Daily Blog • Thursday, December 31st

First I want to wish everyone a Happy and Safe New Year! I also would like to thank everyone who has been using and reading PhilSteele.com this year. Your support and comments have helped us improve the site tenfold the past couple of years and with your help we will make PhilSteele.com even better in the upcoming year!

Each day during bowl season in my daily blog, I will give you my forecasts on the bowl games taking place that day. My forecasts will include a detailed write-up with my computer’s projected box score including rushing and passing yards, points and turnovers along with a detailed write-up on each game.

Also check out the bowl matchup section to get the latest and greatest information on all the upcoming bowl games including, game by game stats, 2009 recaps, and checklists for every position and intangible.

ARMED FORCES BOWL
AIR FORCE VS HOUSTON
Rushing
Passing
Points
TO’s
ST
AIR FORCE 345
90
31
2.1
••
HOUSTON
100
395
33
1.9
–

Gametime Projected Weather: 47° Cloudy Wind: NNE 5-10 mph

It will be a classic matchup of Houston (offense) vs Air Force (defense). These two met in the same bowl last year with Houston winning 34-28. While Houston’s offense is even more dynamic this year, Air Force’s defense is much improved as well. Both teams know how to defend each other’s offenses but will still struggle with the contrasting style of play. Expect a lot of points on the board and I’ll call for each team to add a field goal to their points from last year.
PHIL’S FORECAST: HOUSTON 37 AIR FORCE 31

 

SUN BOWL
STANFORD VS OKLAHOMA
Rushing
Passing
Points
TO’s
ST
STANFORD 185
150
23
2.3
–
OKLAHOMA
140
310
32
2.4
–
Gametime Projected Weather: 50° Sunny Wind: NNW 10-15 mph
Oklahoma center Brian Lepak will miss the game and the backup has little to no playing experience. The Sooners have struggled away from Norman this season going 1-5. Stanford RB Toby Gerhart should be able to establish the run despite the Sooners great front seven as Oklahoma’s defense is geared to stop the spread offenses in the Big 12 and not the power-I that the Cardinal feature. Stanford will be playing without starting QB Andrew Luck (finger) but new QB Tavita Pritchard has 19 career starts. I would not be surprised with a Cardinal upset but I’ll call for the Sooners by 3.
PHIL’S FORECAST: OKLAHOMA 27 STANFORD 24

 

TEXAS BOWL
MISSOURI VS NAVY
Rushing
Passing
Points
TO’s
ST
MISSOURI 109
295
28
1.5
••
NAVY
211
100
23
1.3
–
Gametime Projected Weather: 65° Partly Cloudy Wind: WSW 5mph

Missouri features two of the best players of the 2nd half of the season in QB Blaine Gabbert and WR Danario Alexander. Gabbert is now fully healthy and Navy has allowed a couple of WRs 100+ yards in the same game this season. Missouri is worried about the chop blocks of Navy. The Midshipmen have a lot of players from the Houston area and will have the crowd edge but that won’t be enough to overcome the Tigers big talent edge as I’ll call for Missouri to win by 7.
PHIL’S FORECAST: MISSOURI 34 NAVY 27

 

INSIGHT BOWL
MINNESOTA VS IOWA ST
Rushing
Passing
Points
TO’s
ST
MINNESOTA 142
230
23
2.9
–
IOWA ST
168
205
21
2.7
–
Gametime Projected Weather: 64° Sunny Wind: ENE 5 mph

Iowa St is excited to be playing in a bowl for the first time since 2005, but the bowl experience is brand new to all the players. Meanwhile Minnesota coach Brewster is in his 2nd bowl game and will want a better showing than last year. The Gophers are familiar with the setting as they played in the same bowl last year and in 2006. Minnesota has played the tougher schedule and if you look at the checklist in the Bowl Matchup, you’ll find the Gophers with a 6.5 check advantage which means they should win the game as I’ll call for the Gophers to win easier than expected.
PHIL’S FORECAST: MINNESOTA 28 IOWA ST 20

 

CHICK-FIL-A BOWL
TENNESSEE VS VIRGINIA TECH
Rushing
Passing
Points
TO’s
ST
TENNESSEE 160
190
21
2.2
–
VIRGINIA TECH
200
145
30
1.9
••••
Gametime Projected Weather: Played in the Georgia Dome.

