I remember last year when I attempted to pick the results of every bowl game.
Opt-outs, the transfer portal and coaching changes ravaged the sport, making predicting results borderline impossible. While there’s still plenty of transfer portal chaos as ever that may impact bowl season, there seems to be far fewer opt-outs than you’d expect, with established players around the sport like Jalen Milroe, Cam Ward, Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders all saying they’ll play in their respective non-College Football Playoff bowl game.
So what the hell, let’s try this picking games thing again. Bowl season starts today, so no better time to get these picks rolling.
Though there may be more of a science to some picks this year considering the decline of opt outs (thanks, NIL checks!), make no mistake, these picks are going to be lightly researched and have a few eye-roll-inducing remarks sprinkled in. We’ll pick all 42 FBS bowls, plus the first-round College Football Playoff games (which don’t technically count as bowl games).
Non-CFP
Saturday, Dec. 14
IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl: South Alabama (6-6) vs. Western Michigan (6-6), 9 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: I can’t decide if I like the Salute to Veterans Bowl being on the same day as Army vs. Navy or not. At least both games are standalone games. Anyway. Uh, we watched this Western Michigan team earlier this year in Ohio Stadium if you remember. If you don’t, go look at that score. I ain’t riding with these guys.
The pick: South Alabama
Tuesday, Dec. 17
Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl: Memphis (10-2) vs. West Virginia (6-6), 9 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: My completely unscientific poll says go with the team that did not fire its head coach this season.
The pick: Memphis
Wednesday, Dec. 18
Boca Raton Bowl: Western Kentucky (8-5) vs. James Madison (8-4), 5:30 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: Curt Cignetti arguably should be the coach of the year nationally for leading Indiana to a historic season and the Hoosiers’ first-ever CFP appearance. What does that have to do with this game? Absolutely not a damn thing, but Cignetti came from James Madison, so riding with the Dukes it is.
The pick: James Madison
Art of Sport LA Bowl: Cal (6-6) vs. UNLV (10-3), 9 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: My oh my. UNLV is without its head coach, since Barry Odom left for the Purdue gig. Cal is without its starting quarterback, with Fernando Mendoza portaling elsewhere. Where do we draw the line? I know, we’ll go with the FBS team that didn’t lose to Florida State!
The pick: UNLV
Thursday, Dec. 19
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: Georgia Southern (8-4) vs. Sam Houston (9-3), 7 p.m., ESPN2
Breakdown: This one should be a fun, close game, but Sam Houston has double-digit players in the portal, so we will be picking against it.
The pick: Georgia Southern
Friday, Dec. 20
Cure Bowl: Ohio (10-3) vs. Jacksonville State (9-4), noon, ESPN
Breakdown: Ohio is rolling off a MAC championship and nobody is stopping these Bobcats. No, I don’t have family members who went there and are pressuring me to pick them, why do you ask?
The pick: Ohio
Gasparilla Bowl: Florida (7-5) vs. Tulane (9-4), 3:30 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: The best part about Tulane, quarterback Darian Mensah, has hit the transfer portal. So I don’t really know what reason there is not to pick the SEC roster. Watching DJ Lagway should be fun at least leading into the first playoff game.
The pick: Florida
Monday, Dec. 23
Myrtle Beach Bowl: Coastal Carolina (6-6) vs. UTSA (6-6), 11 a.m., ESPN
Breakdown: I’ve been saying it since Day One, we don’t have enough bowl games featuring 6-6 teams in the postseason. Just kidding, nobody actually says that. You know what the people would watch the hell out of, though? A battle of the worst FBS teams, featuring Purdue and Florida State. Oh sorry, you want a pick here? Um…
The pick: UTSA
Idaho Potato Bowl: Northern Illinois (7-5) vs. Fresno State (6-6), 2:30 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: Remember when NIU beat Notre Dame this year? No really, it happened. Might as well honor the Huskies’ victory against the Fighting Irish here.
The pick: Northern Illinois
Tuesday, Dec. 24
Hawai’i Bowl: South Florida (6-6) vs. San Jose State (7-5), 8 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: Wait a minute, they’re making these two schools from opposite ends of the country play each other in Hawaii on Christmas Eve? I can’t decide if that’s awesome or a cruel and unusual punishment. But we’ll show some love to San Jose State wide receiver Nick Nash, who did not win the Biletnikoff Award over Travis Hunter despite having the statistical advantage in nearly every category.
