This post is not so much about the Cotton Bowl and it is written from the dark depths of SABOWL syndrome. As I type, Arkansas is beating up on Kansas State. This game is not all that significant in regards to the SABOWL because Danny/Stephen and RJ1 both chose Arkansas. The battle for the Toilet Bowl is still red hot and this game will help shed some light there. The Kids SABOWL is heading towards a one-game tie breaker during the LSU/Bama game (Stephen and Jackson “Mater” should be preparing to choose their final score for each team for the game as well as how many total points will be scored through field goals during the game – fun SABOWL fact, Christina came up with this tiebreaker for SABOWL one, when I actually had a chance to win but managed to lose).

The thing about losing the SABOWL and knowing it before the final game comes is that it can be hard at times to stay engaged in the SABOWL and it can be very easy to say bad things about those still in the running under your breath.  I’m currently struggling in both of those ways but I promise to step out of it in time to do a killer write-up on BBVA Compass Bowl between Pittsburgh and Southern Methodist tomorrow which has massive SABOWL ramifications!

Happy New Year’s Eve SABOWLers! We’ve got an exciting and probably heartbreaking few days ahead of us! Today’s going to be a full day and I’d like to start us with a little inspiration. I came across this song and I doubt any of you have ever heard it before but I think it really captures the quest for the SABOWL

Nice rhymes Nelly, nice rhymes.

Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas
Northwestern (6-6) vs Texas A&M (6-6)
Game Time: Dec. 31 @ 12 PM (ESPN, ESPN 3)

Texas A&M is coming into this game on a bit of a rough streak, 5 of their 6 losses this season came after they were leading at halftime, they’ve lost 4 of 5 and have recently let their coach go. To put this in Meineke terms, there is a hole in their muffler and they have two options (1) pay for a new muffler or (2) patch the current muffler to get bye for now. The Aggies (which is really not much of a mascot, its more of a nickname for students at agricultural schools, see picture for further clarification) are patching their team together for this bowl game. A&M have a bit of an advantage with this game taking place in Texas, their 12th man (A&M’s name for their student section) will be out in full force. The Northwestern Wildcats (much coller mascot than the Aggies) actually still have their coach and they’ll be led today by their Senior QB Dan Persa which is not really all that significant but I just wanted point out that his last name sounds like a woman’s handbag, that can’t be good. Neither defense has been especially effective this year, I doubt this will be another Baylor/Washington but things could get interesting. Expect A&M to jump out ahead and then potentially blow it in the second half and by expect I mean that is one possibility of what could happen in this game.

Texas A&M is favored by 10.5.
Texas A&M: Christina, Emily, Ellen, Danny/Stephen, April, Jim, Joe, Joey, Rebecca
Northwestern: Michael, Jonathan, Jimmy, Josh

KIDS’ SABOWL
This game launches our inaugural Kids’ SABOWL. This should be an exciting shootout between some of the Sabo family’s toughest little ones. Find the spreadsheet here (there’s also a link in the top right).
Texas A&M: Julian, Izabella Maree, Jackson “Mater”, Lydia
Northwestern: Stephen, Caleb “The Kid”, Trey

Hyundai Sun Bowl
Georgia Tech (8-4) vs Utah (7-5)
Game Time: Dec. 31 @ 2 PM CBS

Georgia Tech began the year hot, reeling off 6 wins against average teams. As the competition got tougher, Tech’s offense couldn’t keep up with its at times atrocious defense. Tech’s new defensive coordinator Al Groh has had some time since their last game to asses the horridness of their defense this year and to make some changes. To put this in terms of Hyundais, Tech’s defense this year has been like a mid-90’s Hyundai Sonata (frankly just plain ugly) and their hope is that moving forward it will be like a 2011 Hyundai Sonata (kinda sharp). Tech is capable of making quick strikes to score in a hurry and ranked 3rd in the nation in average yards per game. They’re triple option attack can confuse defenses, Utah is no stranger to the triple option as they play Air Force’s triple option attack each season. Utah’s strengths are its defense and running game. If Tech’s defense can show up, they should be able to hold off the Ute’s in this one and cover the spread.

