Catching up

Getting ready to ring in 2017 after a tough couple weeks for the family and then being on the air doing the morning show this week.

So, Not Bowlquest has been really easy as you'd expect, I watch the games I want or just have them on, you know, like a normal person.  The last game on the blog was the Poinsettia Bowl so here's what I've seen or haven't seen since then leading up to today's playoff games.

-Famous Idaho Potato Bowl - I think I watched the first five minutes, nice win for Idaho that is moving back to the FCS.

-Armed Forces Bowl - as predicted, no defense in this game, 48-45 win for La. Tech over Navy. Caught maybe a couple minutes.

-Popeye's Bahamas Bowl - caught the end of this game, the espn guys really enjoyed being in the Bahamas, and the free chicken.

They're offering a trip to next year's game if you want to jump on that - December sunshine and free chicken.

-Dollar General Bowl - maybe a few minutes on the former Go Daddy bowl. 

-Hawai'i Bowl - watched the end of this game on Christmas Eve after we watched the Bengals lose to the Texans on a botched field goal late and then having to hear Mrs. Keith rant and rave. It's not like the Bengals have been any good since mid-way through the 2015 season so not sure why she was upset.

-St. Petersburg Bowl - I was interested in this game to see how Miami would do against an SEC team.  Pretty well, bad kicking game cost them the win.  I listened on the radio on our way to my brother-in-law's house for our Christmas get together and then finished at the house.

-Quick Lane Bowl - this game was on at my BIL's house.  Much higher scoring than expected with BC pulling off the 36-30 win over Maryland.

-Independence Bowl - maybe a few minutes watched after I got home.  Had to go to bed early to start my run of morning show fill ins.

-Military Bowl - I came home around 2:00 and dozed off with this game on. Wake's offense worked pretty well without their radio guy giving the other team the game plans. 

-Heart of Dallas Bowl - skipped.  This was a rematch of Army vs. Texas State from earlier in the year.

-Holiday Bowl - skipped.  I was surprised to see Washington State only scoring 12 points in the loss to Minnesota.

-Cactus Bowl - I was asleep. Once again, surprised by another team only scoring 12 points, Boise State this time. 

-Russell Athletic Bowl - I turned it on for a few minutes, saw West Virginia getting rolled and took a pass.

-Foster Farms Bowl - forgot it was on, Indiana played better than I thought but unsurprising, they lost.  Utah is good in bowl games.

-Texas Bowl - I was asleep.  In BowlQuest, one of my two sons would have watched but no need.  I didn't hear them complain.

-Birmingham Bowl - I came home from work and watched a bunch of this game. Great game, went into over time, South Florida beat South Carolina 46-39 in OT.  That's all you can ask for in a meaningless bowl game.  This game is played at Legion Field.  The sound system they used may have come directly from a Mr. Softee Truck. Unprompted, Boy No. 2 noticed what a dump Legion Field is. Long time BowlQuest readers know my history with this dump.

-Belk Bowl - watched the first quarter, looked a like a blow out with Arkansas dominating Virginia Tech. Went to bed and woke up to find the Hogs choked and let the Hokies come back and 35-24.  Arkansas fans have to be getting pretty impatient with Bret Bielma.

-Alamo Bowl - I was asleep. Pretty shocking to see Colorado held to 8 points by Oklahoma State.  Cowboys coach Mike Gundy is doing his best to bring the mullet back in fashion.

Final Friday, my last day of doing the morning show, finally got my bearings and had a decent show. Came home to gorge on the games except for one.

-Liberty Bowl - I met Mrs. Keith for lunch and this game was on. After lunch I went to Jungle Jim's to get some New Year's eve stuff.  The place was nuts - crowded beyond belief.  When I was at the check out the woman at the register next to me told the cashier to hold up when her total jumped to over $6,000.  She had two bottles of champagne that were priced at $3,000 each (they were actually $24). 

-Sun Bowl - good game between Stanford and North Carolina. The Tar Heels had a shot to tie the game but missed the two point conversion and lost 25-23. 

-Music City Bowl - Tennessee was in command for most of this one, watch a good chunk of the second half.  The Huskers did get close but their defense couldn't hold up.  Being in Tennessee this game was like a Volunteers home game.  Lots of Rocky Top to go around.

-Arizona Bowl - this game is only available online, I forgot it existed. Air Force crushed South Alabama.

