The bowl games finally start this weekend. Fellow GetSportsInfo.com writer, Jeremy Fischer, and myself have put together our picks including how confident we are in them. In case you've never done a pick 'em game like this before, here's how it works. In addition to picking who you think will win the game, you assign a number to that pick as to how confident you think that pick is going to be right. There are 34 bowl games this year (way too many in most people's opinion, but that's beside the point), so the max number of confidence points you can give to one game is, yep, you guessed it, 34. The game you are least confident in you assign one point too, and fill in everything in between.

A lot of office pools are done like this and make it much more challenging than simply picking a winner for each game. As J-Fish states when it comes to doing a pick 'em game like this, "I have seen many strategies and I prefer the one that calls for using the higher confidence points on the bigger BCS games." He goes on to give his reasons as to why.

"Right or wrong, the larger conference teams get more coverage. The more information that is out there, the better informed pick you can make. The more informed you are, the more confident you'll be about a particular selection." Makes sense right? So picking the BCS bowl games really isn't as difficult as picking some of the more obscure games like the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl between Southern Mississippi and Troy that provide more difficulty in not only picking who will win, but deciding how confident you are in that pick.

J-Fish goes on to say, "Unless you fancy yourself as the next Jimmy the Greek, don't over analyze. The amount of games will definitely lead to paralysis-by-analysis." In my opinion, when it comes to picking some of the lower level bowl games, its almost more of a gut feeling when making that selection than anything else.

With all that said, let's get to the picks. What you'll find below is the bowl schedule starting with the first game on the docket all the way to the National Championship game on January 8th. With each pick you'll see both J-Fish's pick as well as my own with a little bit of analysis and how many confidence points (#) we have assigned to the pick we've made. Let's get to it with a look at the BCS games.

January 1st
ROSE - Penn State vs. USC
JFISH: USC (34) - Too much defense.
DICO: USC (32) - Too much USC! PSU hasn't seen anything like the Trojans this year. Ask OSU how things worked out for them. Plus this is a "home game" for the Trojans.

FEDEX ORANGE - Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech
JFISH: Cincinnati (22) - 1st BCS bowl berth will drive the Bearcats.
DICO: Cincinnati (10) - Special teams could be the difference in this game. Mardy Gilyard for the Bearcats is one of the best in the country in the return game. A chance to finish the season in the Top 10 will push the Bearcats to a win.

January 2nd
ALLSTATE SUGAR - Utah vs. Alabama
JFISH: Alabama (32) - Utah hasn't faced a defense like this.
DICO: Alabama (33) - See JFISH's comments...the Utes will have a hard time stopping the 'Bama offense as well.

January 5th
TOSTITOS FIESTA - Ohio State vs. Texas
JFISH: Texas (33) - Too much speed on defense, and the Horns will be playing angry because of the whole BIG XII, BCS screw job.
DICO: Texas (31) - QB Colt McCoy will be too much even for a good Buckeyes' defense. Terrelle Pryor will see what team speed on defense is all about against the Longhorns.

January 8th
FEDEX BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP - Florida vs. Oklahoma
JFISH: Florida (26) - Tebow/Harvin will find a way.
DICO: Oklahoma (22) - Bradford leads the most potent offense in the country. Even with the loss of DeMarco Murray at RB, the Sooners won't miss a beat. Expect a high scoring affair.

COMPLETE PICKS (ALL 34 GAMES) 

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The crowd was electric last night down at Nippert Stadium and they were treated to a great game. Thanks to Tony Pike having one of his best games and the defense playing strong, the Cincinnati Bearcats (6-2, 2-1 BIG EAST) "upset" the No. 23 ranked South Florida Bulls (6-2, 1-3 BIG EAST) 24-10.

Prior to the start of the game it wasn't certain that Pike would start and it was also announced that Chazz Anderson wouldn't play due to an injury he suffered in the UCONN game. So had Pike not been able to go, the Bearcats would have had to turn to Zach Collaros. No offense to Collaros, but fortunately Pike was able to go. With Pike taking the snaps, the Bearcats offense took on a completely different look than what they had in their last game. They were able to establish the run and stuck to it which helped set up the pass and allowed the 'Cats to run a great no huddle offense.

Pike played the game with a soft cast on his non-throwing arm, which he broke in the game against Akron earlier in the season. He played out of the shotgun for the majority of the game in order to keep from having the ball slam against his hand on a snap and putting pressure on that arm. It proved effective as Pike went 20-for-28 for 281 yards and two touchdowns.

