===================================== Middle Games (8)
Pinstripe Bowl
Bronx, N.Y. - 12 p.m. ET, Dec. 28
Notre Dame vs. Rutgers
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Belk Bowl
Charlotte, N.C. - 3:20 p.m. ET, Dec. 28
North Carolina vs. Cincinnati
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Russell Athletic Bowl
Orlando, Fla. - 6:45 p.m. ET, Dec. 28
Miami vs. Louisville
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Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl
Tempe, Ariz. - 10:15 p.m. ET, Dec. 28
Kansas State vs. Michigan
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Armed Forces Bowl
Fort Worth, Texas - 11:45 a.m. ET, Dec. 30
Navy vs. Middle Tennessee State
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Music City Bowl
Nashville, Tenn. - 3:15 p.m. ET, Dec. 30
Mississippi vs. Georgia Tech
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Alamo Bowl
San Antonio, Texas - 6:45 p.m. ET, Dec. 30
Texas vs. Oregon
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Holiday Bowl
San Diego, Calif. - 10:15 p.m. ET, Dec. 30
Arizona State vs. Texas Tech
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It may assist your decision-making to see the Sagarin rankings on the teams. These are simply the ranking position numbers (1 is FSU for instance) and the smaller number is the higher ranking.
===================================== Middle Games (8)
Pinstripe Bowl
Notre Dame vs. Rutgers 25 vs 103
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Belk Bowl
North Carolina vs. Cincinnati 48 vs 60
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Russell Athletic Bowl
Miami vs. Louisville 40 vs 24
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Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl
Kansas State vs. Michigan 28 vs 38
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Armed Forces Bowl
Navy vs. Middle Tennessee State 61 vs 99
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Music City Bowl
Mississippi vs. Georgia Tech 34 vs 33
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Alamo Bowl
Texas vs. Oregon 35 vs 4
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Holiday Bowl
Arizona State vs. Texas Tech 8 vs 50
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You can see that the highest ranked of the group is Oregon at 4 and the lowest is Rutgers at 103.
I have no strong opinions, but I voted for Notre Dame and Oregon to lose.
The weather at the Pinstripe Bowl is likely to be miserable, which increases the chances of a sloppy, low-scoring game that could easily come down to a fluky turnover here or there. That gives Rutgers a decent shot at winning outright, not just beating the spread.
As for Oregon, I repeat my longstanding theorem: in bowl games, always bet against the team that thinks it should be playing somewhere better. Of all the teams on this slate, Oregon is the one that thought, just a few weeks ago, that they had a strong chance of playing in the BCS title game. Now, they’re stuck in the lousy Alamo Bowl. They don’t want to be there, and will NOT be psyched up to play, whereas the Alamo Bowl is very likely to be Mack Brown’s last game with the Longhorns. I say it will be an emotional game for the Horns, who’ll be playing what amounts to a home game, and will want to send off their coach on a high note.
Even though the Holiday Bowl has some play left, nobody voted for Arizona State to lose, so it’s not relevant to the outcome of our poll.
Here are the finals:
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RESULT
Notre Dame 29, Rutgers 16 NEW ERA PINSTRIPE BOWL
North Carolina 39, Cincinnati 17 BELK BOWL
No. 18 Louisville 36, Miami (FL) 9 RUSSELL ATHLETIC BOWL
Kansas State 31, Michigan 14 BUFFALO WILD WINGS BOWL
Navy 24, Middle Tennessee 6 BELL HELICOPTER ARMED FORCES BOWL
Ole Miss 25, Georgia Tech 17 FRANKLIN AMERICAN MORTGAGE MUSIC CITY BOWL
No. 10 Oregon 30, Texas 7 VALERO ALAMO BOWL
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