Game: Texas Bowl
Teams: Rice Owls (9-3) vs. Western Michigan Broncos (9-3)
Location: Houston, TX, Reliant Stadium
Start Time: 8PM EST (NFL Network)
Network and Announcers: Fran Charles, Tom Waddle, Kara Henderson
Favorite: Rice (-3)
AA's Pick: Rice 34 - Western Michigan 17



Game: The Holiday Bowl
Teams: Oklahoma State Cowboys (9-3) vs. Oregon Ducks (9-3)
Location: San Diego, CA, Qualcomm Stadium
Start Time: 8PM EST (ESPN)
Network and Announcers: Chris Fowler, Jesse Palmer, Craig James, Erin Andrews
Favorite: OK State (-2)
AA's Pick: Oregon 28 - Oklahoma State 27

We get a trio of games tonight and our first of two NFL Network games. We've got Charles "Mangina" Davis, we've got Mike Patrick, and we've got Chris Spielman! It's going to be a great night. Leave your picks and quotes in the comments and I'll be updating below the previews. Hopefully we'll have as much fun as we did last night....Cheers!







#14 Boston College vs. Michigan State
The Champs Sports Bowl
5:00 PM ET, December 28, 2007
Florida Citrus Bowl , Orlando , FL

Weather: 82 Degrees, Sunny
Spread: BC -6, O/U 58
AA's Pick: BC -6 (Record 6-2)
Announcers: Mike Patrick, Todd Blackledge(ESPN)

Team Leaders

Boston College Passing: Ryan- 60.3%, 4258 Yards, 28 TDs, 18 Ints
Michigan State Passing: Hoyer- 61.5%, 2594 Yards, 18 TDs, 7 Ints

Boston College Rushing: Callendar- 206 Carries, 956 Yards, 4.6 avg, 9 TDs
Michigan State Rushing: Ringer- 224 Carries, 1346 Yards, 6.0 avg, 6 TDs

Boston College Receiving: Gunnell- 58 Catches, 793 Yards, 13.7 avg, 5 TDs
Michigan State Receiving: Thomas- 75 Catches, 1226 Yards, 16.3 avg, 8 TDs
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TCU vs. Houston
Texas Bowl
8:00 PM ET, December 28, 2007
Reliant Stadium , Houston , TX

Weather: Dome
Spread: TCU -6.5, O/U 58
AA's Pick: HOU +7, buy the half
Announcers: Brad Sham, Mike Mayock, and Charles Davis (NFL-Network)

Team Leaders

TCU Passing: Dalton- 58.9%, 2210 Yards, 10 TDs, 10 INTs
Houston Passing: Keenum- 69.8%, 1924 Yards, 13 TDs, 10 INTs

TCU Rushing: Turner- 112 Carries, 587 Yards, 5.2 avg, 6 TDs
Houston Rushing: Alridge- 244 Carries, 1568 Yards, 6.4 avg, 14 TDs

TCU Receiving: Dickerson- 37 Catches, 457 Yards, 12.4 avg, 4 TDs
Houston Receiving: Avery- 81 Catches, 1336 Yards, 16.5 avg, 7 TDs
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Maryland vs. Oregon State
Emerald Bowl
8:30 PM ET, December 28, 2007
AT&T Park, San Francisco, CA

Weather: 45 Degrees, Cloudy (30% chance of Rain)
Spread: Oregon State -5.5, O/U 47
AA's Pick: OSU -5.5
Announcers: Sean McDonough, Chris Spielman(ESPN)

Team Leaders

Maryland Passing: Turner- 64.2%, 1753 Yards, 5 TDs, 5 INTs
Oregon State Passing: Moevao- 52.2 %, 836 Yards, 2 TDs, 6 INTs

Maryland Rushing: Lattimmore- 206 Carries, 789 Yards, 3.8 avg, 13 TDs
Oregon State Rushing: Bernard- 237 Carries, 1037 Yards, 4.4 avg, 12 TDs

Maryland Receiving: Heyward-Bey- 48 Catches, 687 Yards, 14.3 avg, 2 TDs
Oregon State Receiving: Brown- 39 Catches, 550 Yards, 14.1 avg, 1 TD
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"Did a nice job and really BANGED it!"- Mike Patrick

I never want to hear Mike Patrick use that word like that ever again.

"He actually ran the stairs with TJ Duckett a great NFL player."- Holly Rowe

Really?

"And Michigan leads Boston College, 7-0."- Mike Patrick (Via Rick James Bible Owner)

During the ESPN Bowl Rundown, the first words from Lou Holtz concerning the Champs Bowl- 'It's 80 degrees and not a breath of fresh air." (Via Gibbon Jockey)

I'm really upset that Lou isn't doing a pep talk for any of these games. That's a travesty.

"Collander on the carry."- Mike Patrick

It's CALendar.....like well a CALendar.

"The offensive line for BC was just over on the sideline after that last punt getting absolutely hammered...(too long of a pause)...by the BC coaching staff."- Holly Rowe (Via Time For 11)

How many Holly Rowe reports are they going to do in the first half? I think were at 6 now....the last one even included a Brett Favre impression.

"The blow was delivered a little lower."- Mike Patrick

"You mentioned both those picks that Ryan threw. Both coming from Jamie Silva."- Rece Davis

Unless MSU and BC made a trade that's physically impossible Rece.

"They came from ahead to lose."- Brad Sham

"He had it on the tip."- Mike Patrick

"You have an I-Pod and an I-Phone?"- Todd Blackledge
"Anything with an I in it I have it. If they come out with an I-Car I'm buying it."- Mike Patrick
"Do you have Britney Spears on that I-Pod?"- Todd Blackledge
"No.............although I hear she might be renting out that double wide to a family member."- Mike Patrick

WINNER! Video in 15.

