2014 Pinstripe Bowl Picks Round-Up
By Joe Micik
The Pinstripe Bowl picks are in from most of the interwebs. Who out there thinks Boston College is going to win?
Boston College Eagles
Before Soaring to Glory brings you our pick for the Eagles’ upcoming bowl game on December 26, there’s no sense in ignoring what everybody else is saying. Most of you crave to know who is picking who in football games, because everybody is curious to know on some level.
From a variety of different sources we get our selections. Some of these sites are reputable, and some pick Penn State. (Rimshot) Let’s see where the Eagles fall according to the outsiders.
Pinstripe Bowl Picks: SB Nation/Football Study Hall
This website has some fancy calculus that they use to determine their picks. Whether through their old computational method or their new one, Boston College is their choice to take both. Under the “old” method, the Eagles win by nine. In the “new,” Football Study Hall projects a 23-10 Boston College victory.
Pinstripe Bowl Picks: Rant Sports
In their “bold predictions” for this game, I’ll say they went bold: they picked Boston College to win by no less than three touchdowns. That’s a vote of confidence that even few Eagles fans would be willing to give, but hey, bold.
Author Jerry Landry also calls Penn State a “cupcake” for the Eagles. Again, Boston College fans (and this site) would not go that far, but thank you.
Pinstripe Bowl Picks: The Big Lead
Ty Duffy doubts the Eagles fans will travel, and also doubts the Eagles team will show up, giving Penn State a win thanks to their defense. Meh.
Pinstripe Bowl Picks: Fox Sports South
It would be my hope that someone from down in ACC country would be so kind as to pick us in this game. We got our wish as Jay Clemons is going to go with Boston College in a 28-23 game. That score seems a bit too high given how good the defenses are and how lacking the Penn State offense is, but a five-point game either way is definitely within the scope of reason.
Pinstripe Bowl Picks: ESPN Big Ten Blog
Not surprisingly, a 4 to 2 majority of Big Ten beat writers on ESPN went with Penn State. The consensus is a low-scoring game.
If the Eagles win, it may be due to the heroics of one Tyler Murphy, while Penn State’s defense is basically their only shot of taking this game.
Pinstripe Bowl Picks: ESPN ACC Blog
Just as lacking in surprise, by a 3 to 1 majority, the ACC writers on ESPN.com picked Boston College to win. Yes, Andrea Adelson went with the Eagles.
Just like almost everyone else who has a read on this game, the expectation is that points will be at a premium and any scores will be huge.
Pinstripe Bowl Picks: Campus Insiders
Pete Fiutak is not going our way, picking Penn State in a low-scoring 20-17 win. He specifically gives the kicking edge to the Nittany Lions, and with it, victory.
You had to go there, didn’t you?
He is right, though: if this game comes down to the kickers, to quote Bender from Futurama, “well, we’re boned.”
Pinstripe Bowl Picks: NFL.com (CFB 24/7)
Many NFL.com beat writers have gotten in on the Pinstripe Bowl picking, along with every other bowl this year. The split goes four to two in favor of Boston College.
What strikes me as being, well, wrong about the two picks for Penn State is that they are both reasonably high-scoring games at 35-30 and 34-28. The Eagles could score that many points if they were not playing a good defense, but Penn State has only broke 30 points twice this season — UMass and Temple. Against Temple was legit, but the Minutemen defense is not exactly cut off from the same block as the ‘85 Bears.
Pinstripe Bowl Picks: Phil Steele
On his mega college football website, Steele goes with Penn State. On his “confidence points” system, he has the Nittany Lions somewhere near the middle.
He is a reasonably fair and objective writer, though he did slightly underestimate Boston College this season. Perhaps he is doing so again.
Pinstripe Bowl Picks: AL.com
Finally, another feel-good pick for Eagles fans as Alabama dot com is picking Boston College over the Nittany Lions in a 23-14 game. Mike Herndon calls it for the Eagles on the heels of Penn State’s slide late in the season, losing six of eight to close at 6-6. Not enough people are mentioning this, but he did.
They know their football down there, so I would like to think this is a good sign.