GA Tech is favored by 3.5.
GA Tech: Michael, Jonathan, Ellen, Danny/Stephen, Josh, Rebecca, Jim
Utah: Christina, Emily, Jimmy, April, Joe, Joey

SABOWL for Kids
GA Tech: Isabella Maree, Jackson “Mater”, Julian, Stephen, Caleb “the Kid”
Utah: Trey, Lydia (picking up on a strong anti-GT focus among a particular family)

Autozone Liberty Bowl
Vanderbilt (6-6) vs Cincinnati (9-3
Game Time: Dec. 31 @ 3:30 PM (ABC)

Vanderbilt is coming off a stronger season than what they are used to, meaning they won more than 2 games, and are looking to fight for new coach James Franklin. Cincinnati had a strong season and tied for the Big East Championship.

Zach Collaros, the Bearcats’ QB, missed the last 3 games of the regular season but is expected to be back for this game. To put this in AutoZone terms, Collaros’ leg was like a dead battery that you had to get jumped to get your vehicle to the nearest AutoZone, once there they rolled the cart out with the diagnostic machine to determine whether your battery or alternator was the problem, they discovered that you had a broken terminal on your battery. With a little repair work and time, you’d be good to go like Collaros is today.

The Commodores (a military rank used in many navies that is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral – to put that in terms of liberty, a commodore would be an important military figure in battle) will be playing in only their 5th bowl game which is kinda sad but they’re in the SEC and bowl games can be hard to come by there.

Vanderbilt is favored by 2.5:
Vanderbilt: Michael, Christina, Emily, Jonathan, Ellen, Jimmy, April, Rebecca
Cincinnati: Danny/Stephen, Josh, Jim, Joe, Joey

Sabowl for kids:
Vanderbilt: Jackson “Mater”, Lydia, Caleb “the Kid”
Cincinnati: Stephen, Julian, Trey, Isabella Maree
Kraft Fighting Hunger Bowl
Illinois (6-6) vs UCLA (6-7)

There will be a lot of fighting going on in this one, not just fighting hunger (but kudos to you Kraft for using funds from this game to feed families). After starting off 6-0, the Illini are fighting to salvage the season after losing the last 6. Ron Zook is fighting to find a new job, he was Illinois’ coach when they were 6-0, not so  much anymore.

UCLA is fighting to get back some of the prestige they once had, after being marred in mediocrity for a while now they’d love to win this one. Rick Neuheisal is fighting to explain why UCLA’s poor performance is not his fault in job interviews, he was UCLA’s coach when they lost the Pac-12 title game 50-0 to USC, not really the case anymore. To put this in terms of one of Kraft’s most popular products, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, these teams are fighting for a win like purchasers of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese fight to consume the cheese product as quickly as possible after taking it off the stove so it doesn’t turn into a cold, tasteless, congealed chunk of edible mass. Both of these teams will be eager to get out front first (and as quickly as possible) whoever does may have an advantage as both teams defenses are less than impressive.

Illinois is favored to win by 3.5:
Illinois: Michael, Christina, Emily, Ellen, Danny/Stephen, Joe
UCLA: Jonathan, Jimmy, Josh, April, Rebecca, Jim, Joey

Sabowl for Kids:
Illinois: Izabella Maree, Jackson (Mater), Trey, Stephen
UCLA: Julian, Lydia, Caleb “The Kid”
Chickfila Bowl
Auburn (7-5) vs Virginia (8-4) 

In the Chickfila Bowl we have two teams on different trajectories. Last year Auburn won the BCS National Championship after that they have had to deal with a series of difficulties; losing Cam Newton to the NFL and dealing with the poisoning of Toomer’s Oaks by some hick ‘Bama fan. Virginia on the other hand had  a dreadful season last year and won only four games. This year the Cavaliers have 12 5th year seniors on their team and are having there best season in a while. You may not be aware of this but the University of Virginia was founded by our 3rd President and one of the authors of our Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson was so proud of his association with the university that his tombstone doesn’t even mention his presidency but does list that he was the father of the University of Virginia. Auburn’s heritage is not quite as rich, rumor has it that it was started by two cousins who needed a place to educate their children. To put this in terms of Chickfila, The University of Virginia’s heritage is like the classic, beautiful, delicious Chickfila sandwich and Auburn’s is like McDonald’s ripoff Southern Style Chicken sandwich, its still a sandwich but why choose it. The good news for Auburn is that their heritage as a university has little to do with their football abilities.

All you really need to know about this game is that Auburn already has something of a lead. In Chickfila’s sponsored pre-game competition, Auburn leads Virgina 3 -2 by beating them in a milkshake competition, go-kart race, and family feud. Virginia managed to pull out victories in a basketball competition and in whatever the Brazilian Buffet is. This should really pan out to be an interesting game.

