Diner Football Picks, Bowl Edition, Part VII

So, lemme get this straight: The Longhorns pick last night's holiday bowl to get their act together and rededicate to opening the playbook? Perfect. Just perfect. I really think I'm making good, solid picks here, folks. And to go to 1-7 is really nuts...but what did I expect in a nutso college football season?

Anyway, on to this today's games:

Boston College vs. Michigan State (+5) in the Champs Sports Bowl: Boston College has won 7 straight bowl games and Michigan State has been losing players due to academic suspensions and the whole bit. I didn't really buy into the B.C. hype during the season and they might be the worst 10-win team in the bowl season. At least I thought so until I saw Arizona State stink it up last night. Anyway, I like B.C.'s quarterback and think they'll have enough firepower against an average Big 10 team. Diner Prediction: Boston College 27, Michigan State 17

Texas Christian vs. Houston (+6.5) in the Texas Bowl: Houston's playing a bowl game in Houston having lost their head coach to Baylor. The Horned Frogs are just happy to be going anywhere during a season when they played well below expectations. They just never were the same after losing to Texas after fighting so hard, but I think the bowl game will have them ready to play. Diner Prediction: T.C.U. 31, Houston 24.

Oregon State vs. Maryland (+5) in the Emerald Bowl: San Francisco's a great town to go bowling in...and I'm beginning to see that same pattern develop from the last two years...the one where the Pac-10 gets exposed as being a sorry conference once you get past U.S.C. (see last night's Sun Devil performance as proof). However, I'm not sure which Maryland team will show up--the one the beat two top-10 teams or the one that lost 4 games against inferior opponents. I'm guessing that against the sorry Pac-10, even an average effort will get the job done. Diner Prediction: Maryland 23, Oregon State 16.