Welcome back to the Funvee Tailgate BLOG, The THUNDERBLOG’s Weekly College Football Series. If you noticed the emphasis on BLOG, that is because this season we have the podcast tying in as well! Due to the holidays and having to hang out with family and whatnot, Matty D and I had to push this week’s podcast back a few days. We’re going to try to have it out to you by Saturday afternoon; just in time for Sunday’s Cold Hard Locks and a preview of Monday’s College Football Playoff matchups. You won’t want to miss it so here’s the iTunes link to go subscribe. In the meanwhile, I’m going to give you my picks for the rest of the Bowl Season slate through Saturday night. LET’S FIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRREEEEEE IT UP!

Bowl Season Week 2 Record:

5-6 ATS, 86-95-6 in 2017. Close but no cigar. EVERY. SINGLE. WEEK.

Bowl Mania Records (Straight Up):

1. Greg “The Propet” Piatelli & Matty D – 15 Points
2. thirdandgirl.com‘s Emily & G-Man – 10
3. JSB — 9
4. Jake Goldberg — 6 (He has forgotten to make picks for about a week now)

Before we get rolling with the picks, here is the link to register for the 2018 PGA season at SportsGeek Fantasy. Like I said on the last pod, it is “Daily Fantasy. All season long.” Be sure to join to compete against Matty D and me. Matt’s a newbie as well so you’ll probably kick his ass.

Bowl Season “Week” 2.5

13 bowl games over the next three days. A LOT of football is coming our way to send 2017 off with a BANG! We’ll get three of the four non-playoff “New Years Six” bowls along with most of the big name programs from the power conferences. Let’s get to it:

• Military Bowl: Virginia (+1.5) AT Navy at 1:30 Thursday on ESPN–Yup, this is a home game for the Midshipmen. Virginia is ice cold coming in having lost four-straight. Navy’s record is the same on paper, but they lost most of their games by small margins against and lost to great teams. Navy wins and covers.
• Camping World Bowl: #22 Virginia Tech (+5.5) vs. #19 Oklahoma State at 5:15 Thursday on ESPN–An electrifying offense against a SOLID defense. Mason Rudolph should be able to open up the Hokie defense enough to get by but VT’s Josh Jackson should keep it interesting. OK State wins but doesn’t cover.
• Valero Alamo Bowl: #13 Stanford (+3) vs. #15 TCU at 9:00 Thursday on ESPN–The solid defense of TCU looks to stop Stanford RB Bryce Love. Love has been banged up all season so I’d think the Horned Frogs have enough to hold him up. TCU QB Kenny Hill’s inconsistencies can be concerning, but three points are enough for a defense to cover. TCU wins and covers.
• Holiday Bowl: #18 Washington State (+1.5) vs. #16 Michigan State at 9:00 Thursday on FS1–Sparty’s defense is their focal point and their key to victory here. Hold up the high-flying WSU offense and hope your offense is enough to get by WSU’s defense. By the way, WSU’s defense is almost as solid as Sparty’s. WSU wins outright.
• Belk Bowl: Wake Forrest (-3) vs. Texas A&M at 1:00 Friday on ESPN–Texas A&M is in complete turmoil, should be an easy pick. Wake wins and covers.
• Sun Bowl: #24 NC State (-6.5) vs. Arizona State at 3:00 Friday on CBS–The Wolfpack ran into a buzzsaw of Notre Dame & Clemson in back-to-back weeks that seemed to derail what would have been a magical run. ASU has had their moments, but their defense will have a tough time keeping themselves in the game. Wolfpack wins and covers.
• Music City Bowl: Kentucky (+8) vs. #21 Northwestern at 4:30 Friday on ESPN–Kentucky had a solid start to the season but limped across the finish line eligible for bowl season thanks to a weak SEC East. Northwestern has been red hot and they should easily SMACK the other Wildcats. Northwestern wins and covers.

• Arizona Bowl: New Mexico State (-4) vs. Utah State at 5:30 Friday on CBSSN–One of a couple filler bowls that gets relegated to CBS Sportsnet. NMSU has a negative point differential while UTSU’s is positive. UTSU wins outright.
• Cotton Bowl Classic: #8 USC (+7.5) vs. #5 Ohio State at 8:30 Friday on ESPN–I’ve been on USC for being incredibly inconsistent all season. Whenever the Trojans face a solid defense, it becomes a loooong night. Ohio State should be able to hold up the Trojan offense while the Buckeye offense simply outpaces them. Urban Meyer is a mastermind during bowl season. Buckeyes win and cover.
• Taxslayer Bowl: Louisville (-6.5) vs. #23 Mississippi State at noon Saturday on ESPN–Louisville put together a solid season but wasn’t close to the main stage in the ACC. The Cardinals’ offense still relies on Lamar Jackson and Mississippi State’s defense is disciplined enough to slow him down. Bulldogs win outright.
• Liberty Bowl: Iowa State (+4) AT #20 Memphis at 12:30 Saturday on ESPN–That’s right, Riley Ferguson and the Memphis Tigers get a home game for their bowl game! Iowa State can boast their multiple upsets but the Cyclones have some bad losses as well. Memphis took UCF to double OT before falling in the AAC Championship. Riley Ferguson has another outstanding day: Memphis wins and covers.
• Fiesta Bowl: #11 Washinton (+2) vs. #9 Penn State at 4:00 Saturday on ESPN–Two fantastic defenses coming head-to-head with dynamic offenses. The PSU tandem of QB Trace McSorley and RB Saquon Barkley have combined to take down other great defenses and nearly did so to both Ohio State and Michigan State. As much as I’ve liked Wash QB Jake Browning, he’s been pretty inconsistent and has struggled in 2017. Honestly, I thought this line should have been bigger. PSU wins and covers.
• Orange Bowl: #6 Wisconsin (-4.5) vs. #10 Miami at 8:00 Saturday on ESPN–Like the previous matchup, there are two powerhouse defenses coming to a head. Unlikely the Fiesta Bowl, the two quarterbacks here have serious turnover concerns. Wisconsin RB Jonathan Taylor should be the difference in the Badgers shutting off the power of the turnover chain. Badgers win and cover.

Keep an eye on Saturday for the newest podcast, either live on YouTube or on iTunes. Make sure to go subscribe to the pod on iTunes and definitely go register for the 2018 PGA season at SportsGeek Fantasy.

(cover photo via)