Both teams have excellent run games and play great defense as they nearly mirror each other. Tennessee is excited to be here after missing out on a bowl last year and they figure to have the crowd edge. Virginia Tech does have a large special teams advantage and with both teams evenly matched everywhere else a special teams play could be the difference. It should be an excellent and exciting Chick-Fil-A bowl as they usually are and I’ll call for the Hokies by 4.
PHIL’S FORECAST: VIRGINIA TECH 24 TENNESSEE 20

 

Conference Bowl Standings

Bowl Conference VS ConFerence Records
OVERALL
vs BCS CONF
W
L
%
W
L
%
MWC
3
0
100%
2
0
100%
BIG EAST
2
0
100%
1
0
100%
BIG 10
1
0
100%
1
0
100%
SUN BELT
1
0
100%
0
0
0
SEC
1
1
50%
1
1
50%
BIG 12
1
1
50%
1
1
50%
C USA
2
2
50%
0
1
0%
WAC
1
1
50%
0
0
0
PAC 10
2
3
40%
1
1
50%
ACC
1
3
25%
1
3
25%
INDEP
0
0
0
0
0
0
MAC
0
3
0%
0
1
0%

 

The MWC is off to a great start with a 3-0 record thanks to Wyoming’s upset over Fresno St in the New Mexico Bowl and two big wins over the Pac-10 the last week. The Big East has picked up a couple of wins including Pittsburgh’s win over North Carolina on Saturday. The Big 10 got its first victory on Tuesday with Wisconsin’s impressive win over Miami in the Champs Sports Bowl. The PAC 10 and ACC have had disappointing starts to the bowl seaoson as they are a combined 3-6 so far. The MAC is 0-3 but all of the losses have been by single digits and Temple and Bowling Green both led late in the 2nd half before losing.

Bowl Confidence Contest

Make sure to check the daily blog every day as we will be posting the standings here after every bowl game is played.

There will be two Top 50 leaderboards. The first one will be points won and the second is best win percentage of their points. Sometimes the early leaders are the ones that risked the most on the early bowls and they fall by the wayside as the contest goes on so that is why I will also keep track of those that have the best win percentage.

After 15 bowl games William Meleski continues to lead the contest for the eigth day in a row with 270 points won and a 75% win %. Lyell Marks moved up to 2nd with 257 points and Goran Mili is now in 3rd with 238 points. Jeff Hamilton has been near the top of the leaderboard in win % for the past week and takes over 1st with 84%. Patrick Hilt is in 2nd with 83% which is about .4% better than Matt Schupp who was 1st yesterday.

I now have 157 points and there are still 19 bowl games left including 15 in the next three days! Remember 1st place wins $250, 2nd place gets $100 and a set of regionals and 3rd gets $50 and a set of regionals.

Thanks again to the near 1200 people that have entered. If you have any questions concerning your points or do not see your name in the Top 50 and think it should be please email Brandon@philsteele.com.

Here are the current leaderboards.

