It's time to say goodbye to 2015 and, with it, the 2015 college football season.
Just 13 games remain in a calendar year that, all things considered, has been pretty good to Ohio State football fans. The Buckeyes still get to toast the new year as defending national champions and will hold that title for a few more weeks.
Maybe it's the post-Christmas eggnog, but I'm ready to sit down and end 2015 with some college football.
Here's your viewing guide through New Year's Eve.
MONDAY
Pittsburgh vs. Navy [Military Bowl] (ESPN, 2:30 p.m.). When was the last time a team played a bowl game in its home stadium? Was it Boise State in the 2005 MPC Computers Bowl?
Navy will end its season in Annapolis against a Pittsburgh team that had a great year under first-year head coach Pat Narduzzi, all things considered. The 8-4 Panthers are at least playing a bowl game in an exotic location. Remember that stretch Pitt had when it played in three-straight Compass Bowls in Birmingham with three different coaches?
Navy is a three-point favorite this game in large part because of Keenan Reynolds. He has the all-time NCAA mark for rushing touchdowns, but Louisiana Tech's Kenneth Dixon surpassed him two weeks ago in total touchdowns. Reynolds could get that mark back at home. http://espn.go.com/college-football/game?gameId=400852686
Central Michigan vs. Minnesota [Quick Lane Bowl] (ESPN2, 5 p.m.). Take him to Detroit.
A bowl game in Detroit is not a reward; it's a punishment. Minnesota is 5-7 but is playing in this game because there are too many damn bowl games and not enough bowl-eligible teams to play them. The Gophers at least had a nice APR to get them into this contest.
Central Michigan had a good season by MAC standards. It won only one of its non-conference games (Monmouth) because it played contests against Oklahoma State and at Michigan State and Syracuse. It lost just two league games (at Western Michigan and to Toledo) to finish 7-5.
There's not a lot of fanfare to this game. Minnesota is a five-point favorite, presumably because of the talent differential that ideally favors the Gophers.
TUESDAY
California vs. Air Force [Armed Forces Bowl] (ESPN, 2 p.m.). Remember California? The Golden Bears were trendy for five minutes and Jared Goff seemed like a dark-horse Heisman candidate. It started 5-0 for the first time since 2007.
Much like 2007, though, California tanked the rest of the season. It finished its final seven games with a 2-5 record.
8-5 Air Force is the Mountain West "Mountain" Division champion. It's also a seven-point underdog.
North Carolina vs. Baylor [Russell Athletic Bowl] (ESPN, 5:30 p.m.). This might be the first attraction of the bowl game. At the least, it's the first bowl game that features two ranked teams.
North Carolina had a great season by any metric. Their fans would love another crack at South Carolina, but the Tar Heels went undefeated in the league before dropping a close one to Clemson in the ACC Championship Game.
A 9-3 season should be good for Baylor standards, but Baylor is nouveau riche in the sport. Its season is a relative disappointment. Baylor hoped to build from last year's co-championship with Texas Christian to a possible outright Big XII championship and berth into the playoff.
Neither materialized. Baylor suffered a string of injuries at quarterback, in particular, and limped to a three-loss campaign. A 23-17 loss to Texas at any other point in Baylor's history is commendable. Knowing Baylor and Texas now, that's a colossal disappointment. It was also the third loss in its last four games.
North Carolina is a three-point favorite.
Nevada vs. Colorado State [Arizona Bowl] (American Sports Network, 7:30 p.m.). Ever heard of the American Sports Network before? I hadn't. If you don't have it, you're not getting this game.
What's more damning for those who defend the bowls from claims that there are too damn many of them? Is it the presence of 5-7 teams this bowl schedule? Or is it this game, which doesn't have a major provider and features two teams from the same damn conference. The 6-6 Wolf Pack and 7-5 Rams did not play each other this year in Mountain West play, but they'll get a chance here.
In fact, this bowl game grew from criticism by the Mountain West commissioner about the perceived disadvantage the conference has in commanding appearances in nicer postseason games. A glorified conference game in the first ever Nova Loans Arizona Bowl is probably not what he had in mind.
Colorado State is a three-point favorite.
LSU vs. Texas Tech (ESPN, 9 p.m.). One of these teams beat Arkansas this year. Could you guess who it is?
Les Miles was almost fired after the end of the regular season, but he received a stay of execution when the president intervened and cautioned the athletic director against the political implications of replacing the football coach at a cash-starved university. Firing Miles would've been a bad move anyway. There's something to be said about a bird in a hand.
However, Miles could use a competent offensive coordinator. Not sure when was the last time we said LSU's offense was at least competent.
The Tigers should have little problem with Texas Tech's defense. That unit couldn't stop a nose bleed. Texas Tech concedes 540.2 yards of offense a game to the opposition. Only Kansas (560.8 yards per game) is worse.
LSU is a seven-point favorite. It will cover.
WEDNESDAY
Auburn vs. Memphis [Birmingham Bowl] (ESPN, 12 p.m.). The great intrigue in the South from the preseason concerned which $4-million-plus coach would finish last in the SEC West? Your answer: Gus Malzahn. Auburn is 6-6 with just two conference wins over Kentucky and Texas A&M.
That Auburn is playing a bowl game in Birmingham while in-state rival Alabama competes for a national championship must be particularly odious.
