Dec. 31 Bowl Predictions

Bowl previews for the action on December 31:
CAR CARE BOWL - South Florida vs. Clemson
SUN BOWL - Notre Dame vs. Miami
LIBERTY BOWL - Georgia vs. Central Florida
CHIK-FIL-A BOWL - South Carolina vs. Florida State

Dec. 30 Bowl Predictions

Bowl previews for the action on December 30:
ARMED FORCES BOWL - Army vs. SMU
PINSTRIPE BOWL - Kansas State vs. Syracuse
MUSIC CITY BOWL - North Carolina vs. Tennessee
HOLIDAY BOWL - Nebraska vs. Washington

Dec. 29 Bowl Previews

Bowl previews for the action on December 29:
MILITARY BOWL - East Carolina vs. Maryland
TEXAS BOWL - Illinois vs. Baylor
ALAMO BOWL - Oklahoma State vs. Arizona

Champs Sports Bowl Preview

#22 WEST VIRGINIA (9-3)

vs. NC STATE (8-4)

Dec. 28 -- 4:30 pm MT -- ESPN

Insight Bowl Preview

#12 MISSOURI (10-2)

vs. IOWA (7-5)

Dec. 28 -- 8:00 pm MT -- ESPN

Falcons grind out the W: Air Force 14, Ga Tech 7

AP Photo - Jon Davis ended the game
on a late interception

In an ugly game full of dropped passes and punts, Air Force seized control in the 4th quarter to put away Georgia Tech in the Independence Bowl on Monday.  Struggling to run the ball consistently for most of the game, it was Air Force's final prolonged drive and a late interception that secured their 14-7 win.

Independence Bowl Preview

AIR FORCE (8-4)

vs. GEORGIA TECH (6-6)

Dec. 27 -- 3:00 pm MT -- ESPN2

Tulsa spoils Hawaii's bowl: Tulsa 62, Hawaii 35

For the second straight year, the Hawaii Warriors were blown out on their home field come bowl season. Last year it was the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame who blitzed the Aloha Warriors in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. This year it was the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes, who defeated Hawaii 62-35 in Honolulu last night. Tulsa amassed an amazing six takeaways in the first half to put the Warriors on their back. As the second half continued it was apparent that the Warriors had no chance at stopping the high-octane Tulsa offense.

Hawaii Bowl Preview

#24 HAWAII (10-3)
vs. TULSA (9-3)

Dec. 24 -- 6:00 pm MT -- ESPN

Montezuma's Rise Continues: SDSU 35, Navy 14

Ronnie Hillman was the game's MVP
AP Photo

The San Diego State Aztecs are 2010 Bowl Champions. Say that phrase again, then reminisce on the famine in football success for Aztec football over the past 15 years and you can truly begin to understand the turnaround head coach Brady Hoke has brought to the Red and Black. When Hoke took over two years ago, many wondered whether San Diego State could ever be successful in a Mountain West Conference dominated by upper-tier squads like TCU, Utah, and BYU. For years experts had wondered why SDSU was unable to capitalize on fertile recruiting and perfect weather and produce a winner. Some even questioned whether San Diego State would remain playing Division 1 football. Enter Brady Hoke.

Poinsettia Bowl Preview

NAVY (9-3)

vs. SAN DIEGO ST (8-4)

Dec. 23 -- 6:00 pm MT -- ESPN

Broncos batter Utes: Boise St 26, Utah 3

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Kyle Brotzman's right leg wasn't needed on Wednesday Night during the Maaco Las Vegas Bowl as the tenth-ranked Boise State Broncos defeated the eighteenth-ranked Utah Utes 26-3. The game was surprisingly marred by a number of unexpected turnovers. Both teams failed to capitalize on the game-changing plays and the game was won by the Broncos via simply wearing down the Utes on both sides of the ball.

