Bowl Predictions

Picking bowl games keeps getting harder and harder. Gotta factor in which teams don’t have coaches, etc. Which teams will be fired up, which teams aren’t excited about the bowl they’re in, which players are opting out. Which team is used to cold weather. Which team has to travel the furthest. Plus all these things keep changing up to game time. Some think players will start opting out of non-conference games and more. When Pitt QB Kenny Pickett was interviewed during Saturday night’s Heisman presentation, he was acting as if he would opt out of the Peach Bowl. Not sure why. Without him the Panthers lose.

Once again I used the Jeff Sarigin power rankings, not that it’s ever helped before. Winner in red.

12.17 Bahamas 107 Middle Tennessee State vs 69 Toledo

12.17 Cure Bowl 89 Northern Illinois vs 56 Coast Carolina

12.18 Boca Raton 60 Western Kentucky vs 42 Appalachian State – they usually come out ready to play.

12.18 Celebration 164 Jackson State vs 207 SC State. Deion’s team is the favorite.

12.18 New Mex 45 Fresno State vs 129 UTEP. Shouldn’t be close.

12.18 Independence 30 BYU vs 76 UAB. Shouldn’t be close.

12.18 LendingTree 103 Eastern Michigan vs 72 Liberty usually plays hard, but so do those guys from Michigan.

12.18 LA Bowl 39 Oregon State vs 57 Utah State

12.18 New Orleans 46 Louisiana vs 82 Marshall

12.20 Myrtle Beach 79 Tulsa vs 117 Old Dominion

12.21 Potato 105 Kent State vs 88 Wyoming should be used to the cold.

12.21 Frisco 59 San Diego State vs 53 UTSA

12.22 Armed Forces 75 Missouri vs 67 Army in an upset. They’ll be ready to play. Mizzou may have the big head and come out flat.

12.23 Frisco 90 Miami of Ohio vs 111 North Texas

12.23 Gasparilla 40 Florida vs 63 UCF. Should be a grudge match. I could very well be wrong on this one.

12.24 Hawaii 84 Memphis vs 100 Hawaii. The Rainbow Warriors have the home field advantage, and could upset the jet-lagged, homesick Tigers.

12.25 Camellia 93 Ball State vs 92 Georgia State. Should be close.

12.27 Quick Lane 80 Western Michigan vs 43 Nevada. Western Michigan could play better since they’ll be closer to home. What incentive does Nevada have to play well in Detroit?

12.27 Military 81 East Carolina vs 78 Boston College. Hopefully the Golden Eagles have recovered fund the flu.

12.28 Bham 41 Houston vs 25 Auburn. Will the Tigers get up for such a minor bowl game?

12.28 First Responder 44 Air Force vs 49 Louisville

12.28 Liberty 68 Texas Tech vs 32 Mississippi State

12.28 Holiday 18 NC State vs 24 UCLA. The Wolfpack have a long way to travel. I’m expecting the Bruins to play poorly. Could very well be the opposite.  

12.28 Guaranteed Rate 26 Minnesota vs 51 West Virginia. Shouldn’t be close, but I’ve been wrong before.

12.29 Fenway 58 Virginia vs 52 SMU. The Ponies have a long way to travel, but the Cavaliers have a new coach.  

12.29 Pinstripe 62 Virginia Tech vs 77 Maryland. Does anyone play well in Yankee Stadium?

12.29 Cheez-It 10 Clemson vs 17 Iowa State. The Tigers lost both coordinators. Iowa State will play hard. Can Dabo rally the troops?

12.29 Alamo 19 Oregon vs 9 Oklahoma. Both teams lost their coach. Will they play hard in such a minor bowl?  

12.30 Mayo 47 UNC vs 70 South Carolina. Will we see good Sam?

12.30 Music City 33 Tennessee vs 23 Purdue. I’m expecting the Vols to talk a big game, then be shut down by a tougher opponent.

12.30 Peach 27 Michigan State vs 12 Pitt. Long day for the Panthers without Kenny Pickett.

12.30 Vegas 14 Wisconsin vs 34 Arizona State. The Badgers always play well in bowl games.

12.31 Gator 22 Wake Forest vs 15 Texas A&M. No way the Demon Deacons win.

12.31 Sun 38 Washington State vs 36 Miami. The Hurricanes have been going through too much to win.  

12.31 Arizona 71 Central Michigan vs 28 Boise State.

12.31 Cotton 1 Bama vs 6 Cincinnati

12.31 Orange 4 Michigan vs 2 UGA. Not as close as everyone thinks.

1.01 Outback 29 Arkansas vs 16 Penn State. The Nittany Lions will put a beat down on the Hogs.

1.01 Citrus 20 Iowa vs 21 Kentucky  The Wildcats will have a ton of first half enthusiasm that the Hawkeyes will quickly dampen.

1.01 Fiesta 5 Notre Dame vs 7 Oklahoma State. The Irish have something to prove, but usually get embarrassed in bowl games. Will they rally for their new coach? Are the Cowboys still deflated from their loss to Baylor?

1.01 Rose 3 Ohio State vs 8 Utah. No contest, though Utah will fight to the finish.

1.01 Sugar 13 Baylor vs 11 Ole Miss. Expect the Bears to make a statement.

1.04 Texas 35 Kansas State vs 31 LSU. Will the Tigers show out for their new coach? This one could go either way.

1.10 Championship 1 Bama defeats 2 UGA. Neither Stetson nor JT will be able to solve the riddle of the Saban. UGA fans just can’t be happy.