The Sony Computer Entertainment of America Bowl Preview

The college bowl season begins tonight, and lasts until January 7th, and in reality only 1 of the games matters, but the other 31 will still be played. The first set of games from now until Sunday are not the most attractive match-ups, but it's still competitive football. Plus most people don't have the NFL Network, and even if you do who wants to watch Pittsburgh at St. Louis, so what other sports are there to watch. It's always a good time to see some teams that you aren't used to seeing. So without further ado, here is part 1 of 3 of my short but sweet bowl rundown and picks.

San Diego County Credit Union Bowl
Navy vs. Utah
Thur. Dec. 20th 9pm ESPN @ San Diego, CA
The first bowl game of the year happens to be pretty good teams, 1 of which leads the nation in rushing, Navy. The problem for Navy though is their coach, Paul Johnson, has already left them to begin coaching at Georgia Tech. Navy runs a very exciting triple option with there fast and agile quarterback, the only problem is pronouncing his name, Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada. Utah has a great DT Gabe Long who will need to be at his best to beat the Midshipmen. My pick: Navy 28 Utah 17

R & L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Memphis vs. Florida Atlantic
Fri. Dec. 21st 8pm ESPN2 @ New Orleans, LA
For a school that didn't even have a football team 7 years ago, it's pretty good that Florida Atlantic is in any bowl. Memphis is a good story of a turnaround season after finishing with only 2 wins last year, but I can't imagine anyone really being interested in this game outside of people who went or go to those school. My pick: Memphis 34 Florida Atlantic 10


Papajohns.com Bowl
Southern Miss vs. Cincinnati
Sat. Dec. 22nd 1pm ESPN2 @ Birmingham, AL
Cincinnati had a good season finishing 9-3 in the Big East, which was sub par compared to the other BCS conferences. Cincy's QB Ben Mauk finished the season with 27 TDs and only 6 INTs, and will need to have a huge game to lead the Bearcats past the Golden Eagles. On paper Cincinnati looks a lot better than Southern Miss, and it will probably show during the game, as Southern Miss has no real offensive power. My pick: Cincinnati 41 Southern Miss 17


New Mexico Bowl
Nevada vs. New Mexico
Sat. Dec. 22nd 4:30pm ESPN @ Albuquerque, NM
2 teams that barley belong in bowls, and played 2 of the easiest schedule may actually play a close game, but if 2 teams play a game and no one watches, does it matter who wins? One of the things I hate the most about the bowls, when a team plays a virtual home game. In this case New Mexico playing at home against a 6-6 Nevada team. Not much else to say. My pick: New Mexico 27 Nevada 23


Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl
UCLA vs. BYU
Sat. Dec. 22nd 8pm ESPN @ Las Vegas, NV
This game may be one of the best early bowl games of the season. BYU finished the season 10-2 and one of its losses was to UCLA. BYU is on a nine game winning streak, and are hitting their stride at the perfect time. UCLA on the other hand has an injured QB and finished the season 6-6 in the PAC Ten. BYU finally has a chance to show the country that they can beat a team in a major conference, but UCLA showed already that they can beat BYU. My pick: BYU 30 UCLA 24


Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Boise State vs. East Carolina
Sun. Dec. 23rd 8pm ESPN Honolulu, HI
Last years surprise team Boise State finished 10-2 this season in the WAC, but little known East Carolina has Chris Johnson, the countries leader in all purpose yards this season. This game will definitely be a high scoring game and a fun one to watch if you like offense and points. Taylor Tharp stepped right into Boise State's offense and continued to reel off points, as the Broncos were the 5th highest scoring team in the country. Whoever has the ball last, will win this game. My pick: Boise State 55 East Carolina 49