The Bowl Games

Here are the last games of the year. Someone is going to be more than $1,000 richer after making these picks. Someone else is going to be nearly $300 richer for coming in second place. And the third-place winner is going to get their $10 back to ease the frustration of being so close.

All games are worth two points as usual unless otherwise indicated. Not that the winner of the national championship game is worth four points. All picks must be turned in at one time. When you send them in, please list your winners one under the other in the same order of the bowl games.

The bottom half of the standings after this weekend's games will be automatically entered into a separate consolation bowl pool called the Chris O'Brien Challenge, so named for perrenial bottom-of-the-standings-dweller Chris O'Brien. The winner gets free entry into next year's football pool, and anyone who Chris O'Brien beats must send him $1 in the mail.

San Diego Country Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
Navy-Utah
8 p.m., Dec. 20, ESPN
Line: Utah by 8
* Underdog worth three points in this game

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Florida Atlantic-Memphis
7 p.m., Dec. 21, ESPN2
Line: Florida Atlantic by 2

PapaJohns.com Bowl
Cincinnati-Southern Miss
Noon, Dec. 22, ESPN2
Line: Cincinnati by 11
* Underdog worth four points in this game

New Mexico Bowl
Nevada-New Mexico
3:30 p.m., Dec. 22, ESPN
Line: New Mexico by 3

Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl
UCLA-BYU
7 p.m., Dec. 22, ESPN
Line: BYU by 6
* Underdog worth three points in this game

Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl
East Carolina-Boise State
7 p.m., Dec. 23, ESPN
Line: Boise State by 10
* Underdog worth four points in this game

Motor City Bowl
Purdue-Central Michigan
6:30 p.m., Dec. 26, ESPN
Line: Purdue by 8
* Underdog worth three points in this game

Pacific Life Holiday Bowl
Texas-Arizona State
7 p.m., Dec. 27, ESPN
Line: Texas by 2

Champs Sports Bowl
Michigan State-Boston College
4 p.m., Dec. 28, ESPN
Line: Boston College by 3

Texas Bowl
TCU-Houston
7 p.m., Dec. 28, NFL Network
Line: TCU by 3

Emerald Bowl
Maryland-Oregon State
7:30 p.m., Dec. 28, ESPN
Line: Oregon State by 4

Meineke Car Care Bowl
Connecticut-Wake Forest
Noon, Dec. 29, ESPN
Line: Wake Forest by 3

AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Central Florida-Mississippi State
3:30 p.m., Dec. 29, ESPN
Line: Central Florida by 3

Valero Alamo Bowl
Penn State-Texas A&M
7 p.m., Dec. 29, ESPN
Line: Penn State by 5
* Underdog worth three points in this game

PetroSun Independence Bowl
Colorado-Alabama
7 p.m., Dec. 30, ESPN
Line: Alabama by 3

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl
California-Air Force
11:30 a.m., Dec. 31, ESPN
Line: California by 3

Brut Sun Bowl
South Florida-Oregon
1 p.m., Dec. 31, CBS
Line: South Florida by 6
* Underdog worth three points in this game

Roady's Humanitarian Bowl
Georgia Tech-Fresno State
1 p.m., Dec. 31, ESPN2
Line: Georgia Tech by 4

Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl
Florida State-Kentucky
3 p.m., Dec. 31, ESPN
Line: Kentucky by 1

Insight Bowl
Indiana-Oklahoma State
4:30 p.m., Dec. 31, NFL Network
Line: Oklahoma State by 4

Chick-fil-A Bowl
Clemson-Auburn
6:30 p.m., Dec. 31, ESPN
Line: Clemson by 2

Outback Bowl
Wisconsin-Tennessee
10 a.m., Jan. 1, ESPN
Line: Tennessee by 3

AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic
Missouri-Arkansas
10:30 a.m., Jan. 1, Fox
Line: Missouri by 3

Konica Minolta Gator Bowl
Texas Tech-Virginia
11 a.m., Jan. 1, CBS
Line: Texas Tech by 6
* Underdog worth three points in this game

Capital One Bowl
Michigan-Florida
Noon, Jan. 1, ABC
Line: Florida by 10
* Underdog worth four points in this game

The Rose Bowl
Illinois-USC
3:30 p.m., Jan. 1, ABC
Line: USC by 13
* Underdog worth five points in this game

Allstate Sugar Bowl
Hawai'i-Georgia
7:30 p.m., Jan. 1, Fox
Line: Georgia by 8
* Underdog worth three points in this game

Tositos Fiesta Bowl
West Virginia-Oklahoma
7 p.m., Jan. 2, Fox
Line: Oklahoma by 6
* Underdog worth three points in this game

FedEx Orange Bowl
Kansas-Virginia Tech
7 p.m., Jan. 3, Fox
Line: Virginia Tech by 3

International Bowl
Ball State-Rutgers
11 a.m., Jan. 5, ESPN2
Line: Rutgers by 10
* Underdog worth four points in this game

GMAC Bowl
Bowling Green-Tulsa
7 p.m., Jan. 6, ESPN
Line: Tulsa by 4

BCS National Championship Game
Ohio State-LSU
7 p.m., Jan. 7, Fox
Line: LSU by 4
* Points worth double in this game


Good luck.
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