10 Best Football Games-Week 18! Part 1

The final week of the NFL regular season has plenty of games which can determine seeding and two division champions will be crowned this final week. The biggest game of the weekend is obvious, and that game is the Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants to determine the division championship. Then, in the AFC, only one of the eight games which are happening, that being the Indianapolis-Jacksonville game does not have playoff implications. Meanwhile, in the NFC, there are four other games which have some effects on the playoffs. So, it is one eventful week in the NFL as well as in college. As New Year's Day falls on a Sunday this year, all six of the normal games which fall on New Year's has been pushed back to the 2nd. Also, I will be doing a separate blog on January 2nd's sporting events, which has those six bowl games, 5 of which feature ranked teams. Then, there is the NHL Winter Classic, which features the hometown Philadelphia Flyers, 10 NBA Games, four other NHL games, and a plethora of NCAA basketball games. Now, on to the picks!

Bowls

Champs Sports Bowl
Notre Dame vs. Florida State, 5:30, Thursday, ESPN

This game is a throwback to the mid-90s when both teams were excellent. Going into this season, both teams expected to go to BCS Bowls. Notre Dame consistently shot themselves in the foot in the beginning of the season, losing their first two games by blowing leads and turning the ball over a lot. Then, ND won their next four, and were looking very good doing it. But, then they shot themselves in the foot again against USC, where they turned the ball over another three times, which turned the entire momentum of the game around.  Notre Dame then won another four straight before completely stinking against Andrew Luck and Stanford.
Florida State also was good, but never really could live up to expectations, mainly because of youth, as their biggest playmakers are freshmen. So, this game could be a big springboard for their season next year. Florida State also has a stout defense that will try and stop the running game of Cierre Wood and the passing game with dynamic receiver Michael Floyd, who has been in beast mode throughout the season. This will be a very good game, but just so long as Notre Dame doesn't shoot themselves in the foot, they should win.

Pick: Notre Dame 24, Florida State 20

Valero Alamo Bowl
Washington vs. Baylor, 9, Thursday, ESPN

This game should be a shootout, as neither team has a very good defense, and both teams have great quarterbacks. The one, most already know in Heisman trophy winner Robert Griffin III, whereas most have never heard of Keith Price, who replaced the 8th overall pick in last year's NFL draft, Jake Locker. Well, Price could be as good or better than Locker. Both quarterbacks are dynamic and dual threats with both their arms and legs. So, expect a lot of points, and perhaps even more than yesterday's Toledo-Air Force Military Bowl.

Pick: Baylor 54, Washington 52

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl
BYU vs. Tulsa, noon, Friday, ESPN

Now these may be the two best teams which are not ranked, as BYU is playing its first season as an independent after spending the past 14 in the Mountain West conference. Then, Tulsa was second in the C-USA's West division, their only loss coming against eventual winner Houston, who was undefeated at the time. Tulsa also had all four of its losses to a team which was ranked in the top 10 when they played them. Those four losses? The aforementioned Houston, Boise State, Oklahoma State and their season opener against Oklahoma. So, this team is pretty good. BYU meanwhile is very much like a pro style team, possessing a balanced offense which averages over 30 points a game, and only giving up a little over 20 a game. This should be one very competitive as well as entertaining game.

Pick: Tulsa 31, BYU 27

Hyundai Sun Bowl
Georgia Tech vs. Utah, 2, Saturday, CBS

There is primarily one reason I'm featuring this game, and that is because it is actually on network television! This is only one of four which is featured on network tv, the others being the Outback Bowl, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, and the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic. This game also is rather intriguing, as Utah comes into the game on a hot streak, going 4-1 down the stretch. They also had a shot to win the PAC-12's woeful South division before losing to Colorado in their season finale. Utah won primarily because of an easier schedule, with only one of their victories coming against a team which is bowl bound, and that's only because of a special waiver by the NCAA in November to allow them to play in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.
Georgia Tech meanwhile started off the season 6-0, then proceeded to lose four of their next six. Now, they're playing in the Sun Bowl as a consequence. Now that Utah has had time to prepare for this game, they should win, as when teams have time to prepare for the infamous triple option of Tech.

Pick: Utah 31, Tech 23

Chick-Fil-A Bowl
Auburn vs. Virginia, 7:30, Saturday, ESPN

This is a good matchup between fairly overacheiving teams, but I will go with the Tigers, who really overacheived moreso than the Cavaliers.

Pick: Auburn 26, Virginia 13