-Orange Bowl - watched the whole thing, best bowl game of the year so far.  It will be difficult for any of the remaining games to live up to the excitement of this game.  Go catch the highlights on espn.com if you missed it.  Florida State hung on for a 33-32 win over Michigan if didn't see it. This game literally had everything including the Seminole and his horse falling on the field (both were okay).  And as usual Jim Harbaugh was his usual classless self using time outs with Florida State in the victory formation.

 I think that guy had enough of the Seminole tomahawk chant. 

 By the way, the "savior" of Michigan has one more win than Brady Hoke did in his first two seasons in Ann Arbor.  Michigan ends the season on a 1-3 run.

My record in game picks is 18-15, not exactly sterling. 

All caught up, looking forward to the playoff games today. Happy New Year football fans.

Boca Bowl/Poinsettia Bowl

Yeah, I'm still watching the games. 

Boca Raton Bowl - if you're going to have a completely pointless bowl game, at least have the courtesy to play it during the day when nothing is going on.  This was expected to be a track meet and it was, with WKU winning 51-31, the over was 77 points by the way.

The highlight of the game was a great trick play run by the Hilltoppers on a kneel down.

Perfectly executed but unfortunately WKU threw an interception in the end zone, but no matter, they won easily.

Some of the first half watched then we moved on to WWE Smackdown at the request of Boy No. 2. Both Raw and Smackdown were decorated for Christmas which can only mean one thing; wrestlers getting thrown into Christmas trees.  Both shows did not disappoint.

I love how the announce table sells the tree carnage, like they had never seen this before.  As soon as we saw the trees we knew what was coming at some point during the show.

Poinsettia Bowl - a late one, starting at 9pm Eastern.  BYU hung on to beat Wyoming 24-21 in what was expected to probably be a higher scoring game.  Rain slowed things down in the first half on a muddy track. I didn't bother with the second half which didn't start until around 11pm.

Up next, the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Idaho vs. Colorado State - cue Spuddy Buddy.

Miami Beach Bowl

When you're burning a week of vacation days, you look for something to kill off a few hours.  ESPN knows this and schedules these pointless games in the middle of the afternoon on December 19th.

With a certain amount of shame, I have to admit I watched this entire game.  It was terrible. Tulsa beat Central Michigan 55-10.  The Chippewas didn't score a touchdown until late in the game.

That's the entire crowd for this game, off to the right.  There were more people on the field than in the stands. So, like any Florida Marlins day game. There were probably less people in the stands after the half - it was 78 degrees in Miami Monday, a fact the ESPN announcers kept reminding the audience of repeatedly.  If you were in Miami and it was sunny and 78, would you be sitting watching the Golden Hurricane whip the Chips?

Fun fact:  Tulsa became the Golden Hurricane because they originally wanted Golden Tornadoes but Georgia Tech used that name at the time.  Wanting a weather related nickname, the Tulsa coach chose Golden Hurricane. Prior to the Golden Hurricane the team used the Kendallites and the Presbyterians. This all went down in 1922 when natural disaster nicknames were a lot funnier. 

Fortunately I didn't sit idly watching this game, I actually got work done.  While I am using vacation days I have to continue scheduling for the radio station.

Today, it's the Boca Raton Bowl with Memphis taking on Western Kentucky.  Hopefully I find something more productive to do, like wrapping Christmas presents.

First Five

It's really nice not to create some ridiculous schedule to watch at least one live quarter of every game because I wasn't really interested in all but one of Saturday's games, and it wasn't good.

New Mexico Bowl - New Mexico 23  UT-San Antonio 20
-Watched the first half of this game.  Big take away, it was really windy.  New Mexico alum Brian Urlacher showed up in the booth to give America a break from Mack Brown.
-This game is sponsored by Gildan, endorsed by Blake Shelton who enjoys the fit of their underwear. I wonder how Gwen Stefani feels about it.

Las Vegas Bowl - San Diego State 34  Houston 10
-This was one of my picks for a top 10 game.  Not so much.  The Cougars, missing head coach Tom Herman who jumped to Texas, put up the first 10 points and then put out the "gone fishing" sign.  Four turnovers didn't help the Cougars cause.
-SDSU's Donnel Pumphrey became the all time rushing yards leader, a fact ESPN did not let go unnoticed. They had a constant countdown every time Pumphrey gained a yard.

