The Bowl Picture - My Predictions, on the Season So Far, Part 1

There are 32 bowl games this year, so that means we need 64 bowl eligible teams (that don't end up in brawls, anyway - be careful, Clemson-South Carolina). Here's the first of my quick and dirty predictions, looking at the teams today, and predicting their probable outcome.

Poinsettia (MWC 2/3 vs. at-large) - BYU v. Army
BYU seems to be back, but I don't think back enough to win the MWC. Army has got an arrangement with the Poinsettia, so expect a 6-6 Army to get the nod.

Las Vegas (Pac-10 4 vs. MWC 1) - UCLA v. Utah
The Las Vegas Bowl will sponsor a rematch between these two teams, which UCLA won handily the first time 31-10. Let's see how well the rematch will go for them.

New Orleans (Sun Belt 1 vs. C-USA) - La.-Lafayette vs. East Carolina.
The Ragin' Cajuns have actually beat two non-conference opponents (Eastern Michigan and Houston). That's right, the same Houston that came up a point short against Miami. Expect them to win out in the Sun Belt. Meanwhile, Skip Holtz seems to have the Pirates good enough to go 6-6, for 6th place in the C-USA and a bowl trip to New Orleans.

New Mexico (MWC 4 vs. WAC) - Air Force vs. Fresno State
Air Force seems to have reloaded enough to coax out 7 wins this season, while Fresno State needs to stop worrying about the big boys and start winning in conference.

Birmingham (C-USA vs. Big East or MAC) - UAB vs. South Florida
UAB won't quite make it to the top of the C-USA this season, and it'll be hard for the inaguaral Birmingham Bowl to not snag them. Meanwhile, the Bulls will just make the cut, and edge out a potential MAC bowl qualifier out here.

Armed Forces (MWC 2/3 vs. C-USA 4) - TCU vs. UTEP
The Texas match-up. TCU has too much work to do to win the MWC again, and UTEP doesn't seem poised to win out in the C-USA.

6 down, 26 more to go.