Life got really busy over the last couple of months and I wasn't able to keep up with my top 25s and predictions, but I always have to get my bowl predictions in. I really wasn't a big fan of the college football playoff rankings this year, the end result was fine, but I don't like how inconsistent they were with their rankings throughout the year. I think they should just put out the final rankings at the end of the season. I also don't know how Jameis Winston finished sixth in the Heisman voting, sure he led his team to an undefeated season, but he did throw 17 interceptions. Ok, here are my predictions.
New Orleans Bowl - New Orleans, Louisiana
Nevada vs Louisiana-Lafayette
Nevada has a pretty solid team, with a good QB Cody Fajardo, four of their five losses were within a touchdown, and they were to good teams: Arizona, Boise, Colorado State and Air Force. UL-Lafayette shared a common opponent with Nevada, they got beat by Boise pretty bad. Terrance Broadway is a pretty solid QB, but I think Nevada has the better team.
Nevada 34 UL-Lafayette 23
New Mexico Bowl - Albuquerque, New Mexico
UTEP vs Utah State
I got to see UTEP at University Stadium against New Mexico in the season opener and they looked pretty good, but New Mexico made a few teams look good this year. Utah State started the season with QB Chuckie Keaton, but he could never stay healthy, which is a shame, because I thought he would have been one of the better QBs in the country. I still think Utah State will win this one though.
Utah State 38 UTEP 28
Las Vegas Bowl - Las Vegas, Nevada
Utah vs Colorado State
I caught a few Utah games this year and they looked good, their schedule was just too tough. Colorado State surprised me a bit this year and they just kind of came out of nowhere and had a 10 win season.
Utah 31 Colorado State 27
Idaho Potato Bowl - Boise, Idaho
Western Michigan vs Air Force
Western Michigan was an even bigger surprise to me this year than Colorado State, especially after the season they had last year. I saw them against Iowa and they got pounded by eight touchdowns! They've done a nice job of recruiting and bringing in some talent. Air Force could provide some trouble for Western Michigan with their run offense.
Air Force 34 Western Michigan 28
Camelia Bowl - Montgomery, Alabama
South Alabama vs Bowling Green
When the season started I would have picked Bowling Green to win this one easily, but they've lost three in a row and haven't looked that great. I haven't seen South Alabama play, but they will have some home field advantage in this one.
South Alabama 28 Bowling Green 24
Miami Beach Bowl - Miami, Florida
BYU vs Memphis
Losing QB Taysom Hill was big for BYU, they were really on a roll and then stumbled after his injury. Memphis was solid all year, but I think BYU pulls it off.
BYU 34 Memphis 28
Boca Raton Bowl - Boca Raton, Florida
Marshall vs Northern Illinois
This should be a great game, Marshall has one of the best offenses in the country led by QB Rakeem Cato. Northern Illinois has a seven game winning streak coming in. I think this one will be back and forth, but I think Northern Illinois has the edge.
Northern Illinois 35 Marshall 31
Poinsettia Bowl - San Diego, California
Navy vs San Diego State
This game features two of the better runners in the country, Navy QB Keegan Reynolds and San Diego State RB Donnel Pumphrey. I think these teams are pretty evenly matched, but I'll go with the Aztecs at home.
San Diego State 38 Navy 31
Bahamas Bowl - Nassau, Bahamas
Central Michigan vs Western Kentucky
I didn't get to see Central Michigan play this year, but Western Kentucky has a solid offense and can score a lot of points, which I think they'll do in this game.
Western Kentucky 52 Central Michigan 35
Hawai'i Bowl - Honolulu, Hawai'i
Fresno State vs Rice
Two really bad defenses going head-to-head. Fresno had an awful start to the season going 0-3 and now stand at 6-7.
Fresno State 42 Rice 38
Heart of Dallas Bowl - Dallas, Texas
Illinois vs Louisiana Tech
Illinois looked pretty bad most of the season, but QB Wes Lunt is a good one. I didn't see La Tech play, but I did follow their season, their QB Cody Sokol was an Iowa transfer and has had a solid year.
