BCS Six Pick

If the season has to end, it might as well walk away on Bourbon Street. From December 31st to January 10th Nawlins is the place to be. If I were living the dream, I'd spend New Year's Eve on B-Street, enjoy the Sugar Bowl two nights later and stay for the BCS national championship. The level of drunkenness for a near fortnight would surely land me in AA upon my return home. A small price to pay. Unfortunately, I can not go to the Big Easy this time around. I was there in 2000 and 2005. It was a damn good time. For those of you going, ball out for those of us who can't. A few words of advice for the newbies, keep your head on a swivel and not just for the sight of exposed boobs. If out of the corner of your eye you notice a 6'3" woman in lingerie, it's not a woman. Also look down from time to time. Walking through a pile of NOPD horse shit on Bourbon Street isn't going to help get you any positive attention from the opposite sex.

Monday, January 2nd

The Rose Bowl 10 Wisconsin vs 5 Oregon -6 5:00 pm ESPN

Outside of the the Big Easy, this is the BCS bowl I am looking forward to watching the most, and not just for the outstanding Nike vs Adidas uniform face off. Sometimes bowl games are a reward for the kids, but I think this game will be very hard fought. Chip Kelly is 0-2 in BCS games and Bret Bielema is 0-1, both coaches will try to make a statement. The teams are going to come in spirited and WANT a win.

Pick and Rationale: Whisky getting the points and winning outright. I know Oregon is going to pressure the edge of the Badger defense with their speed. The Ducks will score points, a lot of points, but at the end of the day, #ALLRUSSELLWILSONEVERYTHING is going to make good on his one and only chance on the big stage. In a game featuring two very good, but slightly flawed teams, I am going to go with the team that gets better quarterback play. A Virginian delivers.

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The Fiesta Bowl 4 Stanford vs 3 Oklahoma State -3.5 8:30 pm ESPN

Finally, thanks to the picture above, I can finally say "How 'bout dem Cowboys!" with some conviction. I expect video game like numbers from both schools. Oklahoma State ranks 107th in total defense, but first in turnovers gained (42). Stanford is 23th in scoring defense but surrendered 53 points to Oregon and 48 to USC. I don't trust either defense against fantastic offenses. This could very well come down to who has the ball last. Will OSU be down for getting jobbed out of the BCSCG or will they gun to prove their worth? Andrew Luck will come out to put an exclamation point on his fine career and should make a few dazzling plays. Unfortunately for the viewers, the game will be marred by the near constant slurping of Luck by the announcers. For this reason alone I am all in on Mike Gundy's crew and hope they send the no. 1 NFL pick home with a loss and put a quick end to Stanford's 15 minutes of fame. We'll see you again Stanford in 20 years or so, if the Cardinal is lucky. The same could easily be said for Okie State, but my hate is focused on Ivan Maisel's boy crush.

Pick and Rationale: Stanford getting points and winning, because the football gods hate me. Really, these defenses can't contain the offenses so who the hell knows how this will end up. In the end, I can't have college football nice things. Sorry, Cowboys.

Tuesday, January 3rd

The Sugar Bowl 13 Michigan -2.5 vs 11 Virginia Tech 8:30 pm ESPN

Drinks on, drinks on, drinks during the days and nights leading up to the game, you guys. That's the biggest prize for the fans, even more so than the game. There is no city in the US, or world even, quite like Nawlins. Enjoy it, because I don't think the Hokie players will much. After weeks of being shit on by every analyst, talking head and fan in the country, I expect to see a focused, intense and down right angry VT team in the Sugar Bowl. They will be out to win this game, not just using it as a good time {cough} last year {cough} and will make every curfew. That said, the Hokies have limitations, be it scheme, personnel or injuries. Some of these weaknesses play right into Michigan's hand, others not so much. VT won't be run out of Crescent City like they were the Queen City, but intensity can only carry a team so far. This leads me back to my first point, win or lose, there will be Bourbon Street after the game.

Pick and Rationale: Michigan and the points. This isn't some reverse jinx pick, I've seen too many big non-conference games go the other team's way to pick VT. Outside of GT and now Clemson, I think VT is outstanding in week-to-week preparation, but for some reason early season and bowl games aren't a strong suit of the staff. I won't pretend to know why that is and I don't (usually) question the motivation of the team, but the large sample size is to hard to overlook. Anyone who doesn't think UM DC Greg Mattison won't have a scheme to give VT lots of trouble on offense hasn't been paying attention. Here's to hoping Michigan is just happy to be there and still hungover from NYE.

