Here we go!!! Good news is the quality of the bowl games was generally better than the 1st round of the CFP. Highlights included great stuff like Butch Jones and the Arkansas State Red Wolves pulling off an amazing fake punt and winning their game and some low lights like Cam Ward playing a half for Miami to break a record then sitting the 2nd half. Regardless, the games were a step up from how this started with the CFP!
One note: ZT thinks Greg Olsen looks eerily like that wax figure on the Liberty Mutual commercial ( he must have used the mustache as cover for that commercial!! ) although they seem equal in announcing ability….
Pigskin Accountability: Padre 86-48 ZT 82 – 47
Padre still in the lead and very motivated after his Gators surfed over the Green Wave for a Bowl Victory.
The CFP picks are below, but first a little taste of picks with some nice exhibition bowl games.
Bama vs. Michigan: The Rose Bowl rematch in Tampa. Two teams without their legendary coaches. One team had a player kick a ball after losing to Vandy. The other team had a player plant a flag and start a national debate (we are not a serious people). Neither team is happy about their season. Bowl Games — Ain’t they grand? Michigan is riding high after shocking Ohio St. I am calling that game a fluke. Bama rolls, but a little closer than expected. The Tide wins 30-20.
LSU vs. Baylor: Brian Kelly makes around 10 million a year. Kelly’s Tigahs are in the Texas Bowl. Is this DOGE thing being created by the car and space man going to look at college football salaries as well? Because if my calculations are correct, that’s 1.25 mil a win this season. Heck, I’m cheap! I’ll take just the “.25” per sermon. Anyway, LSU is “efficient” and wins in a surprisingly large fashion. The Tigers take it 38-20.
Ole Miss vs. Duke: Kiffin was known as the Portal King….until Duke reportedly gave a QB 8 million for two years! WHAT?!?! If that’s true, maybe Duke isn’t such a “smart school” after all. This game feels like Deep South Aristocracy vs. Atlantic South Aristocracy. The Deep South takes this one. Ole Miss wins big by a score of 41-16. Then we all wait to see if Kiffin takes the Mayo Bath. I hear it’s good for the hair, Lane!
And now for the playoff games…
Non-funny rant coming first: Last week was trash. No. It was worse than trash. It was the biggest disappointment since the Joker Part 2 (or whatever weird name they gave it). Actually, I have not seen either Joker movie, and I wish I had not seen the football games last week. With that, as far as I can tell, The Joker is a postmodern/nihilistic film that tries to understand (justify?) the dark turn of a person who felt overlooked by society. I know what you’re thinking — what does this have to do with football? Well, last week kind of made me feel that way as a fan! The “committee” said they gave us a playoff, when in realty they gave us an “invitational” that takes care of the conferences and does not reward the deserving. Please don’t feed me dog food and tell me it’s filet mignon. So, I hope they burn this model to the ground and start over. And rule #1 for me? ZERO non-football people allowed in the room making these decisions. Now to the actual games.
Fiesta Bowl — Penn St. vs. Boise: Old Money vs. New Money. Old Unis vs. Blue Turf. More Talent vs. A Great RB. The old money with more talent wins and wins rather easily. Penn St takes down Boise 34-17.
Peach Bowl — Texas vs. Arizona St: Will our first game on Saturday make up for last week and the previous night? Well, they say everything is bigger in Texas……except this prediction. The answer to the question above is “no”. The day starts off boring….again. Texas hooks ‘em hard by a score of 41-13.
The Rose Bowl — Ohio St. vs. Oregon: Will this game FINALLY give us a great CFP moment? Or will it leave us feeling the way Ohio St fans felt after losing to Michigan (😢😭😡🤬😭🤬🤒🤕)? Well, there is no college tradition like the one in Pasadena. It is magical. And I say it gives us our first magical moment of the CFP. In a “Granddaddy of Them All” thriller, the Bucknuts win on a last second field goal by a score of 27-26.
The Sugar Bowl — Notre Dame vs. Georgia: Poor Carson Beck is the Rodney Dangerfield of Georgia football (no respect). And now he is gone for the season. And poor Notre Dame is The Godfather Part III of college football (absolutely amazing in the past and all hype and a huge crash in the present). A lot of people think the Irish can and will win this because of Beck’s injury. But as a Gator, I know Kirby. And sadly, for me, and for Notre Dame, he thrives off being doubted (just go ask Texas). The college football world is tired of Georgia. The college football world is also tired of the Irish Hype Train every year. Yet, I sense the majority of Americans want the Irish to win. And Darth Kirby will blow up their dreams like Alderaan. The new Evil Empire takes down the Empire from the Gilded Age. Dawgs win 27-19.
Gator out!!
ZT notes Christmas is now in the past and 2024 is going away faster than a Baby Ruth bar at Weight Watchers meeting. Enjoy the next few days of food and football before you go back to work and rejoin that same gym you signed up for the past 12 years.