The Top 50 in Points Won

Rank
 Name
Pts Won
Pts Lost
Win %
% Rank
1
 William J Meleski
270
92
75%
14
2
 Lyell Marks
257
148
63%
114
3
 Goran Mili
238
102
70%
42
4
 Michael Mancini
232
143
62%
152
5
 Gene Winters
226
145
61%
193
6
 Jeff Hamilton
221
42
84%
1
7
 Bobby Welles
220
52
81%
6
8
 Don Seebold
217
46
83%
4
9
 Don Armstrong
216
64
77%
9
10
 Richie Thomas
215
84
72%
27
10
 Bud Converse
215
134
62%
165
12
 Mike Guzzo
213
91
70%
41
13
 Ben Brin
212
75
74%
17
14
 Mike Bambrick
211
102
67%
63
14
 Pete Mackin
211
121
64%
113
16
 Sherry Shoup
206
199
51%
568
17
 Rich Ribera
205
113
64%
96
18
 Matt Schupp
203
42
83%
3
18
 Tony Orioli
203
116
64%
110
18
 Dave Klaehn
203
155
57%
306
21
 Jerry Chieffalo
202
61
77%
10
21
 Don Deavers
202
103
66%
75
21
 Mitchell Sanpei
202
119
63%
122
21
 Matthew Goodman
202
134
60%
213
25
 Jerad Risley
201
146
58%
273
26
 Lisa DiBello
200
72
74%
20
26
 Bob Knight
200
84
70%
37
28
 Patrick Hilt
199
40
83%
2
28
 John Mina
199
92
68%
52
28
 Chuck Kreiner
199
94
68%
59
31
 Joseph Gutierrez
198
96
67%
64
32
 Marc Ostrom
197
79
71%
28
32
 David Ruth
197
142
58%
265
34
 Steven Pegg
196
86
70%
46
34
 Rusty Moreno
196
91
68%
53
36
 Andy  Mickley
195
123
61%
174
37
 Gordon Goldbach
193
113
63%
119
37
 Greg Rockers
193
114
63%
125
37
 Sephen Fraher
193
116
62%
141
40
 Adam Muscat
191
78
71%
32
40
 Lance Ivy
191
136
58%
253
42
 Bob Siciliano
190
106
64%
99
43
 Larry Goodwin
189
132
59%
243
44
 Giovanni Sicurella
187
71
72%
25
44
 Joe Russo
187
81
70%
45
44
 Jason Dubeans
187
99
65%
86
44
 Carole Wood
187
119
61%
186
44
 Jon Hansen
187
143
57%
307
49
 Gary Cotton
186
54
78%
8
49
 Mike Connors
186
79
70%
40
49
 Jerry Thornton
186
112
62%
142
49
 Courtney Moeller
186
115
62%
156
49
 Michael Sprangers
186
129
59%
237

The Top 50 in Win %

Name
Pts Won
Pts Lost
Win %
% Rank
Jeff Hamilton
221
42
84%
1
Patrick Hilt
199
40
83%
2
Matt Schupp
203
42
83%
3
Don Seebold
217
46
83%
4
Dan Maurer
171
40
81%
5
Bobby Welles
220
52
81%
6
Jeffrey Gans
152
44
78%
7
Gary Cotton
186
54
78%
8
Don Armstrong
216
64
77%
9
Jerry Chieffalo
202
61
77%
10
Austin Huggins
171
53
76%
11
Gene Shue
152
48
76%
12
Gary Magnus
115
38
75%
13
William J Meleski
270
92
75%
14
Robert Vanier
145
50
74%
15
Timothy Zelek
142
49
74%
16
Ben Brin
212
75
74%
17
Anthony Marcello
158
56
74%
18
Natalie Lindsay
184
66
74%
19
Lisa DiBello
200
72
74%
20
Donnie Holmann
155
56
73%
21
Jim Martindale
126
46
73%
22
Ed Spillane
113
42
73%
23
Jason Bellinger
184
69
73%
24
Giovanni Sicurella
187
71
72%
25
Jason Harris
172
67
72%
26
Richie Thomas
215
84
72%
27
Marc Ostrom
197
79
71%
28
Gary McQuain
181
73
71%
29
Steve MacDonald
153
62
71%
30
Steve Liles
147
60
71%
31
Adam Muscat
191
78
71%
32
Richard Bidnick
175
72
71%
33
Tom Guertin
85
35
71%
34
Michael Kyle
162
67
71%
35
Doug Mayfield
163
68
71%
36
Bob Knight
200
84
70%
37
Jim Merriman
185
78
70%
38
Todd L Jackson
158
67
70%
39
Mike Connors
186
79
70%
40
Mike Guzzo
213
91
70%
41
Goran Mili
238
102
70%
42
Scott Boyce
184
79
70%
43
Donald Huggins
139
60
70%
44
Joe Russo
187
81
70%
45
Steven Pegg
196
86
70%
46
Marc Caruso
139
62
69%
47
Nate Haas
154
69
69%
48
Rick Perk
183
82
69%
49
Gary Grodin
176
79
69%
50