The pick: San Jose State
Thursday, Dec. 26
GameAbove Sports Bowl: Pittsburgh (7-5) vs. Toledo (7-5), 2 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: Oddly, I feel these two are pretty disappointed with their seasons in different ways. Toledo had a great chance of winning the MAC and beat the brakes off a (bad) SEC team, while Pittsburgh started 7-0 then crashed and burned. Oh well, somebody has to win.
The pick: Pittsburgh
Rate Bowl: Rutgers (7-5) vs. Kansas State (8-4), 5:30 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: You never know which Rutgers team is going to show up in a given week. The same could be said for Kansas State, but at least the Wildcats are a bit more consistent. Sorry, Greg Schiano.
The pick: Kansas State
68 Ventures Bowl: Arkansas State (7-5) vs. Bowling Green (7-5), 9 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: This always could change, but it sure looks like Bowling Green standout tight end Harold Fannin Jr. is going to suit up for this one. If you haven’t watched Fannin play this year, you really should. As much as I respect Tyler Warren, Fannin probably should have won the Mackey Award.
The pick: Bowling Green
Friday, Dec. 27
Armed Forces Bowl: Oklahoma (6-6) vs. Navy (8-3), noon, ESPN
Breakdown: Much respect to our brave troops, but if Alabama can’t score on Oklahoma’s defense, I’m not sure how Navy is supposed to, option offense and all.
The pick: Oklahoma
Birmingham Bowl: Georgia Tech (7-5) vs. Vanderbilt (6-6), 3:30 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: These were two teams I really liked watching this year for various reasons. Both are plucky underdogs that run exciting offenses and pulled off massive upsets along the way. It’s pretty fitting they play each other, to be honest. But someone has to win. So let’s go with a fitting sendoff for Haynes King.
The pick: Georgia Tech
Liberty Bowl: Texas Tech (8-4) vs. Arkansas (6-6), 7 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: Weirdly, it seems like the Big 12 has done pretty well against the SEC in bowl games all things considered the past few years. Can’t go against trends, right?
The pick: Texas Tech
Holiday Bowl: Syracuse (9-3) vs. Washington State (8-4), 8 p.m., FOX
Breakdown: Syracuse signal-caller Kyle McCord has confirmed he’ll play in the game, so that’s good news for the Orange (he’s not a projected first-round pick, why wouldn’t he?). Anyhow, Washington State is the team McCord and Syracuse should eat for breakfast, especially with how they finished the season.
The pick: Syracuse
Las Vegas Bowl: Texas A&M (8-4) vs. USC (6-6), 10:30 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: I remember thinking USC was going to lay an egg in its bowl game last year without Caleb Williams, then Miller Moss came out and had the game of his career. Somehow none of that transferred over into this year, but maybe the Trojans have some random magic in them again in bowl season.
The pick: USC
Saturday, Dec. 28
Fenway Bowl: UConn (8-4) at North Carolina (6-6), 11 a.m., ESPN
Breakdown: The Tar Heels are playing in Boston, with new coach Bill Belichick surely using his binoculars from the press box to take in the action. The bowl selection committee did this on purpose, didn’t they? Who knows how this game is going to go, but only one thing is certain: There will be more reporters credentialed there than the Fenway Bowl was ever expecting in its life, and 80 percent of them will be Patriots reporters dying to find Bill and get a question refuted.
The pick: North Carolina
Pinstripe Bowl: Boston College (7-5) vs. Nebraska (6-6), noon, ABC
Breakdown: Nebraska fans stormed the damn field once the Cornhuskers became bowl-eligible. You don’t think they’re going to let that celebration go to waste, do you? (OK, maybe they will, but still).
The pick: Nebraska
New Mexico Bowl: Louisiana (10-3) vs. TCU (8-4), 2:15 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: Sometimes, you just have to pick a game based on vibes and absolutely nothing else. That’s why this pick looks this way.
