BY: Tony LiebertBowl games in college football is quite the controversial sports topic. I personally think that 40 bowl games should be at least cut in half. 6-6 teams should not be playing in the postseason and sub .500 season should not be rewarded and viewed as successful. At the end of the day, college football is all about money and the NCAA and each University could care less about the product on the field so as long as the bowl games keep making money they will always be way too many. It still is football so they will always have me watching as many games as I can. Even though there are far too many games there still are quite a few games that are worth watching. Las Vegas Bowl - Dec. 15 #21 Fresno State (11-2) V.S. Arizona State (7-5) Both of these teams have had under the radar successful seasons. Fresno State won the Mountain West championship against Boise State. And Arizona State has succeeded far past their expectations in Herm Edwards first season. Arizona State’s star wide receiver N’Keal Harry is not playing in this game to prepare for the NFL draft, and some people think this will cause Arizona State to lose against an underrated Fresno State team. I think otherwise I think Herm Edwards will have his team highly motivated for this game and they will be able to pull out a win. Arizona State: 31 Fresno State: 24 Armed Forces Bowl - Dec. 22 Houston (8-4) V.S. Army (10-2) This is another very underrated matchup between two teams that had great seasons. Houston will not have star D-Lineman Ed Oliver who is going to prepare for the NFL Draft. I don’t expect this to affect Houston very much because Oliver has been out of multiple games this season. What I do expect to affect Houston is the loss of their quarterback D’Eriq King in the last game of the season who was having a great season. Army on the other hand has hand one of the most successful seasons in the recent history of their program. The Black Knights only two losses have came against two very talented teams in Duke and Oklahoma who they both played very tough. I expect a very disciplined Army team to be motivated and take down Major Applewhite’s Houston squad. Army: 28 Houston: 10 Camping World Bowl - Dec. 28 #20 Syracuse (9-3) V.S. #16 West Virginia (8-3) Syracuse and West Virginia are playing in the first ranked matchup of the bowl season. West Virginia will be without star quarterback Will Grier, and future NFL offensive tackle Yodny Cajuste. I expect this to affect the mountaineers greatly. West Virginia’s offense has ran through Will Grier the past two seasons and I don’t think that West Virginia's defense will be able to help their lack of offense against the Orange. I really like the culture that Syracuse head coach Dino Babers has brought to Syracuse. The Orange have exceeded their expectations this playing well against Clemson and they would have played better against Notre Dame if their starting quarterback Eric Dungey would not have gotten hurt. I think that Syracuse will come in and pretty handily beat a West Virginia team that had a very underwhelming season. Syracuse: 42 West Virginia: 28 Alamo Bowl - Dec. 28 #24 Iowa State (8-4) V.S. #13 Washington State (10-2) The Alamo Bowl has historically produced very exciting games and has always been one of the most underrated bowl games. I expect this game to be nothing short of that. Washington State has one of the most exciting offenses in the country led by senior quarterback Gardner Minshew who is leading the country in passing yards. Iowa State on the other side is a great up and coming program led by head coach Matt Campbell. Their current roster is headlined star running back David Montgomery who has over 1200 yards from scrimmage to go along with 12 touchdowns. I think Washington State’s high powered passing offense will be to much to handle for the Cyclones and Washington State will come out on top. Washington State: 51 Iowa State: 42 Peach Bowl - Dec. 29 #10 Florida (9-3) V.S. #7 Michigan (10-2) I expect this game to be very low scoring Florida and Michigan have been two of the best defenses in the country this season. Michigan’s defense is led by future first round pick Devin Bush who has been one of the best linebackers in the country this season. The Wolverines will be without D-Lineman Rashaan Gary who is potentially a top 10 pick, and will also be preparing for the NFL Draft, I expect this to not play a big factor in the game, the Wolverines have been without Gary in multiple games this season and has still shown to be an elite defense. The Gators defense is led by linebacker Jachai Polite, and safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, who are both future NFL players. I think the Jim Harbaugh led Wolverines will be very motivated following a tough loss to Ohio State, and I expect them to take down the Gators. Michigan: 21 Florida: 17 Cotton Bowl - Dec. 29 #3 Notre Dame (12-0) V.S. #2 Clemson (13-0) This is obviously one of the playoff semifinals. I don’t think this game will be relatively close. Notre Dame has not been challenged really at all this whole season throughout an easy schedule. The strength of the Irish has been their discipline, they really never make many mistakes led by quarterback Ian Book who has had a 70.4 completion percentage. Clemson on the other hand may be the most talented team in the country I don’t think they have a single weakness on their whole team. They are even very experienced at every position other than their quarterback. The Tigers have played in this big stage before and Notre Dame has not, experience in the big stage has proven help game after game. The only way I see Clemson losing, is if freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence was to have a lot a mistakes, which I don’t see happening. I expect