**Ladies and Gentlemen...it's the FR College Football 2007-08 Bowl Games Thread**

[GOP_Raider]

It's the most wonderful time of the year...With my Utes winning bowl games and BYU losing so I'll be of good cheer...it's the most wonderful time of the year...

--Ow! Tomatoes hurt you know. Sheesh...

During the regular season, I would normally do my fancy and mildly humorous graphical elements and those of you who would like me to feature their school's games, I would oblige. However, since we've got miles to go before we sleep, I'll re-ping the list as we go along and include said graphics. Sound like a deal? Excellent.

Tomorrow the fun will begin. (For me, at least). :)

[GOP_Raider]

Happy New Year to our Nebraska Cornhusker fans on the FR College Football Ping List. While I'm sure it has to be a huge disappointment to have a season like this one, Bo Pelini is going to be great hire for that football program. Hope you're looking forward to 2008.

[GOP_Raider]

Happy New Year to Palmetto and the Clemson fans that lurk and read the FR College Football Ping List. Tough break in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl but hopefully it'll get Tommy Bowden's rear in gear for 2008. But anyway, thanks for participating and reading the threads and pings.

[GOP_Raider]

Happy New Year to our resident Oregon Duck poster, bray. Thank you for the input and posts this season and hopefully 2008 will be a little better for the Ducks (and to Dennis Dixon) than 2007 was. BTW, I did get to go to the Rose Garden to watch my Utes play the Ducks in basketball a few weeks ago. Oregon is going to be a very tough team to play once March rolls around. Thanks again for stopping by the threads this season.

[GOP_Raider]

And to the rest of you’s, Happy New Year! Everyone has made this ping list sing, but hopefully you have enjoyed this as much as I have. Oh, and to mainepatsfan and scott says, I’m probably gonna have a second date with a girl from Vermont who is a die-hard Pats fan. Should I go with a J. Crew ensemble or just impress her by shotgunning cheap beer and belching the alphabet?

(You’ll have to forgive me, I’ve just never met anyone from the Northeast that actually had a thing for me. :) )

[southernerwithanattitude]

The SEC is 4-0 in bowls so far. Lets keep that trend going today and tonight.

Go you hairy Dawgs!

[Biggirl]

Just to let you know, as co-Big East Champs, sharing it with UConn since UWV lost to Pitt at the end of the season. :)

[Biggirl]

Also from a fan of UConn to the most famous of UWV, greetings from a fan of half of the co-Big East Championship title winners, UConn and UWV. Greetings for a good 2008 and support during a period of head coach changing. I hope the recent turmoil that the Moutaineers have been going through does not cause them to lose to OU at the Fiesta Bowl. :)

[Biggirl]

Proves that the SEC is best in college football conferences.

[Biggirl]

Please give the line-up for today. :)

[Biggirl]

Thanks! =^..^=

[GOP_Raider]