With Pike playing strong, the quarterback carousel may have finally stopped. Because of all the changes over the last few games, the Bearcats had failed to convert on their last 25 third down attempts. Last night they went 5-for-10.

USF came into the game with the eighth ranked rushing defense in the country, allowing just 81.5 yards per game, and the 29 ranked defense overall. The Bearcats gave them a steady does of Jacob Ramsey and John Goebel who ran for a combined 121 yards and one score by Goebel. After only running the ball seven times against UCONN, head coach Brian Kelly knew the Bearcats needed to establish the run. By establishing the run, Pike was able to pick apart the USF secondary. The Bearcats also had success running the bubble screen. On one instance, Pike hit Mardy Gilyard for a 26-yard score. Pike's other passing score came on a one yard over the top pass to former tight end and fan favorite, Conner Barwin.

In my preview of the game, I said that in order for the Bearcats to come away with a win on Thursday night, they would need to shut down South Florida's quarterback, Matt Grothe. And that they did. They picked him off three times, twice off tipped passes. Grothe came into the game having thrown just five interceptions. He was pressured throughout the game and would finish 13-for-31 for 174 yards and no touchdowns. Aside from one amazing run where he should have been sacked at least three times, Grothe was held in check all night.

Senior cornerback Mike Mickens was one of the Bearcats to pick off Grothe. He returned the interception 58 yards only to be tackled by Grothe. The interception was the 13th of Mickens' career at UC, which set an all-time record. The turnover set up the Bearcats' first score of the night.

Coach Kelly asked for the crowd to BLACKOUT the Bulls last night, and to my surprise, the majority of the 31,000 plus in attendance did just that. The only negative I saw from last night was that the game was not a sell out. I realize it was a Thursday night, but it was a nationally televised game on ESPN. It was a little disappointing to see open seats in the stadium last night, but to those that did show up, we were all treated to a great game.

With the win the Bearcats are now bowl eligible. But they're not looking to just make one of those random dot.com bowls, they have their sights set on the BIG EAST title. A win last night kept them in the hunt for just that. They have a tough stretch of games coming up in their next three. They travel to West Virginia next week and then on the road again against Louisville. Their next home game comes on November 22nd when Pittsburgh comes to the 'Nati.

College Football tony pike, cincinnati, bearcats, south florida, chazz anderson, zach collaros, jacob ramsey, john goebel, brian kelly, mardy gilyard, conner barwin, matt grothe, mike mickens

The four letter network rolls into the 'Nati tonight to see the Cincinnati Bearcats (5-2, 1-1 BIG EAST) take on the No. 23 ranked team in the country, the South Florida Bulls (6-2, 1-2 BIG EAST). Both teams are coming off disappointing losses. UC lost to UCONN this past Saturday, 40-16, while USF suffered a heartbreaking loss to Louisville, 24-20. This is a huge game for both teams with BIG EAST Conference title implications at stake. The team that loses is likely to be out of the hunt for the conference crown, thus taking them out of any shot at a BCS bowl game.

UC has won three of the five meetings between the two teams. They've won three of the last four including coming away with a "W" in each of the last two games they've played USF in Nippert Stadium. UC came away with a victory in Raymond James Stadium last season by a score of 38-33.

The Bearcats come into this game with some questions on the offensive side of the ball. It was thought that season starting quarterback, Dustin Grutza (broken leg), would be back in time for the game against USF. To this point, it doesn't look like that's going to happen. Tony Pike (broken arm) came back last week in their game against UCONN but looked rusty and out of sorts. He was replaced by redshirt freshman Chazz Anderson when the second half started. Anderson didn't fare much better against the Huskies. As of right now Pike is a gametime decision. If he is able to go, he will get the starting nod. If he's unable to go, head coach Brian Kelly will turn again to Anderson to see if he can get the job done.

USF doesn't have any worries when it comes to their quarterback situation. Junior Matt Grothe is one of the most underrated players in the country at his position. He's 104 yards away from 2000 yards passing this season. He's thrown 14 TDs and only five interceptions and he's ran in three scores as well. He plays a tough, gritty style of game. One minute he'll throw the ball deep down field, the next he'll take off running and isn't afraid to take a hit from defenders. If the Bearcats want to come out of this game with a win, they're going to have to stop Grothe from beating them. If they can keep him in check and get him rattled and keep him from hitting his two primary targets in senior wideout Taurus Johnson and junior Jessie Hester.

