A few appetizers before the Big Bowls.

Posted by Mike

The time for over indulgence is here. One last feast of football before we begin talking about March Madness and the Braves. Here are what I consider the best games of the next week. Of course the main meal is scheduled for January 10 but until then there are some good appetizers.

Wednesday – Las Vegas Bowl – Boise St. vs. Utah – 8PM - ESPN

On Wednesday mighty Boise State faces Utah in the Las Vegas bowl. Remember when these two were going to upset the BCS apple cart? National mass delusion had us all under a spell, including me. Only when you actually watch BSU you see a very good QB and some skill, but the fundamentals where not what you expect to see from a contender. If your running back takes a hand off like a second grader would with extended hands, you're not a top flight program. If one loss knocks you from BCS challenger to the Las Vegas Bowl, you are a pretender.

Still, it should be a good game.

Thursday – Poinsettia Bowl – Navy vs. San Diego State – 8PM – ESPN

Don't know a whole lot about SDSU, but watching the Middies churn up yardage with the triple option sure is entertaining. Over the course of the season Navy (9-3) played five bowl qualifiers and was 3-2 against them. The Middies lost 14-6 to Air Force (vs. Georgia Tech 12/27) and fell 17-14 to Maryland. They beat SMU 28-21(vs. Army on 12/30), East Carolina (vs. Maryland on 12/29) by the incredible score of 76-35, topped Army 31-17 and of course once again BEAT NOTRE DAME (vs. Miami on 12/31) 35-17.

Monday – Independence Bowl – Georgia Tech vs. Air Force – 5 PM – ESPN2

The good news for GT is there appears to be a solid market for used Independence Bowl jerseys.

The bad news is Air Force (8-4) is a good team that runs the same aggravating offense, and Tech's Joshua Nesbitt is injured and may not play.

The two leading rushers for Falcons are Georgia products, and that is unusual considering the top active ground gainers for Tech are not.

Air Force Running back Asher Clark (Lawrenceville, GA) has gained 1.058 yards on 174 carries for a 5.8 yard per average. As you might expect from a triple option attack the Falcon QB, Tim Jefferson (Atlanta, GA) is the team's second leading rusher with 838 yards on 110 carries and a 5.4 yard per carry average. There are 14 Air Force players from the State of Georgia.

The Jacket's leading rusher Anthony Allen (1,225 yards on 217 carries) is from Tampa, FL, and Nesbitt's replacement Tevin Washington (383 yards on 88 carries) is from Wetumpka, AL. And yes Wetumpka is really the name of the small city north of Montgomery.

There are also two brothers facing off in this one. Roddy Jones plays for Tech and Darius Jones is a sophomore for the Falcons. They grew up in Atlanta.