Tuesday, January 1, 2019

New Year's Eve Games

The down and dirty on six games on the last day of the year.

Military Bowl - Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech

I watched all of the first half, and kept this one on the second screen.  This turned out to be a really fun, back and forth game.  We have two Bearcats in the house so the final outcome was pretty sweet and put a bow on a good season for the Bearcats. A lot of positive things are happening in Clifton. 

U.C. 35  Virginia Tech 31

What Did I Eat:  Nothing, we had a late breakfast cooked by Bearcat Son No. 2. 

Bowl Swag:  Dell Mobile Projector, $100 Amex gift card, a pair of slides.  That projector starts at $399.

My Pick:  Cincinnati

Sun Bowl - Pittsburgh vs. Stanford

Hit the twin screen on the TV and watched a quarter of this game.  As usual, this is the only game carried by CBS.  The network has a 50+ year history carrying the Sun Bowl.  This game almost had the same result as the 1985 Sun Bowl when Georgia tied Arizona 13-13 in front of more than 52,000 in El Paso.


Bulldogs kicker Max Zendejas would be named game MVP for making two field goals.  Kicker love! 

Stanford scored late in the 2018 game to get the win. 

Stanford 14  Pitt 13

What Did I Eat:  Nothing again, this game was on at 2pm, I'm not some sort of bottomless pit of snack consumption. 

Bowl Swag:  Team gift suite, Timely Watch Co. watch, Majestic fleece pullover, Ogio Excelsior backpack, Under Armour hat, commemorative coin.  I'm surprised there is no football. 

My Pick:  Stanford


Redbox Bowl - Michigan State vs. Oregon

As a Spartan, I was in for all of this one and what a painful watch it was.  The Spartans offense was woeful this season and with a month's worth of practice it didn't get much better.  The defense on the other hand played lights out, limiting a high scoring Ducks offense to one touchdown.  Michigan State should have won the game, which is the story of their entire season.  The 2018 Michigan State Should-Ofs. 

I could do a thousand words on what went wrong but what's the point, it's a meaningless bowl game that changes sponsors every year or two - hi Foster Farms, and would be a great choice to trim down the schedule. 

Oregon 7  MSU 6

What Did I Eat - a mix of Planter's Dry Roasted Peanuts and Snyder of Hanover Jalapeno Pretzel Bits. Also, I started drinking, because, well, Michigan State. It's hard to believe the Spartans offense average 42 points per game just four years ago.  They scored 32 points total in their last four games this year. 

Bowl Swag:  Fossil watch, Timbuktu backpack, Roku, headphones, Redbox bowl merch.  I guess the Roku is pretty good. 

My Pick:  Michigan State, call me an optimist. 

Liberty Bowl - Missouri vs. Oklahoma State

I watched this one on the split screen during the Michigan State game.  I did catch the end when Missouri came up just short.  Why is Missouri in the SEC? It is neither southern or eastern. They get former Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant so they could be a lot of fun next season. 

Cowboys coach Mike Gundy is one of he more interesting guys in college football.  He was rocking the turtleneck and mullet Monday. 


Oklahoma State 38  Missouri 33

What Did I Eat:  Nothing, I snacked during the Redbox bowl. 

Bowl Swag:  Shopping trip to Bass Pro Shop, Bose Soundlink micro Bluetooth speaker, Bulova watch, Nike athletic shoes, sports sandals, backpack, sunglasses, football.  Quite the haul. 

My Pick:  Missouri

Holiday Bowl - Northwestern vs. Utah

This game has been through a myriad of sponsors, taking on the San Diego County Credit Union in 2018, former sponsor of the now defunct Poinsettia Bowl.  

The Spartans killed any interest in watching more football and this one looked like a blowout in the making with the Utes scoring a couple times early.  Utah has a great bowl record under coach Kyle Whittingham, who played in this game a few times. 


Make that every time he played in a bowl game.  The Holiday Bowl used to be BYU's birthright. 

Northwestern came back and sent the Utes home with the L. The Wildcats had a weird season, losing four non-conference games, winning the Big 10 West, losing to Ohio State in the Big 10 championship game and then coming back to win against a team this is usually the surest bet of bowl season. 

Northwestern 31  Utah 20

What Did I Eat:  Nothing, I was waiting on Son No. 2 to get home from work to have New Year's Eve finger food. 

Bowl Swag:  Gift suite, Fossil watch, New Era cap.  I'm sure the players go on a trip to Sea World or the famous San Diego zoo.  

My Pick:  Utah - you just don't pick against the Utes in bowl games.

Gator Bowl - Texas A&M vs. North Carolina State

Has someone involved with this game been reading Bowlquest blog?  They brought back the Gator Bowl name. For the past few years the game has just been called The Taxslayer Bowl and I have voiced my displeasure with removing one of the greatest bowl game names. This new logo is horrible but at least Gator Bowl is back. 

Now that's what I'm talking about.  Put that on a t-shirt and I'll buy it.  I guess I could do that myself since there are plenty of shirt creation options on the internet. 

Anyhow, I had no interest in this game, watched a quarter and turned it off. We flipped around to the New Year's Eve shows on the major networks which all stunk. At least the Fox show had mini Steve Harvey. 


Lil' Steve even had an umbrella, which were not allowed in Times Square for the ball drop.  No one tells Lil' Steve what to do. 

Texas A&M 52  NC State 13

What Did I Eat:  New Year's Eve finger food - mini crab cakes, Mediterranean mixed vegetables, little quiches we've had in the freezer for a long time, meatballs.  

Bowl Swag:  Fossil watch, Maui Jiim sunglasses, Amazon Echo, ISlides, SIC tumbler, dopp kit.  We have an Amazon Echo, it's mostly used as a timer.  I've never bought a more useless item, at least it was half off. 

My Pick:  Texas A&M, the ACC was a lousy league this year, easy pick.

My record stands at 21-13.  Five more games on New Year's Day including the Fiesta Bowl being played at 10am local time.  That one should be jam packed. 

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