Tuesday Dec 31, 2024
#11 Bama vs Michigan Wolverines ReliaQuest Bowl Tampa 11am
Both 1st year HC’s want ( and NEED!! ) this win. Michigan HC “My” Sherrone Moore ( terrible attempt at The Knack ”My Sharona” reference ZT… ) needs it to add to the OSU victory. Will note RB Donovan Edwards (opting out along with several others for NFL ). Will note Bama RB “No” Justice Haynes is headed to Michigan via the portal along with DT Damon “Major” Payne. Bama HC Kalen “ I’m really not that” DeBoer “ing” just needs a W to avoid the “Sabanite” cult from taking over Bryant Denny Stadium and converting to a PBR Rodeo venue thinking “PBR” in this case meant Pabst Blue Ribbon. He gets the W but will be close. Bama 31 Where’s Harbaugh? 21
Baylor Bears vs LSU Tigahs Kinder’s Texas Bowl Houston 230pm
The Bears are pretty much intact as they make the short trip with HC Dave “not Amanda” Aranda (yep former DC at LSU under Coach O ) from Waco to Houston while Lyin Brian Kelly and the Tigahs have a number of NFL and portal defections. ZT was beaten in the Championship of one of his fantasy leagues by an off the charts performance by Joe Burrow. Below is what was sent to ZT after that beat down and now convinced the “Ghost of Bowl games past” played by J.B. is all the Tigahs need to get the W in this one. Upset Special. Tigahs 34 Smoked Bear Meat. 31
#6 Penn State Nittany Lions vs #3 Boise State Broncos CFP Fiesta Bowl 630pm
These 2 have never played but they do have something in common. Both lost close games to #1 Oregon. Broncos lost in early September 37-34 then ran the table. ZT loves RB Ashton Jeanty with almost 2,500 yds and 29 TDs this season. That said, Broncos appear to be another team in the CFP that has outkicked their coverage a bit. Nittany Lions took care of the ponies from Dallas. Yes at Happy Valley in the cold weather, but still walked them back to their stalls early. Next herd of horses from Idaho will need more than Tom Booker ( ok ZT….know you never saw The Horse Whisper so.. ) to heal them after this one. They just had a weaker schedule and, like SMU & Indiana, that likely won’t play well this week. Broncos fans singing Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses? ( U2 reference ZT? ). It will be PSU HC James Franklin and he will do it bare back with no helmet!! Nittany Lions 35 Horses with no Name. 20
Wednesday January 1, 2025
#5 Texas Longhorns vs #4 Arizona State Sun Devils CFP Peach Bowl 12 noon
ZT loves ASU RB Cam “Not Newton” Skattebo ( you are sure full of love this post season ZT…and also full of some other stuff too ) and the Sun Devils are his favorite “unworthy” team in the CFP. Big challenge for the Longhorns to slow him down (3 TDs in each of last 3 games ) but they have their own 1-2 punch with RBs Wisner and Blue. This simply opens it up for QB “The Mighty” Quinn Ewers to throw for 300 yds+. One note, Texas HC Steve Sarkisian seems to find a way to let the other team keep it closer than Vegas sees it….will be the same in Atlanta. Longhorns 35 Solar Eclipsed demons. 24
#8 Ohio State Buckeyes vs #1 Oregon Ducks CFP Rose Bowl 4pm
Rematch we want to see……on a neutral site and you know the saying “hard to beat a good time twice in the same season..”. Vegas must believe it as the Buckeyes are favored. ZT buys it this time as well. Expect the Buckeye Defense to take care of anything ( ok, most anything ) that QB WIll Howard can screw up. Ducks QB Dillon “the angel” Gabriel will show out a bit and improve his NFL stock but not enough, due to a less than championship caliber running attack, to get the W and move on. Buckeyes HC Ryan Day shaves 1/2 his beard post game and says he will glue it back on when they win the Natty. Leaves the field singing “This is what it sounds like when Ducks Cry” to that Prince music…… Buckeyes 27 Duck Soup 24
#7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs #2 Georgia Bulldawgs CFP Sugar Bowl 745pm
Most intriguing with Dawg QB Carson Beck out with elbow surgery….In comes Gunner Stockton, the truck driving ( 1984 Ford F-150 ) QB from Rabun County Georgia. What’s not to like about this guy ( other than being a BullDawg ) being from a City of under 500 and county of just over 17,000 folks. ( go ahead ZT, SAY IT, SAY IT!! )….ZT loves this guy coming in with his 25 completions and zero TDs with 1 INT. Will note he has decent wheels and has had all the reps since the last game. OK….with that out of the way, ZT loves ( for the umpteenth time this season..) what ND HC Marcus Freeman has done with the Fighting Irish. They are banged up and while many question their strength of schedule, they are in the Quarter finals and likely your team is at home watching reels on Instagram. Pope is all in ( word is in a parlay with Maximus Meridius to kill 3 dudes in under 90 seconds ) on the Fighting Irish and so is ZT. Upset Special! Fighting Irish 28 Dawgs with a bad elbow 27
Thursday January 2, 2025
Duke Blue Devils vs #14 Ole Miss Rebels Gator Bowl JAX FL 630pm
Lane Train Kiffin has 1 real objective in this game. Prove to the CFP Committee..ok, THE WORLD, that the Rebels should have been in the playoffs. At the moment, Rebels more intact than Blue Devils who lost QB Murphy to the dreaded portal. Expect Kiffin and gang to call time outs and score in the last seconds, even if up by 20+, to put an exclamation point on this one. Rebels 38 Just Blue Fans 16
Out till the CFP Semi-finals……..Happy New Years to all and ask first if you end up at Cracker Barrel!!
Pigskin Prognostications by the Piedmont Padre and Zimmern's Twin 