First off, Happy New Year. (And if you didn't get some kind of el neato personalized New Year's wish, I apologize. I ran out of witty, cute things to say about an hour and a half ago). So let's just get to the gigantic, monster slate of games today. Wisconsin will play Tennessee in the Outback Bowl (11am, ESPN) Jeez, 11am? How can anybody expect to have any kind of game face and make fun of opposing players and their old high school girlfriends that early in the morning? Missouri, still steaming about getting left out of the BCS, gets Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl (11:30 am, FOX). Maybe it's me, but didn't it seem like the Cotton Bowl was a bigger game than this once upon a time? This game used to decide bigger things than a simple consolation prize for teams that weren't good enough for BCS consideration, right? Maybe it's just me though. Our FR Red Raider contingent gets a New Year's Day game in the Gator Bowl against Virginia (1pm, See-BS). Now, I've seen little bits and pieces of both teams here and there this season, and this could be one of the more underrated games of the entire bowl schedule. Michigan and Florida will face off in the Capital One Bowl (1pm, ABC). Maybe it's unusual to see a Heisman Trophy winner playing in of all things the Capital One Bowl. As seems to be the case with many of the bowl games this season, offense should carry the day in this one. USC takes on Illinois in the Rose Bowl (4:30 pm, ABC). If there's one team right now that might really benefit from a playoff format in college football, it's USC. Let's see a show of hands, how many of us wrote off the Trojans after they lost to Stanford and Oregon? But yet, here they are, with yet another Pac-10 Championship of the World taking on an Illinois team that...might be overmatched. In the main event, the undefeated Hawaii Warriors take on the Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl (8:30 pm, FOX). The Superdome has hosted some amazing sporting spectacles (including one of the finest achievements in NFL history, Super Bowl XV). Many of you probably remember the second fight between Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran. Well, not only was it fought in the Superdome, but one could draw a pretty good analogy from these two events. June Jones has made a lot of comments that have shown up in the papers in my neck of the woods, saying things like "if we go undefeated, Colt Brennan is a guarantee to win the Heisman". Well, Duran and Leonard didn't really care much for one another and I can only imagine a team like Georgia looks at a team like this and says "psssshhh, yeah, whatever." Anyway, as we all know by now, Sugar Ray Leonard had a lead on the scorecards when Duran quit and supposedly said "no mas!" With the way that Georgia has been playing after getting beaten pretty soundly by Tennessee, how long will it take before June Jones' Warriors go with the football equivalent of "no mas!"? Enjoy the games and Happy New Year!

[mainepatsfan]

The game I most intrigued to watch is FLA-MICH. Could give us an idea of what to expect in the BCS title game.

[Biggirl]

The Sugar is going to be a test of how well Hawaii really is vs. another SEC team.

[Biggirl]

I hope you or someone who is a big NCAA college men’s/women’s basketball knowledge person can have threads like the ones for the college football. Take care. :)

[Dysart]

Thanks and Happy New Year. And about that sweet little thing who's a Pats fan. Don't hold that against her; they can't all be Cowboys fans. Just beware of any attempts to film your activities, if you know what I mean.

Now, the CF threads have been riveting, mostly, but I'd like to suggest more cheerleader pics in 08. Say, wasn't Hillary a cheerleader back in her collegiate daze? Her favorite refrain:

"2-4-6-8

Stalin was good

Stalin was great

Yay!"

[Dysart]

Let us all kick the year off right and watch Arkansas (and rightful Heisman winner pictured below) pluck Mizzou today in the Cotton Bowl.

[Positive]

" Maybe it's me, but didn't it seem like the Cotton Bowl was a bigger game than this once upon a time?"

It was until the South West Conference broke up in 1996 and Cotton didn't have a ticket into the BCS. The winner of the SWC always had the bid to the bowl until then.

It's glory days were during the 60's when the mythical National Champion played in the bowl 3 times. Notre Dame won the National Championship in the Cottom Bowl in 1977.

[commish]

FEarless prediction time :

Tennessee 31 Wisconsin 27 - SEC moves to 5-0, but only by a whisker. Wisconsin could win this game.

Arkansas 38 Missouri 34 - Not sold totally on Mizzou, Darren mcFadden and Felix jones run wild as they put on a show for the NFL scouts.

Virginia Tech 45 Texas Tech 41 - A wild shoot out as two great offenses battle.

Florida 27 Michigan 24 - The wolverines will go all out to give Lloyd Carr a great send off, but The Gators just have too much speed and too many weapons. Plus, even though this is a different Michigan team, all I think of is "they lost to Freakin Appy State.

UPSET SPECIAL - Illinois 31 USC 28 - Call me crazy, but this is just a gut feeling. Everyone has been calling this the blow out bowl, but I think Juice Williams and company may have some tricks up thier sleeves. Probably not, but I have to go with my gut.

GAME OF THE DAY - Georgia 55 Hawaii 42 -- Hawaii will come out quick, put up a bunch of first half points and surprise the Bulldogs, but in the end depth and talent will wear the Warriors down and Georgia will pull away in the 4th Quarter of a shoot out.

[Dysart]

And the Cotton Bowl will be big again when a certain stadium here in Arlington is completed in 09. Book it.

[Biggirl]

I know of the names of 3 of the SEC conference teams to win, Kentucky, Alabama, and Auburn. What is the 4th one? Thanks. :)