The Christmas fest is complete; now, more College Bowls to digest for the season!

Hopefully, everyone had a very, merry Christmas with family and friends ...

We were pleased with both Utah and SMU in their respective bowl wins in the Poinsettia and Hawaii bowls, respectively ...

Wed., Dec. 23: Poinsettia in San Diego, Mountain West vs. Pac-10, Utah 37, California 27
Thu., Dec. 24: Hawaii in Honolulu, C-USA vs. WAC, SMU 45, Nevada 10

Saturday, December 26, 2009, there three more bowl games up for display, all on ESPN ...

• Sat., Dec. 26 at 12 p.m. Central Time
  Little Caesars Bowl from Detroit
  MAC vs. Big Ten (C-USA fills the Big Ten void): Ohio U vs. Marshall
• Sat., Dec. 26 at 3 p.m. Central Time
  Meineke Car Care Bowl from Charlotte
  ACC vs. Big East: North Carolina vs. Pittsburgh
• Sat., Dec. 26 at 7:30 p.m. Central Time
  Emerald Bowl from San Francisco
  Pac-10 vs. ACC: Southern California vs. Boston College

Our Picks for Saturday, December 26, 2009:

• Ohio U. 30, Marshal 24
• North Carolina 33, Pittsburgh 28
• Boston College 28, USC 25

peace

Meineke Care Care Bowl: West Virginia (8-4) vs. North Carolina (8-4)

For the past three years, the ACC has owned the Big East in the Meineke Car Care Bowl, with the exception of '06 when the ACC's BC beat Navy, with a pair of 14 point wins. This year, West Virginia Mountaineers (8-4, tied 2ND in the Big East) vs. North Carolina Tar Heels (8-4, tied 3RD in the ACC Coastal Division) will square off in the 2008 Meineke Car Care Bowl.

The Mountaineers are going for the fourth straight bowl win, after beating Oklahoma 48-28 in last year's Fiesta Bowl. The Tar Heels haven't played in a bowl game, since 2004, when the sponsor title was Continental Tire here in Charlotte. The Tar Heels lost to then Big East and now ACC foe Boston College, 24-37. The only ACC lost in the series. The Mountaineers lost to Virginia in the '02 game 22-48 to Virginia.

So, something is going to break for one of the opponents in this game. Momentum doesn't appear to be on either team's radar right now. West Virginia was the near-consensus pick to win the Big East this year, while North Carolina's two game slide at the end of the season cost the Tar Heels an opportunity ACC championship game.

So, will the outcome of the 2008 Meineke Car Care Bowl resemble the 1998 Gator Bowl? Why not?

Cidsports' prediction

West Virginia 13

North Carolina 20

cidsports

peace