Louisiana Tech 34 Illinois 24
Quick Lane Bowl - Detroit, Michigan
Rutgers vs North Carolina
I thought Rutgers season was over when Paul James got injured, but they had a pretty decent year. North Carolina is hard to predict, they've been up and down.
North Carolina 34 Rutgers 24
St. Petersburg Bowl - St. Petersburg, Florida
North Carolina State vs UCF
The only time I saw NC State was their game against Florida State and they looked good for awhile, but they couldn't hold the lead. UCF lost Blake Bortles from last years team, but had a lot of talent return.
UCF 31 NC State 21
Military Bowl - Annapolis, Maryland
Cincinnati vs Virginia Tech
Cincinnati is rolling right now led by QB Gunner Kiel. Virginia Tech needed a big finish against Virginia to even make a bowl game. They did hand Ohio State their only loss this year though.
Cincinnati 42 Virginia Tech 28
Sun Bowl - El Paso, Texas
Arizona State vs Duke
I got a chance to see Arizona State quite a few times this year and they have some great skill position guys, I don't know if Duke will be able to keep up.
Arizona State 42 Duke 31
Independence Bowl - Shreveport, Louisiana
Miami vs South Carolina
Both of these teams have bit up and down, I think we'll see both teams at their best which will make it a great game.
South Carolina 31 Miami 24
Pinstripe Bowl - Bronx, New York
Boston College vs Penn State
I saw Boston College play against USC and FSU and they looked good, not sure what happened in their other games. Penn State stumbled after a quick start.
Boston College 24 Penn State 21
Holiday Bowl - San Diego, California
Nebraska vs USC
This game should feature a lot of offense and I think USC has too much talent in this one.
USC 42 Nebraska 34
Liberty Bowl - Memphis, Tennessee
Texas A&M vs West Virginia
Here's another matchup of two teams that could play at a high level at times. A&M started the season with a bang and West Virginia took down Baylor. This one should be another high scoring game.
Texas A&M 42 West Virginia 35
Russell Athletic Bowl - Orlando, Florida
Oklahoma vs Clemson
Oklahoma was pretty disappointing this year, I think I had them ranked number one to start the season, but they struggled a bit. I didn't get to see Clemson too much this year.
Oklahoma 27 Clemson 21
Texas Bowl - Houston, Texas
Arkansas vs Texas
Arkansas finished 6-6, but all of their losses were to ranked opponents and most of them were really close games. The defense was great towards the end of the year and they feature two 1,000 yard running backs. Texas was up and down and share a 6-6 record.
Arkansas 24 Texas 10
Music City Bowl - Nashville, Tennessee
Notre Dame vs LSU
Aside from the Florida State game, I was not impressed with Notre Dame at all this year. LSU had to replace a ton of talent from last year's team, but they looked like they came together pretty well.
LSU 24 Notre Dame 13
Belk Bowl - Charlotte, North Carolina
Georgia vs Louisville
Georgia has a pretty dynamic offense and Nick Chubb has done a great job filling in for Todd Gurley at running back. Louisville finished 9-3 and all of their losses were close games.
Georgia 45 Louisville 31
Foster Farms Bowl - Santa Clara, California
Maryland vs Stanford
Stanford finished with a disappointing 7-5 record, but all of their losses were to ranked opponents. Their defense should be able to shut down Maryland and they should be able to generate enough offense to win.
Stanford 27 Maryland 17
Peach Bowl - Atlanta, Georgia
Ole Miss vs TCU
I definitely wouldn't want to play TCU at this point, they are on a roll and their only loss was to Baylor, a game where they had a sizable lead late in the game. Ole Miss had a great season, but the conference schedule got the best of them towards the end.
TCU 45 Ole Miss 34
Fiesta Bowl - Glendale, Arizona
Boise State vs Arizona
Boise State has been good this year, but not as good as the teams they've had that pulled some upsets in bowl games. Arizona is coming off a tough loss against Oregon, but they had a great season.