Radio Contest Leaderboards

WKNR Cleveland, OH with Michael Reghi
Top 10 POINTS WON
Top 10 WIN %
Name
Pts Won
Pts Lost
Win %
% Rank
Dave Klaehn
203
155
57%
19
Jason Dubeans
187
99
65%
7
Mike Hay
184
96
66%
6
Paul Becker
177
122
59%
16
Jason Johnson
171
150
53%
30
Brad Morgan
170
160
52%
35
Nathan Whitaker
167
93
64%
8
Gary Osborne
163
76
68%
3
Mike Fraifogi
162
130
55%
23
Anthony Chapman
160
107
60%
14
Name
Pts Won
Pts Lost
Win %
% Rank
Anthony Marcello
158
56
74%
1
Marc Caruso
139
62
69%
2
Gary Osborne
163
76
68%
3
K. McAbier
150
73
67%
4
Chris Haynes
140
72
66%
5
Mike Hay
184
96
66%
6
Jason Dubeans
187
99
65%
7
Nathan Whitaker
167
93
64%
8
Frank Elia
132
79
63%
9
Bart Kluding
144
89
62%
10

The KNR group leader changes nearly every day as Dave Klaehn retakes the lead with 203 points. Jason Dubeans has moved up to 2nd while yesterdays leader Mike Hay fell to 3rd. Anthony Marcello is 1st in win % with 74%.

"All Bets Are Off" Sports Time Ohio Cleveland, OH
with Bruce Drennan
Top 10 POINTS WON
Top 10 WIN %
Name
Pts Won
Pts Lost
Win %
% Rank
Gene Winters
226
145
61%
3
Matthew Goodman
202
134
60%
5
Bruce Drennan
166
239
41%
27
Jim Nalle
161
96
63%
2
NICK SCHWEMBERGER
158
114
58%
7
TODD RUMMINS
156
157
50%
15
John L Opdycke
154
140
52%
11
Kevin Wise
152
116
57%
10
John McFarlane
150
142
51%
12
Frank Cellura
149
108
58%
8
Name
Pts Won
Pts Lost
Win %
% Rank
Frank Elia
129
76
63%
1
Jim Nalle
161
96
63%
2
Gene Winters
226
145
61%
3
Opal
106
70
60%
4
Matthew Goodman
202
134
60%
5
Scott (wox11)
148
101
59%
6
NICK SCHWEMBERGER
158
114
58%
7
Frank Cellura
149
108
58%
8
Tim Johnston
121
89
58%
9
Kevin Wise
152
116
57%
10

Gene Winters has led the Sports Time Ohio group every day with 226 points won and a 61% win %. Matthew Goodman continues to hold the #2 spot with 202 points. Frank Elia and Jim Nalle lead the way in win % with 63%.

ESPN Radio 94.1 Virginia Beach, VA with Tony Mercurio
Top 10 POINTS WON
Top 10 WIN %
Name
Pts Won
Pts Lost
Win %
% Rank
Scott Boyce
184
79
70%
3
Richard Bidnick
175
72
71%
2
David Crews
172
204
46%
14
Don Lloyd
165
132
56%
7
tony Mercurio
156
111
58%
5
dcnev
151
133
53%
11
Nick Mataragas
150
89
63%
4
Beau Boughamer
147
132
53%
12
Rob Vanier
145
50
74%
1
Brad McMasters
143
124
54%
9
Name
Pts Won
Pts Lost
Win %
% Rank
Rob Vanier
145
50
74%
1
Richard Bidnick
175
72
71%
2
Scott Boyce
184
79
70%
3
Nick Mataragas
150
89
63%
4
tony Mercurio
156
111
58%
5
Dan Wagoner
126
99
56%
6
don lloyd
165
132
56%
7
Daryl Baker
137
114
55%
8
brad mcmasters
143
124
54%
9
Phillip Todd
140
123
53%
10

Scott Boyce is the new #1 in the 94.1 group with 184 points while Richard Bidnick is 2nd with 175 points. Rob Vanier is #1 in win % with 74%.

The Sports Animal 790 AM Houston, TX
with Charlie Pallilo

Adam Muscat conitnues to lead the 790 group with 191 points won and a 71% win %. Kevin Parham is in 2nd with 183 points.