Camellia Bowl - Appalachian State 31  Toledo 28
-I watched a bit of the first quarter and then the end of the game.  I have no idea what Toledo's head coach was thinking on the Rocket's last possession.  Down three, Toledo failed on three tries to get a first down minus their best player who was on the bench for some reason.  With the play clock winding down, Toledo failed to call a time out and had the ball moved back five yards.  On his attempt, their kicker just missed, on a kick that would have likely been good five yards closer.  Sometimes coaches outcoach themselves.
-Second year in a row App State has won this game.

Autonation Cure Bowl - Arkansas State 31  Central Florida 13
-Didn't watch one second of this game.

R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl - Southern Miss 28  Louisiana Lafayette 21
-I flipped back and forth between this game and the Dolphins/Jets game on NFL Network. Despite the close proximity of both schools to New Orleans, the Super Dome was fairly empty.  They might want to pick some other team than the Ragin' Cajuns, who seem to play in this game every year.
-Both teams came into the game 6-6, so there was another "ho hum" factor.

Up next, the Miami Beach Bowl with Tulsa taking on Central Michigan - reason to watch, college football on Monday afternoon.  

Everyone loves lists!

I must click on a list every day, so do you.  "America's best 197 pizza shops!"  "The top 295 brewpubs in New Mexico!"  "25 movies you didn't know Meryl Streep was in!"

So here's my list, a ranking of the 40 bowl games by watchiness. This list will not include the Friendship Bowl because it's not for FBS schools and the national championship game because I don't know which teams will play in it so it can be ranked (Alabama and Clemson, book it.)

But first, since this is the last Saturday before the bowls, watch the Army/Navy game. The uniforms are always badass.

We always root for Army (Mrs. Keith was in the Army in the 80's) but they haven't won in 14 years.

On to the rankings!

 40.  Popeye's Bahamas Bowl, Dec. 23, 1pm  Eastern Michigan vs. Old Dominion
-I didn't even know Old Dominion played FBS football, when did that happen?  They went 9-3 and have to be favored over a perennial MAC doormat. This game is played in a soccer stadium and will be 90% empty but hey, Popeye's is always good.

39.  Hawaii Bowl, Dec. 24, 12/24, 8pm  Hawaii vs. Middle Tennessee
-The nice thing about not doing BowlQuest any longer is not having to watch this on Christmas Eve.

38.  Gildan New Mexico Bowl, Dec. 17, 2pm  New Mexico vs. UTSA
-A home game for New Mexico, that's not even a reward for a good season.  "Hey, you qualified for a bowl, you get to stay home!"  At least with Hawaii playing a home game they get to be in Hawaii. No one wants to stay home in Albuquerque.

37.  St. Petersburg Bowl, Dec. 26, 11am  Miami (OH) vs. Mississippi State
-The Redhawks are a great story, starting 0-6 and then going 6-0 to get bowl eligible for the first time in forever.  I've clearly ranked this game too high because Miami is going to get slaughtered by an SEC school.  This used to be the Bitcoin Bowl, is Bitcoin still a thing?

36.  Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl, Dec. 30, 5:30pm  South Alabama vs. Air Force
-This is the bowl game that's online, not on ESPN.  South Alabama beat a really good San Diego State team and Air Force beat Navy and Boise State and are usually fun to watch.  Once again, no BowlQuest, no reason to watch.

35.  Foster Farms Bowl, Dec. 28, 8:30pm  Utah vs. Indiana
-This game is on Fox, so ESPN is actually willing to give up a few of these games.  This will be a beat down.  Utah is always good and Indiana just lost their coach who evidently was kind of a jerk.  With the Big 10 top heavy in the better games, lower tier conference teams have to play better opponents than they normally would.  Indiana should be playing Kentucky somewhere.

34.  Heart of Dallas Bowl, Dec. 27, 12pm  North Texas vs. Army
-I moved this up a spot because of Army but it's a rematch of a regular season game no one was interested in. Another great example of too many bowl games.

33.  Autonation Cure Bowl, Dec. 17, 5:30pm  UCF vs. Arkansas State
-Another game ESPN has tossed away.  It's on CBS Sports Network. UCF went winless last year so that's something to talk about.  Probably a pretty even match up of two teams I won't be watching.