Odds are UC cornerback Mike Mickens will be responsible for keeping Johnson from making any big plays. Mickens needs just one interception to break the all-time career mark at UC with 13. In addition to Mickens, another player on the defensive side of the ball that USF will have to keep tabs on is Conner Barwin. He leads the BIG EAST with seven sacks and is ranked 10th nationally. He's also blocked a few punts this season which makes him dangerous on special teams as well.

The Bearcats face a tough task tonight. Not only will they have to find a way to stop Grothe, but they will also have to find a way to move the ball on the ground against the eighth ranked rushing defense in the country. The USF defense is only allowing 81.5 yards rushing per game this season. Last week the Bearcats only ran the ball SEVEN times, something they cannot afford to do again this week. They need to attempt to establish the ground game with Jacob Ramsey and John Goebel in order to buy time for either Pike or Anderson or whomever may be taking the snaps.

The game starts down at Nippert Stadium at 7:30 tonight. Coach Kelly is asking for a BLACKOUT on the eve of Halloween. He wants every fan coming down to the game to wear black. UC even had a special shirt made up just for this game that could be purchased on campus. The question is, how many people will really be wearing black tonight? "There's nothing like a night game in Nippert Stadium," Kelly says. "Having 35,000 Bearcats fans in our house and dressed in black will make a statement to the nation that UC football is a force."

For a nationally televised game, hopefully everyone heading down will adhere to Kelly's wishes and COME EARLY! BE LOUD! WEAR BLACK!

College Football cincinnati, bearcats, south florida, dustin grutza, tony pike, chazz anderson, brian kelly, matt grothe, taurus johnson, jessie hester, mike mickens, conner barwin, jacob ramsey, john goebel, espn

The Bearcats are off this week. Their next game is next Saturday at UCONN. Its at that game that QB Tony Pike is slated to return. Pike has been out since the fourth week of the season when he broke his forearm/wrist on his non-throwing arm in the game at Akron. Should Pike return it would provide a nice boost to the Bearcats who have been rolling with redshirt freshman Chazz Anderson behind center.

Anderson has played well in both games he's started, at Marshall and at home against Rutgers last weekend. While he did make typical freshman mistakes, Pike is a definite upgrade at the position and provides much more stability. Pike stepped into the starting role after Dustin Grutza broke his leg in the second game of the season against Oklahoma. Pike played sparingly last season, typically spelling starter Ben Mauk when games were out of hand and the Bearcats had a sizable lead. So stepping into the starting role when Grutza went down wasn't a hard transition.

On the flip side, the Bearcats transition from Pike to Anderson wasn't quite as easy. In Anderson's two games he hasn't done anything to hurt the 'Cats, but he doesn't have that big play ability yet like Pike and/or Grutza do. He may have played his last game for the Bearcats this season, but at least head coach Brian Kelly and UC fans know that if Grutza or Pike aren't able to play, there's another QB worth his salt to take the snaps.

In other Bearcats' QB news, Grutza is projected to return from his injury for the game on October 30th against South Florida. The game is at 7:30PM and will be televised on ESPN. On that night coach Kelly is asking that the UC fans "Blackout the Bulls." Fans are to wear all black to show their support for the Bearcats. "There's nothing like a night game at Nippert Stadium," Kelly stated. "Having 35,000 Bearcats fans in our house and dressed in black will make a statement to the nation that UC football is a force." Bearcat football is definitely on the rise in the nation and with the continued support of the fans in Cincinnati, they'll continue to grow and get national recognition.

College Football cincinnati bearcats, uconn, tony pike, chazz anderson, dustin grutza, ben mauk, brian kelly, south florida

I will be avoiding College Gameday this week like the plague.  I don't want to get caught in another (what I'm now calling) "Herbie Goes Bananas" situation.  In last week's Wrap, I noted that Herbstreit had said that "the only thing that can beat USC, is USC", and for the first time in four years I actually agreed with Herbie.

No more.  No sooner than I agree with Herbstreit does USC goes out and get beat by Oregon State.  Or by themselves, should I say.  That wasn't the only surprise last Saturday either, as we got the first major shakeup in the Power Rankings.

1. Oklahoma:  I have noted several times in this column that I am a proud Texas graduate.  Since Week 1, I have said how much it has pained me to say that the Sooners were the legitimate No. 2 team in the nation.  So you can imagine how placing them at No. 1 in the nation is especially painful.

