Thursday, January 15, 2015

2014-2015 College Football Bowl Game Results

Some quick thoughts:

It is too bad that my alma mater Northern Illinois could not emerge victorious as underdogs in their Bowl Game (and the same for my brother's alma mater Illinois State Redbirds in their Division II National Championship Game), but it was still a good season for the Huskies, the best college football team in Illinois.

Ohio State going from barely getting into the four team playoff system to winning both games in near dominant fashion en route to the national championship is pretty amazing. For some reason, I found myself rooting for Oregon in the last game, to at least make it closer, despite the fact that I originally had picked OSU as my underdog pick to win. The Buckeyes just seemed so dominant by then. They did all that with their third string Quarterback, who has never even played a home game in Columbus and may never do so. Urban Meyer must be one heck of a coach.

Looking back though at the entire season, to the extent that I even have knowledge of college football, I just remember hearing so much about how the Big 10 was having a down year and that it was the weakest out of all the major conferences and that none of their teams were good enough to compete with the best of the SEC, the PAC 12, the Big 12, and the ACC. After the Bowl Season though, the heavily Midwestern Big 10 had a pretty strong showing though, and obviously Ohio State, alma mater of Governor John Kasich, proved to be the best when it mattered. The Big 10 "brand" was severely underestimated. Maybe there are parallels to that and to the GOP and it's Presidential hopefuls in 2016. Those that seem "inevitable" are often far from it. Does that mean that Hillary is the SEC?

NOT PREDICTIONS

1. New Orleans Bowl W 1
New Orleans, LA

Nevada, Reno Wolf Pack vs. Louisiana at Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns

2. New Mexico Bowl L 1
Albuquerque, NM

Utah State Aggies vs. Texas at El Paso Miners

3. Las Vegas Bowl L 2
Las Vegas, NV

#23 Utah Utes vs. Colorado State Rams

4. Potato Bowl  W 2
Boise, ID

Western Michigan Broncos vs. United States Air Force Academy Falcons

5. Camellia Bowl L 3
Montgomery, AL

South Alabama Jaguars vs. Bowling Green State Falcons

6. Beach Bowl L 4
Miami, FL

Brigham Young Cougars vs. Memphis Tigers

7. Boca Raton Bowl L 5
Boca Raton, FL

Marshall Thundering Herd vs. Northern Illinois Huskies

8. Poinsettia Bowl W 3
San Diego, CA

United States Naval Academy Midshipmen vs. San Diego State Aztecs

9. Bahamas Bowl W 4
Nassau, Bahamas

Central Michigan Chippewas vs. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

10. Hawai'i Bowl W 5
Honolulu, HI

California State, Fresno Bulldogs vs. William Marsh Rice Owls

11. Heart of Dallas Bowl L6
Dallas, TX

Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Fighting Illini vs. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

12. Quick Lane Bowl L 7
Detroit, MI

Rutgers, State University of New Jersey Scarlet Knights vs. North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels

13. St. Petersburg Bowl W 6
St. Petersburg, FL

North Carolina State at Raleigh Wolfpack vs. Central Florida Knights

14. Military Bowl W 7
Annapolis, MD

Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Hokies

15. Sun Bowl L 8
El Paso, TX

#15 Arizona State Sun Devils vs. Duke Blue Devils

16. Indepedence Bowl W 8
Shreveport, LA

Miami Hurricanes vs. South Carolina Gamecocks

17. Pinstripe Bowl W 9
New York, NY

Boston College Eagles vs. Pennsylvania State Nittany Lions

18. Holiday Bowl L 9
San Diego, CA

#25 Nebraska-Lincoln Cornhuskers vs. #24 Southern California Trojans

19. Liberty Bowl W 10
Memphis, TN

Texas A&M Aggies vs. West Virginia Mountaineers

20. Athletic Bowl W 11
Orlando, FL

Oklahoma Sooners vs. #18 Clemson Tigers

21. Texas Bowl L 10
Houston, TX

Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Texas at Austin Longhorns

22. Music City Bowl W 12
Nashville, TN

Notre Dame du Lac Fighting Irish vs. # 22 Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Tigers

23. Belk Bowl W 13
Charlotte, NC

#13 Georgia Bulldogs vs. # 20 Louisville Cardinals

24. Foster Farms Bowl W 14
Santa Clara, CA

Maryland, College Park Terrapins vs. Leland Stanford Junior Cardinal

25. Peach Bowl W 15
Atlanta, GA

#9 Mississippi Rebels vs. #6 Texas Christian Horned Frogs

26. Fiesta Bowl W 16
Glendale, AZ

#21 Boise State Broncos vs. #12 Arizona Wildcats

27. Orange Bowl L 11
Miami Gardens, FL

#8 Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science Bulldogs vs. #10 Georgia Institute of Technology Yellow Jackets

28. Outback Bowl L 12
Tampa, FL

#19 Auburn Tigers vs. #17 Wisconsin-Madison Badgers

29. Cotton Bowl L 13
Arlington, TX

#7 Michigan State Spartans vs. #4 Baylor Bears

30. Citrus Bowl W 17
Orlando, FL

#16 Missouri-Columbia Tigers vs. Minnesota, Twin Cities Golden Gophers

31. Rose Bowl W 18
Pasadena, CA

#3 Oregon Ducks vs. #2 Florida State Seminoles

32. Sugar Bowl W 19
New Orleans, LA

#1 Alabama Crimson Tide vs. #5 Ohio State Buckeyes

33. Armed Forces Bowl W 20
Fort Worth, TX

Houston Cougars vs. Pittsburgh Panthers

34. TaxSlayer Bowl W 21
Jacksonville, FL

Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Tennessee, Knoxville Volunteers

35. Alamo Bowl L 14
San Antonio, TX

#11 Kansas State Wildcats vs. #14 California, Los Angeles Bruins

36. Cactus Bowl W 22
Tempe, AZ

Washington Huskies vs. Oklahoma State-Stillwater Cowboys

37. Birmingham Bowl L 15
Birmingham, AL

East Carolina Pirates vs. Florida Gators

38. GoDaddy Bowl L 16
Mobile, AL

Toledo Rockets vs. Arkansas State Red Wolves

39. National Championship Game W 23
Arlington, TX

Ohio State over Florida State
Ohio State over Oregon
Alabama over Florida State
Oregon over Alabama


Overall Results: 23-16 (59%)