January 2nd Bowl Games

Rather than bask in the glory of my 4-1 record in predictions last night-- what the hell, Cincinnati? A QB roll out on 4th and goal on the 1?-- I'm going to continue my predictions today.

Cotton Bowl: No bowl has gotten more screwed in the last 15 years than the Cotton Bowl. First, the Southwestern Conference folds like a lawn chair leaving the folks in Dallas without any conference tie ins, then the BCS locks them out of the major bowls in favor of the Fiesta Bowl. Cruel way to watch what used to be one of the 4 biggest bowls in the sport die a slow death.

So this game is a tough choice for me. On the one hand, I'm on record in saying that Michael Crabtree deserved the Heisman Trophy this year. On the other hand, I have developed a Bill Simmons-esque man-crush on Ole Miss QB Jevon Snead. All this kid needs is an older brother and he could be the next Eli Manning-- complete with the 0 conference title game appearances. In the end, Grabtree and Kliff Kingsbury 2.0 are too much, since Houston Nutt couldn't win the Cotton Bowl with Darren McFadden after all.

Texas Tech 42 Ole Miss 24

Sugar Bowl: This game looked like a blow out on paper, but then Nick Saban did the unthinkable in the SEC: he actually disciplined a player. Stud left tackle Andre Smith was suspended for the Sugar Bowl by Saban, leading to rumors it was caused by illegal contact between Smith and an agent. The only game that Smith missed this year was the game against Tulane, in which the Green Wave held the Tide to a season low 172 yards of total offense.

This suspension is going to hurt, but I don't think it's enough. I assume that the chastity suits the Utes have to wear will cause havok with their sweat glands in the stifling Superdome humidity and hurt their chances to stay with the Tide in the second half.

Alabama 21 Utah 7