Original Retro Brand CFO Rick Schwartz correctly stated, "It's not how you start, but how you finish..." in regard to the * last 12 Bowls of Christmas Bowl contest update.  Rick was 0-2 at the time, and with BYU crushing Oregon State this past Tuesday, and Utah's comeback drubbing of CAL last night (Let's here it for the Mountain West Conference-Woo-Hoo!),  his record remains unblemished in the win column at 0-4.  With 22 Bowl games left on the pick list, he has plenty of time to come back and win (heck, Utah was down 14 - 0 before storming back to victory..), but he needs to notch a few w's soon.  I have a very good feeling with these next batch of games through the Christmas weekend, Rick will finally get off the shnicky:

It may be difficult for the Pitt Panthers to get up for North Carolina in the upcoming Car Care Bowl, after ending an otherwise very strong season with 2 losses at home to West Virginia and Cincinnati.  Pitt played their hearts out in those losses however, and they were certainly close enough games that could have ended up as wins.  Stud Freshman of the year, Dion Lewis, rushed for over 100 yards 9 times (1,600 yards for a 5.5 average per carry for the season) without dropping the rock even once.  Look for more of the same from Lewis against a pretty decent defensive front from the Tar Heels.  PITT-35, UNC-28.

Do the USC Trojans even deserve to be in a Bowl game?  After complete domination and one-sided losses at the hands of Oregon and Stanford, one might say no to that question.  Let's get back to reality.  These are still the USC Trojans, and they still beat Ohio State and 2 other ranked teams during the season.  They take on Boston College in the Emerald Bowl this Saturday, and while BC had a pretty good year overall (8-4), they were not able to win any big games on their schedule (losses to Clemson, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame & North Carolina).  I think Pete Carroll and USC take out their non-USC like season frustrations out on the Eagles in a big way.  USC-45, BC-14.

The Clemson Tigers limp into the Music City Bowl, after losing back to back games to interstate rival South Carolina, and then the ACC Championship to Georgia Tech.  The Kentucky Wildcats had reeled off 3 straight victories before losing their last game of the season in overtime to Tennessee.  I believe the Wildcats have more "Mo" than the the Tigers.  Superfreak C.J. Spiller may rush for 200 yards and return a kickoff for a touchdown, but it won't be enough for Clemson.  Kentucky has won 3 consecutive Bowl games dating back to 2006 when they defeated Clemson in the Music City Bowl, and I believe history will repeat itself.  Kentucky-28, Clemson-21.

My fellow staff members in this contest are free to comment on my picks in the "comment" section at the end of this post, and offer their own thoughts.  I'd like to get your thoughts too, so have at it...

Here is a recap of the Original Retro Brand STAFF Picks....

MARC               RICK              CASSIDY              ANDY               BOWL GAME

Wyoming          Fresno           Fresno                  Wyoming          (New Mexico Bowl)
UCF                 UCF               Rutgers                 Rutgers         (St. Petersburg Bowl)
Oregon State    Oregon State  Oregon State         BYU         (Las Vegas Bowl)
CAL                 CAL               CAL                      Utah         (Poinsettia Bowl)
UNC                 PITT              PITT                      PITT         (Car Care Bowl)
USC                 USC              BC                        USC         (Emerald Bowl)
Clemson           Clemson        Clemson                Kentucky         (Music City Bowl)
UGA                 UGA              UGA                     UGA         **(Independence Bowl)
UCLA               UCLA              UCLA                    Temple         (Eaglebank Bowl)
Miami               Miami            Wisconsin             Miami         (Sports Bowl)
Arizona            Arizona           Arizona                 Nebraska         (Holiday Bowl)
Oklahoma        Oklahoma       Oklahoma              Stanford         (Sun Bowl)                 VTech              VTech            Tennessee             VTech         (Chic-Fil-A Bowl)

Iowa State         Minnesota         Minnesota         Minnesota         (Insight Bowl)
Texas Tech       Texas Tech       Texas Tech        Michigan State    (Alamo Bowl)
Auburn              Auburn             Auburn              Northwestern         (Outback Bowl)
LSU                  LSU                 LSU                  Penn State         (Capital One Bowl)
West Virginia     West Virginia    Florida State     West Virginia         (Gator Bowl)
Oregon              Oregon            Oregon              Oregon               *** (Rose Bowl)
Navy                  Missouri          Missouri            Navy                   (Texas Bowl)
Florida               Florida             Florida              Cincinnati         (Sugar Bowl)
South Carolina   South Carolina  South Carolina   UCONN         (Papa John Bowl)
Okl. State          Okl.State         Ole Miss           Okl. State         (Cotton Bowl)
TCU                   TCU                Boise State        TCU                (Fiesta Bowl)
Georgia Tech      Georgia Tech    Iowa                 Georgia Tech         (Orange Bowl)
Texas                 Alabama          Alabama           Texas         (BCS Championship)

* *Nobody picked Texas A&M  *** Nobody picked Ohio State

Records as of this post….

Marc 1-3         Rick 0-4         Cassidy 1-3         Andy 4-0

So enjoy the action, and check back Monday for another update.  We really get into the bowels of the Bowls next week, kicking off with Georgia vs. Texas A&M and ending 15 games later on Sunday, January 2nd, with Michigan State vs. Texas Tech.....then the finale week leading up to Texas vs. Alabama.

I want to thank all of the folks who have sent in e-mails, and are participating in this 12 Bowls of Christmas contest, and all of the folks who have supported The Original Retro Brand this past year.  And with that, I will close out by saying, MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!!

*Click here for contest details