Happy Boxer’s Day. Not sure why Tyson, Ali, Holyfield and the rest of the masters of the sweet science get their own day, but so it goes.
As out son reminded us this morning, we are only 364 days from Christmas. So there’s that.
From the “Talks too much” studios, let’s finish the holiday drill and as such we’ll have a short top-five list and be back in full swing on Monday. Deal? Deal.
From Terry
What bowl game are you most excited about? Thanks and hope you and the 5@10 family have a great Christmas.
Terry
Thanks, and we’re planning on writing more on this in Saturday’s TFP, but, taking the semifinals out of the equation, here’s our personal top five bowl games left on the schedule:
(Side note: We went 1-1 with our picks on Christmas Eve and are 6-4 in the bowl season against the spread. And yes, three of those losses have come on BYU’s overtime implosion, Bowling Green scoring a 70-plus yard TD in the final 90 seconds and Central Michigan’s Hail Mary with laterals to cover the spread in its 49-48 loss to Western Kentucky, which had a 49-14 in the fourth quarter. This weekend we like the following La Tech minus-5 over Illinois, North Carolina minus-3 over Rutgers, UCF minus-2 over N.C. State, Cincinnati minus-2.5 over Virginia Tech, Duke plus-7.5 over Arizona State, South Carolina plus-3.5 over Miami, Boston College minus-2.5 over Penn State, and USC minus-6.5 over Nebraska. Entertainment for everyone.)
Our top five bowl match-ups
1. Mississippi State-Georgia Tech. We enjoy watching the Georgia Tech offense for a variety of reasons. We also believe each team will be pretty motivated to get its 11th win.
2. Arkansas-Texas. The Texas Bowl on paper has two 6-6 teams, but the Hogs and the Horns each got there by improving throughout the season. Arkansas won three of its last five and Texas won four of its last six to get to the postseason. Plus, these programs are looking to establish footprints of success, so motivation will not be a problem.
3. Tennessee-Iowa. We are intrigued to see how the Vols react, and believe they will play well. There is a lot of the line for UT, even in a bowl with a name as silly as Taxslayer.
4. Auburn-Wisconsin. Barry Alvarez returns to the sideline dude is like Jack Nicholson, every time you wonder, “I wonder what Barry Alvarez is up to” dude pops back up in a meaningful role. Auburn’s defensive crew will be auditioning for new coordinator Will Muschamp. Good times.
5. Ole Miss-TCU. A matchup of two teams that were within whiskers of getting to the big dance. This one would be higher if we were certain each team is going to be motivated, but we’re not.
Thanks and Merry Christmas.