2015 Bowl Predictions

Well, it's bowl season! Bowl games start in about two weeks, there are 40 bowl games! Isn't that crazy? There are some 5-7 teams playing in bowl games this year, which is pretty ridiculous. If that trend continues, who knows, Iowa State could even make a bowl game one day.

New Mexico Bowl - Albuquerque, NM

Arizona vs New Mexico
New Mexico 34 Arizona 28

Las Vegas Bowl - Las Vegas, NV

BYU vs Utah
Utah 31 BYU 28

Camellia Bowl - Montgomery, AL

Ohio vs Appalachian State
Appalachian State 35 Ohio 27

Cure Bowl - Orlando, FL

San Jose State vs Georgia State
Georgia State 31 San Jose State 21

New Orleans Bowl - New Orleans, LA

Arkansas State vs Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech 38 Arkansas State 27

Miami Beach Bowl - Miami, FL

Western Kentucky vs USF
Western Kentucky 42 USF 34

Idaho Potato Bowl - Boise, ID

Akron vs Utah State
Utah State 24 Akron 21

Boca Raton Bowl - Boca Raton, FL

Toledo vs Temple
Temple 31 Toledo 27

Poinsettia Bowl - San Diego, CA

Boise State vs Northern Illinois
Boise State 31 Northern Illinois 23

GoDaddy Bowl - Mobile, AL

Georgia Southern vs Bowling Green
Bowling Green 31 Georgia Southern 24

Bahamas Bowl - Nassaua, Bahamas

Middle Tennessee vs Western Michigan
Western Michgan 42 Middle Tennessee 31

Hawaii Bowl - Honolulu, HI

San Diego State vs Cincinnati
San Diego State 28 Cincinnati 27

St. Petersburg Bowl - St. Petersburg, FL

UCONN vs Marshall
Marshall 27 UCONN 21

Sun Bowl - El Paso, TX

Miami vs Washington State
Washington State 31 Miami 27

Heart of Dallas Bowl - Dallas, TX

Washington vs Southern Miss
Washington 42 Southern Miss 28

Pinstripe Bowl - Bronx, NY

Indiana vs Duke
Duke 31 Indiana 28

Independence Bowl - Shreveport, LA

Tulsa vs Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech 34 Tulsa 31

Foster Farms Bowl - Santa Clara, CA

UCLA vs Nebraska
Nebraska 31 UCLA 28

Military Bowl - Annapolis, MD

Pittsburgh vs Navy
Pittsburgh 28 Navy 24

Quick Lane Bowl - Detroit, MI

Central Michigan vs Minnesota
Minnesota 35 Central Michigan 21

Armed Forces Bowl - Fort Worth, TX

California vs Air Force
California 42 Air Force 31

Russell Athletic Bowl - Orlando, FL

North Carolina vs Baylor
North Carolina 38 Baylor 31

Arizona Bowl - Tucson, AZ

Nevada vs Colorado State
Colorado State 31 Nevada 21

Texas Bowl - Houston, TX

LSU vs Texas Tech
LSU 27 Texas Tech 24

Birmingham Bowl - Birmingham, AL

Auburn vs Memphis
Memphis 35 Auburn 27

Belk Bowl - Charlotte, NC

NC State vs Mississippi State
Mississippi State 31 NC State 30

Music City Bowl - Nashville, TN

Texas A&M vs Louisville
Texas A&M 38 Louisville 27

Holiday Bowl - San Diego, CA

USC vs Wisconsin
Wisconsin 28 USC 24

Peach Bowl - Atlanta, GA

Houston vs Florida State
Florida State 38 Houston 27

Outback Bowl - Tampa, FL

Northwestern vs Tennessee
Tennessee 31 Northwestern 21

Citrus Bowl - Orlando, FL

Michigan vs Florida
Michigan 28 Florida 14

Fiesta Bowl - Glendale, AZ

Notre Dame vs Ohio State
Ohio State 31 Notre Dame 23

Rose Bowl - Pasadena, CA

Iowa vs Stanford
Iowa 34 Stanford 27

Sugar Bowl - New Orleans, LA

Oklahoma State vs Ole Miss
Ole Miss 42 Oklahoma State 27

TaxSlayer Bowl - Jacksonville, FL

Penn State vs Georgia
Georgia 17 Penn State 13

Liberty Bowl - Memphis, TN

Kansas State vs Arkansas
Arkansas 35 Kansas State 21

Alamo Bowl - San Antonio, TX

Oregon vs TCU
Oregon 52 TCU 42

Cactus Bowl - Phoenix, AZ

West Virginia vs Arizona State
Arizona State 38 West Virginia 30

Capital One Bowl - Miami Gardens, FL (Playoff)

Oklahoma vs Clemson
Oklahoma 31 Clemson 27

Cotton Bowl - Arlington, TX (Playoff)