Arizona 38 Boise State 27
Orange Bowl - Miami, Florida
Mississippi State vs Georgia Tech
This game features two very athletic QBs and should be a fun one to watch.
Georgia Tech 31 Mississippi State 27
Citrus Bowl - Orlando, Florida
Missouri vs Minnesota
I kept waiting for Minnesota to slip up during the year, but they kept surprising me. As much as I hate the Gophers, I really respect coach Kill and the job he's done there. They're definitely not a team to take lightly despite not having much of a passing game. Missouri has had it's ups and downs but once again made it to the SEC title game.
Missouri 31 Minnesota 28
Outback Bowl - Tampa, Florida
Auburn vs Wisconsin
Wisconsin is another team that struggled with their pass game, but RB Melvin Gordon was amazing. If Auburn can figure out a way to shut him down they should win.
Auburn 34 Wisconsin 24
Cotton Bowl - Arlington, Texas
Michigan State vs Baylor
A great offense against a great defense in this game. In Michigan State's two losses they gave up more than 40 against Ohio State and Oregon.
Baylor 42 Michigan State 34
Armed Forces Bowl - Fort Worth, Texas
Houston vs Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh has some talented skill guys in RB James Conner and WR Tyler Boyd. Houston's defense was pretty impressive this year and could shut the Panthers down.
Houston 24 Pittsburgh 17
Taxslayer Bowl - Jacksonville, Florida
Iowa vs Tennessee
These two teams should be pretty evenly matched, Iowa has struggled on offense and at times looked awful on defense. Tennessee is young, and they have struggled at times on offense, too. Their DL should be able to get a lot of pressure and could force Iowa to do stupid things, which scares me a bit. I'd like to C.J. Beathard play against his home state school, but we probably won't see that happen.
Tennessee 31 Iowa 24
Alamo Bowl - San Antonio, Texas
Kansas State vs UCLA
I saw both of these teams play early in the season, UCLA didn't look good at all, but still won. Kansas State struggled with Iowa State, but they had a good season. This could be a toss up.
UCLA 34 Kansas State 28
Cactus Bowl - Tempe, Arizona
Washington vs Oklahoma State
Both of these teams struggled with rank opponents, all of Washington's losses were to ranked teams and all but one of Ok State's losses were, too. Washington was able to keep some of them close. Oklahoma State needed a huge upset win against Oklahoma to make a bowl game.
Washington 35 Oklahoma State 27
Birmingham Bowl - Birmingham, Alabama
East Carolina vs Florida
East Carolina cracked the top 25 earlier in the year and QB Shane Carden was mentioned in the Heisman race for a little while. Florida had another rough year, but they did beat Georgia.
East Carolina 27 Florida 21
Godaddy Bowl - Mobile, Alabama
Toledo vs Arkansas State
I don't know much about either of these teams, Toledo finished 7-1 in the MAC and had a tough non-conference schedule.
Toledo 38 Arkansas State 28
Playoff Rose Bowl - Pasadena, California
2-Oregon vs 3-Florida State
Florida State will try to prove that they deserved the number one seed as the only undefeated team in the country. This game features two Heisman winners: Jameis Winston vs Marcus Mariota. I think the Seminoles luck will run out on them.
Oregon 45 Florida State 34
Playoff Sugar Bowl - New Orleans, Louisiana
1-Alabama vs 4-Ohio State
After watching both of these teams win their conference title games I'm pretty excited to see this one. Ohio State will be starting their third string QB, but he did a great job against Wisconsin. I think Alabama holds a slight edge here.
Alabama 31 Ohio State 24
National Championship - Arlington, Texas
2-Oregon vs 1-Alabama
Oregon has been cruising ever since their October 2nd loss to Arizona. In their eight game winning streak they've won by an average margin of 26 points. Alabama lost the same weekend and shares an eight game winning streak with a 20 point margin of victory, but had some close calls along the way.
Oregon 34 Alabama 28
