My take on this weekend's bowl games

Last night, Villanova beat Montana 23-21 to win the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) national championship. Now it's time for some Football Bowl Subdivision (Division I-A) where for some reason, we don't have a fucking playoff. But bowl season is finally here as we get ready for January 7th's national championship game between Texas and Alabama. The bowl schedule gets started today with two games and another on Sunday before resuming again on Tuesday.

Saturday, December 19
New Mexico Bowl, 4:30pm on ESPN
Fresno State Bulldogs (8-4) vs. Wyoming Cowboys (6-6)
It's postseason time in college football! Fresno State is back in the New Mexico Bowl to open the bowl season this year. Wyoming is a rejuvenated football team under first year head coach Dave Christenson. Fresno finished the season winning 7 of their last 8 games including that unreal ending in the season finale against Illinois. The Bulldogs are a veteran club while Wyoming is just breaking onto the stage. This win would be huge for the Cowboys to establish themselves as an above-average team to strengthen the Mountain West Conference's standing in its bid to become an automatic-BCS qualifying conference. But there's too much firepower on Fresno's offense. Tailback Ryan Mathews leads the nation with 151.3 yards per game and I watched him a few times this year and he is much more explosive than he looks. Wyoming's defense gives up 170.5 rushing yards per game. In other words, they're probably not stopping Mathews. Don't sleep on Fresno's passing game either with Ryan Colburn finding Seyi Arijotutu downfield.
Prediction: Fresno State 38, Wyoming 17

St. Petersburg Bowl, 8pm on ESPN
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (8-4) vs. Central Florida Knights (8-4)
Central Florida is no longer a pushover and showed that especially in their upset of Houston. Rutgers sports the same colors as Houston, but they won't lose to UCF. The Knights have one of the best pass rushes in the nation with Bruce Miller and they have the 4th best rushing defense, but Rutgers has won its last three bowl games and doesn't get big plays through the run game very often except with true freshman receiver Mohamed Sanu in the wildcat which has been very effective. Houston was also a team that doesn't play much defense; Rutgers is second in the nation in tackles for loss. Rutgers is still progressing towards contending in the Big East and head coach Greg Schiano is trying to open bigger recruiting efforts in Florida. This game will be a good showcase for the Florida recruits interested in Rutgers. While Rutgers is young, true freshman quarterback Tom Savage has been one of the best quarterbacks in the Big East. I watched this kid play in the High School All-America game last year and he is the real deal and he and Sanu will be a good quarterback-receiver duo for years to come. Rutgers also has one of the best left tackles in the nation with junior Anthony Davis (I rank #3 offensive tackle for the 2010 NFL Draft), and I think Davis should be able to lock up Miller. If Savage has time and isn't rushed in mistakes, Rutgers will roll in this game.
Prediction: Rutgers 27, Central Florida 20

Sunday, December 20
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, 8:30pm on ESPN
Southern Miss Golden Eagles (7-5) vs. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (9-3)
Southern Miss had a chance to win Conference USA until they lost quarterback Austin Davis to a torn ACL. Middle Tennessee is going for a 10 win season for the first time in a long time. Statistically, these two teams are identical when placed side by side in almost every category. Middle Tennessee however has the more stout defense, while Southern Miss has more playmakers on the field. Junior Montavious Young has filled in very nicely for Davis and has thrown only one interception on the season. At quarterback on the other side is one of the biggest playmakers in the Sun Belt Conference with Dwight Dasher. The Blue Raiders also lead the nation in tackles for loss and have a good pass rush, so it will be important for the Eagles to be able to run the ball with Damion Fletcher, who is the most underrated player in the country. If Middle Tennessee can take away Fletcher (which they will not), and force Southern Miss to pass, they'll be finding Young in the backfield.
Prediction: Southern Miss 31, Middle Tennessee 27