Michigan State vs Alabama
Alabama 24 Michigan State 17

National Championship - Glendale, AZ

Alabama vs Oklahoma
Alabama 31 Oklahoma 28

College Football Week 15

Well, the Hawkeyes couldn't quite pull it off in Indianapolis, but they gained a lot of respect nationally for their close loss. Most people gave Iowa no chance to beat Michigan State, but they were within 30 seconds of pulling it off. What an amazing game, it felt like the Super Bowl for me. I've been in Iowa fan for 30 years and no game has ever felt like this one. It was amazing to see the Iowa fans in the stands, way more than Michigan State. The game was a low scoring slugfest, the teams traded field goals heading into the 4th quarter when C.J. Beathard hit Tevaun Smith for a huge 85 yard pass, the game's first touchdown. Iowa led 13-9 with about nine minutes left before Michigan State scored with 27 seconds left on the clock. The Hawkeyes magic ran out. It was a tough heart-breaking loss, but even in defeat I couldn't have been more proud to be a Hawkeye fan. The way they went toe-to-toe with a team they had no chance at beating.

The Hawkeyes were selected to play in the Rose Bowl against Stanford, as the playoff committee ranked them ahead of Ohio State. It makes me wonder, if Clemson would have lost to North Carolina, would they have selected Iowa as the number four team? That doesn't matter though, the Rose Bowl is a huge accomplishment and one of the most exciting games for the Hawks. One of my first memories of watching Iowa football was in 1985, I was just five-years-old, but I remember Chuck Long with a rose sticker on his cheek. I also remember a record that we had, there was a song about the Hawkeyes. Tyler Luebke, a former Iowa player, actually posted the song on twitter the other day. It was crazy to hear that again, brought back a lot of memories of watching the Hawkeyes when I was younger.

It was a great Saturday for football. I was so excited for the Iowa game that I didn't watch much of any of the other games. There are some great bowl match ups set up, too. I can't wait for bowl season to start! I'll put out my predictions soon. I usually end up doing them too early before players get suspended or injured and miss the game, but I'll still do predictions soon. I think I'm going to try to make it to the New Mexico Bowl and support the Lobos! They are playing against Arizona. The last time New Mexico made a bowl game was 2007, and I got to perform for the football team as part of their bowl game festivities, it was a blast! I got to meet a lot of the players and the head coach, Rocky Long, he was super nice, as was his wife. I also root for him at San Diego State! They had a great season.

Here's a look at my new top 25 and my Heisman list. They announced the finalists today: McCaffrey, Henry and Watson. I thought Fournette should have gotten a shot, too, but I'm not an expert, so it doesn't matter.

New Top 25
1-Clemson 13-0 beat North Carolina
2-Alabama 12-1 beat Florida
3-Michigan State 12-1 beat Iowa
4-Oklahoma 11-1 did not play
5-Iowa 12-1 lost to Michigan State
6-Ohio State 11-1 did not play
7-Stanford 11-2 beat USC
8-Florida State 10-2 did not play
9-Oregon 9-3 did not play
10-Notre Dame 10-2 did not play
11-TCU 10-2 did not play
12-Northwestern 10-2 did not play
13-North Carolina 11-2 lost to Clemson
14-Ole Miss 9-3 did not play
15-Michigan 9-3 did not play
16-Oklahoma State 10-2 did not play
17-Houston 12-1 beat Temple
18-Wisconsin 9-3 did not play
19-Western Kentucky 11-2 beat Southern Miss
20-Utah 9-3 did not play
21-Navy 10-2 did not play
22-Baylor 9-3 lost to Texas
23-Florida 10-3 lost to Alabama
24-LSU 8-3 did not play
25-Temple 10-3 lost to Houston

I was 6-1 in my predictions which put me at 102-46 for the season

Heisman Watch
Christian McCaffrey had another great game as Stanford knocked off USC in the Pac-12 championship game, so I'm giving him the nod for the Heisman this year.

Christian McCaffrey RB/Ret Stanford
vs USC: 32-207-1 4-105-1 120 Kr Yds 29 Pr Yds and a passing td
Season: 1,847-8 41-540-4 1,042-1 Kr 67 Pr Yds

Derrick Henry RB Alabama
vs Florida: 44-189-1
Season: 1,986-23 10-97

Leonard Fournette RB LSU
Season: 1,741-18 18-209

Deshaun Watson QB Clemson
vs North Carolina: 42-26-289-3-1 24-131-2
Season: 3,504-29-11 887-11

Ezekiel Elliott RB Ohio State
Season: 1,672-19 26-176

Dalvin Cook RB Florida State
Season: 1,662-18 22-218-1

Baker Mayfield QB Oklahoma
Season: 3,389-35-5 420-7

Corey Coleman WR Baylor
vs Texas: 7-49
Season: 74-1,363-20