Bowl Picks: Jan 5/6

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State vs Texas, Monday (Jan 5) 8pm
Matt: Got to go with Texas here. They have a beef with the BCS, and they can still keep their national title hopes alive, at least in the voting polls. They could gain a share of the title with an impressive victory. I think it is going to end up a close game though. I feel that the Texas defense is not that strong, and Ohio State should be able to move the ball and score some points. The OSU defense should be able to slow the Texas offense, but will it be enough? Ohio State will win if Pryor plays lights out. I think the fact that Boeckman will see some playing time will be intriguing. However, I like Colt McCoy to control and win the game with his arm and his feet. Pick: Texas
Ahad: This is the matchup where I would love to see both teams lose. If you could somehow include Notre Dame into this, you would have the schools that I hate the most. With that being said, I predict Texas will come out on top. They will probably look to run up the score in order to impress the voters to try and grab a share of the national title. It will be interesting to see how OSU uses Prior and Boeckman at the same time. They have had plenty of time to come up with some gadget plays. I don’t think OSU has the offensive firepower to stay in the game. The OSU defense is good, but Texas is very good at getting favorable matchups, for example getting Shipley against middle linebackers. I think McCoy will have a strong game and use this to springboard into the NFL. Pick: Texas
Mike: Ohio State did not deserve a BCS bid. So that should be an obvious Texas pick. But Ohio State hates me and could show up just to spite me. My actual concern is that the Big 12 teams have not looked good so far. I thought Texas Tech and Oklahoma State would win easily. No such luck. Still, as it has been mentioned. Texas has something to prove. Pick: Texas

GMAC Bowl: Ball State vs Tulsa, Tuesday (Jan 6) 8pm
Matt: Ball State was undefeated all season until they lost to Buffalo in their finale. A quick look at their schedule showed that they didn’t play that many good teams. I think Tulsa’s schedule was tougher, and they were also a pretty good team throughout the year. Pick: Tulsa
Ahad: I don’t know too much about either team here except that Ball State really dropped the ball against Buffalo. Look for them to rebound from that costly setback. Pick: Ball State
Mike: Tulsa burned me earlier in the year when they looked unbeatable. This should be an entertaining matchup. I really don’t have a strong sense either way. Pick: Ball State