Auburn is favored by 1.5:
Auburn: Michael, Christina, Emily, Jonathan, Danny/Stephen, Jimmy, April, Rebecca, Jim, Joe, Joey
Virginia: Josh, Ellen

SABOWL for Kids
Auburn: Stephen, Julian, Izabella Maree, Jackson “Mater”, Lydia
Virginia: Trey, Caleb “the Kid”

AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl
Missouri (7-5) vs North Carolina (7-5)
Game Time: Dec. 26 @ 5 PM (ESPN 2, ESPN 3)

Tonight’s bowl features two more teams in a period of transition. Missouri is making the move from the Big XII to the SEC next year, as a result this might be the last game they win for the next few seasons. North Carolina’s year started off a bit poorly when the NCAA failed to include them in the football schedule because they forgot that UNC had a football team. Then they canned their coach Butch Davis because of multiple NCAA violations, rumors are that several players on his team were given gifts ranging from red vests to tattoos of their mom’s pictures…or maybe that was another team, either way its expected that the NCAA is going to drop the hammer on the Tarheels.

The good news for North Carolina is that they’ve got a Fedora coming their way. Southern Miss’ coach Larry Fedora will be taking over next year. This game could be a pretty close match; both teams have the same record, they both allow around 23 points per game, and they both score around 30 points per game. Then again, it could be a blow-out, who really knows.

Game Picks:
Everyone picked Missouri to cover the 4.5 spread except Jim and Ellen who went with North Carolina.

Point of SABOWL interest:
Regardless of what happens in this game, Rookie Joe will hold on to his 2 game lead. He was overheard yesterday saying “My record speaks for itself.” It is indeed a pretty impressive record for 7 games into the SABOWL. The good news for the rest of the pack is that with well over 20 games to go, nobody is out of the running. We have 22 games coming up in the next 7 days, things are about to get crazy!

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Southern Miss (11-2) vs Nevada (7-5)
Game Time: Dec. 24 @ 8 PM (ESPN, ESPN 3)

Interesting matchup here: both mascots are monogamous animals (a rare character trait among animals),  during their season finales Southern Miss shocked #6 ranked Houston Cougars by beating them and Nevada shocked nobody by beating Idaho 56-3, the game will take place in Honolulu which is the capital of Hawaii, its name means sheltered (lulu) bay (hono), the coach for Southern Miss’ last name is Fedora which is also the name for a hat that nobody under the age of 72 should wear (the exception being anyone in the mafia, then its ok), made famous by National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation “Mele Kalikimaka” is Hawaiian for Merry Christmas – I’m guessing the announcers for this game will say this no less than a dozen times, Nevada’s red shirt freshman QB Cody Fejardo’s last name is kind of like Fedora but not quite the same, and lastly this game is also popularly known as “Wait, this isn’t an NFL game” which is what thousands of people will be saying when they stumble across it trying to find Christmas Eve’s NFL games. For these reasons and countless others, this will really be a game to watch!

Picks for this game:
Southern Miss: Christina, Jonathan, Ellen, Danny/Stephen, Jimmy, Josh, Joe, Joey
Nevada: Michael, Emily, April, Rebecca, Jim

Point of SABOWL interest:
A Nevada victory would put April in a tie with Joe for first place. This would be the first time this SABOWL season that “Rookie Joe”,  as we like to call him in the comment section, would have his lead challenged. April is a 2 time SABOWL champion who has dominated this competition before and sucked all the fun out of the SABOWL season, and nobody really wants to see that happen again. It’s Christmas for crying out loud April! Also, the SABOWL is still waiting to see if Joey will make a big enough splash in the SABOWL to earn the nickname Rookie Joey.

Maaco Bowl
#7 Boise State (11-1) vs Arizona State (6-6)

The story for this game is Kellen Moore, Boise State’s Senior QB who is playing in the last game of his stellar college career. Moore has started every game during his four years at Boise State compiling a record of 49-3! Disregard the fact that some of those wins are against teams such as: College of Western Idaho, DeVry Institute, and Bowling Green. Moore has proven through his stats and winning percentage that he is one of the best quarterbacks to every play in a mediocre conference (the Mountain West…see the Poinsettia Bowl for more details).

This game is one of the 2 games in SABOWL VI that have a 14.5 point spread (the largest spread in this year’s SABOWL), Boise is favored to win. For details on this game just reread the Poinsettia Bowl write up, Boise felt like they deserved a BCS bowl but landed in the Maaco bowl and they’ll also be moving to a new conference next year. ASU canned their coach after they started the season 6-2, then lost 4 straight.