32.  Birmingham Bowl, Dec. 29, 2pm  South Carolina vs. South Florida
-A bowl game tradition, coaches leaving their teams before a bowl game.  USF's Willie Taggert is the new coach at Oregon, one a number of schools (Michigan State, Notre Dame), that dropped like a rock. USF is good, South Carolina is not - could be a blow out.

31.  Miami Beach Bowl, Dec. 19, 2:30pm  Tulsa vs. Central Michigan
-In it's short history, this game has been pretty entertaining.  The Chips ruined Oklahoma State's season with a Hail Mary on a blown penalty call with no time remaining, so why not beat another team from that state.  I'll watch this game on my first day of vacation.

30.  New Orleans Bowl, Dec. 17, 9pm  Southern Miss vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
-The Ragin' Cajuns should just schedule this bowl game every season.  Their fans always show up pretty well to create a decent crowd.  Southern Miss is close by so the Superdome should be pretty loud. Let's hope the ULL QB plays better than he did this season, more picks than TD's.

29.  Cactus Bowl, Dec. 27, 10:15pm  Baylor vs. Boise State
-Throwback a 5-Hour Energy if you plan on watching.  The Bears are in free fall and Boise State is good, so this may be over ranked. I'll be doing mornings during this week so there's no chance I'm watching this but by all means, you can.

28.  Quick Lane Bowl, Dec. Dec. 26, 2pm  Maryland vs. Boston College
-I had no idea either team made a bowl game until right now.  It should be a good match up if you like a 14-10 game. It's the day after Christmas so it gets ranked higher than it should be because you need to watch something.

27.  Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Dec. 22, 7pm  Idaho vs. Colorado State
-This game usually turns out to be pretty fun, and the blue turf.  These are two pretty good teams you never saw all season so give it a look.

26.  Dollar General Bowl, Dec. Dec. 23, 8pm  Ohio vs. Troy
-Since Western Michigan made a New Years 6 game, Ohio gets the landing spot for the MAC champ.  I like Ohio and Frank Solich, so I put this up higher than where it probably should be. I have no idea what this game used to be but now it's just the Dollar General Bowl. (Update, it was the Go Daddy Bowl.)

25.  Pinstripe Bowl, Dec.28th, 2pm  Northwestern vs. Pittsburgh
-I really like this game at Yankee Stadium and it's usually pretty entertaining. Pittsburgh beat both Penn State and Clemson so it could turn ugly fast but I think it will be a close game.

24.  Liberty Bowl, Dec. 30, 12pm  Georgia vs. TCU
-Two big name schools who had mediocre seasons.  Probably should be farther up the list but I have a feeling it will be a decent match up. More will be expected from both these schools next year, maybe they get an early start in this game.

23.  Independence Bowl, Dec. 26, 5pm  North Carolina State vs. Vanderbilt
-Vandy had a great win over Tennessee and can be fun to watch.  NC State beat North Carolina in their finale, so two motivated teams.

22.  Armed Forces Bowl, Dec. 23, 4:30pm  Navy vs. Louisiana Tech
-Expect a lot of offense here, take the over.  Good time for this game, people will be off work and looking for a game, so lots of watchiness. Navy is always a fun watch and La Tech doesn't play much defense.

21.  Military Bowl, Dec.27, 3:30pm  Temple vs. Wake Forest
-Two good teams you probably didn't see play this season.  The Owls are peaking at the end of the season, winning the AAC championship game. Give this one a look, you ain't got nothing going on two days after Christmas.

20.  Poinsettia Bowl, Dec. 21, 9pm  BYU vs. Wyoming
-The Cowboys are another fun team to watch and BYU is almost always entertaining in bowl games. I got to see them in person this year, beating Michigan State in East Lansing, that was not fun.  This game should be.

19.  Holiday Bowl, Dec. 27, 7pm  Minnesota vs. Washington State
-If Mike Leach is involved, that's a reason to watch.  Minnesota had a good season but probably in a better game than they should be in but because of the Big 10 top heavy in big bowls they get a nice trip.  This is also one of those match ups of two teams that may have never played each other.

18.  Advocare Texas Bowl, Dec. 28, 9pm  Texas A&M vs. Kansas State
-This is another game that probably looks better because of the names of the team playing.  Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin's seat is warming rapidly and a loss here could almost light it on fire.  K-State's Bill Snyder has been coaching football since they wore leather helmets.  This is the last of four games on Dec. 28th so you may want to pace yourself.