"A Quarterback has to keep his hands in and ride that center."- Todd Blackledge (Via Gibbon Jockey)

"I like the chunky kickers we have in this game." - Mike Mayock (Via alienaub)

"Now you know why his teammates call him 'Sweet Pea'." - Charles Davis
"He's got a couple of nicknames. Donny Avery called him a white Michael Vick." - Mike Mayock
"I think Sweet Pea is a little safer." - Brad Sham
(Via alienaub)

Are you serious??? The production one had to be cringing at that one.

"He smelled sack and he got sack"- Chris Spielman (Via Fairplay)

"You noticed something between the two teams Chris. What a dichotomy, if you know what that means, between the two teams."- Rob Stone to Chris Spielman

The Texas Bowl
Houston, TX- Reliant Stadium





Kansas State (7-5) v. Rutgers (10-2)

Weather: Indoors

Past Results (6):

Dec. 31, 2005	TCU 27, Iowa State 24
Dec. 29, 2004	Colorado 33, UTEP 28
Dec. 30, 2003	Texas Tech 38, Navy 14
Dec. 27, 2002	Oklahoma State 33, Southern Miss 23
Dec. 28, 2001	Texas A&M 28, TCU 9
Dec. 27, 2000	East Carolina 40, Texas Tech 27

Player(s) to Watch: Florida State's DT's Broderick Bunkley and/or Rutgers's Junior QB #14- Mike Teel

Everyone in the nation knows Raymell Rice, so that'd be too easy. Ray will get his yards so I think pressure is on Teel to be accurate and not make mistakes. He can't have another game like he did against Cincy (4 Ints).

Kansas State's Freshman QB #1- Josh Freeman

In his past three games (Col, Tex, Kan) Freeman is averaging 254.6 Yards per game. He's gotten better as the season's gone on, but he's still prone to mistakes he has over a 2-1 Int to TD ratio. If he plays like he did against Texas, K-State can hang around.

Deciding Factor(s): The Rutgers D forcing turnovers.

Obviously Freeman is prone to turnovers, but he's been better of late. Rutgers has one of the top D's in the country and will be all over him. Kansas State wants a high-scoring affair like the Texas game and Rutgers wants it low.

Interesting Fact: The Texas Bowl was formerly known as the Galley.com Furniture Bowl.

Spread: Rutgers -7.5, O/U 44

AA's Pick and Analysis: I'm turning to this quote by Rutgers Coach Terry Schiavo Greg Schiano (too soon for that joke?)

"Certainly, there's disappointment. We had an opportunity to be in the BCS, and more importantly to be league champions. To come close and not get it hurts."

For some reason I see this as a let down game for Rutgers, and K-State will have their chances to win. Rutgers has already proved enough.

Prediction Kansas State 20-16.
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The Desmond Howard Holiday Bowl

San Diego, CA- Qualcomm Stadium

Texas Texas A&M (9-3) v. CAL (9-3)

Weather: Fair, 60 Degrees

Past Results (28):

Last 10....

Dec. 29, 2005	Oklahoma 17, Oregon 14
Dec. 30, 2004	Texas Tech 45, California 31
Dec. 23, 2003	Washington State 28, Texas 20
Dec. 27, 2002	Kansas State 34, Arizona State 27
Dec. 28, 2001	Texas 47, Washington 43
Dec. 29, 2000	Oregon 35, Texas 30
Dec. 30, 1999	Kansas State 24, Washington 20
Dec. 30, 1998	Arizona 23, Nebraska 20
Dec. 29, 1997	Colorado State 35, Missouri 24
Dec. 30, 1996	Colorado 33, Washington 21

Player(s) to Watch: Florida State's DT's Broderick Bunkley and/or Rutgers's Sophomore QB #9- Nate Longshore

Again, everyone in the nation knows RB Marshawn Lynch, so that'd be too easy. Longshore has racked up a ton of yards and 3, 4TD Games. Cal is going to have to throw early and often against Texas Texas A&M.

Texas' Freshman QB #12- Colt McCoy

Colt is the deciding factor in this game, but can he play through his injuries? He only has 7 INTs on the year and.........okay this is getting old......I'm wearing out the joke aren't I?.....moving on......

Texas A&M's Sophomore TE #13- Martellus Bennett

Tellie is tied for the team lead in receptions with 37. He has also put up some good yardage and is a great blocking TE for his team's running offense.

Deciding Factor(s): I have no idea.

Honestly, I don't. These teams seem pretty damn even to me. They are the perfect polar opposites of each other. When that's the case I usually go with the better defense.....and Cal has zippy.

Longshore has been off as of late completing less than 50% of his passes in his last three games. Look for Texas A&M to load up against the run, and dare Longshore to beat them up top.

Interesting Fact: One of the more popular (yet unusual) events associated with the Holiday Bowl is the Wiener Nationals, the national championships for the U.S. dachshund racing circuit.

The Wiener Nationals are the United States national dachshund racing championships sponsored by Wienerschnitzel. Regional qualifiers are held in the Southwestern United States (California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada), with the final 8 Dachshunds racing for the national title every December in San Diego as part of the Holiday Bowl. (Wikipedia)

Spread: Cal -5, O/U 54

AA's Pick and Analysis: I'm seeing this one play out as another letdown game. CAL floundered at the end of the season (losing to Arizona is inexcusable) and should have made a better Bowl.

Texas A&M plays great team defense and the option should be good for 300 yards against a suspect CAL Defense.

Prediction A&M 24-21, and I love the under!
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