A mugging, a let down and a good game

Friday,  my last day at work for the year (hopefully) and three more games. We were scheduled to get our December ratings but that was delayed so I had time to sit in the work lounge and Bowlquest. I may also have dozed off for a few minutes.

Music City Bowl - Auburn vs. Purdue

I was looking forward to this game - Big 10 vs. SEC, two teams I actually watch play. It turned into a beat down, fast. Auburn scored, and scored, and scored, and scored - and that was just the first quarter.  This was Auburn at its best and Purdue standing there watching.

The 56 first half points by Auburn is a bowl game record.  It was the performance Tiger fans waited all season for. And Ohio State has to be thinking, we got routed by that Purdue team?

This was also a great showcase for Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham who is entering the NFL draft, a career high 373 yards passing and five touchdowns. Justin Herbert staying at Oregon seems to be having an effect on guys wanting to improve their draft stock.

Auburn 63  Purdue 14

What Did I Eat:  Nothing, although I did have Wendy's chili and some fries for lunch.

Bowl Swag:  Gift suite, Fossil watch. It's like they put five seconds of thought into the swag.

My Pick:  Auburn.  I didn't see the beat down coming but the Tigers were ranked in the top 10 at one point during the season.

Camping World Bowl - Syracuse vs. West Virginia 

Another game that started at 5:15pm so I watched the first quarter at work while I was on the air and then most of the second half at home.

The big story line of the game was West Virginia quarterback Will Grier not playing to get ready for the NFL draft.  The Mountaineers really missed him, giving Jack Allison his first start and he was not ready.  The Mountaineers defense was in the first half, attacking Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey in every way possible. Still, the Orange led 14-12 at half and it just got worse for WVU from there.

Pretty much all you need to know about West Virginia's second half.

Syracuse 34  WVU 18 - the Orange's first 10 win season since 2001.  Dino Babers has done a really nice job at Syracuse and they're poised as the second best team in the ACC for 2019.

What Did I Eat:  More Archer Farms snack mix.  I think I bought too much of this stuff.

The almonds are really good in this mix but there are too many sesame sticks.

Bowl Swag:  $400 Best Buy gift card, Ogio backpack, Fossil watch.  The gift card is strong.

My pick:  Syracuse. No Grier, no go.

Alamo Bowl - Iowa State vs. Washington State

The 9pm nightcap, I was right there for the first half but ran out of steam and went to bed before this one finished up.  Too bad, it was one of the best games so far.

Give credit to Iowa State fans, they showed up in force in San Antonio.  Reports on Twitter were that the stadium was running out of Busch Light, the preferred beer of Iowans I'm told.  Shout out to Bowlquest reader Bobby Hansen for the beer info.

The Cougars jumped out to the early lead, the Cyclones got back in the game and had a chance to tie it at the end but came up short on a two point play. Too bad this game wasn't on earlier.  This is the problem with ESPN controlling most of these games, they don't let them overlap or start sooner. This would have been a great choice to put on ABC at 8pm.

WSU's quarterback Gardner Minshew II had a really good game, another solid showcase for the pros. The Justin Herbert effect continues and remains a key story line of bowl season.

Washington State 28  Iowa State 26

What Did I Eat:  A couple pieces of pizza and a some leftover Christmas cookies. I also had some Wild Turkey and an awesome CAO American during the games which may have contributed to my sleepiness. I got a box of CAO's from Mrs. Keith for Christmas, great gift.

Bowl Swag:  $425 Amazon gift card, Valero Alamo Bowl Fossil watch, mini helmet featuring both schools, panoramic team photo.  This could be the No. 1 swag game.

My Pick:  Iowa State, bowl record 14-8.