NFL Picks Wild Card Playoffs sponsored by Studio Yukupo and NCAA College Football Picks Bowl Week 3

I started losing interest in the middle towards the end of the season and a lot of it had to with the treatment of Tim Tebow. I think everyone gets at this point that he is a limited player but the attitude that nearly all of these pundits and ex-professionals in the media have towards, the poisonous contempt is so brazen and what's worth, they lie about it. They'll invent caveats and qualifiers like, "Oh, I'd love him to marry my daughter, hur hur" which are blatantly hollow and barely disguising the level of loathing they hold for him. The vile epithets spewed by Bill Maher went uncontested. What did Tebow do to these people? Why am I expected to hate Tebow but love James Harrison, a woman beater and steroid user? It's the kind of thing which turned me away from having any interest in the NBA and large swathes of big time European football.

That's why I take such joy in seeing a team loaded with idiots and villains like the Jets flop so miserably. I can't get enough of that - not to say that Greg McElroy did the right thing talking about it. That's the worst kind of profiteering - setting himself up for a career in media as he knows his football career won't get off the ground.

Picks after the jump.

Key: 
Home Team listed in CAPS
(*) = Line Differential

Bengals (+3) at TEXANS
Lions (+10.5) at SAINTS
Falcons (+3) at GIANTS
Steelers (-8.5) at BRONCOS

Chris picks: Bengals, Lions, Falcons, Broncos

I pick: Texans, Saints, Falcons, Broncos

Big edge Houston. I don't believe in Cincinnati, they have not proven themselves in big games. Houston lost three straight to end the season but have a better running game and the home advantage. I give the Lions no shot against the Saints. Although Stafford is approximately three times as good as Cam Newton, their defense might be even worse right now. In the Superdome, New Orleans is unbeatable by a team that can only throw.

I have no idea what to think of the next game, I thought earlier in the week that the Giants would absolutely crush the Falcons, out of their dome and element with the Giants coming back into peak condition but Atlanta has a little resiliency, can run the ball through walls and the Giants might get a big head about last week's win over the Cowboys. In the last game of the day, Denver should be able to keep it close and limit the game to a 10-3 loss.

Last week:
Chris: 9-4-2
Me: 8-5-2

Season:
Chris: 131-133-12
Me: 133-111-12

Bowl Week Three
Home Team listed second in CAPS
vs = Neutral Site game
(*) = Line Differential
[*] = National Ranking
(*) = Awesome Name of Bowl Game

[24] Penn State (+5.5) vs [20] Houston
(Ticketcity Bowl)
[12] Michigan State (+3.5) vs [18] Georgia
(Outback Bowl)
[21] Nebraska (+2) vs [10] South Carolina
(Capital One Bowl)
Ohio State (+2) vs Florida
(Progressive Gator Bowl)
[9] Wisconsin (+6) vs [6] Oregon
(Rose Bowl)
[3] Oklahoma State (-3.5) vs [4] Stanford
(Tostitos Fiesta Bowl)
[13] Michigan (-2.5) vs [17] Virginia Tech
(Allstate Sugar Bowl)
[14] Clemson (-3.5) vs [23] West Virginia
(Discover Orange Bowl)
[11] Kansas State (+7.5) vs [7] Arkansas
(AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic)
Pittsburgh (-3.5) vs SMU
(BBVA Compass Bowl)
Northern Illinois (+1.5) vs Arkansas State
(GoDaddy.com Bowl)

Chris picks: Houston, Michigan State, Nebraska, Florida, OREGON!!!!, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Kansas State, SMU, Northern Illinois

I pick: Houston, Georgia, South Carolina, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Stanford, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Kansas State, SMU, Northern Illinois

I can't believe Bill O'Brien went to Penn State, that place is still a mess. Georgia should have won that one easily but got lazy late in the game. Doesn't bode well for next season. South Carolina squashed Nebraska as their respective form in the season indicated would happen. Why did I pick OSU? Stupid. I thought maybe a new hire would give them a mental boost. I thought Wisconsin would be able to hold Oregon close and they did but just missed covering. Darn? Nah, Oregon winning that one is fine by me.

Oklahoma State made a believer out of me with their win in the Fiesta Bowl. Probably a season too late though now that Weeden and Blackmon are both on the way out. I didn't think Michigan was good enough to win a BCS game but Virginia Tech didn't show up for the big one yet again. I thought that Clemson would pull a Clemson but didn't think it would be that bad. At least UW doesn't have that points against record anymore. I thought Arkansas might have a lay-off let-down but they rallied pretty well. Let's see how they progress next year. I don't know too much about SMU but I know for sure that I don't like Pittsburgh with all their problems. I know nothing about the last two teams but NIU has more street cred. Perhaps?

Last week:
Chris: 5-6
Me: 5-6

Bowls:
Chris: 10-13
Me: 11-12