We are in the middle of what could be the closest Sabowl in history and the Locker Room has remained empty for the past 4 days.  We still have not heard from many of the top contenders in this Sabowl.  It is a good thing that Mike Gundy Day is here wake everyone up.

A few facts about this famous Mike Gundy Speach.

• This took place on September 22, 2007.  Now more than 1o years ago.
• Mike Gundy accurately that he was 40 in this video and he is now 50.
• Mike Gundy was only referenced 3 times last year on Mike Gundy Day.  This is down from 10 references in the previous Sabowl.

Things to Watch for in the Sabowl.

• Sabowl XI Champion Joe was 13-9 at this point in the competition.  At the time he was tied with Defending Champion Josh.
• Sabowl X Champion Josh was 11-11 at this point.  At the time he was in 7th place behind Christina (13-9), Jimmy (15-7), Michael (12-10), Stephen (12-10), Danny (13-9), and April (13-9)
• Sabowl IX Champion Christina was 11-11 at this point.  At the time she was in 4th place behind Jimmy (15-7), Ellen (12-10), and Emily (13-9)
• Sabowl VIII Champion Rebecca was 14-8 at this point.  At the time she was in 1st place.
• Sabowl VII Champion Josh was 16-6 at this point.  At the time he was in 1st place.
• Everyone is still currently in contention to win this Sabowl.
• Could every competitor finish above .500?
• So many questions to be answered.   See you in the Locker Room.

Two Sabowlers have been eliminated that we know of.  I don’t feel like looking at everyone’s picks that much.  Seven or eight still have a legitimate chance and the rest have a glimmer of hope.

Since I am currently in the Anger Stage of Grief I think I should leave all Sabowl Analysis to you guys in the Locker Room.

Here are Today’s Games.

georgia vs. TCU

Favorite: georgia by 1.5

This is short video of some of my favorite highlights from Georgia’s season.

Stanford Vs. North Carolina

Fav. Stanford by 3.5

Tennessee Vs. Nebraska

Fav. Tennessee by 3.5

Air Force Vs. South Alabama

Fav. Air Force by 13.5

Michigan Vs. Florida State

Fav. Michigan by 7.5

We are almost a week into Sabowl Competition and here is what we can see so far:

• Ellen is off to her best start in the Sabowl (8-2) and a current 5 game win streak.
•  Josh is continuing his strong performance from Sabowl X.
• Seven Sabowlers are currently tied with 4-6 record.
• Only 10 comments have been made in the locker room.
• Danny has managed to pick every favorite that has won and Not covered the spread so far (There have been 3).

 Here is a brief preview of Today’s Games.

Today’s Games.

Popeyes Bahamas Bowl / ESPN 1:00 PM

Old Dominion (-3.5) Vs. Eastern Michigan

 Picks

Old Dominion – Josh, Michael, Stephen, Jonathan, Rebecca, Ellen, Izabella

Eastern Michigan – Jimmy, April, Emily, Danny/Julian, Jim

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl / ESPN 4:30 PM

Navy (-1.5) Vs. Louisiana Tech

 Picks

Navy – Jimmy, April, Christina, Emily, Jonathan, Ellen, Izabella, Jim

Louisiana Tech – Josh, Michael, Stephen, Danny/Julian, Rebecca

Dollar General Bowl/ ESPN 8:00 PM

Troy (-3.5) Vs. Ohio

 Picks

Troy – Jimmy, April, Michael, Stephen, Danny/Julian, Ellen

Ohio – Josh, Christina, Emily, Jonathan, Rebecca, Izabella, Jim

There are 7 Games remaining and 5 Sabowlers still in contention.  Four of those games will be played today and a champion could be determined before the day is over, but before we talk about today lets recap the action of yesterday.

We entered the day with 12 Sabowlers that still had a glimmer of hope of winning the SABOWL.  Those dreams were dashed for many during the course of the 5 games played.  Here is my favorite play of the day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WIDekoBZz0

I thought that this guy put the nails in the coffin then sat on top of it but that was not enough to hold back Michigan State.  Two of the biggest games included the first ever College Football Playoff.  The first was a blowout victory for Oregon over Florida State.  It was later admitted in the locker room that half of the Florida State Criminals left at halftime to save a seat at the Crab Shak for the rest of the team.  Or is that just their Alibi?  Florida State Quarterback Jameis Winston did stick around for the entire game to speak the profound statement in a post game news conference “We just got beat.”  He also slipped this smug statement “lose is not in my vocabulary to be honest witch ya.”  Well let me be honest witch ya Jameis, if you faced the fierce competition of the SABOWL lose would be firmly planted in your vocabulary.  Later on in the other playoff Alabama was defeated in a great game by Ohio State.  A full recap of this game can be found in yesterdays Locker Room.   Which brings me to the real highlights of the day.  The Locker room reached 205 comments and counting.  That is a record day for the Sabowl Locker Room.  The discussion included comments from current SABWOL participants, The Sabowl Standings, The Sabowl Spreadsheet, The Sabowl Locker Room itself, Several I Team Investigations, Mike Gundy, The Florida State.  For all who interested here is a picture of Rudy with the SABOWL.

