It's another week of bowling and some of the biggest of the big boys are on the slate to make their appearance on an E$PN network near you.No matter your opinion on the Connecticut Huskies' (UConn) "worthiness" to be a participant in the Orange Bowl you have to respect what Randy Edsall has done at UConn.
His teams have consistently proven themselves to be both competitive and resilient and, despite how this game looks, you cannot give the win to either team based solely on what the stats on a piece of paper shows.
Oklahoma is the obvious pick for most, but they always have been. Unfortunately, they have often failed to live up to expectations where BCS bowls are concerned—suffering disappointing and embarrassing losses to teams that were considered underdogs—and while UConn doesn't tout a Landry Jones at quarterback, Bob Stoops unflattering reputation for blowing it in BCS games could become an unspoken factor.
Don't count Connecticut out of this game—despite what you hear—they have every bit the opportunity and talent to pull the upset if the Sooners come out flat, undisciplined, or minus the appropriate focus.
The picks that follow are for all games played from December 27th through December 30th. All lines are courtesy of VegasInsider.com.
(The 'Lady's bowl record thus far: 6-2).
December 27th:
Georgia Tech at Air Force, Advocare V100 Indepence Bowl: Air Force (-2.5)
The Jackets are short-handed in this one and Air Force sports a better-than-average pass defense (6th in the nation). If the Falcons can get on the board early and force Tech to go to their passing game, there is no reason they shouldn't win this game.
On the other hand, if Tech manages to make mince meat of that Falcons run defense early, forget about it, this game will be over long before halftime.
The Lady's Pick: Air Force to cover
December 28th:
North Carolina State at West Virginia, Champs Sports Bowl: West Virginia (-2.5)
The Wolfpack were one win away from an ACC Championship and they frittered it all away with bad play. West Virginia was inconsistent early and it cost them the Big East—UConn sits where they might have been—has either team recovered from their mishap?
The Mountaineers have shown that they can beat teams if they have everything clicking, but Russell Wilson—of NC State—is every bit as capable of leading his team to victory if he decides to show up and play. That said, it's hard to see the Wolfpack having enough offense to keep up with the sizzling hot Mountaineers.
The Lady's Pick: West Virginia to cover
Missouri Tigers at Iowa, Insight Bowl: Missouri (-2.5)
Iowa isn't looking like a team with much cohesiveness at the moment and that won't serve them well against a Missouri team that, despite their record, was once considered a BCS contender.
The Lady's Pick: Missouri to cover
December 29th:
Maryland vs. East Carolina, Military Bowl: Maryland (-7.5)
These Pirates aren't the same ones that beat Virginia Tech and went on an early tear a mere two seasons ago. No, these are Ruffin McNeill's Pirates and they know how to do one thing very well—score.
Maryland will be looking to send Ralph Friedgen out on a winning note and the emotion of that could propel them to play big in this game. That said, McNeill will be playing for some respect of his own, and could have just enough in place—on both sides of the ball—to pull the minor upset.
The Lady's Pick: East Carolina to cover
Baylor vs. Illinois, Texas Bowl: Baylor (-1)
They do it big in Texas and Robert Griffin III (Baylor) will be looking to do big things in Baylor's first bowl game in a very long time.
Illinois was hoping for better than 6-6, but the fact that they looked markedly better on offense and slightly better on defense this past season is a start—if you're looking for a silver lining—however, the edge has to go to the Bears in this game.
The Lady's Pick: Baylor to cover
Arizona Wildcats at Oklahoma State, Valero Alamo Bowl: Oklahoma State (-5.5)
The Cowboys are just going to be too much for the Wildcats. Love their defense and love what they have been able to do minus initial starter, Foles, but this Cowboys team is too potent to be stopped for four quarters.
The Lady's Pick: Oklahoma State to cover
Army at Southern Methodist, Armed Forces Bowl: Southern Methodist (-7)
June Jones knows how to engineer an offense and Kyle Padron will be far too much for the Knights to contain.
The Lady's Pick: SMU to cover
Kansas State at Syracuse, New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Syracuse (-1)
Kansas State relies heavily on the run and that will serve them well against the Orange—who give up a lot of yards on the ground—but their lack of balance here could be there downfall. Syracuse has one of the best pass defenses in the nation (3rd) and if they can shut down Daniel Thomas, they stand a good chance of running away in this contest.
The Lady's Pick: Syracuse to cover
North Carolina at Tennessee, Music City Bowl: North Carolina (-2)
The Tarheels are a scrappy bunch but Tennessee has found their stride late with Tyler Bray at the helm. If he can get the offense going, and the Vols can play football for 60 minutes, they win this game—no question.
The Lady's Pick: Tennessee to cover
Washington at Nebraska, Holiday Bowl: Nebraska (-14)
Washington's problem lay in their lack of a competent defense. By contrast, Nebraska has plenty of that to spare, and then some. Look for Jake Locker to try his best to keep this game close but, in the end, Nebraska just has too much talent to be overtaken.
The Lady's Pick: Nebraska to cover
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