2. Missouri:  DNP.  We're about to find out how good these guys are.  Nebraska, Oklahoma State and Texas all in a row, starting this weekend.

3. Alabama:  I said two weeks ago that the SEC needed to watch out for the Crimson Tide because Saban's boys were coming, and coming hard.  I should have said coming fast.  That beat-down of the 'Dawgs was very, very impressive.

4. LSU: The Tigers playing Florida and Georgia in two of the next three weeks looked a lot more impressive before last Saturday.  Now November the 8th needs to be circled on your calendars.  The Tigers and the Crimson Tide should be a barnburner.

5. Texas:  My beloved Longhorns are quietly lurking in the shadows.  If the 'Horns get by Colorado this Saturday, then you have a Top 5 Red River Rivalry with Boomer Sooner in two weeks.  Texas, Texas, Yeee-haw!

6. Penn State: Call me officially intrigued.  Another nice game against a ranked Illinois team.  Then take into account that the Nittany Lions rolled up 45pts. on an Oregon State team that just beat USC, and I'm starting to believe that Penn State might have enough to get the Big Ten crown this year.

7. BYU:  DNP.  Let's be honest here.  You need to start paying attention to the Cougars.  They will be your BCS Buster for 2008.  So  you may now start asking yourselves which major conference team will get the shaft.

8. USC:  The 'Men of Troy' looked more like the Trojan Women, especially when it came to stopping Oregon State RB Jacques Reeves.  But I still think that USC will be rearing it's mohawked helmet near the top of the rankings again by year's end.

9. Georgia:  Most have the 'Dawgs right at No. 10 or lower.  But I believe this butt-whupping was a huge wake-up call.  They just have too much talent to go into the tank now.

10. South Florida:  Talk about a team that went under the radar for the first month of the season.  An unblemished record, a quality win against Kansas and three of the first five on the road.  Nice work.

DORM NOTES

--You might notice that all major rankings have Texas Tech in the Top 10, yet the Wrap does not.  Sorry, but I can't take any Mike Leach coached team seriously when the first four games on the schedule are Eastern Washington, Nevada, SMU and UMass.  Seriously?  This is college football, not college basketball Mike.

--What a disappointing turn-of-events for ECU.  Another unexpected loss this past weekend, and now, after a promising start, they're out of the Top 25.

--Anybody seen the conference formerly known as the Pac 10?

--It's good to see that Bobby Petrino didn't let that brief stint in the NFL change him.  His teams still can't play any defense.  In their only two games against quality opponents (Alabama and Texas), they allowed 49pts and 52pts respectively.

--Lastly, a special salute to Oregon State RB Jacques Reeves for his performance against the Trojans.  For those who aren't in the know, Reeves is a supremely talented kid out of Houston, Texas (my hometown).  Although he put up mind-boggling stats in high school, he was never recruited by any of the big boys.  That was an especially hard pill to swallow when he  was told by all the in-state schools that his services weren't needed.  Why, you might ask, wasn't he recruited?  Hidden medical condition?  Off field shenanigans?  Nope.  He committed the incredibly horrendous offense of being short.  No one wanted him because Jacques Reeves is only 5'6" tall.  Or small, I should say.  I'm guessing that after his 189-yard, 2 TD performance against USC, some of those coaches are now kicking themselves (preferably in the groin). As NBA superstar, LeBron James, said when asked recently about Davidson guard Stephen Curry's stature, "if you can play, you can play."  Jacques Reeves can play.

College Football oklahoma, missouri, alabama, lsu, texas, penn state, usc, georgia, south florida, texas tech, east carolina, bobby petrino, oregon state, jacques reeves

In week 2, I predicted Miami (Fl.) would hold there own vs. Florida, and up till the 4th. qtr. began they did. OSU struggled a bit more than anyone would have thought against OU. UC realized they may only be half (52-26) as good as Oklahoma, and Michigan should have lost against Miami. This week, the matchups appear to be a bit more intriguing. I will save the best for last...

