I think in order to make things more streamlined and formative, I am going to start doing some frequent posting that encapsulates different items on certain days in order for fluidity to the site. That being said, here is what my schedule will be going forward per conference:

Monday-Big Ten

Tuesday-Pac 10

Wednesday-ACC

Thursday-Big East

Friday-Big 12

Saturday-SEC

Sunday-All others

In these daily capsules, I will have different posts discussing the previous week’s events, news, and future discussions about the teams and conferences themselves (not limiting to specific sports). I will also post on news events as they transpire with my two, or three cents, maybe even a dollar’s worth. For those of you out there that would like to have a discussion on a certain topic, shoot an email my way and I’ll be happy to give it a shot.

Thanks for your support of the site and I look forward to getting started on this!

Tim AKA “The Athletic Supporter”

The game before THE GAME. With NFL Playoffs and the national title game looming tomorrow night, we’ve got one more football game for those of you who haven’t gotten quite enough indigestion from all of the beer and thumbaches from pressing the remote buttons. It’s the GMAC Bowl where Tulsa and Bowling Green match offensive juggernauts for a battle to the finish for supremacy.

Wait, where are you going? Hey–come back here!

I know, I know, as much as we all would like to admit that Tulsa and Bowling Green are not the football hotbeds of…well, even the junior high circuit…this is still should be an exciting game of offensive firepower. The GMAC has historically been a game of scores that indicate more high blood pressure scores than football, and defense seems to be mainly optional. So, the question is, who scores the most? If you answered Wilt Chamberlain…well, you’re right, but that’s another time and place to discuss.

Chamberlain showing how many points women he bagged on one night.

BG must throw the ball a lot more than usual to keep up with Tulsa’s Paul Smith, who should throw for at least 300 and may even eclipse 400 if his arm doesn’t fall off first. Tulsa is a 4.5 point favorite in this game, and if the Golden Hurricane can get going early, they may score 50. However, if Bowling Green can blitz early and force Smith out of the pocket, where isn’t exactly the best under pressure, they could really move the momentum and pull the upset.

But Smith is just too good, and he has an arsenal of receivers, and unlike Bowling Green, Tulsa can turn to RB Tarrion Adams for good ground support if necessary. My pick is the ‘Cane in a wild and scorekeeper’s nightmare, 42-35.

Papa John’s. Better ingredients. Better Pizza. (Can we get better teams?) 

This game looks on paper like it should be a pretty clear choice. For one, Cincinnati has the schedule and the ranking. They have the firepower and the street cred. But, on the other hand, there are five fingers.

Just thought you’d like to know.

Seriously, though, Southern Miss does have one big intangible–and that this is ’s last game as coach for the Golden Eagles. Bower has been with the school for 17 years and although he already resigned and the school has found his replacement, he is being allowed to coach the team in the bowl game. This gives Southern Miss more motivation, more heart, and more chance than most people are giving them.

However, with Cincinnati, their offense may just be too dominate for the Eagles. The Bearcats have Wake Forest transfer Ben Mauk, who has a gaudy 154.6 passer rating. He also had 27 TDs on the year, despite being injured 2 games. As a team, the Bearcats averaged almost 37 points, the second-best offense in the Big East.

The Cincinnati defense, though, is the X factor in this game. They are not exactly stellar, and the offense has had to bail them out of many games this year. The Achilles’ heel for the defense has been giving up huge plays through the air-it’s been a killer. However, the Golden Eagles were last in C-USA in passing yards.

While I like both teams and it would be a storybook ending for Bower to get the win on his way out, I just think Cincy is too strong to buckle in this bowl.  I’ll take them 37-24.

Florida Atlantic…hmmm…where have I heard that name before…oh wait—I haven’t.

Many people haven’t either. Yet this game’s publicity is basically ranging around head coach Howard Schnellenberger, who lead the “U” of Miami and Louisville to national prominence back when Flock of Seagulls was still popular (or were they really ever popular? Anyways, I digress…). He took on this program in ‘98 before they ever had a football program (talk about your fixer-uppers), and now they are basically the only team in Southern Florida to be in a bowl. Miami is sitting home for the first time in 10 years after they didn’t make a bowl. Isn’t it ironic, don’t ya think? Schnellenberger is looking to extend his unbeaten streak in bowl games, although the last time he was even in one many of his players were still learning how to tie their shoes (some probably still can’t).

Memphis, on the other hand, really never thought they had a shot even being in the postseason. Starting out 2-4 after going 2-10 last year, the university was buzzing more about John Calipari’s basketball squad than anything else. But then the team turned the jets on, winning 5 of their next 6 and climbing to second in C-USA.

Basically, we’ve got two Cinderellas duking it out for one glass slipper. While the Owls of FAU have Sun Belt POY Rusty Smith and have a good passing offense, Memphis also sports a great aerial game and has played a bit higher level of competition, and also has Auntie Mo’ on their side.

The spread is close for this game, but I am going to go with Memphis in a squeaker–but I can tell you that the losing team, whomever it is, will be close to scoring 40 points, so get your track shoes on!