Las Vegas Bowl Preview

#19 UTAH (10-2)

vs. #10 BOISE ST (11-1)

Dec. 22 -- 6:00 pm MT -- ESPN

St. Petersburg Bowl Preview

SOUTHERN MISS (8-4)

vs. LOUISVILLE (6-6)

Dec. 21 -- 6:00 pm MT -- ESPN

Fresno falters: No Illinois 40, Fresno St 17

Fresno State would like to forget about ever playing in Boise this season.  After suffering a humiliating 51-0 loss earlier this season to Boise State, the Bulldogs were routed on the blue turf again, this time a 40-17 loss to Northern Illinois in the Humanitarian Bowl.

BYU blasts Miners: BYU 52, UTEP 24

A dialed-in Jake Heaps led BYU to a rout of UTEP

BYU's offense and defense came out firing on all cylinders in Albuquerque, and UTEP was helpless to stop them. The young Cougars capped off an impressive second half of the season, defeating UTEP 52-24 on Saturday afternoon in the New Mexico Bowl.

New Mexico Bowl Preview

BYU (6-6) vs. UTEP (6-6)

Dec. 18 -- 12:00 pm MT -- ESPN

Humanitarian Bowl Preview

N. ILLINOIS (10-3) 

vs. FRESNO ST (8-4)

Dec. 18 -- 3:30 pm MT -- ESPN

New Orleans Bowl Preview

OHIO (8-4) vs. TROY (7-5)

Dec. 18 -- 7:00 pm MT -- ESPN

Crunching Numbers: Chris Petersen

You may have seen me on Twitter crunching the numbers for Chris Petersen's tenure at Boise State. Here's a recap:

BYU secures bowl tie-ins for 2012-13

BYU has made deals with the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego and the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl in San Francisco for the 2012 and 2013 seasons respectively.  Click on the post title to link to BYU's press release.

Bowl Mania is here!

Three bowl games kick off Bowl Mania this Saturday! Join our ESPN.com Bowl Mania group here.  Group name is The Upset, password is theupset.  Create your entry and see who comes out on top.  As each bowl approaches, we will be posting our predictions here and share with you what confidence level we assign each prediction.  Join up!

Official: Hawaii to MWC for football

Today, Hawaii officially accepted its invitation to join the Mountain West in football.  The Warriors will take all other sports to the Big West.  ESPN.com's Andy Katz has the full story here.

BYU Announces 2011 Schedule

Our own Zach Bloxham posted a recap of the BYU-TV scheduling broadcast with Cougar AD Tom Holmoe. Click the Title for all the info.

TCU Not Given Its Due

Oh what a difference two weeks make. From a tale of two Non-AQ's in the BCS for a second straight season to a precipitous drop in "Non-AQ" support from the World Wide Leader in Sports, ESPN. What changed? Boise State lost. ESPN has a vested interest in the Broncos and were always placing their plight at the head of its talking points. TCU was simply an afterthought. Then, Boise State lost.

Instead of TCU rising to its rightful place at the pinnacle of analysis on ESPN, they were dismissed outright. From Mark May to Craig James, it seemed the ESPN meme was to treat TCU as if they were an upstart MAC squad. All associated with college football know that there is a bigger gap between the best and worst non-AQ's than the worst AQ and best non-AQ. You wouldn't know that by the way ESPN has treated the Frogs.

Vegas 1st Glance: Bowl Edition

New Mexico Bowl:  BYU (-12) vs. UTEP
Humanitarian Bowl:  Northern Illinois (-3) vs. Fresno State
Las Vegas Bowl:  Utah vs. Boise State (-15)
Poinsettia Bowl:  Navy vs. San Diego State (-2.5)
Hawaii Bowl:  Tulsa vs. Hawaii (-8)
Independence Bowl:  Georgia Tech vs. Air Force (-2.5)
Rose Bowl:  TCU (-2.5) vs. Wisconsin
Kraft Bowl:  Boston College vs. Nevada (-9.5)

MWC and WAC Bowl Schedule

Here's a chronological listing of all the MWC and WAC bowl action for the 2010-11 bowl season.

Week 14 Quick Recap

A rundown of MWC and WAC action in the final week:

MWC Bowl Picture

Utah has just accepted an invitation to the Las Vegas Bowl.  With that, the MWC bowl picture is pretty much set, with only opponents to be played as the unknowns.  Here is how bowls are shaping up for MWC teams: