Previously on the Christ Dude, Don’t You Have Any Real Friends? Championship Series, victories by Boston College and Texas Christian allowed the fray’s mortal party to take a one game lead in the CDDYHARFCS standings. It was a lead that, regardless of the outcomes of the remainder of Saturday’s games, Merrill Park Superstar would hang onto.
The predictions and results from Saturday’s bowl games were:
Liberty Bowl – UCF vs. Mississippi State
- Merrill Park Superstar (7-5): UCF
- NCAA Football ‘08 (6-6): UCF 44, Mississippi State 24
- ACTUAL RESULT: Mississippi State 10, UCF 3
Alamo Bowl – Penn State vs. Texas A&M
- Merrill Park Superstar (7-6): Texas A&M
- NCAA Football ‘08 (6-7): Texas A&M 38, Penn State 7
- ACTUAL RESULT: Penn State 24, Texas A&M 17
As you can see, Saturday didn’t go so well from a prediction standpoint. And that’s not even taking into account my disastrous UFC picks. On the plus side, I at least managed to predict a New England Patriots victory. Still, it was obviously my hope that old friend Nick Saban and his (for now) Alabama Crimson Tide would get me back over .500 in Sunday’s only bowl game.
Independence Bowl (apropos; too bad there’s no such thing as the Disaffiliation Bowl) – Alabama vs. Colorado
- Merrill Park Superstar (7-7): Alabama
- NCAA Football ‘08 (6-8): Colorado 41, Alabama 31
- ACTUAL RESULT: Alabama 30, Colorado 24
Indeed, Coach Saban’s Tide rolled in the face of tragedy and in the process achieved victory not just for the Alabama University community but, in terms of this sparsely-read gimmick contest, humanity as a whole. The Merrill Park Superstar graphics department felt so indebted towards Saban that they dusted off their tools of the trade to honor the modern-day Bear Bryant:
What a clever, half-assed bunch, that Graphics Department. Still, the thought was there.
Alabama’s victory meant that Merrill Park Superstar would have a two-game lead over the video game headed into the New Year’s Eve bowl lineup. Several of the day’s bowls have concluded already, and here is an up-to-the-minute listing of each party’s picks, as well as today’s bowl results:
Armed Forces Bowl – California vs. Air Force
- Merrill Park Superstar (8-7): California
- NCAA Football ‘08 (6-9): California 48, Air Force 21
- ACTUAL RESULT: California 42, Air Force 36
Sun Bowl – #23 South Florida vs. Oregon
- Merrill Park Superstar (9-7): South Florida
- NCAA Football ‘08 (7-9): Oregon 51, South Florida 21
- ACTUAL RESULT: Oregon 56, South Florida 21
Humanitarian Bowl – Georgia Tech vs. Fresno State
- Merrill Park Superstar (9-8): Georgia Tech
- NCAA Football ‘08 (8-9): Fresno State 39, Georgia Tech 14
- ACTUAL RESULT: Fresno State 40, Georgia Tech 28
Music City Bowl – Kentucky vs. Florida State
- Merrill Park Superstar (9-9): Kentucky
- NCAA Football ‘08 (9-9): Kentucky 42, Florida State 24
- ACTUAL RESULT: Kentucky 35, Florida State 28
Insight Bowl – Indiana vs. Oklahoma State
- Merrill Park Superstar (10-9): Oklahoma State
- NCAA Football ‘08 (10-9): Oklahoma State 41, Indiana 7
- ACTUAL RESULT: Oklahoma State 49, Indiana 33
Chick-fil-A Bowl – #15 Clemson vs. #22 Auburn
- Merrill Park Superstar (11-9): Auburn
- NCAA Football ‘08 (11-9): Auburn 49, Clemson 30
- CURRENT SCORE: Clemson 17, Auburn 10 (4th quarter)
Well, that two-game lead didn’t hold up very long. Thank goodness for the Nicktator.
With six of the 11 remaining bowl games to be played tomorrow, the momentum could swing either way. In fact, with only four conflicting picks remaining, if one side manages to gain a two-game lead tomorrow, the worst that pick set could do is tie its opponent.
So, without further ado, here are the picks for tomorrow’s slate of bowl games:
Outback Bowl – #16 Tennessee vs. #18 Wisconsin
- Merrill Park Superstar (12-9): Tennessee
- NCAA Football ‘08 (12-9): Tennessee 45, Wisconsin 0
Cotton Bowl – #7 Missouri vs. #25 Arkansas
- Merrill Park Superstar: Arkansas
- NCAA Football ‘08: Arkansas 38, Missouri 21
Gator Bowl – Texas Tech vs. #21 Virginia
- Merrill Park Superstar: Virginia
- NCAA Football ‘08: Texas Tech 36, Virginia 26
Capital One Bowl – Michigan vs. #9 Florida
- Merrill Park Superstar: Florida
- NCAA Football ‘08: Florida 27, Michigan 20
Rose Bowl – #13 Illinois vs. #6 USC
- Merrill Park Superstar: USC
- NCAA Football ‘08: USC 39, Illinois 25
Sugar Bowl – #10 Hawai’i vs. #4 Georgia
- Merrill Park Superstar: Hawai’i
- NCAA Football ‘08: Georgia 69, Hawai’i 28
The video game predicts huge efforts from Tennesee quarterback Erik Ainge (13-for-28, 344 yards, three TDs), Arkansas running back Darren McFadden (31 carries for 226 yards and two touchdowns), Florida quarterback Tim Tebow (19-for-33, 326 yards, 3 total TD), Southern Cal receiver Vidal Hazelton (5 receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown) and the Georgia defense (12 interceptions — that’s right, 12).
It also looks for disappointing efforts out of Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel (14-for-40 for 106 yards, four interceptions), Michigan running back Mike Hart (16 carries for 44 yards), Illinois quarterback Juice Williams (10-for-25, 112 yards, one touchdown) and what would be one of the worst statistical lines in NCAA history — particularly in a bowl game — from Hawai’i Warriors quarterback Colt Brennan (11-for-32 for 151 yards, zero touchdowns and seven interceptions before being relieved by Tyler Graunke at halftime.)
I’m not going to make any specific predictions, but I will go out on a limb and predict that Brennan will throw more touchdown passes to his teammates than he does to the Bulldogs defense — a prediction the game seems to disagree with.
One way or another, we won’t have long to wait.
Happy New Year, everybody!
