It’s been a while since the last lackluster Football Friday, but since the bowls are almost done and the NFL season is coming to a close, we might as well toss off one last batch as things wind down.

First, a quick look at the farm leagues.

There have already been a couple of good bowl games (Nebraska/Michigan, Oklahoma/Oregon, among others), but the big ones are still to come.

For you Vol fans who may have forgotten what a bowl game is, that’s when a team has a winning record and enough standing to be invited to a post-season game that is either owned by ABC/BCS/ESPN or put together by corporate sponsors to hawk their wares. This is something you won’t have to worry about for at least the next few years. Certainly not as long as the Great Pumpkin™ is steering the ship straight into the cliffs.

Here’s where to blow that Christmas money:

• Rose Bowl: USC 77 Texas 14 – For reference material, please see USC/Oklahoma from 2004.
• Fiesta Bowl: Notre Dame 26 Ohio State 23 – Should be the best game of the bowl season hands down. Well, at least on paper.
• Orange Bowl: Penn State 31 Florida State 17 – The real question in this game is whether or not enough of Bobby Bowden’s players will be out of jail in time for kickoff.
• Sugar Bowl: Georgia 36 West Virginia 14 – It doesn’t hurt that this one got moved to Atlanta since the Superdome still has shit all over it. Should be a complete dud – watch Desperate Housewives instead.
• Peach Bowl: Miami 29 LSU 16 – I’ve been saying that LSU sucks all year and I’m right. LSU and Les Miles can cram it in their purple-clad asses.

Now comes the fun part – the NFL playoffs, baby. The only thing to look forward to after the Christmas holidays.

Who’s in the playoffs so far? In the AFC, it’s Indy, New England, Cincy, Jacksonville, Denver. In the NFC, it’s Chicago, NY Giants, Seattle. Teams still in the mix and hunt: Pittsburgh, Kansas City, San Diego, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Washington, Dallas. After Sunday, we’ll know who-plays-who and who’s out in the rain looking in the window, crying, like Dan Aykroyd in Trading Places.

While most teams will be mailing it in this weekend, there are still some games with implications. Picks:

• Pittsburgh 28 Detroit 17 – This will cement the Steelers’ wild-card playoff position, but they won’t make it past week two of the playoffs.
• ‘Skins 23 Iggles 13 – I love it when the Eagles fall upon hard times. And I’m still not sure why.
• Carolina 31 Atlanta 29 – All the Falcons have is Ron Mexico, and we’ve learned this season that that isn’t enough.
• Denver 29 San Diego 27 – Denver doesn’t have much to play for other than to treat this as a playoff game and get ready for the playoffs by keeping the Chargers out of the playoffs. San Diego could easily pull this one out, though, especially if Denver decides to rest the starters.
• Reggie Bush Bowl: San Francisco 1 Houston 0 – The loser of this game is actually the winner of the Bush Bowl. Both teams will try hard to fail, which should make this one entertaining.

That’s probably it for this season’s Football Fridays. With the possible exception of playoff commentary that no one will give two shits about. Happy pigskin weekend, bitches!

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