Here are some approximate Statistics from the Locker Room

Josh 53 Comments

Jimmy 49 Comments

Christina 29 Comments

Jonathan 25 Comments

Michael 16 Comments

Sabowl Standings 13 Comments

Sabowl Spreadsheeet 5 Comments

Rebecca 4 Comments

Sabowl Locker Room 3 Comments

Mike Gundy 3 Comments

Florida State 2 Comments

I-Team 4 Comments

Todays Action

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl 12:00 PM

Pittsburgh Favored by 3.5 over Houston

Sabowl Ramifications:   Jimmy and Jonathan could both be eliminated with a Houston win.  A Pittsburgh win will not eliminate anyone.

Interesting side note:  Lieutenant Dan will be doing a free post game concert if you are anywhere near Fort Worth, might be worth checking out.  

Taxslayer Bowl 3:30 PM

Tennessee Favord by 3.5 over Iowa

Sabowl Ramifications:  Jonathan is the only person who picked Iowa so a Tennessee win will eliminate him if he is not already gone.

Bowl Fact:  This will be the 69th edition of this bowl game.  all 68 of the previous games have been called the Gator Bowl.  For some season Taxslayer sees themselves as important enough to drop the gator.  lets see how that works out for them.

Valero Alamo Bowl 6:45 PM

Kansas State by 1.5 over UCLA

Sabowl Ramifications:  Jonathan, Jim and Jimmy all have UCLA.  Josh and Christina have Kansas State

Ticketcity Cactus Bowl 10:15 PM  AKA Gundy Bowl

Washington favored by 5.5 over Oklahoma State

Sabowl Ramifications:  Jonathan, Jim, and Josh all have Oklahoma State.  Jimmy and Christina have Oklahoma State.  Christina could possibly clinch the Sabowl with  a win here.  depending on what happened earlier in the day.

You all know we cannot let a Mike Gundy Coached team participate in Sabowl Competition and not play this video.

Since its Gundy Day I will share some interesting Gundy Facts:

Mike Gundy is still a man and is now 47.  He is an Alumna of Oklahoma State where he played Quarterback for 4 years.  He has been a coach for 25 years, 20 of those years at Oklahoma State, where he has been the head coach for the past 10 years.  Gundy currently holds a 5-3 record in Sabowl Competition.

Good luck to everyone, see you in the locker room.  be sure to check out the Sabowl Standings and Sabowl Spreadsheet.

After a much needed day of rest for most of us, we are back to the SABOWL.  Today we will reach the halfway point of SABOWL IX.  After 6 days of action and 18 games SABOWL IX is starting to take shape.  Jimmy has a solid 2 game lead at the moment, but everyone is still in contention with 21 games to go.  Jimmy will at least hold onto a tie for first place after todays action.  Michael is the only person that can tie him with 3 unique picks between them.  Now to todays games

AutoZone Liberty Bowl  2:00 pm on ESPN

West Virginia favored by 3.5 over Texas A & M

Russell Athletic Bowl 5:30 pm on ESPN

Oklahoma vs. Clemson (Even)

ADVOcare V100 Bowl 9:00 pm on ESPN

Arkansas favored by 6.5 over Texas

It is official, everyone except for one person has this image running through their minds.

That’s right!  The SABOWL has left a huge hole in your upcoming decorating plans for the upcoming year.  For me it will be a daily reminder of the 8 years of failure that I have suffered through.

With that being said, We officially have a SABOWL VIII CHAMPION.

Congratulations to Rebecca.  I must admit this is the first time that I have congratulated her due to my Sabowl Syndrome.  Rebecca now joins an elite group of Sabowl Champions that includes Michael, April, Jimmy, Danny/Stephen, and Josh.

We still have some interesting story lines remaining for Sabowl VIII.

Who will collect the 2nd and 3rd place positions?  

Emily, Joey, Jim, Jonathan, Michael, Joe, and Stephen all have their eyes on these positions.

Who will collect the coveted Sabowl Toilet?

Christina, Danny/Julian, Stephen, Ellen, Jimmy, Michael, and Jim all are still in contention for that.

now to the games for tonight.

