern California	321.57	L, 7-24
10	@ Colorado State	-109.69	W, 35-16	11	Arizona State	241.74	L, 20-24
7	@ Nevada-Las Vegas	-178.30	W, 24-14	3	@ Utah	213.09	L, 6-44
8	Eastern Washington	-	W, 42-7	10	@ Arizona	69.56	L, 27-34
3	@ Tulsa	164.04	L, 47-55	9	@ Washington State	31.17	L, 7-27
2	@ UCLA	117.96	L, 17-27	6	Notre Dame	-135.92	L, 6-20

Rematch! The first game went to the Bruins at home in September, which was the best and worst game for each team, respectively. But since then the Cougars have had a bit of a better season. Just a bit.

The chart says it all in terms of seasonal progress.

Intangibles: How will the BYU players and fans react to Vegas? Something's gotta give there...

The Line: UCLA +6

The Story: As is a main storyline for this bowl season, the Bruins are interim'd. Not only that, but the school is still interviewing for a coach, not having already scooped up one for next season as most other schools have. Of course it doesn't just come down to coaches, the Cougar's desire for revenge is big too...

The Call: BYU by 10

The Result: BYU 17-16 = Another solid game. BYU finishes a great season, winning their last 10.

the Hawaii Bowl Sunday, December 23rd, 8:00pm Honolulu, Hawaii
East Carolina (7-5)_____Conf USA____89.72				Boise State (10-2)______WAC_____229.42
Week	Opponent	oPts	Res, Score	Week	Opponent	oPts	Res, Score
6	Central Florida	266.42	W, 52-38	9	@ Fresno State	151.92	W, 34-21
5	@ Houston	111.86	W, 37-35	7	Nevada	54.01	W, 69-67
10	@ Memphis	21.53	W, 56-40	5	Southern Mississippi	53.31	W, 38-16
2	North Carolina	7.58	W, 34-31	3	Wyoming	-10.46	W, 24-14
7	@ Texas-El Paso	-110.58	W, 45-42	8	@ Louisiana Tech	-48.56	W, 45-31
13	Tulane	-144.98	W, 35-12	10	San Jose State	-53.89	W, 42-7
9	Alabama-Birmingham	-232.53	W, 41-6	6	New Mexico State	-156.16	W, 58-0
1	@ Virginia Tech	439.86	L, 7-17	11	@ Utah State	-209.20	W, 52-0
4	@ West Virginia	364.93	L, 7-48	12	Idaho	-335.67	W, 58-14
3	Southern Mississippi	53.31	L, 21-28	1	Weber State	-	W, 56-7
8	North Carolina State	34.24	L, 20-34	13	@ Hawaii	395.58	L, 27-39
11	@ Marshall	-158.83	L, 7-26	2	@ Washington	-9.10	L, 10-24

Boise State has the lead here, not only having a better record but also having played in Hawaii less than a month ago. The only blemish on the Bronco's record is an somewhat unexplainable loss to Washington in September.

Intangibles: Everyone still remembers what Boise State did to Oklahoma last year in one of the greatest bowl games ever. Will their hearts be in Hawaii this year?

The Line: East Carolina +11

The Story: Can East Carolina score? To have any shot at all they'll need to - their D has given up a ton of points this year.

The Call: Boise State by 14

The Result: East Carolina 41-38 = Well done, Pirates. Boise State's D isn't too shabby, but East Carolina just stepped on the gas from the start.