(Submissions will be accepted on a rolling basis and will be scored from the date stamp forward.)

I am starting a college football bowl pick ‘em contest here on NOVA Common Sense. This is similar to the NCAA Tournament brackets done for college basketball on other blogs/newspapers and at water coolers all across working America. The difference here is that this contest deals with college football which automatically makes it better. I am biased. I lettered in varsity football in college.

Here are the rules.
- Pick one winner for each game. We will not complicate matters with a spread. Just pick the winner of each game.
- You earn one point for each correct prediction.
- You earn three points for each correct BCS Bowl prediction. BCS bowls are the Fiesta, Orange, Rose, and Sugar Bowls.
- You earn five points for picking the winner of the BCS Championship Game between #1 LSU and #2 Alabama.

Bonus points for the football-challenged and for the George Allen/Jack Kemp/Heath Shuler/J.C. Watts/Steve Largent wannabes:
- You earn five points for picking the winner of the Iowa caucuses set to take place on January 3, 2012 and five points for the winner of the New Hampshire primary on January 10, 2012. Pick who you think will win. This person may not necessarily be who you want to win and your choice here does not constitute your endorsement in any way, shape, or form.

This is just for fun. Competition is its own reward.

My picks are listed below in bold. The form to enter your picks follows.

O let’s do it.

Bowl	Location	Date/Time	Network
Gildan New Mexico Temple vs. Wyoming	Albuquerque, N.M. University Stadium Tickets	Dec. 17 2 p.m.	ESPN
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Ohio vs. Utah State	Boise, Idaho Bronco Stadium Tickets	Dec. 17 5:30 p.m.	ESPN
R+L Carriers New Orleans San Diego State vs. Louisiana-Lafayette	New Orleans Mercedes-Benz Superdome Tickets	Dec. 17 9 p.m.	ESPN
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s St. Petersburg Florida International vs. Marshall	St. Petersburg, Fla. Tropicana Field Tickets	Dec. 20 8 p.m.	ESPN
S.D. County Credit Union Poinsettia TCU vs. Louisiana Tech	San Diego Qualcomm Stadium Tickets	Dec. 21 8 p.m.	ESPN
MAACO Las Vegas Arizona State vs. Boise State	Las Vegas Sam Boyd Stadium Tickets	Dec. 22 8 p.m.	ESPN
Sheraton Hawaii Nevada vs. Southern Miss	Honolulu Aloha Stadium Tickets	Dec. 24 8 p.m.	ESPN
AdvoCare V100 Independence Missouri vs. North Carolina	Shreveport, La. Independence Stadium Tickets	Dec. 26 5 p.m.	ESPN2
Little Caesars Western Michigan vs. Purdue	Detroit Ford Field Tickets	Dec. 27 4:30 p.m.	ESPN
Belk Louisville vs. NC State	Charlotte, N.C. Bank of America Stadium Tickets	Dec. 27 8 p.m.	ESPN
Military Bowl Presented By Northrop Grumman Toledo vs. Air Force	Washington, D.C. RFK Stadium Tickets	Dec. 28 4:30 p.m.	ESPN
Bridgepoint Education Holiday California vs. Texas	San Diego Qualcomm Stadium Tickets	Dec. 28 8 p.m.	ESPN
Champs Sports Florida State vs. Notre Dame	Orlando, Fla. Florida Citrus Bowl Tickets	Dec. 29 5:30 p.m.	ESPN
Valero Alamo Washington vs. Baylor	San Antonio Alamodome Tickets	Dec. 29 9 p.m.	ESPN
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces BYU vs. Tulsa	Dallas Gerald J. Ford Stadium Tickets	Dec. 30 Noon	ESPN
New Era Pinstripe Rutgers vs. Iowa State	Bronx, N.Y. Yankee Stadium Tickets	Dec. 30 3:20 p.m.	ESPN
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Mississippi State vs. Wake Forest	Nashville, Tenn. LP Field Tickets	Dec. 30 6:40 p.m.	ESPN
Insight Iowa vs. Oklahoma	Tempe, Ariz. Sun Devil Stadium Tickets	Dec. 30 10 p.m.	ESPN
Meineke Car Care of Texas Texas A&M vs. Northwestern	Houston Reliant Stadium Tickets	Dec. 31 Noon	ESPN
Hyundai Sun Georgia Tech vs. Utah	El Paso, Texas Sun Bowl Tickets	Dec. 31 2 p.m.	CBS
AutoZone Liberty Cincinnati vs. Vanderbilt	Memphis, Tenn. Liberty Bowl Tickets	Dec. 31 3:30 p.m.	ABC
Kraft Fight Hunger Illinois vs. UCLA	San Francisco AT&T Park Tickets	Dec. 31 3:30 p.m.	ESPN
Chick-fil-A Virginia vs. Auburn	Atlanta Georgia Dome Tickets	Dec. 31 7:30 p.m.	ESPN
TicketCity  Houston vs. Penn State	Dallas Cotton Bowl Tickets	Jan. 2 Noon	ESPNU
Outback Michigan State vs. Georgia	Tampa, Fla. Raymond James Stadium Tickets	Jan. 2 1 p.m.	ABC
Capital One Nebraska vs. South Carolina	Orlando, Fla. Florida Citrus Bowl Tickets	Jan. 2 1 p.m.	ESPN
Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl Ohio State vs. Florida	Jacksonville, Fla. EverBank Field Tickets	Jan. 2 1 p.m.	ESPN2
Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio Wisconsin vs. Oregon	Pasadena, Calif. Rose Bowl Tickets	Jan. 2 5 p.m.	ESPN
Tostitos Fiesta Stanford vs. Oklahoma State	Glendale, Ariz. U. of Phoenix Stadium Tickets	Jan. 2 8:30 p.m.	ESPN
Allstate Sugar Michigan vs. Virginia Tech	New Orleans Louisiana Superdome Tickets	Jan. 3 8:30 p.m.	ESPN
Discover Orange West Virginia vs. Clemson	Miami Sun Life Stadium Tickets	Jan. 4 8:30 p.m.	ESPN
AT&T Cotton Kansas State vs. Arkansas	Arlington, Texas Cowboys Stadium Tickets	Jan. 6 8 p.m.	FOX
BBVA Compass Bowl SMU vs. Pittsburgh	Birmingham, Ala. Legion Field Tickets	Jan. 7 1 p.m.	ESPN
GoDaddy.com Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois	Mobile, Ala. Ladd-Peebles Stadium Tickets	Jan. 8 9 p.m.	ESPN
Allstate BCS National Championship Game No. 1 LSU vs. No. 2 Alabama	New Orleans Louisiana Superdome Tickets	Jan. 9 8:30 p.m.	ESPN

Iowa: Newt Gingrich
New Hampshire: Newt Gingrich

Starting today, I will, from time to time, publish sports articles of regional interest. Football is my first love and I lettered in the sport in college as a running back on the Baylor Bears football team (Currently #12 in the nation, invited to the Alamo Bowl, and quarterback Robert Griffin III “RG3″ is a Heisman Trophy finalist.). Every once in a while, I would like to write about topics I really like in which I am well-versed. I do not think about politics 24/7 and I hate it 12/7. Unlike virtually all other politicos, I am shockingly normal.

---

Thanks to a connection to West Point, I have the privilege of attending the Army-Navy Game today at FedEx Field. Kickoff is at 2:30pm. In my book, this means I must report to the stadium by 12:30pm. I have always wanted to attend the Army-Navy Game in person and this will be my first time!

I don’t tailgate. I don’t even know what tailgating is since I spent my entire life warming-up on the field and getting focused in the locker room during pre-game! I like to go to the game early, get my mind right, and watch the pre-game warm-ups to scout the participants. I’ll be the only person in my group of 24 friends who received tickets from our mutual West Point alumnus and faculty member to show up at the stadium first and all alone to witness everything from the start of pre-game warm-ups.

Especially for the Army-Navy Game, I would strongly discourage everybody from wasting time with tailgates and other non-football tomfoolery. Aside from getting to see which team is more focused and crisp in their pitch relationship for their triple option attack during pre-game, the entrance procession of the Cadets and Midshipmen is quite a sight to see and the pre-game ceremonies will provoke intense pride in our great nation.

Our block of reserved group seating is in the lower level. The vast majority of fans would be excited to see the action up close. I actually like to sit up high so I can get my offensive coordinator mind on. Yes, it really does matter to me that I discern if the defense is playing cover 2 or cover 3 and I can only make that determination with a bird’s eye view. A suite would be perfect. (Football elitist alert!)

With the exception of siding with my favorite players, I hardly ever root for any team while watching football. I’ll watch football just for the sake of watching football. Two unknown Division III colleges could be playing and it would still pique my interest. I’m a student of the game (nerd) and I watch the game in thoughtful silence. (NOVA Common Sense founder Brian Schoeneman knows this all to well.)

This could be the year Army (3-8) snaps its losing streak to Navy (4-7). Navy is experiencing a down year. The turning point of Navy’s season was its heartbreaking overtime loss to Air Force after coming back from a large deficit to tie the game in the final minute. Navy’s uncharacteristic season has been characteristic of a team that has unfulfilled potential due to close losses and an inability to put together a complete game on offense, defense, and special teams.

Army enters the game with the #1 ranked rushing offense in the nation. This should be qualified with the fact that Army’s passing offense is ranked #120. Navy’s rushing offense is ranked #4 and its passing offense is ranked #119. As always, the Army-Navy Game will be an old school matchup fought and won in the trenches.

After making their first bowl appearance since 1996 in 2010, Army has failed to become bowl eligible this season. Injuries and a difficult schedule made the task of earning a bowl bid challenging. Navy is favored to win by seven points.

Army-Navy is the best college football rivalry. The tradition and pageantry surrounding this event has no equivalent. Fierce competition on the field ends with brothers in arms united, standing in attention for each team’s school song.

Seniors leave the game understanding that they will join with their West Point and Annapolis brethren and spend the next few years of their lives defending freedom in an always hostile world. Some of these players have the talent to go pro, but they all knew coming in that when they play football for a service academy, they are representing a greater cause and aspirations of going pro must wait until they fulfill their commitment to serve. It is moving, especially when you know what it is like to play football at the college level, to see these seniors play the final regular season game of their collegiate career with unbridled passion and leave every last bit of their soul out on the field to the point of tears.

I like to have it both ways. I also like to make fashion statements and color coordinate my outfits in the freshest manner. My closet is filled with hats of many different teams, some of which I have a passing interest and others were needed to fill a gap in a color scheme in my wardrobe. I have Washington Redskins hats AND Dallas Cowboys hats. That said…

Go Army. Go Navy.

Thanksgiving.
Football.
Snow.

Enjoy.