The pick: Louisiana
Pop-Tarts Bowl: Iowa State (10-3) vs. Miami (10-2), 3:30 p.m., ABC
Breakdown: Oh hell yeah, now we’re cooking with gas. There is no single game in the entire bowl season more important than the Pop-Tarts Bowl, featuring not one, not two, but three Pop-Tart mascots. There’s plenty of pomp and circumstance, plus the teams are actually pretty fun to watch, too. Can’t really go against Cam Ward here, though.
The pick: Miami
Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl: Miami OH (8-5) vs. Colorado State (8-4), 4:30 p.m., CW Network
Breakdown: Like the Pop-Tarts Bowl, the corporate sponsorship here gets an A-plus. Fans will be treated to some fun live music here, I’m sure, and also some, well, potentially interesting aromas filling the stadium.
The pick: Miami (OH)
Military Bowl: East Carolina (7-5) vs. NC State (6-6), 5:45 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: Similar logic we used earlier, let’s not roll with the team that fired its coach earlier in the year. Bonus point, you’ll get to see former OSU wideout Noah Rogers play if you tune in to this matchup.
The pick: NC State
Alamo Bowl: BYU (10-2) vs. Colorado (9-3), 7:30 p.m., ABC
Breakdown: It’s a good thing the new world order of conference realignment hasn’t fully set in yet with college football fans, otherwise we’d probably be asking ourselves why the hell are two teams in the same conference playing each other? The Cougars and Buffs didn’t play each other this season, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Hunter and Sanders make a few big plays each on their way out the door to the NFL Draft.
The pick: Colorado
Independence Bowl: Marshall (10-3) vs. Army (11-1), 9:15 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: Former Marshall coach Charles Huff, Tudors Biscuit’s NIL deal lover and all, has left to take a job at Southern Miss. Nearly half the roster on Marshall (more than 25 players) entered the transfer portal. I’m not kidding, I’m not entirely sure how Marshall is going to field a competitive team here against Army. Good luck, I guess.
The pick: Army
Monday, Dec. 30
Music City Bowl: Iowa (8-4) vs. Missouri (9-3), 2:30 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: Luther Burden won’t be playing in this one, which is a bit of a bummer. Considering Brady Cook should be playing in this one for Missouri, there’s probably still enough offense here to get past Iowa, but it’s not all fun and games when you outgain the Hawkeyes by 200 yards and lose anyway, is it Nebraska? If anyone can win ugly, it’s Iowa.
The pick: Iowa
Tuesday, Dec. 31
ReliaQuest Bowl: Alabama (9-3) vs. Michigan (7-5), noon, ESPN
Breakdown: Yeah, I’m not sure how this team beat Ohio State again either.
The pick: Alabama
Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl: Louisville (8-4) vs. Washington (6-6), 2 p.m., CBS
Breakdown: Louisville can put up points in bunches with the best of them. Washington… well I’m not entirely positive what Washington is awesome at.
The pick: Louisville
Cheez-It Bowl: South Carolina (9-3) vs. Illinois (9-3), 3 p.m., ABC
Breakdown: Sorry, Bert. Love what the Illini accomplished this season, but South Carolina closed out the year too strongly and has too fierce of a pash rush for me to trust Illinois here.
The pick: South Carolina
Texas Bowl: Baylor (8-4) vs. LSU (8-4), 3:30 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: We’ve got Brian Kelly offering to match donations to NIL collectives down at LSU. On one hand, that’s kind of cool; on the other, it reeks of desperation. Can’t roll with that, no sir.
The pick: Baylor
Thursday, Jan. 2
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl: Duke (9-3) vs. Ole Miss (9-3), 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: Duke will be forced to start a backup QB with Maalik Murphy transferring out. This one might be over at halftime.
The pick: Ole Miss
Friday, Jan. 3
First Responder Bowl: North Texas (6-6) vs. Texas State (7-5), 4 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: North Texas is a pass-heavy team and won’t have its starting quarterback for this one, so I think you can guess where I’m leaning here.
The pick: Texas State
Duke’s Mayo Bowl: Minnesota (7-5) vs. Virginia Tech (6-6), 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: Just think about PJ Fleck getting a huge tub of mayo dumped on him. I absolutely am rooting for that to happen.
The pick: Minnesota
Saturday, Jan. 4
Bahamas Bowl: Buffalo (8-4) vs. Liberty (8-3), 11 a.m., ESPN 2
Breakdown: This is seriously the final non-CFP game. Interesting, right? At least they get to play in a fun location. Anyway, I’m giving up on Liberty just like a chunk of their roster gave up on the school and headed into the portal.
