Post Christmas Bowl Games on Thursday feature two MAC programs in action

Thursday, December 26th Little Caesars Bowl: Bowling Green (10-3) vs. Pittsburgh (6-6) at 5 p.m. on ESPN (HD) The Pitt Panthers are filling in for the B1G role, since the Big Ten didn't have an eligible team to provide for this year, so it is a MAC vs. ACC match up at Ford Field in Detroit. Preview Bowling Green is 4-6 in bowl games. The Green Falcons lost last year's Military Bowl to San Jose State. Pittsburgh is 12-17 in bowl games. This is the sixth straight bowl game for the Panthers, after playing in three straight Compass Bowls, including back to back bowl losses, with the most recent vs. Ole Miss. Poinsettia Bowl: Northern Illinois (12-1) vs. Utah State (8-5) at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN (HD) It will be NIU quarterback Jordan Lynch's swan song for the Huskies, in a battle of MAC and MWC programs at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. Preview Northern Illinois is 4-4 in bowl games. The Huskies lost in last year's Orange Bowl to Florida State and are playing in their sixth straight bowl game. Utah State is 2-5 in bowl games. The Aggies are playing in their third straight bowl game, after winning the Idaho Potato Bowl last year over Toledo.

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

Poinsettia Bowl: Boise State (12-0) vs. TCU (10-2)

Tonight, at 7 p.m. CST on ESPN, the Poinsettia Bowl spotlights the top non-BCS teams, not playing in the BCS bowls this 2008-09 bowl season with the WAC's undefeated team, Boise State Broncos (12-0, Champs in the WAC) vs. the MWC's TCU Horned Frogs (10-2, 2ND in the MWC). While Utah, the MWC champs, represent the non-BCS teams in the BCS bowls, this game clearly is the top non-BCS bowl match up this year.

TCU's only two losses were at Oklahoma and at Utah. Two teams clearly projected better than Boise State. Boise State just wins games, vs. who they have met, including a quality win at Oregon in September.

What gives tonight in San Diego? Boise State is going for their second undefeated season in three years. Last year, the Broncos lost to East Carolina 38-41 in the Hawaii Bowl, while TCU won 20-13 over Houston in the Texas Bowl. Both teams last met in the '03 Fort Worth Bowl, where Boise State beat TCU 34-31. TCU has won three straight bowls, since the defeat to Boise State in '03, while the Broncos are 1-3.

Defense is the spotlight of TCU, Boise State always seems to find ways to typically score points on opponents. This should be one of the better bowl games of the bowl season.

Cidsports prediction:

Boise State 21

TCU 27

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peace