Diner Football Predictions, Bowl Edition, Part VIII

Well, T.C.U. did me right yesterday by beating Houston. I thought for sure, the way the day was going, that I'd lose that one, too as Houston was one play away from going 98 yards with a minute and a half left and no time outs. B.C. gave up a meaningless touchdown late, complete with a two-point conversion that let the Spartans cover, and Maryland had 160 yards of offense in the FIRST QUARTER--only to get 60 more the entire rest of the game. Sheesh. It was frustrating at first, but now it's just funny that I'm 2 wins, 9 losses in the bowl season. Anyway, on to today's picks:

Connecticut (+2) vs. Wake Forest in the Meineke Car Care Bowl: This one might actually be better if they changed the rules to ensure that the first team to score...wins! Both teams are defense/kicking game/field position teams. Connecticut has averaged 2 interceptions per game during the season...but in a game like this one, I like the team with the better coach (Wake Forest's Grobe gets considered for all the job openings at bigger conference schools) and I think the ACC has a better conference (even though the Big East was better than most expected). It'll be a yawner either way. Diner Prediction: Wake Forest 13, Connecticut 10.

Central Florida vs. Mississippi State (+3) in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl: Sylvester Croom is an incredible coach. I don't know of any coach that gets more with less than he does...and the SEC West's Bulldogs have some quality wins (Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss, Kentucky) but all those teams were struggling in the running game at the time when State played them (even Arkansas' McFadden was held to 88 yards, but that was with Jones injured). If UCF can throw, they'll win as Kevin Smith (who, by the way, can break Barry Sanders' rushing record with 181 yards in this game) will dominate. If they can't throw, they still might win. The Bulldogs are a year away. Diner Prediction: Central Florida 27, Mississippi State 21.

Penn State vs. Texas A&M (+5) in the Valero Alamo Bowl: The Aggies are riding high after beating Texas and they'll be in the Alamo Dome with 50,000 rabid fans all Marooned Out and standing up the whole game and swaying and all that jazz. The problem they have is two-fold: First, they'll actually have to play the game, and Penn State is better than they are. Second, they've now officially gotten bad karma for this game...they've got an interim head coach due to Francione's...ahem...departure and they had to send a yell leader (what Aggies call guy cheerleaders) home because he said that Joe Paterno was on his "death bed" and needed a "casket" at the pre-game pep rally. I mean, "yell practice." You don't win a game with that kind of negative karma, man. Never, ever pick on Coach Joe. Diner Prediction: Penn State 28, Texas A&M 21.