
Happy New Year!! The Doofus household partied until the wee hours New Years eve. The party actually started on Friday when we went downtown to see the Pistons lose to the Hawks. The kids were there to see 2 Chainz. “You getting Mad….I’m getting rich” and a lot of lyrics that would get me fired at work. I like that.
The highlight of the day was Saxy Lady being an unheralded heroine. Someone in the next section over collapsed suddenly, banging his head on the cement. People stood up yelling for help but no one actually helped the guy. Saxy Lady pushed us out of the way, rushed over and gave him the CPR protocol. He had stopped breathing for a short while and appeared dazed. She thinks that he had a seizure. First reponders finally arrived and took him to the hospital (over his protestations). Made for a dramatic ending to a sloppy BBall game.
We then went over to a local watering hole to watch FSU hold off Michigan. scUM almost pulled it off when they blocked the PAT and ran it back to cut the lead to 33-32. But as they are want to do – scUM lost a big game. No idea who Harbaugh is blaming for this loss.
We toasted in the New Year with a nice bottle of champagne brought down by Bruce and Mrs Bruce. They were here early to watch Georgia Tech take down Kentucky.
The Doofus Deck was going full blast since at the same time we were watching LSU obliterate Louisville, Liverpool down Man City and the Jackets upset the Heels in basketball. Every game went the right way and everyone ended the New Year on a high note. Well, except may be Ellis and his Heels – What was that all about?
It’s down the the final college games of the year. The normal New Years day games are being played on the 2nd this year because the 1st fell on a Sunday. All things big and small must defer to the NFL. All hail the League!
Four games are on tap today starting with
The highlight of the day was Saxy Lady being an unheralded heroine. Someone in the next section over collapsed suddenly, banging his head on the cement. People stood up yelling for help but no one actually helped the guy. Saxy Lady pushed us out of the way, rushed over and gave him the CPR protocol. He had stopped breathing for a short while and appeared dazed. She thinks that he had a seizure. First reponders finally arrived and took him to the hospital (over his protestations). Made for a dramatic ending to a sloppy BBall game.
We then went over to a local watering hole to watch FSU hold off Michigan. scUM almost pulled it off when they blocked the PAT and ran it back to cut the lead to 33-32. But as they are want to do – scUM lost a big game. No idea who Harbaugh is blaming for this loss.
We toasted in the New Year with a nice bottle of champagne brought down by Bruce and Mrs Bruce. They were here early to watch Georgia Tech take down Kentucky.
The Doofus Deck was going full blast since at the same time we were watching LSU obliterate Louisville, Liverpool down Man City and the Jackets upset the Heels in basketball. Every game went the right way and everyone ended the New Year on a high note. Well, except may be Ellis and his Heels – What was that all about?
It’s down the the final college games of the year. The normal New Years day games are being played on the 2nd this year because the 1st fell on a Sunday. All things big and small must defer to the NFL. All hail the League!
Four games are on tap today starting with

Outback Bowl – Florida -2.0 vs Iowa [Pick 1 - Fla 6] [Pick 2 – Fla 20] – The Big Ten still has a chance to redeem itself after stepping all over their Johnson with the Ohio State and Michigan beat downs.
Florida’s defense will try to redeem itself after two disappointing performances. Florida allowed 14 or fewer points in eight of its first 10 games to earn a spot in the SEC Championship game then it gave up 85 combined against rival Florida State and Alabama in the last two. Gators defensive coordinator Geoff Collins was hired as the new coach at Temple last week and former Miami (Fla.) coach Randy Shannon will run the defense against Iowa. So far new coordinators have not had much success in the Bowls.
The Hawkeyes conversely are coming in on a winning streak with consecutive victories over Michigan, Illinois and Nebraska to end the regular season. The defense stepped up after a 41-14 loss at Penn State, allowing 23 total points in the last three games,
To say Florida is offensively challenged would be an understatement. The Gators finished the regular season ranked next to last in the SEC and 115th in the FBS in total offense.
Believe or not, Iowa’s offense has fared even worse statistically than Florida’s, as the Hawkeyes are 120th in total offense at 333.3 yards per game. They have managed a little better when it comes to scoring (26.8 ppg), but that’s still only good enough to rank 77th among FBS teams.
This should be a low scoring game but every time I am just absolutely certain a game will be under (see Michigan vs FSU) it goes over. So I;m going to Mini Mega an over 40.0. I need Florida to win for my pool so I’ll take Iowa and the points for another Mini Mega.
Florida’s defense will try to redeem itself after two disappointing performances. Florida allowed 14 or fewer points in eight of its first 10 games to earn a spot in the SEC Championship game then it gave up 85 combined against rival Florida State and Alabama in the last two. Gators defensive coordinator Geoff Collins was hired as the new coach at Temple last week and former Miami (Fla.) coach Randy Shannon will run the defense against Iowa. So far new coordinators have not had much success in the Bowls.
