Joint Contrast

Most fans who have a rooting interest in sports seem to carry their allegiance with them into the great American arena of gambling. After all, It’s as much a part of this country as fast food and perscription drugs. Though certainly not for everyone, a little wager here and there makes these games a little more interesting to follow. Especially while waiting to witness whether the overrated team you pull for can finally win a game this time of the year.

Saturday began the fest of college football bowl games to be played over the next three weeks, leading up to the National Championship showdown between No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 2 Florida.

Included is a breakdown of how 14 unofficial Joint Contrast contributors view the outcome of all 34 bowl games for the 2008-09 season. We’ll return after it’s all said and done to review the outcome of our panel.

-- Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Tim Tebow of Florida gets twisted by two Michigan defenders in last year's Capital One Bowl in Orlando. This year the Wolverines are stuck watching the College Football Bowl season from their dorm rooms while the Gators play for their second title in three years. (Photo by Scott McCall) --

The Details: Though the committee is deadlooked on matchups involving Boise State/TCU, Hawaii/Notre Dame and Kentucky/East Carolina, they are in total aggreance that Texas Tech will defeat Ole Miss and Missouri will handle Northwestern.

Just as lopsided are predictions of South Florida over Memphis (13-1), Georgia over Michigan State (13-1), USC over Penn State (13-1), Maryland over Nevada (12-2), Kansas over Minnesota (12-2), Texas over Ohio State (12-2), BYU over Arizona (11-3) and Alabama over Utah (11-3). By a 10-4 margin Wake Forest was selected to get the win over Navy, Fresno State over Colorado State, Central Michigan over Florida Atlantic, Florida State over Wisconsin, Oklahoma State over Oregon, Houston over Air Force, Boston College over Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech over LSU.

Closer though are 13 games that may help decide bragging rights, at least until the March Madness Tournament gets underway in a few months. Among those predictions are Southern Miss over Troy (8-6), California over Miami (8-6), NC State over Rutgers (8-6), Rice over Western Michigan (8-6), Oregon State over Pittsburgh (8-6), South Carolina over Iowa (8-6), Clemson over Nebraska (8-6), Buffalo over Connecticut (8-6) and Ball State over Tulsa (8-6).

North Carolina is favored over West Virginia (9-5), Louisiana Tech over Northern Illinois (9-5), Virginia Tech over Cincinnati (9-5) and Florida over Oklahoma in the title game with an average overall combined score of 60 points.

What This All Means: Actually, nothing really. Especially when you consider the rooting interest that each of the 14 panelists have in such a contest. There are fans of the Fighting Irish, Seminoles, Buckeyes, and of course Gators, that made these picks. And you best believe that of this collective are selectees who have quite the dislike for many of the qualifying teams. So if your stuck on who you might pick in some of these matchups I encourage you to proceed with caution. Or just pick the team that suites up in your favorite colors if you can’t decide.