Bowl Predictions Part 2

Holiday Bowl: Arizona State (8/2/10-3) beats Texas Tech (49/45/7-5). After their sixth loss of the year, no one will think Texas Tech is over-rated any more. WRONG 10-8

AdvoCare V100 Bowl: Arizona (22) beats Boston College (58). Andre Williams will gain 100 yards, but not two hundred. In the second half the Eagles will have to abandon the run in a futile effort to catch the Wildcats. CORRECT 11-8 

Sun Bowl: Virginia Tech (34) loses to UCLA (13). Once again this season the Hokies and their tight end-turned-QB will be exposed against a big-time opponent. CORRECT 12-8

Liberty Bowl: Rice (70) loses to Mississippi State (40). The game will be closer than it should be, as the spoiled Bulldog athletes find it hard to be motivated to play Rice in Shreveport. CORRECT 13-8  

Chickfila Bowl: Duke (41) loses to Texas A&M (18). The Georgia Dome will be filled with Aggies. In his last college game, Johnny Football puts on a show. CORRECT 14-8

Gator Bowl: Nebraska (50…60) loses to Georgia (19…9). Hutson Mason goes to 2-0 as a starter. By winning the bowl game, the Bulldog nation won’t have as much to complain about during the off-season. WRONG 14-9

Heart of Dallas Bowl: UNLV (91…97) loses to North Texas (69…116). I was quite impressed with North Texas when I saw them play Georgia. Playing in their state’s largest city will be a big deal to them. UNLV is good, but just good enough to keep the game close. CORRECT 15-9

Capital One Bowl: Wisconsin (10) loses to South Carolina (17). With time to get healthy, Shaw and Clowney will be primed to put on a New Year’s Day show. CORRECT 16-9

Outback Bowl: Iowa (28…41) loses to LSU (15…27). This could be the year the SEC wins all their bowl games. The Bayou Bengals will win even without Zack Mettenberger. Look for LSU in the 2014 preseason top five. CORRECT 17-9

Rose Bowl: Stanford (3…4) beats Michigan State (7…56). I am impressed by the Spartans defense, but I’m picking Stanford to win a close, low-scoring game. Four of the five BCS bowls will show off eight of the best-looking uniforms in college football. Cardinal and Kelly green will look magnificent in the granddaddy of them all. WRONG 17-10

Fiesta Bowl: Baylor (5) beats Central Florida (38). UCF has had to overcome repeated offensive failures in their past three games, against three ordinary opponents. The Knights’ defense has not faced an offense as potent as Baylor’s. In their first-ever BCS Bowl, some Bears’ fans are complaining that their opponent is not a more recognizable name. For that they should be thankful. Regardless, their fans will celebrate this Fiesta Bowl win as though they had beaten a name opponent. By then I will be fast asleep. WRONG 17-11

Sugar Bowl: Oklahoma (21) loses to Alabama (2). Saban seeks redemption after coming out on the short end of a miracle play. The Sooners were lucky to beat rival Oklahoma State and secure the Sugar Bowl bid. They won’t be so lucky in New Orleans. The score may be close early, but AJ McCarron will pull the Tide away in the second half. A matchup of two great-looking uniforms. WRONG 17-12

Orange Bowl: Clemson (16) loses to Ohio State (11). This could very well be the game when the Tigers turn it around and beat a top opponent on a big stage (though it could be my own extreme dislike of Ohio State). The Buckeyes squeaked past Michigan then saw their winning streak end against Michigan State. Since they won’t be wiping the field with FSU, Auburn, or Alabama there’s a good chance Urban’s student-athletes fail to take the Tigers seriously. Dabo will have his team fired up. Clemson’s key will be the first series on offense and defense. This will set the tone for the entire game. If Tajh Boyd can move the offense down the field the first time he has the ball, the Tigers can have a big night on offense. And if the defense can limit the Ohio State offense on the first series, this can be a big night for the orange and white. My pick: once again Ohio State gets lucky, and wins a close game. The talented Buckeye playmakers will be too much for Clemson. Another bowl with two great-looking uniforms. WRONG 17-13  

Cotton Bowl: Oklahoma State (14/39/10-2) loses to Missouri (9/31/11-2). How did the Cotton Bowl get such a great date and time slot? The work of the evil Fox Sports and Jerry Jones, to be sure. But back to the game: After having their BCS hopes dashed by rival Oklahoma’s last-send touchdown pass, Oklahoma State will not be ready for Mizzou’s high-powered offense. The Tigers almost matched score for score with the best team in the country in the SEC Championship Game, and right now they’re probably licking their chops for the chance to put away another opponent in Jerry World. CORRECT 18-13   

Compass Bowl: Vanderbilt (44…54) beats Houston (43…76). Though the teams aren’t far apart statistically, the Commodores will be able to easily handle Houston. In the days when spoiled athletes don’t play hard in third-rate bowl games, Vandy is an exception. CORRECT 19-13  

GoDaddy Bowl: Arkansas State (114/125/7-5) loses to Ball State (65/141/10-2). The absolute worst bowl matchup is played on perhaps the second most preferred date. WRONG 19-14

BCS National Championship: FSU (1…63) is outscored by Auburn (6…20). Should be a great game – perhaps the highest scoring BCS Championship in history. FSU is great, but Auburn’s offense is clicking on all cylinders. The Tiger D will be able to stop Jameis Winston more often than the Seminoles will be able to stop Nick Marshall and Tre Mason. Two great kickers. Two good-looking uniforms: Auburn in white and FSU in garnet and gold. By the end of the game the media will be talking about Auburn repeating next year. WRONG 19-15