AJ's Bowl Bonanza Spectacular

Well, that was an interesting weekend.

Happy Monday to you. Hopefully you're full to the fucking brim of holiday cheer and sprit so much, you could almost throw up. If I have to see ONE MORE Best Buy ad, I'm going to lose it. And don't even get me started on those horrible "Amped Mobile" ads as well. Good freaking night do I hate the holiday season. Which reminds me...who decided that blinding your neighbors with 40,000 watts of Christmas light cheer was a cool thing to do? It was bad enough when it was JUST the lights, but now you've got actual moving exhibits in people's front yards, not to mention those giant inflatable Santa's or what not. Don't get me wrong...I enjoy the spirit of the season, but fuck people, when does it end? God that pisses me off.

Where was I? Oh yeah, the Huskers suck and are going to get gangraped by an Auburn team who has played about 5 times the schedule that NU has. Yeah, I know...they lost to Georgia, who almost lost to CU who lost to Montana State or whatever. Blah blah blah blah. Football is a game of matchups, especially in a situation where you have over a month to prepare. (How stupid is that? Yeah, a playoff would NEVER work) Not that Tommy Tubberville is some sort of coaching genius, but I'd give him the nod over the flunky anyday. Then again, with 1st team All-American wonder child Zac Taylor playing his final game before a lucrative career in poster signing, throw the tactics out the window.

Speaking of horrible Husker performances; Kinda funny to hear the throngs of co-workers come in this morning, both with frostbite and the perception that they had as much talent as OU, they just didn't make plays. Uhhhhh....no.

Oklahoma has more talent and made plays. I will give the Hicks credit...other than the blocked kick (that didn't count) and the dumb reverse on the opening kickoff, their special teams played particularly well. (Especially the punt game). They had field position all day, and still couldn't do anything. That's good defense above all else. I was also impressed with Brandon Jackson until he got hurt. As an opposing fan, that guy scares the hell out of me...even though his line isn't nearly as great as you think it is.

So where are we now? As bowl season kicks into gear in a couple of weeks, lets take a look at some of the conference bowl matchups.


- Oklahoma State vs. Alabama - Independence Bowl
I've heard a few good things about this bowl form Mizzou fans who have gone, but seriously...Shreveport? I've been to Shreveport, and having a bowl game there makes about as much sense as having a game in Cedar Rapids. Horrible horrible horrible bowl that should be set aside ONLY for teams who haven't been bowling in the past 30 years. How Alabama ended up here, is beyond me. Going 6-6 and ending up in Shreveport is about as cruel of a fate as can be. Bear Bryant is rolling over in his grave.

Oklahoma State 24 - Alabama 13


- (16) Rutgers vs. Kansas State - Texas Bowl
Although a sworn enemy of Kansas State, I'm actually kinda happy for the Purple nation. Houston is a complete shithole, but there is enough to do there, in a nice stadium, to make it a worthwhile trip. Unfortunately, they get to take on a really really good Rutgers team, who is going to be super pissed off about falling all the way to this level of a bowl. With nothing to lose however, KSU could stick around a while and pull this out. (Purdue in 1998 anyone?). Everybody and their brother is picking Rutgers...I'm not so sure.

Rutgers 17 - Kansas State 23


- (21) Texas A&M vs. (20) California - Holiday Bowl
Texas A&M is rewarded for pissing away their season against Nebraska by winning a trip to the greatest non BCS Bowl on earth. Not sure why, but the Holiday Bowl has always been one of my favorites. Unfortunately for A&M, California is pretty good and playing in their back yard. No 3rd string Texas QB will be in sight for miles and miles as the Bears put the asswhipping on Fran's overrated crappy team.

Texas A&M 13 - California 34


- Missouri vs. (24) Oregon State - Sun Bowl
In a game that always looks sharp on TV, Missouri looks to take another crack at a superior bowl opponent. Unfortunately this game isn't in HD (Thanks CBS), and unfortunately for Missouri, Oregon State is pretty damn good. Any team who beats USC, Hawaii and Oregon should be feared, and as Missouri fan, I am. The Warriors run the same offense as Missouri, and Oregon State shut them down enough to win. It's nice for Mizzou to get a 1/2 decent bowl game out of this semi-crappy season, but the whole thing is about to come to an end in a blaze of black and orange.

Missouri 19 - Oregon State 41


- Texas Tech vs. Minnesota - Insight Bowl
ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Good lord, what a horrible matchup. Texas Tech isn't that great away from Lubbock, and Minnesota represents everything about the Big 10....overrated and slow. I just spent more time writing about this game, than most people will watching it as they flip through channels. Horrible horrible horrible game.

Texas Tech 36 - Minnesota 21


- Iowa vs. (18) Texas - Alamo Bowl
I'm not going to hide this...I fucking hate Iowa. At least Husker fan has a couple of trophies to lean on when acting like an asshole. Iowa has done absolutely nothing, and acts in pretty much the same way. Unfortunately, they're about to face a really really pissed off Texas team in their own backyard. This is what they get for acting like complete pricks for the past few years, always forgetting they were 1-10 just a few years ago. The road to perdition continues, as Texas starts 10 walk-ons and a ball boy.

Iowa 7 - Texas 51


- (10) Auburn vs. (22) Nebraska - Cotton Bowl
I've already mentioned this, but the Hick nation is about to get to know the term "SEC speed". Cosgravy's defense, although playing not horrible against OU, will go up against some top-flight receivers who face better DB's on their way to class than Cortney Grixby and the 3 dwarfs. I'm sure we'll discuss this further in the coming weeks.

Auburn 27 - Nebraska 10


- (9) Boise State vs. (7) Oklahoma - Fiesta Bowl
Boise State? Are you fucking kidding me? My numbers may not be correct, but the Broncos haven't played a defense in the top 1/2 of college football. (Somebody correct me if I'm wrong). Yes, it's true that OU has trouble moving the football at times, but Nebraska's defense is the 85 Bears compared to a team that feasted on La Tech, New Mexico State, Idaho, Utah State and San Jose all year. Even the Bronc's lone win against a BCS caliber team was against Oregon State on a Thursday night (if I recall) early in the season. Boise State has not faced athletes like Rufus Alexander all year long. I don't care how many points they're scoring..there's no blue turf or home fans to bail them out this year. As most crappy non-BCS teams find out...there's a reason they're playing Oklahoma and not Ohio State.

Boise State 17 - Oklahoma 31


- (1) Ohio State vs. (2) Florida - National Championship Game
Florida sucks.

Ohio State 41 - Florida 24