Holiday Weekend Picks

I know not too many people are going to spend their Christmas weekend checking the blog so I will keep another 2,500+ word column to myself until next week! I want to wish everyone and their families a wonderful Christmas and Happy Holidays!

There are two bowl games and two NFL games to be played before Sunday, here are my picks. I will have another short post up Sunday morning with the rest of my NFL selections.

Thursday, December 23rd

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl – San Diego, CA

Navy (+3) over San Diego State – Interesting match-up here with very contrasting styles. Navy runs their patented triple-option offense (5th in the nation in rushing) while San Diego State features a downfield aerial attack (11th in passing) while neither team is particularly adept at stopping the other team’s strength. The edge here goes to the Midshipmen as the Aztecs have not seen their offense before. I expect a close one and those three points could come in handy.

Friday, December 24th

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl – Honolulu, HI

Hawaii (-10) over Tulsa – This should be some good Christmas Eve entertainment as these teams can put up some points with both teams averaging nearly 40 points per game. The big difference in this one is that Hawaii can actually play some defense. Tulsa has the country’s second worst passing defense taking on Hawaii’s number one ranked passing offense, not a very good recipe for Tulsa fans. Besides, how could Tulsa really concentrate on this game while vacationing in Hawaii.

NFL Selections

Thursday

PITTSBURGH (-15) over Carolina – Pittsburgh gets the award for biggest line of the year so far and with good reason, Carolina stinks. Despite its win last week, a win that can only hurt the Panthers in their quest for the top overall draft pick, Carolina has still lost five of its past seven games by 15 or more points. I see that trend continuing tonight as the Panthers will be ready to board the plane at halftime in the cold and snowy weather in Pittsburgh. Ben Roethlisberger is also due for a big night after not having one since week 11.

Saturday

Dallas (-7) over ARIZONA – I just got done saying how bad Carolina is and the fact that they beat Arizona last week should have probably told you where I was leaning in this one. Dallas continues to play well under interim coach Jason Garrett (although they killed everyone last week allowing Washington to come back and cover that game). I see no reason why that shouldn’t continue on Christmas Night as they take on the Cardinals and whatever guy they can pull off the street to play quarterback this week.