Kansas 37 South Florida 27-  The little QB that could, Todd Reesing, will lead his 2-0 Kansas Jayhawks this Friday night against #19 South Florida. Reesing is coming off a season where he threw for 3,400+yards, 33tds, and Kansas was the darlings of the Big 12. This season they try to better their performance and South Florida will have their 1st real test Friday. Coach Mangino and his Jayhawks will be without 2007s leading receiver Dexton Fields for this game. But don't fear, look for WR Dezmon Briscoe to step up and continue with his great 2008 start. South Florida just managed to sneak by a Kevin Smith-less UCF last week and this week won't be any easier. Super Man, lil' Tebow, 1 man show, whatever you call him, Matt Grothe has been USFs offense for the past couple of years. For those that don't remember, last year QB Matt Grothe threw for 2,670 yards, 60% completion percentage, 14tds passing, 10tds rushing, led the team with 198 rushing attempts, and led the team with 872 rushing yards. I am not sure what would happen to this team if Grothe went down. This offense was designed for him, but he can't do it all forever. The last big test SFU had was last years bowl against a Dennis Dixon-less Oregon and they were blown out 56-21. Grothe, struggled in that game. When Grothe struggles, SFU loses. This week, Kansas, even without Aqib Talib, will be able to control Matt Grothe and South Florida enough to pull out a win. 

Michigan 24 Notre Dame 23- This is a hard one for me to pick. It is honestly a tossup to me. Both teams will probably struggle to sniff .500 this year, but this game will always be special to me. So much tradition and pride is wrapped in this game. I am not exactly sure how I even expect UM to score 24 points, but I am hoping they do it with Steven Threet at QB and Sam Mcguffie/Mike Shaw at RB. Mcguffie and Shaw are about the only spark in the Wolverines offense. If the o-line can block well enough, and if Coach Rodriguez can rally the troops, I can see UM pulling this out in South Bend.  Sunshine, from Remember the Titans (google it), must have decided to transfer to Notre Dame and play QB. Jimmy Claussen (until Terrell Pryor came along) was the most hyped QB I have ever heard of when he came into ND last year. Claussen is a very talented QB, but just like former ND QB Brady Quinn, if Claussen gets rattled, it's hard for him to come back and regain his composure. If Brandon Graham and co. can apply pressure to Claussen, I have no doubt that Michigan will win on Saturday. The question will be can the Michigan offense put the ball in the hands of the play makers they do have. The talent on offense is there, but the handicap is at QB. Hopefully at the end of the day on Saturday, the sun will not shine for ND.

Georgia 31 South Carolina 17- Yes, I know that SC beat Georgia last year at Georgia 16-12. I also know that Knowshon Moreno only ran 14 times that day. With a national championship dream on the line, Matthew Stafford will lead his offense into South Carolina with a lot to lose. The 'ole ball coach is in for a rude awakening  when Moreno runs all over his gamecocks. Look for Mohamed Massaquoi to have another big game. Coming off a loss at Vandy last week, S.C. will be looking to bounce back, unfortunately they will fall below .500 before next weeks titanic struggle against mighty Wofford. Look, this has the making to be a season changer for S.C. and they will play their hearts out, but I just don't feel that Tommy Beecher, Chris Smelley, hell even Steve Taneyhill (google it) would have a chance to beat Georgia this weekend. I predict that S.C. keeps it close up till half time. After that, UGA rolls on...

 Now for the big one...

OSU 34 USC 31- OSU will have Beanie, stop worrying. This is a game that I have been waiting for for quite some time. Not because I am a OSU fan, because I am not, but this is a chance to, for at least a week, put the Big 10 back where it belongs. On top. As a die hard Michigan fan, it kills me to pick them, but I think the Vest will have his troops ready for USC. The pressure is on USC. They are at home, 10+ point favorite, OSU is expected to lose and to even some, lose big. You don't think the Vest has told his players all this? They are going to play the game of their lives and trust me anything less, will result in a loss. USC may have more talent and may even be faster at some positions, but the experience and talent that OSU has will trump USC. Also, Sanchez has never seen a defense like this before. James Laurinaitis will make his presence known early and often. If Todd struggles Saturday night, which I expect him to, look for Pryor to take the field more often than you would hope he would have to. Pryor loves the spotlight. He loves to showcase his talent on the biggest stage possible, and it will never get any bigger any sooner for Pryor than under the lights in Southern California. The nation will take notice, and OSU will move towards the #1 spot once again. The Vest has got to win this game because he knows that if they lose to USC, even if OSU wins out after the loss, the chance that the voters will take a 3rd chance on putting OSU in the national championship will be slim. Win this one for the conference. 

College Football kansas, south florida, michigan, notre dame, georgia, south carolina, ohio state, usc