“A school without football is in danger of deteriorating into a medieval study hall.” -Frank Leahy
Late December and early January bring one last great fix for college football addicts. I will definitely need a good detox program after Jan. 12.
As a hardcore SEC junkie, I wasn’t all that surprised to see that of the 12 SEC teams playing in a bowl game, 10 are favored to win. Ole Miss is a three-and-a-half point underdog to TCU, and South Carolina is pick-em in their game with Miami. Texas A&M has no line yet, but should be favored over West Virginia.
Tennessee plays Iowa on Jan. 2 in the Taxslayer Bowl (formerly Gator Bowl) in Jacksonville, Fla. The Vols finished at 6-6, with their best win at Columbia against the Gamecocks, and their worst loss, I think, at home against the Gators – one of six Florida wins that couldn’t save Will Muschamp.
The Hawkeyes are 7-4. They beat Northwestern 48-7 and Minnesota 51-14, but lost to Iowa State.
Iowa did not have to play Ohio State or Michigan State, just as Tennessee missed out on games with Mississippi State and Auburn. They also didn’t play LSU.
ESPN has come out with a ranking of all the bowls, best to worst. The Tennessee vs. Iowa matchup comes in at number 18, with the comment. “Tennessee fans keep waiting for the Volunteers to break back through; Iowa fans keep waiting for coach Kirk Ferentz to actually earn his $4 million salary. The Volunteers are playing in their first January bowl since 2007, and can continue to gain momentum under coach Butch Jones by finishing 7-6 if they beat the Hawkeyes.”
Here’s how they rank the rest of the games, best to worst
1. Rose Bowl - Oregon vs. Florida State
2. Sugar Bowl - Alabama vs. Ohio State
3. Cotton Bowl - Michigan State vs. Baylor
4. Peach Bowl - Ole Miss vs. TCU
5. Orange Bowl - Mississippi State vs. Georgia Tech
6. Alamo Bowl - Kansas State vs. UCLA
7. Belk Bowl - Georgia vs. Louisville
8. Fiesta Bowl - Boise State vs. Arizona
9. City Bowl - Notre Dame vs. LSU
10. Liberty Bowl - Texas A&M vs. West Virginia
11. Outback Bowl - Auburn vs. Wisconsin
12. Holiday Bowl - Nebraska vs. USC
13. Citrus Bowl - Missouri vs. Minnesota
14. Boca Raton Bowl - Marshall vs. Northern Illinois
15. Texas Bowl - Arkansas vs. Texas
16. Independence Bowl - Miami vs. South Carolina
17. Russell Athletic Bowl - Oklahoma vs. Clemson
18. TaxSlayer Bowl - Iowa vs. Tennessee
19. Sun Bowl - Arizona State vs. Duke
20. Las Vegas Bowl - Utah vs. Colorado State
21. Miami Beach Bowl - BYU vs. Memphis
22. Pinstripe Bowl - Penn State vs. Boston College
23. Foster Farms Bowl - Maryland vs. Stanford
24. St. Petersburg Bowl - NC State vs. UCF
25. Idaho Potato Bowl - Western Michigan vs. Air Force
26. Military Bowl - Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech
27. New Mexico Bowl - Utah State vs. UTEP
28. Bahamas Bowl - Central Michigan vs. W. Kentucky
29. Birmingham Bowl - East Carolina vs. Florida
30. Cactus Bowl - Washington vs. Oklahoma State
31. Armed Forces Bowl - Houston vs. Pittsburgh
32. Quick Lane Bowl - Rutgers vs. North Carolina
33. Hawaii Bowl - Fresno State vs. Rice
34. Heart of Dallas Bowl - Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech
35. Poinsettia Bowl - Navy vs. San Diego State
36. GoDaddy Bowl - Toledo vs. Arkansas State
37. New Orleans Bowl - Nevada vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
38. Camellia Bowl - South Alabama vs. Bowling Green
Jay Edwards is editor-in-chief of the Hamilton County Herald and an award-winning columnist. Contact him at jedwards@dailydata.com