Asked about his thoughts about Boise State and the Maaco Bowl, Boise State’s coach had this to say:

San Diego Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
#18 TCU (10-2) VS Louisiana Tech (8-4)

Expert bowl analysts that get paid lots of money to write poorly written blog posts and hang out on ESPN all day thought TCU would really have something to prove in this game. After another pretty excellent season in the Mountain West Conference (just for reference if the SEC is like, say a $500 Rolex watch, the Mountain West Conference is a $20 Rolex you buy off the street in NYC) the Horned Frogs were disappointed with their #18 rank and the Poinsettia Bowl. Also, they’ll be moving up to the Big XII (which really should just be called the OK X because there are 10 teams, not 12 and they’re OK) next year so the thought (again by the experts) was that TCU would be coming out strong in this game. Oh yeah, I almost forgot Louisiana Tech also played.

More importantly, all the drama in this game had to do with SABOWL streaks. Would Joe keep winning and Rebecca keep losing or would things get switched up a bit?

Everyone but Jimmy and Rebecca went with TCU in this one and in the end they were all losers. The Bulldogs of Louisiana Tech hung in there but couldn’t get the best of the Horned Frogs of TCU, who failed to cover the 10.5 spread.

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

San Diego State (8-4) vs. La. Lafayette (8-4)

I am sure that you all wanted to know that you can easily ship your belongings to Canada through R+L Carriers, the sponsor this bowl game.  They have more border terminals than anyone in Canada as well has a border clearance process that begins hours before their competitors.  If I need to make this move, I am definitely using R+L Carriers.

SDSU head coach is named Rocky.  Rocky Long.
SDSU has lost four games this season but look at some of their losses-Michigan, Boise State, and TCU.  Each of them are strong football teams at the moment.  The fourth loss however came to Wyoming, which is concerning since we watched lay an egg earlier today.  The Aztecs do however have eight wins but they are against teams that barely had a pulse.  Therefore, they have not come through in a test.  The questions is whether Lafayette will offer that challenge.

Lafayette’s mascot is the Ragin’ Cajuns.  Is there anything else you need to know?  They are making their first bowl game ever.

So this will be a game of two programs that do not have much experience in this area.  There is no telling how this will turn out and how the players will react.

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

Ohio (9-4) vs. Utah State (7-5)

I will try to keep this shorter for those of you who are not able to complete the entire post.
Here is what you need to know.I would like to first point out that this is the “Famous Idaho Potato” Bowl as opposed to the Unknown Idaho Potato  Bowl.  Known previously as the Micron PC Bowl and then the Humanitarian Bowl, the Humantarian Bowl became well known in Georgia in recent years.  Georgia Tech has owned this bowl in the past decade.  In fact, Georgia Tech even put this game on the season schedule at the beginning of the year on time.  And by the way, if you chose to watch this game, do not adjust your screens.  The field will be blue and a joke of college football.   

-Utah State Aggies have been also known as the “Gaggies”.  A name that some of you could use in regards to your Sabowl picks.  However, Utah State has won its last five games, so they are coming in hot.
-Utah State’s strength is it run game.  That is when they have the ball and are running with it, trying to score… a touchdown.
-Utah State has decent defense but not great.

-Ohio’s mascot is the bobcats.  Helpful for GC&SU alumni.
-Ohio has not won a bowl game in its last five chances.
-They are hoping for a ten win season, which they have done only once.  Could this add to the pressure of the game?
-Watch for Ohio’s QB-Tyler Tettleton, who is a excellent passer and rusher.  Should be exciting to watch what he does against USU’s defense.

Line:  Utah State favored by 3.5
Picks:
Utah State (Christina, Jonathan, Ellen, D/S, Jimmy, Rebecca, Joey)
Ohio (Michael, Emily, Josh, April, Jim, Joe)

New Mexico Bowl Preview
Wyoming (8-4) vs. Temple (8-4)
First game of the Sabowl season.  The much anticipating game is finally here.  It will be for some of you the closest that you will to the lead (or to me).

Mountain Boys vs. City Boys

Wyoming is much improved from last year’s of 3-9.  Take a close look at Brett Smith, Wyoming QB and key to the drastic Cowboy improvement.  His stats include 28 TD’s (18 passing, 10 rushing), 2,495 yards passing and 645 rushing.  Smith is a freshman by the way.  Their offensive line, the key to any solid offense, takes very good care of Smith by only allowing 11 sacks.  This is another reason for Smith’s success.

