The time has come for SU’s fearless Super Bowl predictions.  I have proudly not read or watched anything related to the upcoming game.  There is just too much hype and tell the truth: what could be more fun than reading about the potential 4-team trades for Carmelo Anthony?

Here are the SU keys to the game:

• Neutral field: that hurts Atlanta which is exceptional at home and much less so on the road.  While Houston is technically “neutral”, it’s still not Atlanta.
• Indoor like conditions: that helps the Falcons which SU says play better not out in the elements.  A guy like Tom Brady adapts to any conditions and weather as long as the ball pressure also adapts (ha ha).
• Julio Jones: SU had him on our fantasy team this year.  He has battled a foot injury all year and his performance was up and down.  Belichick is famous for taking away a team’s best player but my sense is that the Falcons have scored plenty of points in games when Jones did nothing.  Matt Ryan has enough weapons to get it done.
• I think both teams have great offenses and will move up and down the field fairly easily.  The Pats have a better defense which might lead to more field goals for Atlanta while the Patriots score touchdowns.

We have run the various computer scenarios and have the Falcons winning 37 – 31 in a competitive game throughout.  Given that both teams can score quickly, you get the feeling that we won’t have a blowout this year and that would be good given how boring most of the playoff games have been.

Feel free to post your predictions for scores and any other notable events that may happen, e.g., Tom Brady not shaking Roger Goodell’s hand?  As always, SU will give kudos and props to whoever comes closest to the final score and surely you want to be recognized by the hundreds of thousands of SU intergalactic subscribers (this excludes the 3-5 million people who voted illegally which means the total is actually much higher).