Now that Christmas is over, along with some substandard football games, it is time to look ahead to some real contests, including the CFP Semi-finals!!
ZT had a big Christmas and still recovering from significant portions of many foods as well as a mixture of AmberBocks, some infused Vodka, and a strange path down Natty Seltzer lane!! Have included a few suggestions if your family tries to prevent you from watching any of these games.
Didn’t get anything with Nike on it for Christmas but who cares, when it comes to prognosticating, lets JUST DO IT!!!!..
December 27 – Send your family to get store credit on the Bluetooth Crock Pot from your Great Aunt……
Northrop-Grumman Military Bowl – Annapolis, MD
UNC Tar Heels 27 Temple Owls 28
N-G and Dell have noted they are providing 60 inch Smart TVs to the players…..ZT would recommend EXTREME caution accepting electronics from a Defense Contractor ( watch the movie Enemy of the State for proof ). Both teams are excited to be in a bowl game and expect the key battle to be the Tar Heals passing attack vs. the Owls pass rush. Should be a good contest and ZT believes Temple HC Rod “not Harry or hairy” Carey gets his first bowl win ever ( 0-6 in bowl games losing 5 by 21+!) and UNC HC Mack Brown will be happy because he just wants to have fun like Cyndi Lauper….
New Era Pinstripe Bowl – NYC at Yankee Stadium
Michigan St. Spartans 24 Wake Forest Demon Deacons 17
Ok…Solid Matchup!! BIG10 defense vs. ACC Offense…..Early look says weather not a factor. Wake lost 3 of last 4 in the regular season including dropping the final to a poor Syracuse team. Sparty lost every game in October and early November ( although OSU, Wiscy, Penn St. & Michigan were some of the opponents! ) before bouncing back against a few wimps that reminded ZT of the Nicias-led Athenians around 422AD ( are you kidding me? ZT going to recap Peloponnesian War for his next prognostication? ). Spartans will not be scared by anyone from North Carolina after all that……..Even the band gets in on the act…..
Academy Sports Texas Bowl —- Yes Virginia, it is in Texas! ( Houston )
#25 Oklahoma State Cowboys 24 Texas A & M Aggies 34
Pretty simple deal…….Texans don’t like Okies from Muscogee, or Norman or Stillwater!…Texas A&M HC Jimbo Fisher looking for a solid win behind QB Kellen Mond and RB Isaiah “I drink beer from a sippee cup so I won’t” Spiller after having to play all the top SEC teams with a dose of Clemson on Top! Okie State had a nice run down the stretch but “plans” to play 2 QBs in the Bowl Game, assuming whatever they can do to help RB Chubba “tubthumping” Hubbard run the ball. ZT sees the first SEC team to play a bowl game get a win so everyone can start yelling “SEC, SEC, SEC” early.
SD County Credit Union Holiday Bowl – San Diego, CA
#16 Iowa Hawkeyes 28 #22 USC Trojans 27
What kind of interest rate do you have to charge to sponsor a bowl game??? Fun one as USC wanted to fire HC Clay Helton after a 3-3 start and then he goes 5 of 6 down the stretch and is given a “vote of confidence”…. Trojan QB Slovis has thrown for 400+ in 4 of last 5 games. Will be fun as Hawkeyes are a well-rounded team ( not because they eat lots of corn ) and has the #10 Pass defense in the country. USC early recruiting didn’t go well ( shocker when those 18 year olds think the HC has less life than a used Trojan ) so need a win for the future while Iowa looking for 3-in-a-row for Bowl victories. ZT sees Hawkeyes thawed out enough to play ball and win a close one + also honor longtime HC Hayden Fry by removing the “Tigerhawk” logo that he introduced in 1979 from their helmets…..ZT thinks the reduced drag on the smooth helmet is the difference & rumor is USC is already looking at film for the 2020 kick-off game in Dallas vs. Bama…..
Cheez-It Bowl – Phoenix AZ
Air Force Falcons 35 Washington State Cougars 38
Falcons come in at 10-2 while WSU Cougars and Pirate Mike are .500 (6-6). Love the WSU “Air Raid” vs. Air Force with the flex-bone option attack. Falcons are 3rd nationally in rushing attempts and rushing yards per game. A key will be more ball control than normal to keep Cougars offense off the field. WSU led the country in pass attempts and passing yards per game. ZT sees the passing game being just a little too much for Air Force in this one. The most fun may be watching Leach interact & take a pic with the talking hoop of Cheese after the game……..
December 28 – good time to go to a sports bar after thinking it was appropriate to give your wife/girlfriend exercise gear, a bathroom scale and the 50 shades of gray collection for Christmas……she may speak to you again by the time The Masters is on…..
