It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...For All You Sports Bettors

College football bowl season.

Isn’t it the most wonderful time of the year? I can’t imagine a bigger event to stick right near the end of December, can you? It’s no wonder why people are in the highest spirits around this time.

And for all those who love to gamble on sports, late December to early January presents opportunities to cheer on favorite teams, watch close match-ups and pick games for friendly competition. And friendly competition only, of course.

ESPN had a college football bowl mania special where analyst Jesse Palmer made picks with a confidence number associated with each. In an effort to prove his inadequacy just as much as beat my last year’s win percentage of 85%, I’ve decided to do the same.

Confidence Number                           Match-up (Winning Team )

34                                                        Houston vs. Air Force

33                                                        Central Michigan vs. Troy

32                                                        South Florida vs. Northern Illinois

31                                                        Southern Mississippi vs. Middle Tennessee

30                                                        Nevada vs. Southern Methodist

29                                                        Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee

28                                                        Boston College vs. Southern California

27                                                        Texas A&M vs. Georgia

26                                                        Bowling Green vs. Idaho

25                                                        Michigan State vs. Texas Tech

24                                                        Fresno State vs. Wyoming

23                                                        Kentucky vs. Clemson

22                                                        Oregon State vs. Brigham Young

21                                                        UCF vs. Rutgers

20                                                        Utah vs. California

19                                                        Miami (Fla.) vs. Wisconsin

18                                                        Pittsburgh vs. North Carolina

17                                                        Minnesota vs. Iowa State

16                                                        Navy vs. Missouri

15                                                        South Carolina vs. Connecticut

14                                                        Iowa vs. Georgia Tech

13                                                        Ohio vs. Marshall

12                                                        Arizona vs. Nebraska

11                                                        Arkansas vs. East Carolina

10                                                        Boise State vs. TCU

9                                                          Oklahoma State vs. Mississippi

8                                                          Oklahoma vs. Stanford

7                                                          UCLA vs. Temple

6                                                          Ohio State vs. Oregon

5                                                          Penn State vs. LSU

4                                                          West Virginia vs. Florida State

3                                                          Florida vs. Cincinnati

2                                                          Texas vs. Alabama

1                                                          Northwestern vs. Auburn

I’ve picked a couple upsets. Agree? Disagree?