Picking the BCS...and a few stragglers.

Well, it's New Year's Day and that means it's time for the big bowls to start. I won't be picking all of the remaining games, because let's face it, there's some shit games left. I will take a stab at the BCS games and the few other big-time games we have left. Let's start with the first day of 2011:

Capital One Bowl: Alabama 24, Michigan State 13 - The Tide should finally get the SEC a post-season win. 'Bama should be efficient in it's dispatching of the Spartans, but if they slip up and let Sparty hang around, they could come up short against a Dantonio trick-play.

Outback Bowl: Florida 23, Penn State 16 - JoePa does well against the SEC overall, but the Gators ought to be pumped up to send Urban Meyer off on a high note. Normally, that could be distracting, but the transition to Muschamp has been going smoothly enough to keep FLorida focused.

Gator Bowl: Michigan 41, Mississippi State 31 - I just don't know if the Bulldogs can contain the Wolverines offense all night. Offensively, they'll be fine against the "defense" that Michigan fields, but will it be enough to top Shoelace and Co.?

Rose Bowl: TCU 34, Wisconsin 31 - This should be a good game. I like watching a power run game that scores points, and Wisconsin certainly has that. I'd love to see them run all over the Frogs, but it won't happen; TCU's too athletic and their offense can hang with anyone. In the end, I'm pulling for Wisky, so I'll bet they lose.

Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma 44, UConn 17 - C'mon Bob, you got this one.

Orange Bowl: Stanford 30, Virginia Tech 24 - This was a very tough game to call. I know the Hokies were 0-2 at one point, but they're not the same team they were then. I think it'll be a back-and-forth affair, and I might have it a little too high scoring, but Luck puts it away late for the Cardinal.

Sugar Bowl: Arkansas 31, Ohio State 30 - The key here: distraction. Initially, I had the Bucks picked to win, but all the hullabaloo the last two weeks could disrupt their focus. Even with the offending players able to play, State will be a step behind all night. Also, don't count out the resurgent Hawgs' run game; it's led to some sweet PA bombs.

Cotton Bowl: Texas A&M 27, LSU 26 - How does the grass in Texas taste?