Wednesday, December 21, 2005

A Special Time of the Year for The Man



Every year millions of Americans celebrate a national past time that transcends generations, religions and race. What's that you say? Christmas? Hell no! The Man is talking about Bowl Season!

Sure, the Man gets bamboozled into buying gifts for the family. But The Man also knows he needs to satisfy his needs. During the holidays, don't forget to take a few minutes and ask the question -- what about me? What does the Man get for his hard work every year? Football for three weeks.

Last night's warm up game between Southern Miss and Arkansas State (they have a football team?) doesn't count. Well, it might count, but it's not in The Man's Bowl Pool. Here's the rundown of this weekend's upcoming bowl schedule (The Man's picks are bold. Enjoy!

December 21
UTEP vs. Toledo (-3)
The over/under for this game opened at 61 and is down to 60.5. Both offenses average over 438 yards per game, and their average combined points for and against are only around 56 points total; a few games against defensive oriented teams have brought those numbers down. Neither of these teams plays great defense, allowing well over 300 yards per game. Given the propensity to score and be scored on, The Man is taking the OVER.

December 22
BYU vs. Cal (-7.5)
Game has moved 1 full point from -6.5, apparently people like Cal's Pac 10 play versus the Mountain West BYU schedule. While BYU has blown out a few teams (and scored a ton of points), I don't think they have the athletes to hang with Cal, and their inability to stop the run puts them at a huge disadvantage. If they load up in the box, they could keep it close. The Man is buying 2.5 points and taking Cal at -5.

December 22
Navy vs. Colorado State (+3)
This is a no-brainer. Colorado state is barely above a .500 team. Navy runs the ball, Colorado State can't stop the run. Give the FG and take Navy.

December 23
Houston vs. Kansas (-3)
Houston's offense use to impress The Man. Then I checked their schedule. With wins against Rice and Sam Houston State and a loss against SMU, The Man can't side with Houston. And given that Kansas plays (and won against) better competition, I'm siding with the Jayhawks minus three.


December 26
Memphis vs. Akron (+5.5)
Akron surprised in the MAC championship game at Ford Field in Detroit not too long ago. But look for NFL-bound DeAngelo Williams to run wild on the Zips. The Man is buying 3 points to bring it down to under a field goal and taking Memphis -2.5.

More bowl game pics next week from The Man!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Glad to have you back, Man!