17.  Camellia Bowl, Dec. 17, 5:30pm - Toledo vs. Appalachian State
-The Rockets were probably the second best team in the MAC and this game was entertaining last year.  Two teams that should let it rip.

16.  Belk Bowl, Dec. 29, 5:30pm - Arkansas vs. Virginia Tech
-If the Hokies play like they did against Clemson in the ACC title game, this could be a blow out.  Arkansas played flat at the end of the season but I think they'll be up for this one.

15.  Boca Raton Bowl, Dec. 20, 7pm  Western Kentucky vs. Memphis
-Doesn't seem like it will be that interesting but both teams can score.  This is a better match up than should be in this dud of a bowl.

14.  Sun Bowl, Dec. 30, 2pm  North Carolina vs. Stanford
-Two teams with disappointing seasons, especially the Cardinal.  Stanford's Christian McCaffrey is reason enough to watch this game as Stanford did improve as the season went on.  The Tar Heels were expected to be better, may have something to improve on a pretty big stage.

13.  Russell Athletic Bowl, Dec. 28, 5:30pm  West Virginia vs. Miami
-The Mountaineers are 10-2 and a lot of fun to watch and the Hurricanes are improving but not back to the level their fans expect.  Should be a good match up although the 5:30pm kick-off time kind of stinks.

12.  Music City Bowl, Dec. 30, 3:30pm - Tennessee vs. Nebraska
-Marquee name match up although a lot more was expected from the Volunteers.  No matter, an in-state bowl game will have a sea of orange in Nashville and the Huskers travel well too.  Expecting a good old gone one here.

11. Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 17, 3:30pm  Houston vs. San Diego State
-A really great match up even though you probably haven't seen SDSU play.  Both teams can score a lot of points.  Plus, this is on the first day of bowls, it will be worth your time.  This game always gets a solid match up.

10.  Citrus Bowl, Dec. 31, 11am  LSU vs. Louisville
-Terrible start time for a big boy match up.  The Tigers play great defense and the Cardinals have Heisman trophy winner Lamar Jackson.  There you go.

9.  Taxslayer (Gator) Bowl, Dec. 31, 11am  Kentucky vs. Georgia Tech
-Put some new batteries in your remote so you can flip back and forth with the Citrus Bowl. Both teams are coming off huge wins and have momentum. Tons of watchiness here, both teams are fun to see and should be evenly matched up.

8.  Outback Bowl, Jan. 2, 1pm   Iowa vs. Florida
-Another great set of names on the marquee.  Don't expect a ton of points, take the under.  And yes, you probably have this Monday off work, use it wisely and watch this game.  This should be an old school, grind it out 17-14 game.

7.  Sugar Bowl, Jan. 2, 8:30pm  Auburn vs. Oklahoma
-I'm not exactly sure how Auburn wound up in a such a high profile game except for the SEC contract to put a team in there. If the Tigers play to the level they can, it should be a really good game.  Oklahoma hasn't played as solid a d-line since the Ohio State game.

6.  Cotton Bowl, Jan. 2, 1pm  Wisconsin vs. Western Michigan
-The 12-0 Broncos against a very good Wisconsin team.  If WMU can pull off the upset, it will be the biggest win for the MAC maybe ever.  The Badgers will make that very difficult to do but that's why we watch the games.  This is one of those "no win" kind of games for Wiscy - if they win, they were supposed to and if they lose, oof.  High watchiness.

5.  Alamo Bowl, Dec. 29, 9pm  Colorado vs. Oklahoma State
-If this game can live up to the drama of last year's game between TCU and Oregon, it should be ranked higher.  Last year's Alamo Bowl was the best game of bowl season.  Both teams have a lot to prove, especially the Buffs who are back after so many years of being home during bowl season.

4.  Orange Bowl, Dec. 30, 8pm  Florida State vs. Michigan
-Weird to see this game on the 30th, but the new bowl scheme requires prime time for these top six games.  This should be a great game - Michigan's stingy defense against probably the best running back in the country this season, Dalvin Cook.  I think the Seminoles win it with Michigan still upset over the outcome in Columbus.  Should be a great game.

