Monday, December 15, 2008

Pick 36: The bowl games

Thirty-six games to go.

Here they are, your final games of the season to pick in the college football pool. At the conclusion of these games, someone getting this e-mail is going to be $800 richer and the proud owner of the Ramon Escobar Trophy. Someone else is going to be $250 richer. Another person will have an extra $100. Yet another will have a $20 bill to pay for double his or her entry fee. A Catholic High graduate not finishing in the top four is going to get a $20 gift certificate to Markham Street Liquor plus a $20 donation made in his name to the Catholic High Foundation. And one other lucky person who has finished with the worst record among those submitting picks for every game is going to get the very special Ramon Escobar $10 Gift Card.

Those finishing in the bottom third of the standings after the Gauntlet Week are automatically entered into a separate consolation bowl pool called the Hilary DeMillo Challenge, so named for the person who is last in the standings. The winner of this bowl pool, which is also open to people who did not enter the regular season pool, will get free entry next year, which is a $10 value if redeemed through me or up to a $9 value if sold on the open market. The one stipulation in this pool is that anyone beaten by Hilary DeMillo must send her $1 in the mail.

As always, all games are worth two points unless otherwise indicated. Note that the winner of the BCS national championship game is worth double. All picks, and I mean all 36 of these games, must be turned in at one time. When you send them in, please list your winners one under the other in the same order they were received.

So here we go. For $800 and the Ramon Escobar Trophy, the coveted solid-gold statuette epitomizing the spirit of amateur athletics and football pools, select your winners and e-mail them back to me by 5 p.m. Friday. Choose wisely.

Division I Championship
Montana-Richmond
7 p.m., Fri., ESPN2
Line: Pick 'em

Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl XXXVI
Division III Championship
Mount Union-Wisconsin Whitewater
10 a.m., Sat., ESPN2
No line

EagleBank Bowl
Navy-Wake Forest
10 a.m., Sat., ESPN
Line: Wake Forest by 3

New Mexico Bowl
Colorado State-Fresno State
1:30 p.m., Sat., ESPN
Line: Fresno State by 2

magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl
South Florida-Memphis
3:30 p.m., Sat., ESPN2
Line: South Florida by 12
* Underdog worth four points in this game

Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl
Arizona-BYU
7 p.m., Sat., ESPN
Line: Arizona by 3

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Troy-Southern Miss
7:15 p.m., Sun., ESPN
Line: Troy by 4

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
TCU-Boise State
7 p.m., Dec. 23, ESPN
Line: TCU by 2

Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl
Hawaii-Notre Dame
7 p.m., Dec. 24, ESPN
Line: Hawaii by 1

Motor City Bowl
Central Michigan-Florida Atlantic
7 p.m., Dec. 26, ESPN
Line: Central Michigan by 7
* Underdog worth three points in this game

Meineke Car Care Bowl
North Carolina-West Virginia
Noon, Dec. 27, ESPN
Line: North Carolina by 1

Champs Sports Bowl
Florida State-Wisconsin
3:30 p.m., Dec. 27, ESPN
Line: Florida State by 4

Emerald Bowl
Miami-California
7 p.m., Dec. 27, ESPN
Line: California by 7
* Underdog worth three points in this game

PetroSun Independence Bowl
Louisiana Tech-Northern Illinois
7:15 p.m., Dec. 28, ESPN
Line: Northern Illinois by 1

PapaJohns.com Bowl
NC State-Rutgers
2 p.m., Dec. 29, ESPN
Line: Rutgers by 7
* Underdog worth three points in this game

Valero Alamo Bowl
Northwestern-Missouri
7 p.m., Dec. 29, ESPN
Line: Missouri by 12
* Underdog worth four points in this game

Roady's Humanitarian Bowl
Nevada-Maryland
3:30 p.m., Dec. 30, ESPN
Line: Nevada by 1

Texas Bowl
Western Michigan-Rice
7 p.m., Dec. 30, NFL Network
Line: Rice by 3

Pacific Life Holiday Bowl
Oregon-Oklahoma State
7 p.m., Dec. 30, ESPN
Line: Oklahoma State by 3

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl
Air Force-Houston
11 a.m., Dec. 31, ESPN
Line: Houston by 2

Brut Sun Bowl
Oregon State-Pittsburgh
1 p.m., Dec. 31, CBS
Line: Oregon State by 3

Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl
Vanderbilt-Boston College
2:30 p.m., Dec. 31, ESPN
Line: Boston College by 3

Insight Bowl
Minnesota-Kansas
4:30 p.m., Dec. 31, NFL Network
Line: Kansas by 10
* Underdog worth four points in this game

Chick-fil-A Bowl
LSU-Georgia Tech
6:30 p.m., Dec. 31, ESPN
Line: Georgia Tech by 4

Outback Bowl
Iowa-South Carolina
10 a.m., Jan. 1, ESPN
Line: Iowa by 3

Konica Minolta Gator Bowl
Clemson-Nebraska
Noon, Jan. 1, CBS
Line: Clemson by 2

Capital One Bowl
Michigan State-Georgia
Noon, Jan. 1, ABC
Line: Georgia by 7
* Underdog worth three points in this game

The Rose Bowl
Penn State-USC
3:30 p.m., Jan. 1, ABC
Line: USC by 10
* Underdog worth four points in this game

FedEx Orange Bowl
Cincinnati-Virginia Tech
7:30 p.m., Jan. 1, Fox
Line: Cincinnati by 2

AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic
Texas Tech-Ole Miss
1 p.m., Jan. 2, Fox
Line: Texas Tech by 5
* Underdog worth three points in this game

AutoZone Liberty Bowl
East Carolina-Kentucky
4 p.m., Jan. 2, ESPN
Line: East Carolina by 2

Allstate Sugar Bowl
Alabama-Utah
7 p.m., Jan. 2, Fox
Line: Alabama by 10
* Underdog worth four points in this game

International Bowl
Connecticut-Buffalo
11 a.m., Jan. 3, ESPN2
Line: Connecticut by 4

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
Ohio State-Texas
7 p.m., Jan. 5, Fox
Line: Texas by 9
* Underdog worth four points in this game

GMAC Bowl
Tulsa-Ball State
7 p.m., Jan. 6, ESPN
Line: Ball State by 2

BCS National Championship Game
Florida-Oklahoma
7 p.m., Jan. 8, Fox
Line: Florida by 3
* Winner worth four points in this game

Good luck.
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