BOWL REVIEW

College football is far and away my most favorite sport to follow. So one last chance to write about it before it goes dormant is tough to pass up. Now that all of the bowl games have been played out, here are some quick thoughts.

If you bet along with the Finerside, you're a winner. Myself, along with all of our staff here (which is still just myself), were 24 - 11 picking bowl game winners. Perhaps there's a future for me being as a bookie after all. My predictions for the two best games were accurate, except I would flip them. I initially had the title game 1, and the Rose Bowl 1A. I realize the championship came down to a last second field goal, but there was little drama in it. Oregon gave up the big play on the final drive early, so the last 90 seconds was mostly Auburn killing the clock, and then kicking the worlds shortest field goal. On the other hand, I felt like the Rose Bowl lived up to all the hype of the David vs. Goliath battle, with David prevailing. TCU proved that they are the real deal, and very deserving of their #2 rank in the final polls. It's just too bad they never had that chance before the bowl season started. Best prediction: TCU. It wasn't Appalachian State over Michigan, but still not too shabby a pick. Worst prediction: Nebraska. My sincere apologies to Washington and Husky Nation. Although everyone I know personally from Husky Nation was drinking heavily in anticipation of the same thing I was. Is it crazy to think the UW football team may have as many road wins as its basketball team?

Best player to leave for the pros: Nick Fairley, Auburn. Not quite as naturally strong as Suh was last year, the man is a game changer as evident in the title game. Best player coming back: Andrew Luck, Stanford. Whenever the sure fire #1 pick returns to your school it's a good thing. Regardless of who Stanford finds to replace Harbaugh at head coach, Luck should continue to shine all year long. Best Team: Oklahoma. Not too many teams go 12 - 2 in what could still be considered a rebuilding year. Next year this team returns a lot of its current roster, and has a top 5 recruiting class on its way in. Scary. Biggest rebuilding team: TCU. I chose TCU for two reasons. One, they lose a lot of their big players. Coach Gary Patterson has to prove if he has built a program, or just one amazing team. Two, TCU makes the move to the Big East where they should still be the top dog, and in return win maybe one or two basketball games all year in conference. The change gives them a better opportunity to climb the rankings though with a higher preseason position, and reach their ultimate goal of making the title game. Hopefully that's enough incentive to return as strong as ever.

The new season is 7 months away, but who cares? With all of the big name coaching changes and conference shakeups, there will be plenty to discuss. Hell, the NFL Network strings people along all year re-airing the draft 5 times a day until its relevant again in November, so why should it be any different for college fans.