Stanford favored by 4-1/2 over Michigan State in Rose Bowl

Over in Vegas, the bookies have #5 Stanford as a 4-1/2 point fave over #4 Michigan State. Perfect - just the way we Spartans like it.  Here is the lineup for all the Big Ten bowl matchups (NOTE: all times are ET and pm):

Bowl	Matchup	Date/Time	TV	Line
Texas	Minnesota vs Syracuse	12/27, 6:00	espn	Minn by 4-1/2
B-Dubs	Michigan vs Kans St	12/28, 10:15	espn	Kansas St by 3-1/2
Gator	Nebraska vs Georgia	1/1, 12:00	espn2	Georgia by 9
Capital One	Wisconsin vs S. Carolina	1/1, 1:00	abc	Wisky by 1
Outback	Iowa vs LSU	1/1, 1:00	espn	LSU by 7-1/2
Rose	Michigan St vs Stanford	1/1, 5:00	espn	Stanford by 4-1/2
Orange	Ohio St vs Clemson	1/3, 8:30	espn	Ohio St by 2-1/2

Quick Guide & predictions for the New Year Day Bowls

God I love January 1 bowl games. It's just so much damn fun to watch, with or without Michigan State playing.  Today's lineups are:

• Gator (noon, ESPN2):  Mississippi State vs Northwestern.  ES picks the Purple.
• Heart of Dallas Bowl (noon, ESPNU):  Purdue vs Oklahoma State.  ES picks the Okies.
• Capital One Bowl (1 pm, ABC):  Georgia vs Nebraska. ES picks UGA.
• Outback (1 pm, ESPN):  South Carolina vs Michigan.  ES picks his place of birth in the heart of Dixie.
• Rose Bowl (5 pm, ESPN):  Wisconsin vs Stanford.  ES picks the Trees.
• Orange Bowl (8 pm, ESPN):  Northern Illinois vs Florida State.  ES picks the Bowdens. 

And, other predictions:

• Biggest blowout:  Oklahoma State vs Purdue.
• Best game: Northwestern vs Miss State. 
• Biggest potential upset:  Wisky over Stanford, with Alvarez as coach he might do what Bielema couldn't.
• What ES will be watching:  Dallas, Gator, Rose, Outback. 
• Best guarantee of ES rooting for:  South Carolina over Michigan.
• Prediction of Big Ten in bowls:  2-5; 2 wins (MSU, Northwestern), 5 losses (Minny, Wisky, Purdon't, Corn, Maize). 

Hope everyone had a great 2012 and a happy and safe new year's. 

TCU favored by 2 1/2 over Michigan State in B-Dubs Bowl; Gifts to players; Bielema to Arkansas

The Michigan State Spartans (6-6/3-5) are 2-1/2 pt underdogs vs Texas Christian (7-5/4-5 Big 12) in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl.  Kickoff is on Dec. 29 at 10:15 pm ET... which is great, because the ES will be returning late from Indianapolis on that date.

VEGAS ODDS
The over-under for the B-Dubs bowl is 41-1/2 points.  Other games of note:

• Western Kentucky is favored by 6 over CMU in the Little Caesars Bowl (Dec. 26)
• Texas Tech is favored by 13 over Minnesota in the Meineke Car Care Bowl (Dec. 28)
• Oklahoma State is favored by 17 over Purdue in the Heart of Dallas Bowl (Jan. 1)
• Mississippi State is favored by 2 over Northwestern in the Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl (Jan. 1)
• South Carolina is favored by 4-1/2 over Michigan in the Outback Bowl (Jan. 1)
• Stanford is favored by 6-1/2 over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl (Jan. 1)
• Georgia is favored by 10 over Nebraska in the Capital One Bowl (Jan. 1)
• Alabama is favored by 9-1/2 over Notre Dame in the BCS Title Game (Jan. 7)

That's right, not one Big Ten team is favored... but if I were to pick one, I'd pick Northwestern, or Michigan State... 

CAN DANTONIO TELL TIME?  GIVE HIM A B-DUBS WATCH
Hopefully, there won't be any poor time management like earlier this season in the Iowa game as the team scrambled on and off the field before half, missing a FG opportunity.  The B-Dubs bowl is taking care of that, giving every player a Fossil Watch with an embroidered BWW logo, as well as a fancy backpack (each NCAA participant can claim up to $550 in benefits/prizes from a bowl game... the Wolverines get a $420 shopping spree at BestBuy for playing in the Capital One bowl). 


BRET BIELEMA TO ARKANSAS
And, can you believe Bielema jumping ship from Wisconsin to Arkansas?  That's what $3.2 million a year will buy you.  Bielema will replace interim John L. Smith... what a pair those two make.  ES never liked Bielema, moreso because he was such an idiot of a coach - a great recruiter, but just a poor X's and O's guy, and he's a terrible chess player.  Too bad, because MSU played Wisky pretty well and often took advantage of Bielema napping... 

MSU a Legend; Big 10 now called B1G

OK. Announcement out of Big Ten HQ today... The ES likes the division names, hate the new, UNC Powder Blue colored logo. B1G is clever but the font is sinful. But who cares really? The Legends Division is a brutal football division, while the Leaders Division looks to have a stronger men's hoops base.

LEGENDS: Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern

LEADERS: Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Wisconsin.

Let's get real. Why don't we change the name to the Big Twelve?

Bowl Preview: ESPN picks Alabama over Michigan State

ESPN had its bowl preview last night, with pundits (Robert Smith, Todd McShay, some other punk) giving 19, 25, and 29 confidence points to Alabama to win over Michigan State. Fine. But what was wrong with the presentation? It only discussed Alabama, had nothing to say about the Big Green. Sigh. We still have a ways to go for respect, Spartan fans...

Alabama favored by 11 over Michigan State; Big Ten is Underdog in 7 of 8

The bookies in Vegas are making Alabama a decided favorite over Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl. The Crimson Tide are favored by 10 1/2 to 11 points by all the bookies...

Ohio State is the only Big Ten favorite in the bowls, as a 3 pt favorite over Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl. All the other Big Ten teams are underdogs: TCU is favored by 2 1/2 over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl, Florida is favored by 7 over Penn State in the Outback Bowl, Mississippi State is favored by 6 over Michigan in the Gator Bowl, Texas Tech is favored by 9 1/2 over Northwestern in the Dallas Football Classic, Missouri is favored by 1 over Iowa in the Insight Bowl, Baylor is favored by 2 over Illinois in the Texas Bowl.

I don't see that holding -- Big Ten will win at least half its bowl games...