Bowl Game Bonanza: Monday, December 29th

Posted by Double M




This post is part of a series of posts entitled Bowl Game Bonanza Did you know that there are a bazillion bowl games? Well there are. And here at IR I am going to give you a quick breakdown of each game so that you know who is playing in the bowl, what channel and time the game is on (all times CST), and why you would or wouldn't want to watch the game.

Today is a sad day. There is no more Monday Night Football. Sad times. On the positive side, legit bowl games (for the most part) start today. So for the next 10 days or so, get ready for at least on good football game a day. Honestly, if there's a reason the bowl system is still around (outside of the idiotic, short-sighted, greedy bastards working with the BCS), the next 10 days are it.

On to the bonanza:

Papa John's Bowl: North Carolina State (+7) vs. Rutgers (ESPN, 2pm)
Location: Birmingham, AL, Legion Field
Announcers: Eric Collins, Shaun King
Monday will be the first day back from Christmas for a lot and, as a result, not a lot of people will be watching this game. And that's unfortunate, because in terms of a random college football game, this one's got some good stuff. Rutgers, a team ready make the jump, had a rough start to the year losing 5 of their first 6 games, but they won their last 6 games to make it to the delicious garlic dipping sauce bowl. Meanwhile, NC State rolls in on a 4 game winning streak (after having lost their 4 previous games). It should be a good one.

Verdict: Both teams won some tough games to finish out the season, but I think NC State's late season wins might just be more meaningful than Rutgers. NC State covers the spread.
Regretometer: This will be a decent, not great, game to watch. Too bad most of you (including me) will be at work. It's a 2.5 on the Regretometer.

Alamo Bowl: Northwestern (+12) vs. Missouri (ESPN, 7pm)
Location: San Antonio, TX, Alamo Dome
Announcers: Ron Franklin, Ed Cunningham, Jack Arute

A brief aside: As a Nebraska fan, watching the Heisman Trophy presentation (which is a ridiculous award now by the way) and not seeing Chase Daniels there was awesome. After looking through the Chase Daniels for Heisman Viewfinder and looking at ChaseTheHeisman.com (which now redirects to his fat picture here), there was not someone I was rooting against more than him. Here's a couple clips that I've posted before featuring Chase Daniel that always make me laugh.

The first has been enjoyed by just about everyone I know.

The second is courtesy of LSUFreek.

I've been to a few Alamo Bowls and there's not a cooler place to host a bowl than San Antonio. The weather is great, the Riverwalk has great food and allows open containers and connects to most of the hotels, and San Antonio has plenty to do. Unfortunately, the game itself may not be so good. Missouri was a top 5 team to start the year, and even though they fell off, they are still better than a middle of the road Big 10 team.

Verdict: Missouri wins and covers big.
Regretometer: Alamo Bowls are either great to watch or awful to watch. I have a feeling this will be more towards the latter side as Missouri runs away with this one against an inferior Big 10 opponent. It's a 3.5 on the regretometer.

Look for Bowl Game Bonanzas everyday there's a bowl game.

All announcer information brought to you courtesy of Awful Announcing.