3.  Rose Bowl, Jan.2, 5pm  Penn State vs. USC
-Huge marquee match up with a truly unexpected very good season by James Franklin's Nittany Lions.  USC may be playing some of the best football in the country right now and PSU is still smiling from their huge comeback in the Big 10 Champs game and feeling like they should be in the four team playoff.  Both teams have a ton to play for and this has to be better than last year's stinker.

2.  Fiesta Bowl, Dec. 31, 7pm  Ohio State vs. Clemson
-There are going to be a lot of empty restaurants in Columbus on New Years Eve.  The Buckeyes had an amazingly good season after graduating so many players.  Clemson's only loss came in a thriller to Pittsburgh. A spot in the title game on the line, super watchy, of course.

1.  Peach Bowl, Dec. 31, 3pm  Alabama vs. Washington
-Thankfully New Years Eve falls on a Saturday instead of a Thursday afternoon like last year.  I would have moved this game back to No. 2 if it were a weekday.  If Washington can avoid turning the ball over they can hang with the Tide's smothering defense.  Alabama's offense is good but beatable, their defense and special teams units are the best in the country. Just like Colorado, it's great to have Washington back in a high profile game.  I think this is Alabama's toughest opponent of the season because of a down year in the SEC.  Must see.

(This took a lot longer than I expected, excuse the errors and typos, too long to go back and fix.)

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

No, not really. But I couldn't think of a better title to introduce my blog for this bowl season, one where I won't be watching every game. In fact here are the rules:

There are no rules - no watching every game and my sons don't have to help me out.  They were next to no help last season, watching one game out of the 41. You'd think they'd be dying to help, maybe even take on the task of BowlQuest considering they will both be out of school in time for the two week run of games. Carry on the legacy of the old man's lunacy, make it their own. Nope.

The old rules:  Watch at least one live quarter of every game and I can lean on a son to watch when I cannot.  Rule 2 came in handy when I do morning show fill-in (I'm in radio for any Russian hackers...)

I even just bought them a vehicle, finally dumping our minivan. Not even that got any takers.

Boy No. 1 had the nerve to tell me he'd rather not have an SUV and preferred a sedan.  At 6' 6" I don't think he's driven too many sedans, at least ones that can fit a small forward. Boy No. 2 is even larger and this fits him, so that's that and Merry Christmas.

So why am I not doing BowlQuest XI?  Last year was no fun.  With the new playoff format the games are now condensed into a two week span and since greed rules the day, I cannot tolerate 40 games. There is absolutely no reason for that many bowl games except ESPN likes the programming.  People cannot cut the cord fast enough and the first channel to go is the Worldwide Leader.

ESPN has the rights to every game except the Sun Bowl - they're no dummies.  They know live sports is the only thing keeping their fleet of channels alive unless you really like hearing Steven A. Smith yell and name drop.  People are on vacation the last two weeks of the year and ESPN owns a glut of meaningless games that can cloud over the conversation when Uncle Chet shows up in his Make America Great Again cap.

What am I going to do?  Probably watch most of the games in some fashion and maybe write about some of them.  I'll probably miss a game or four.

None of our lives will be worse for the wear if I miss Toledo vs. Appalachian State in the Camellia Bowl.  The bowl game website even invokes the memory of Rosa Parks and her important stand for equality because what could embody the social rights mission of Mrs. Parks more than a dopey bowl game on December 17th.

And there's this - Michigan State.  If I had any zeal for doing an 11th BowlQuest the Spartans killed it with the most disappointing effort in Mark Dantonio's run as head coach.  This was the worst Spartans team since my freshman year when this guy was head coach.  Do a Google image search for Muddy Waters and guess what comes up?

Our current coach. That's how bad this season was. And to compound the football pain my son and money go to the University of Cincinnati.  Here's their now ex-coach.

Yeah, it's been that kind of season, go to hell college football and get a job.

We've got a final a final four of Alabama vs. Washington and Ohio State vs. Clemson.  I've yet to hear anyone mention that two teams featuring purple in their uniforms could play for the title but we can all wish right?

Normally I would have reviewed all the bowl match-ups but I don't really care but will get around to it and do some kind of half-ass preview or not.  Who knows, new territory. 

By the way, the most wonderful time of the year is late summer - baseball, football, maybe a day off for Labor Day, still grilling and having a beer outside. Winter sucks, here's proof.