Camping World Bowl – Orlando, FL
#15 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 27 Iowa State Cyclones 28
2 issues……#1 Pope named all-male camping a mortal sin recently and #2 ND has a new OC in former ND QB Tommy Rees. Good news for Tommy, he will do it from the booth vs. a 2-man pup tent on the sideline. Fun Fact…Rees interviewed for Northwestern OC earlier this month but didn’t make the cut….. Cyclones can put up points as evidenced when they almost made a comeback on OU. ISU Sophomore QB Brock “Grandma says I’m” Purdy is a stud ( not Purdy Grandma! ) with a good arm, good accuracy, and good awareness in the pocket. ZT loves what Matt Campbell is doing at ISU in his 4th season and is calling the upset!!
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic – AT & T Stadium in Arlington, TX
#10 Penn State Nittany Lions 34 #17 Memphis Tigers 24
Which Penn State shows up in Dallas for this one?? Ready to prove a point or just going through the motions of a bowl game? How will Memphis respond to the departure of HC Mike Norvell to FSU who won’t be coaching in this one? Key for Nittany Lions is to pound the Tigers defense like Golden Corral does a steak. Then, they most force Memphis to be an “air-only” offense by shutting down the run. Easier said than done with RB Gainwell at over 1400 yds. this year! ZT LOVES Memphis and noted they beat Cincy 2 weeks in a row to get here, which is impressive….that stated, just think the loss of HC Norvell is a big deal and James Franklin will have PSU ready to go……..
College Football Playoffs!!!! – ZT added the time so you can plug in your calendar, put an “unavailable” on your phone & Facebook status, advise your spouse/significant other it is a good time to either visit their family or put together a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle in the garage….
CFP Semi-Final Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl – Atlanta, GA – 3pm CST
#1 LSU TIGAHS 45 #4 Oklahoma Sooners 34
#1 Tigahs have changed the “LSU = Defense” narrative bringing in a top-shelf offense led by Heisman QB Joe “” Burrow and Baby Rhino RB Clyde “slip & slide” Edwards-Helaire ( although he has been nursing a bad hammy )…….. Defense is still good but gave up 35+ 4 times in 2019 including 41 to Bama! Sooners have worked hard to shore up a defense that has been something between Swiss Cheese and a chain link fence on the US-Mexico border……The OU offense is nothing short of dynamic! Led by former Bama QB and 3-time CFP participant Jalen Hurts. 38-3 as a starter, a solid arm (that has improved under Lincoln Riley) and #20 in D1 rushing yards. Very Nice! One concern, they have been prone to put the pigskin on the turf and you simply CANNOT do this against the Tigahs. Tigahs love pig……and the Chick-fil-A cows will be happy about that as well……
By 7 pm, Sooners will have made a gallant effort but a weaker D and a -2 in Turnover Margin for the game will be the difference…….Tigahs and Coach O will be ready for the 81 mile drive from Baton Rouge to NOLA in a few weeks!
# 1 Christmas Gift in Louisiana – Coach O Devotional Candle
CFP Semi-Final PlayStation Fiesta Bowl – Glendale, AZ – 7pm CST
#2 Ohio State Buckeyes 34 #3 Clemson Tigers 31
More interesting matchup of the CFP……..ZT’s multi-week proclaimed #1 Buckeyes vs. the Rodney Dangerfields’ of college football who have only won 28 in a row and a Natty ( not a Natty Light or Seltzer but National Championship ) under Dabo. And don’t think for 1 minute that Dabo doesn’t LOVE this position. He called the dismantling of Bama in last years game ” a minor miracle by little ol’ Clemson” And this year basically similar. Interesting note, Clemson is 9-1 against SEC teams in their last 10 match ups……another fun fact, Tigers have won 50 in a row when they score first. Clemson is tough….offense led by QB Trevor Lawrence, who won 41 consecutive games in high school and has won all 24 he has started for the Tigers. RB Travis Etienne only has 3,100+ rushing yards in 2 seasons ( no, that is not a typo! ) while WRs Higgins & Ross ( sounds like a law firm ) have combined for 21 TDs and 1,800 yds. receiving. If that isn’t enough, add in a defense ranked #1 in total defense allowing just 10.6 PPG!
Man…why even play this one! Well, it would be because the Buckeyes are undefeated and only 2 teams have come within 14 points of them this year. Those 2? #10 Penn State and #8 Wisconsin……..HC Ryan Day has this squad running on all cylinders! Offense has Heisman candidate QB Justin Fields, RB J.K. Dobbins and its own crew of WRs. Defense? Led by, yes, Heisman candidate DE Chase Young and a group of guys so stingy with yards/points that they make Ebenezer Scrooge look like a philanthropist!
ZT is excited to watch this one and will not allow an “ill-timed” extended family post-Christmas gathering to prevent it ( taking 2 battery packs to the restaurant to keep my ESPN App operational! ). This has the makings of a last team with the ball winning and headed to NOLA…….ZT sees Buckeyes winning on a FG with under a minute to play ( any more time than that and Clemson takes it! ).
ZT taking a break to return the following gifts: Electric bug vacuum, a book titled “You can be comfortable being Plus Sized”, and a Shake Weight with a card that said “In case you get bored when you are traveling….” Back to finish the Bowl Season next week!
Pigskin Prognostications by the Piedmont Padre and Zimmern's Twin 