The Hawkeyes conversely are coming in on a winning streak with consecutive victories over Michigan, Illinois and Nebraska to end the regular season. The defense stepped up after a 41-14 loss at Penn State, allowing 23 total points in the last three games,
To say Florida is offensively challenged would be an understatement. The Gators finished the regular season ranked next to last in the SEC and 115th in the FBS in total offense.
Believe or not, Iowa’s offense has fared even worse statistically than Florida’s, as the Hawkeyes are 120th in total offense at 333.3 yards per game. They have managed a little better when it comes to scoring (26.8 ppg), but that’s still only good enough to rank 77th among FBS teams.
This should be a low scoring game but every time I am just absolutely certain a game will be under (see Michigan vs FSU) it goes over. So I;m going to Mini Mega an over 40.0. I need Florida to win for my pool so I’ll take Iowa and the points for another Mini Mega.

Cotton Bowl – Wisconsin -8.0 vs Western Michigan [Pick 1 Wis 29] [Pick 2 Wis 38] - The Badgers just played classic Wisconsin football all season long, pounding opponents with a talented stable of running backs behind a solid offensive line and playing stingy, suffocating defense. That's the formula for what works in Wisconsin, and it's why Barry Alvarez hired Chryst two years ago. Wisconsin football knows exactly what it wants to be. The Badgers are playing in a New Year's Six bowl because of it. And we may never know of they were one game away from the Playoffs.
Western has found an identity too under PJ Fleck. They were favored by most to win the MAC before the season began, but few expected them to run the table the way they did. When they defeated Northwestern on the road to start the season it was the start of a magical season in Kalamazoo. One-by-one, Western Michigan took down every opponent on its schedule. When the dust settled, the Broncos were the highest Group of Five champion in the College Football Playoff rankings, earning them a New Year's Six bowl berth and a chance to take down their third Big Ten team this season.
The Badgers' defense, ranked fourth in the country in points allowed (15.5), will have their hands full with a Broncos' offense that averages 43.5 points - eighth-best in the country - particularly if their performance against Penn State is any indication. Wisconsin gave up 384 passing yards and four touchdowns through the air against the Nittany Lions as their six-game winning streak came to an end in disappointing fashion. The Broncos have an impressive set of "triplets" at the offensive skill positions, led by quarterback Zach Terrell (3,376 yards, 70.8 completion percentage, 32 touchdowns only 3 picks, Jarvion Franklin (1,300 rushing yards, 12 TDs) and All-American wideout Corey Davis (91 catches, 1,427 yards, 18 scores).
Its Wisconsin so the run game is what rules the day. Senior RB Corey Clement, has rushed for at least 100 yards in seven of the last eight games. Clement recorded 1,304 rushing yards and 14 scores on the season, helping to take the pressure off the Badgers' inconsistent quarterback Alex Hornibrook (58.1 percent completions, eight TDs, seven interceptions).
Both teams are money against the spread. Fleck is 27-13 ATS and 10-3 as the underdog. Chryst is on an 11-4 ATS streak.
This is a big step up for the Broncos from the other BIG teams they beat (Northwestern and Illinois) but with a dangerous offense I’m not going to lay that many points. I’ll take Western for a quatloo and a Mini Mega on the over of 53.5
Western has found an identity too under PJ Fleck. They were favored by most to win the MAC before the season began, but few expected them to run the table the way they did. When they defeated Northwestern on the road to start the season it was the start of a magical season in Kalamazoo. One-by-one, Western Michigan took down every opponent on its schedule. When the dust settled, the Broncos were the highest Group of Five champion in the College Football Playoff rankings, earning them a New Year's Six bowl berth and a chance to take down their third Big Ten team this season.
The Badgers' defense, ranked fourth in the country in points allowed (15.5), will have their hands full with a Broncos' offense that averages 43.5 points - eighth-best in the country - particularly if their performance against Penn State is any indication. Wisconsin gave up 384 passing yards and four touchdowns through the air against the Nittany Lions as their six-game winning streak came to an end in disappointing fashion. The Broncos have an impressive set of "triplets" at the offensive skill positions, led by quarterback Zach Terrell (3,376 yards, 70.8 completion percentage, 32 touchdowns only 3 picks, Jarvion Franklin (1,300 rushing yards, 12 TDs) and All-American wideout Corey Davis (91 catches, 1,427 yards, 18 scores).
Its Wisconsin so the run game is what rules the day. Senior RB Corey Clement, has rushed for at least 100 yards in seven of the last eight games. Clement recorded 1,304 rushing yards and 14 scores on the season, helping to take the pressure off the Badgers' inconsistent quarterback Alex Hornibrook (58.1 percent completions, eight TDs, seven interceptions).
Both teams are money against the spread. Fleck is 27-13 ATS and 10-3 as the underdog. Chryst is on an 11-4 ATS streak.
This is a big step up for the Broncos from the other BIG teams they beat (Northwestern and Illinois) but with a dangerous offense I’m not going to lay that many points. I’ll take Western for a quatloo and a Mini Mega on the over of 53.5
More to come later today.....