Wednesday, January 4th

The Orange Bowl 23 West Virginia vs 15 Clemson -3.5 8:30 pm ESPN

The Sugar Bowl isn't the only BCS game having problems selling out. Clemson and WVU have sold just 8,500 and 7,700 tickets of their 17,500 allotment respectively. Clemson, I expected better from a school that has thirsted for a major bowl and fancies yourself as an SEC program in the ACC. WVU on the other hand, who knows, but the warning signs have been there all season. Even with a new exciting coach and scheme they sure had a hard time filling up Milan Puskar Stadium this year for every game not LSU. Even so, the Orange Bowl shapes up to be a pretty entertaining, it's just too bad that these "powerhouse" fan bases decided to sit it out.

Pick and Rationale: Cousins, getting points and winning. Pick any number of reasons, the ACC can't win a big game, Dabo doesn't inspire confidence, Clemson is flaky or the top reason, a win by the cousins would make me angry enough to want to kick my dog.

Friday, January 6th

The Cotton Bowl 8 Kansas State vs 6 Arkansas -7.5 8:00 pm Fox

The Cotton Bowl should be renamed The Almost Bowl. Almost a BCS game, certainly both teams are worthy. My bad on the Hokies taking your "spot". Almost a game people would watch, but it's broadcast by FOX. Derp. Almost programs with a national brand, OK, that was a lie, no one outside of Arkansas and Kansas gives a shit about either of these teams. Eff you both. Bobby Petrino, Walmart, RonP and EcoKat are just a few reasons why I dislike these two teams, but most of all I loathe the Razorbacks undeserving SEC-elite mentality, and butthurt Wildcats fans. I hope they both lose.

Pick and Rationale: Kansas State getting the points. Bill Snyder is a got-damned miracle worker. While Bobby Petrino is an excellent offensive mind and teacher, but he doesn't win very many big games. With a secondary as bad as the Wildcats', this game would be a good place to start. K-State will run the ball, shorten the game and play better than most everyone expects.

Monday, January 9th

The BCS National Championship Game 2 Alabama vs 1 LSU -1 8:30 pm ESPN

The Game of the Century Part Deux. This time around, I think we're all hoping for better quarterback play and a couple of touchdowns. The score from that poster above, looks pretty spot on for the eventual winner. If LSU wins, their 2011 campaign will rank at the top, just above the '95 Nebraska team, of most impressive national champions that I can remember. Top ten victories over Bama (2x), Oregon and Arkansas with nice wins over WVU and Georgia make a strong case. I won't put the cart before the horse, because beating Bama again is going to be difficult. In their first meeting, the Tide threatened to go up on LSU a few times, and they outplayed the Bayou Bengals for much of the game. Defense and low points be damned, the rematch is going to be fantastic. My favorite storylines are the personalities of the head coaches and their on the field decisions. As much as I respect Nick Saban, he gets too much of a pass for making some bad in game decisions and coaching tight. Oh how I love the Hat, but there is only so many times a guy can pull a four leaf clover out of his ass, right?

Pick and Rationale: LSU. I have been on their bandwagon since the WVU game and I am not getting off now. Pass the damn corn dog, breaux. Be it swag, luck, destiny, whatever it's called, the Tigers have the "it" factor. They won't blow out Bama, but I do think LSU will win this game convincingly. While every game has shoulda, coulda, woulda moments, I don't think there will be any doubt about the champion when the confetti falls.

BCS Beer of the Week

Championshiop week, deserves a top notch beer. So enter Sierra Nevada's 30th Anniversary - Fritz And Ken's Ale. An awesome, BIG Imperial Stout that was released back in March 2010 and I've held on to it long enough. Hopefully the games, especially the ones in Nawlins, are as outstanding as this brew.

Quick Recap:

Wisky vs Oregon -6
Stanford vs Okie State -3.5
Michigan -2.5 vs Virginia Tech
w Fn vu vs Clemson -3.5
KState vs R-Can-Saw -7.5
bammer vs corndogs -1

As always make your picks against the spread in the comments. Call me dumb or wrong, just don't call me someone who doesn't love VT because I picked against the Hokies.