Temple comes into the game with a strong running game that is led by Bernard Pierce, averaging 257 yards per game.  Bernard rushed 1,381 yards this season with an amazing 25 touchdowns.

Bernard Pierce

Wyoming defense will be a key to the game in combating the Owl offense.  It has been described as average versus the run giving up 230 yards per game.  One aspect regarding the Wyoming defense is that they average a plus-1.25 margin per game with turnovers.  This is fourth in the nation.  If it is a close game, this could be the game breaker.

The big questions will be if Wyoming can stop Temple’s strong running game.  Can Temple keep Wyoming’s freshman QB under control?

Other worthy notes:
-Temple has had three straight 8 win seasons and was snubbed from a bowl game last year.  For that reason they may be more hungry and ready to show the country (and the world) that they should be recognized as one of the top level mediocre programs in the east.
-Temple is feeling the pressure of having to pick up the slack of the city of Philadelphia and their disappointing professional sports teams lately.

The line is Temple by 6.5.
The picks are:
Temple (Emily, Ellen, D/S, Josh, April, Jim, Joe, Joey)
Wyoming (Michael, Christina, Jonathan, Jimmy, Rebecca)

Enjoy the game.  Post comments throughout the game.  Remember that one of the things that the Sabowl encourages is trash talking and poor sportsmanship.  Just remember to keep it clean (especially you Mom and Rebecca).  We do have kids who are watching as well as a nation.

Have a great Sabowl day. -Michael

We know you’ve been agonizing about how your picks line up with the rest of the SABOWLers… there’s good news! You can now spend hours and hours analyzing and pondering about what scenarios might have to take place for you to take the SABOWL home.

The selection spreadsheet is live! You can check it out here.

We do not have a single game that is a unanimous pick among all SABOWL contestants which is a rare occurrence. Our SABOWL historians are researching whether or not that has ever happened before.

The party starts Saturday.

Welcome to SABOWL WEEK everyone!  As you know, the 2012 Sabowl will begin Friday.  We are in the midst of making the necessary preparations to ensure that it will be a memorable and pleasurable Sabowl experience for you.  The Sabowl Leadership Team is excited about recent changes that will not only help you through this process; it will also change your life for the better in every aspect.  You have already seen the recently revamped Sabowl.com, which we are very proud of.  Thank you Assistant Sabowl Commissioner, Future Head Commissioner, Acting Head Commissioner, Sabowl IT Director, and 5-time Sabowl loser-Josh Sabo.  You have also noticed the new state of the art picking selection process as well.  Like I have said many incredible changes that will make this a great Sabowl.  It could quite possibly be the best Sabowl ever…definitely the best Sabowl of this year.      

Also new this year will be SABOWL WEEK.  You have heard of Shark Week, Bike Week, Steampunk Week, Fashion Week, Yosemite Week, West Wing Week, Big Cat Week, Brain Awareness Week, Jonathan is Weak, and many others.  Now it is time to introduce you to SABOWL WEEK.  Starting today and going to Saturday, you will get a clear picture of what the Sabowl is and does through a day and basically its life.  You will see where the Sabowl sleeps and how it functions in our society.  We will address very important questions such as:
“Is the Sabowl a boy or a girl?”
“What was the Sabowl like as a child?”
“Does the Sabowl suffer from allergies?”
“Is it true that the Sabowl was actually abducted by aliens in 1998?”
“Who really would win in a fight: Chuck Norris or the Sabowl?”

So please pay very close attention to the Sabowl website: www.sabowl.com for daily updates.  They will be released as early as today.  You can also follow the daily activities of the Sabowl and hear directly from it on Twitter: http://twitter.com/sabowl    You do not have to have a Twitter account to follow, just click the link. 

Please remember that picks are due picks are due tomorrow-Wednesday, Dec. 14.

The moment you’ve all been waiting for the last 28,598,400 seconds for is upon us…

It’s go time for  SABOWL VI!

We’re always looking for ways to enhance the SABOWL experience, this year we’ve tweaked the selection process in hopes of it being even more enjoyable to all! To submit your entry, simply go to our new SABOWL VI Selection Page.

The deadline for submitting your entry is Wednesday, December 14th at 11:59 PM EST.

Good luck to all, we look forward to the SABOWL journey ahead. Many will enter, only one will win.

The Assistant to the Assistant to the SABOWL Commissioner suggests ESPN’s Bowl Coverage for anyone desiring to do some research that goes deeper than jersey color. We’ll make other helpful resources available before the 14th comes.