Bob McCarty Writes

It appears I blew it when it came to predicting the outcomes of the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl played last night in San Diego.

In my second annual college football bowl game predictions post, I had picked #13 Oklahoma State to defeat #17 Oregon, 29-20.  Unfortunately, the Ducks had other plans for the Cowboys of my alma mater.

After the good guys from Stillwater won the first half, 17-7, Oregon’s Walter Thurmond III returned the opening kickoff of the third quarter 91 yards to the OSU 3 yard line.  Two plays later, the team in the ugly green and gold uniforms put another six points on the scoreboard.

The lead changed hands several times during the second half, but the game was over, when Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount took a handoff to the right, hurdled one OSU defense and fended off another to complete a 29-yard touchdown run that put the Ducks ahead by the final margin of 11 with 3 minutes to go in the game.

In the prediction game, I’m now 1-1 at picking winners of games involving Big 12 teams.

Next up: The Big 12 North’s Kansas Jayhawks take on the Big Ten’s Minnesota Golden Gophers in the Insight Bowl in Tempe, Ariz.  My prediction is that KU will win, 41-17.  [Note: The game is being aired on the NFL Network at 4:30 p.m. CDT, meaning few people -- including yours truly -- will watch.]

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UPDATED — See also:

With Big Game Only Hours Away, Former Oklahoma QB Reflects on College Football Bowl Season (1/08/09)