9-3 Memphis had a three-game stretch near the end of the schedule that took it from competition for the American Athletic Conference championship game and a berth in the New Year's Six. It rebounded only with a 63-0 win over hapless Southern Methodist.
That may have also led to a loss of confidence by Vegas. Auburn is a three-point favorite, even though Memphis has that win over Ole Miss. Auburn could not even pull off that at home.
NC State vs. Mississippi State [Belk Bowl] (ESPN, 3:30 p.m.). NC State and Mississippi State clash in a bowl game designed just to get college football Twitter saying "Belk" ad nauseum.
Mississippi State lost a lot of talent from last year's Orange Bowl squad. An 8-4 season is pretty good, all things considered. However, Mississippi State is trending south at season's end. It's 1-2 in its last three games. It lost 31-6 to Alabama in Starkville. It beat Arkansas on the road, but a 51-50 score raises more questions than answers. It lost 38-27 at home to Ole Miss.
But this is NC State on the other side of the field. The Wolfpack are in their second bowl game under second-year head coach Dave Doeren. That's good. Yet, look at the schedule: Troy, Eastern Kentucky, Old Dominion, and South Alabama.
Its three league wins were 3-9 Wake Forest, 3-9 Boston College, and 4-8 Syracuse. Combined, those three teams won just three of its 24 conference games. NC State is 0-5 against bowl-eligible teams in 2015.
Mississippi State is a six-point favorite. Expect it to cover too.
Texas A&M vs. Louisville [Music City Bowl] (ESPN, 7 p.m.). Does it seem like yesterday when Texas A&M made a home run hire with Kevin Sumlin? It led to the 2012 Cotton Bowl team that featured Heisman winner Johnny Manziel. it immediately supplanted Texas as unquestioned king of college football in the state.
Since then, Texas A&M seems like a train wreck. At least honest-to-god train wrecks don't hemorrhage quarterbacks at the rate that Sumlin's program goes through them.
That's honestly how bad it is for Texas A&M now. It's a five-point underdog to a Louisville team whose offensive line might be the worst of any team appearing in the bowl season.
USC vs. Wisconsin [Holiday Bowl] (ESPN, 10:30 p.m.). I mentioned this a few weeks ago. Care about B1G prestige? Root for Wisconsin.
No other program—not even in the South—has done as many ungodly things to teams from the Big Ten as USC. The Trojans have not lost to a Big Ten team since 1996. It's not for a lack of games either. The Trojans will shoot for its 16th-straight win over nine different Big Ten teams in that stretch.
USC is a three-point favorite. Knowing the Trojans' roster, that's not necessarily a superlative for the Trojans. Wisconsin just can't move the ball. Last year's best (non-triple-option) rushing attack is now the 97th-best rushing offense in the country.
THURSDAY
Houston vs. Florida State (ESPN, 12 p.m.). I cannot underscore enough how much I hate what the playoff format has done to this game. It's supposed to be college football New Year's Eve party. For the second straight year, it's a noon kickoff.
The Peach Bowl fell on the Group of Five grenade this year after the Fiesta Bowl took one for the team last year. Houston has just one loss—a curious one at Connecticut—but has some other nice wins against the like of Louisville, Memphis, Navy, and Vanderbilt.
However, Florida State is a different animal. Truthfully, I hate this matchup for Tom Herman's Cougars. Houston had a fantastic season but it has not played a team like Florida State. Assuming Florida State sufficiently cares about this game, it could make it ugly for the Cougars.
Florida State is a seven-point favorite.
Oklahoma vs. Clemson [Orange Bowl] (ESPN, 4 p.m.). This is the first of the two semifinal games, which constitute the first major step toward the end of Ohio State's bragging rights from last year.
It's also a rematch from a bowl game last year. Don't ask Oklahoma how that ended. The 40-6 win for Clemson was ugly for Sooners fans in attendance.
If this game had been played the week after the ACC Championship Game (or even two weeks after it), I'd bet hard on Oklahoma. Clemson has been as sure of a thing as any team this country. It's definitely the only undefeated remaining in this bowl schedule.
However, Clemson seems a bit top-heavy, especially at defensive line. It doesn't regularly substitute at defensive line, which is the strength of the defense. Linebacker Ben Boulware isn't that good (honestly, his backup may be better) and he was playing with one serviceable arm in the ACC Championship Game. Clemson was running out of gas, but may have recharged over winter break.
Clemson fans will hope it did. A healthy, totally refreshed Clemson team probably beats Oklahoma. Oklahoma, however, is a four-point favorite.
Michigan State vs. Alabama [Cotton Bowl] (ESPN, 8 p.m.). This is the second semifinal game and last game of 2015. The winner advances to play the Orange Bowl champion on January 11th.
Alabama is a big favorite in this game. It's obvious why. Alabama has the Heisman Trophy winner and Maxwell Award winner at tailback. Thus, the story of this game will be Alabama's rushing attack (i.e. Derrick Henry) against Michigan State's rush defense, the seventh best unit in the country.
I still think the bigger matchup is Alabama's passing attack against Michigan State's secondary. After all, Henry is more of a factor later in contests when Alabama is front-running and the opposing defense is wearing out. The real explosion plays through the game come from Alabama's passing attack. Michigan State's secondary has struggled all year. Calvin Ridley, a Freshman All-American receiver for the Tide, could have a break-out game.
Alabama is a 9.5-point favorite this game. Then again, it was probably that kind of favorite last year against Ohio State's third-string quarterback. Stranger things have happened.