the Tigers to roll in this one. Clemson: 45 Notre Dame: 17 Orange Bowl - Dec. 29 #4 Oklahoma (12-1) V.S #1 Alabama (13-0) This is the other of the playoff semifinals. Many people may think that Oklahoma has no chance at all in this game, I think otherwise. Although I expect Alabama to still win this game I think that it will be closer than people expect. A big factor in this game is if Oklahoma’s star receiver Marquise Brown (the cousin of Antonio Brown) is able to play. If Brown does not play I don’t expect this game to even be close. With Brown Oklahoma is the most dynamic offenses in the country. Alabama is far too experienced, well disciplined, and far too talented to lose this game. Alabama has historically struggled with mobile quarterbacks such as, Johnny Manziel and Deshaun Watson. Kyler Murray is quite the mobile quarterback, and he could give the Crimson Tide some trouble. Although I think Alabama will win this game, I will not be surprised if Oklahoma where to keep it close. Alabama: 41 Oklahoma: 28 Gator Bowl - Dec. 31 #19 Texas A&M (8-4) V.S. N.C. State (9-3) New Year’s Eve has historically been the best time for bowl games so I thought I would include a couple games. Texas A&M has exceeded expectations in Jimbo Fisher’s first season. The aggies are led by talented running back Trayveon Williams who has had 1800 scrimmage yards and 16 total touchdowns this season. I believe N.C. State has had an overrated season. I don’t think their 9-3 record does not resemble their team. They have had one of the easiest schedules in the country, and against their only quality opponent Clemson, they were demolished 41-7. The only way I see N.C. State having a chance is if senior quarterback Ryan Finley were to have a solid performance in his last game in front of NFL scouts before the NFL Draft. I expect Texas A&M to roll in this game. Texas A&M: 38 N.C. State: 14 Redbox Bowl - Dec. 31 Michigan State (7-5) V.S. Oregon (8-4) Even though this game is between two unranked teams that had underwhelming seasons, I still think that it will be entertaining. I am excited to see how Oregon’s quarterback Justin Herbert performs in possibly his last game against NFL scouts. Herbert has the possibility to be the first quarterback off the board in the NFL draft. I will like to see how Herbert performs against a pesky Michigan State team. The Spartans have been widely inconsistent this season and I don’t expect them to play well in this game. I think Herbert will have a great performance in this one and the Ducks will win. Oregon: 31 Michigan State: 10 Citrus Bowl - Jan. 1 #12 Penn State (9-3) V.S. #14 Kentucky (9-3) This year's Citrus Bowl is between two of the most entertaining teams to watch this season. Penn State is led by “College football Great” Trace McSorley. Trace has had a great college career, and I expect him to be very motivated to end out his college career strong. Kentucky may have something to say about that. The Wildcats have been possibly the biggest surprise team this season. Kentucky is led by veteran running back Benny Snell Jr, and veteran linebacker Josh Allen, who may be the best defensive player in the country. I expect this to be one of the more entertaining games of the bowl season, with the Penn State Nittany Lions coming out on top. Penn State: 45 Kentucky:38 Fiesta Bowl - Jan. 1 #8 UCF (12-0) V.S. #11 LSU (9-3) UCF has been one of the better college football stories of recent memory. The Black Knights have shown that they are still the same dominant team in a big win against an underrated Memphis team, without star quarterback McKenzie Milton who they lost to a season ending injury. The very talented LSU defense may be a tough challenge for UCF. LSU is filled with NFL talent led by linebacker Devin White, and cornerback Greedy Williams even though none of their players have announced that they would sit out of the bowl game to prepare for the draft I would not be surprised if they did. Even if LSU is at full strength I expect UCF to win this game. The Black Knights have everything to play for, they need to prove that they can beat any team they play. LSU on the other hand has had an underwhelming season, and expect them to struggle against UCF. UCF: 24 LSU: 14 Rose Bowl - Jan. 1 #9 Washington (10-3) V.S. #6 Ohio State (12-1) This years Rose Bowl is between two teams that had playoff asspirations to begin the season, and struggled to get there. I don’t see any scienerio that Ohio State would lose Urban Meyer’s “Last Game” ever coaching. Ohio State is incredibly talented and led by quarterback Dwayne Haskins who also may be the first quarterback off the board in the draft and has something to prove to the scouts. The only way that the Buckeyes would lose this game is if Washington’s senior led team wants to end their college careers with a bang. The Huskies are led by running back Myles Gaskin, and quarterback Jake Browning. I don’t think these two will be enough to keep up with the Buckeyes. Ohio State: 43 Washington: 31 Sugar Bowl - Jan. 1 #15 Texas (9-4) V.S. #5 Georgia (11-2) This maybe the most lopsided matchup off all the New Year’s six bowls this season. I believe that Georgia has one of the most talented rosters in the country led by running back tandem, De’Andre Swift and Elijah Holyfield. Texas has only shown to have competed in one big game this season which was against Oklahoma early in the season. I think the Longhorns are too inexperienced and still a season away from competing at a high level. The incredibly talented Georgia roster will be too much to handle for Texas in this one. Georgia: 51 Texas:20 I expect this bowl season to be great to watch, and there are some very interesting matchups I am looking forward to watching
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