COLUMN: The dame that brought you

HOME STRETCH COLUMN
By: 
Pete Temple
Express Sports Editor

     There’s an old saying – I couldn’t tell you who said it, and there are probably at least a dozen versions of it – but the one I know goes:

     “Dance with the dame that brought you.”

     Meaning, at least the way I read it, stick with what has worked in the past.

     With that in mind, I offer this year’s version of college football bowl picks. I am looking at my picks from last year (I went 23-18) as I do this. And in many cases, I will stick with the teams that won for me last year, as I try once again to defeat Mark and his similar picks elsewhere on this page. My repeat picks are marked with an asterisk.

     Again, with 41 bowl games going on, I will limit comments to a select few in the interest of saving space. Also I’ll shut up now, and get to it.

     Celebration: Grambling St.* over North Carolina A&T.

     New Orleans: Troy* over North Texas.

     AutoNation Cure: Western Kentucky* over Georgia St.

     Las Vegas: The upcoming Supreme Court decision that could lead to legalized sports wagering in any state probably has Vegas worried. It worries me too. Not about the integrity of games, but about how it would affect the future of horse and greyhound racing. I’m not kidding. Oregon over Boise St.

     New Mexico: Marshall over Colorado St.

     Camellia: Arkansas St. over Middle Tennessee.

     Boca Raton: Florida Atlantic over Akron.

     Frisco: SMU is almost over the “death penalty” it received from the NCAA 30 years ago. I can feel it. SMU over Louisiana Tech.

     Gasparilla: I thought they were just making up plant names. Turns out Gasparilla is the name of a legendary pirate. Temple over Florida International.

     Bahamas: UAB over Ohio.

     Famous Idaho Potato: As a nod to the local Cowboys, Wyoming over Central Michigan.

     Birmingham: South Florida over Texas Tech.

     Armed Forces: San Diego St. over Army.

     Dollar General: These two met in a different bowl last year, one I got right. Appalachian State* over Toledo.

     Hawaii: Houston over Fresno St.

     Heart of Dallas: Utah* over West Virginia.

     Quick Lane: Any Duke loss is a good loss. Northern Illinois over Duke.

     Cactus: I have no comment on the Ball basketball family at this time. Kansas St.* over UCLA.

     Independence: Got down to here before I got to a game that I would consider a “traditional” bowl. Southern Miss* over Florida St.

     Pinstripe: I totally agree with the Gazette’s Mike Hlas, that Iowa and Iowa State’s big regular season wins will forever overshadow anything that could happen in their lower-tier bowl games. Iowa could use a bowl win, but BC won for me last year. Boston College* over Iowa.

     Foster Farms: Arizona over Purdue.

     Acadamy Sports & Outdoors: They spell “academy” incorrectly. Missouri over Texas.

     Military: Virginia over Navy.

     Camping World: Virginia Tech* over Oklahoma St.

     Holiday: Michigan St. over Washington St.

     Alamo: Stanford over TCU.

     Belk: Wake Forest over Texas A&M.

     Sun: North Carolina St. over Arizona St.

     Music City: Northwestern over Kentucky.

     Arizona: Utah St. over New Mexico St.

     Cotton: USC over Ohio St.

     Taxslayer: Mississippi St.* over Louisville.

     Liberty: I just feel the Cyclones have one more big win in them. Iowa State over Memphis.

     Fiesta: Washington over Penn State.

     Orange: Had both as bowl winners last year. But, as Wisconsin always has all the fun, it’s tough to bet against. Wisconsin* over Miami (Fla.).

     Outback: Both of these teams let me down last year. I’ll go with the Wolverines in honor of my neighbor, the biggest Michigan fan I know. Michigan over South Carolina.

     Peach: Auburn over UCF. Auburn is favored by 9½. They could double that and I’d still take Auburn.

     Citrus: LSU over Notre Dame.

     Rose (semifinal): I picked both to win last year, and both did. This time, Oklahoma* over Georgia.

     Sugar (semifinal): I actually got this one right in the championship game last year. So let’s try it again. Clemson over Alabama.

     Championship: I’ll go with Oklahoma over Clemson, for no other reason than somebody other than Clemson or Alabama needs to win the title.

     

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