AT&T Cotton Bowl

Missouri vs. Oklahoma State

7:30 pm on Fox

The SABOWL would not be complete without showing this Mike Gundy video, If you need information about Mike Gundy feel free to check out the Dictionary.

I think that tells you enough about the Cotton Bowl.  Should be a pretty good game.  Interesting to see how Missouri performs since the SEC has not performed as well as usual in this SABOWL season.

Discover Orange Bowl

Ohio State Vs. Clemson

8:30 pm on ESPN

This game features 2 of the most notorious teams that compete during the SABOWL season.  Many of us were left with a dilemma in this selection.  Should we choose Ohio State(who may trade their jerseys for tattoos and show up bare chested), Clemson(Read paragraph 2 to find out what else may happen) or none of the above.

According to Josh, Ohio State made headlines during SABOWL I.  During this heated battle for the inaugural SABOWL, it all came down to the National Championship Game.  Michael had the opportunity to win it all with Florida, and Josh had the opportunity to win it all with Ohio State.  I think we all know where this story goes and I will leave it to Michael and or Josh to elaborate if they would like.

I think that everyone remembers the brutal beating in this same Orange Bowl that Clemson suffered as the favorite against West Virginia in SABOWL VI.  Many say that this is one of the worse beatings in the modern SABOWL Era.  West Virginia won that game 70 – 33.  What many people do not know is that Clemson decided to load the bus at half time to beat the traffic back to South Carolina.  A local Middle School team was selected to head out for the 2nd half.  West Virginia showed no mercy on them and the rest is history.

Good luck to all and I hope to see you in the Locker Room.  Lets Enjoy the remaining moments we have before the smell becomes unbearable and they turn the lights off.

This post comes to you from the Biltmore House.

Pretty sure I will be eliminated today after I lose my 9th Straight game. Is that a record?

Advocare V100 Bowl

Arizona (-7.5) vs. Boston College

When: Dec. 31, 12:30 p.m. ET

 Where: Shreveport, La.

 TV: ESPN

Arizona (7-5) lost three of four to finish the season fourth in the Pac-12’s South Division. The Wildcats, who are ranked 11th nationally in rushing offense, have the No. 2 running back in the country in Ka’Deem Carey (156 yards per game) and a quarterback in B.J. Denker who has thrown for 14 touchdowns and rushed for 12 more.

Boston College (7-5) features FBS’ top-rated running back, Andre Williams, who ran for 2,102 yards despite getting hurt early in the Eagles’ season finale. BC finished third in the ACC’s Atlantic Division, partly because it was 0-3 against teams that finished with better records.

 From the Sponsor:  Rumor on the street is that each player will be loaded up with Advocare products before the game.  This should make things interesting.  Here is a preview.

WARNING TO ALL SABOWLERS:  Beware of drinking any Kool-Aid products provided by Advocare.  The after affects are not known to anyone. 

**Please note this video does not reflect my views of Capitalism. However it does about The Jones Cult, Karl Marx and Lebron James.

Hyundai Sun Bowl

UCLA (-7.5) vs. Virginia Tech

When: Dec. 31, 2 p.m. ET

 Where: El Paso, Texas

 TV: CBS

UCLA (9-3) faced five ranked teams and lost to three of them, finishing second in the Pac-12’s South Division. The Bruins’ top rusher for the season was also its quarterback, Brett Hundley, but toward the end of the year they also discovered a hidden offensive gem in freshman linebacker Myles Jack.

 Virginia Tech (8-4) finished with the eighth-best scoring defense (17.4 points allowed per game) but only scored 23.4 per game itself, part of why the Hokies finished in a three-way tie for second place in the ACC’s Coastal Division. QB Logan Thomas has been decent, though his rushing numbers have been down.

 From the Sponsor:  If either of these teams are not able to get their pulse going, Hyndai has a plan.  See the video

AutoZone Liberty Bowl

Mississippi State (-7.5) vs. Rice

When: Dec. 31, 4 p.m. ET

 Where: Memphis, Tenn.

 TV: ESPN

Rice (10-3) navigated a watered-down Conference USA to beat Marshall for its first conference title since 1957. The Owls have a solid run game and a game manager in QB Taylor McHargue, not to mention a defense that has been able to slow opponents down.

 Mississippi State (6-6) won its final two games to reach bowl eligibility, including an overtime victory in the Egg Bowl over Ole Miss. The Bulldogs have been sluggish on offense, but they’re better when dual-threat QB Dak Prescott is moving the ball around.

 Don’t really have anything interesting to say here.  Nothing says Happy New Year like the combination of Rice and Auto Parts.

Chick Fil A Bowl

Texas A&M (-13.5) vs. Duke

When: Dec. 31, 8 p.m. ET

 Where: Atlanta

 TV: ESPN

Duke (10-3) made its first-ever appearance in the ACC title game but got blown out by unbeaten Florida State. Nevertheless, this has been the best season in school history for the Blue Devils, which won the Coastal Division and used a smoke-and-mirrors approach to get to 10 victories.

 Texas A&M (8-4) has the country’s most polarizing player in QB Johnny Manziel, but the Aggies couldn’t do any better than eight wins despite his exploits because of a defense that made it impossible to stop anyone. A&M went 0-4 against ranked teams and allowed 33.5 points per game in wins over four other bowl-bound opponents.

 From the Sponsor:  This game is sponsored by the finest quick service restaurant on the planet.  Though I am not opposed to them being closed on Sundays, I am sure this represents how we all feel every Sunday and everyday for those of you that do not have a Chick-Fil-A in your region. 

If you would like to know more about Chick-Fil-A or prepare your pallet for a delicious chicken sandwich, feel free to check out this video as well. 

Be on the lookout for this in the Georgia Dome during tonight’s game.  The cows are known to terrorize evil burger vendors.

We are 8 games into SABOWL VIII and we have many interesting story lines.  Lets start by looking at some numbers.

Longest Winning Streak:  4 games (Emily and Jonathan)

Longest Losing Streak:  6 games (Christina)

Number of Sabowlers who have had sole position of the lead:  2 (Emily and Rebecca)

Number of Sabowlers who have had sole position of last place:  2 (Michael and Christina)

Combined record of Former SABOWL Champions:  17-23 (Michael, April, Jimmy, Danny and Josh)

Combined record of Former Toilet Bowl Winners:  18-22 (Christina, Josh, Michael, Jim, and Rebecca)

Number of games Remaining:  27

Probability that one person can win or lose all 27 games:  .00000000745

If you picked the underdog in every game, you would be leading with SABOWL with a 6-2 record.

Will Josh Recover to retain the SABOWL in Illinois?

Will Christina Repeat as the Toilet Bowl Winner?

Will Michael become the first 3 time winner after starting 0-4?

So many questions… Only time will tell.

We have 3 games today (Probability of winning all games is .125)

Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman

Marshall (-3.5) Vs. Maryland

Here is a preview courtesy of Bleacher Report

Marshall (9-4) fell at Rice in the Conference USA title game, which would have sent the Thundering Herd to the Liberty Bowl against an SEC team. Instead, QB Rakeem Cato and running back Essray Taliaferro get a much more favorable matchup with an ACC foe.

Maryland (7-5) started the season 4-0, but a bevy of injuries caused the Terrapins to finish fifth in the ACC’s Atlantic Division. When healthy, though, dual-threat QB C.J. Brown (2,583 yards of total offense, 23 total touchdowns) is hard to contain.

Prediction: Marshall 26, Maryland 21

Maryland does have one appearance in the Military Bowl, which they won 51-20 over East Carolina in 2010.  Marshall are Military Bowl Rookies.

Texas Bowl 

Minnesota (-4.5) Vs. Syracuse

Interesting Fact about Texas, they are the top cattle producing state in the United States.  They produce 14.3 % of American Cattle.  I Guess Texas has a lot of Beef.

Here is a preview courtesy of Bleacher Report.

Minnesota (8-4) is looking for its first bowl win since beating Alabama in the 2004 Music City Bowl. The Golden Gophers finished fourth in the Big Ten Legends Division, but their defense kept them in many games despite an inconsistent offense.

Syracuse (6-6) finished fourth in the ACC’s Atlantic Division in its first season since moving from the Big East. The Orange reached bowl eligibility despite a very uneven season, especially on offense, where it rates 104th in passing and 99th in scoring.

Prediction: Minnesota 24, Syracuse 14

More Coming later for Game 3

Good Luck everyone

This game really doesn’t have any implications on the SABOWL.  However, the Toilet Bowl could be clinched by Rebecca with Northern Illinois Victory.  One thing that blows my mind about this is that she is very excited about it.

Sorry for this post being late.  The only thing that matters in tonight’s bowl is Danny Vs. RJ1.

West Virgina Vs. Clemson

Clemson is favored by 3.5

Danny has Clemson

Joe has West Virginia

If Clemson Wins, Danny Will clinch his first career SABOWL Title and become the first non Georgian to win THE SABOWL.  If Joe Wins he will stay alive with a chance to become the 3rd Rookie in 6 years to take home THE SABOWL.  Good Luck to everyone.  By the way one important game note:  Georgia Tech did beat Clemson this year.  I had to say something good about Tech because they didnt give me anything good to say about that loss to utah.  utah? how did that happen?  Sorry for venting in the Orange Bowl post.  Good luck to everyone.