The pick: Buffalo
CFP games
Friday, Dec. 20
No. 10 Indiana (11-1) vs. No. 7 Notre Dame (11-1), 8 p.m., ABC
Breakdown: The civil war for Indiana should be a fun one, with early weather forecasts coming in around in the low 20s and a 50 percent chance of snow. Color me among those rooting for a Cinderella run for Indiana, purely based on the school’s poor history and nothing else, but the Fighting Irish’s running game and pass defense will be enough to earn a win in South Bend.
The pick: Notre Dame
Saturday, Dec. 21
No. 11 SMU (11-2) vs. No. 6 Penn State (11-2), noon, TNT
Breakdown: SMU has to travel north to play in Happy Valley in another contest where it could snow. Best of luck, Mustangs. It’s cool to see the committee finally reward the little guy and put SMU in over a three-loss Alabama team, but based on how Penn State played and the style of the Mustangs’ offense, it could be a rough one in State College.
The pick: Penn State
No. 12 Clemson (10-3) at No. 5 Texas (11-2), 4 p.m., TNT
Breakdown: Fun fact, unless you’re really high on Texas A&M, Texas has not beaten a team better than Clemson all season. Dabo Swinney is also really easy to make fun of, but in do-or-die games, it’s hard to count him out completely. Still, I can’t see this Texas roster going down in round one.
The pick: Texas
No. 9 Tennessee (10-2) at No. 8 Ohio State (10-2), 8 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: Tennessee fans are apparently taking over Ohio State’s ticket sales. The past few weeks in Columbus haven’t been fun with another Michigan loss and you can bet the OSU fans in attendance will have plenty of nervous energy. It’s everything but our pets’ heads falling off over here. Yet, in 20-degree weather and against a Tennessee offense that goes into scoring droughts at times on the road, I still think the Buckeyes have enough to get this done and let Ryan Day breathe a little easier.
The pick: Ohio State
Tuesday, Dec. 31
Fiesta Bowl: No. 3 Boise State (12-1) vs. No. 6 Penn State (projected, 12-2), 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: I’m looking forward to watching Ashton Jeanty compete on a big stage again just like everybody else is, but this is once again not the kind of team James Franklin has a problem beating. The team with the easiest path to the semifinals in the CFP takes advantage of it.
The pick: Penn State
Wednesday, Jan. 1
Peach Bowl: No. 5 Texas (projected, 12-2) vs. No. 4 Arizona State (11-2), 1 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: I don’t want to pick against Cam Skattebo and Arizona State either, but the dream season of going from worst to first ends here.
The pick: Texas
Rose Bowl: No. 8 Ohio State (projected, 11-2) vs. No. 1 Oregon (13-0), 5 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: We get the rematch we’ve all wanted after all. We thought it would come in the Big Ten Championship Game, not the CFP quarterfinals, but that’s neither here nor there. The good news is, I think the Buckeyes defense should perform much better against Oregon this time around now that they know how they plan to attack them. Unfortunately, I don’t see the offense being as effective with the current offensive line situation. I’d expect another tight game and this one could go either way, but I have to go with my gut here.
The pick: Oregon
Sugar Bowl: No. 7 Notre Dame (projected, 12-1) vs. No. 2 Georgia (11-2), 8:45 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: Carson Beck in all likelihood will not be playing this game, which means Georgia could have the worst — or at least the most inexperienced — quarterback of all teams in the 12-team field. And it’s not like that offense was unstoppable to begin with. I don’t care how talented your defense is, that’s a lot to ask from one unit.
The pick: Notre Dame
Thursday, Jan. 9
Orange Bowl: No. 7 Notre Dame (projected) vs. No. 3 Penn State (projected), 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: What an interesting semifinal this would be. Nothing would ever be set up more perfectly for James Franklin than it is in this playoff right here. But they call him Big Game James for a reason, right?
The pick: Notre Dame
Friday, Jan. 10
Cotton Bowl: No. 5 Texas (projected) vs. No. 1 Oregon (projected), 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: What a reward Oregon gets for being the No. 1 seed. The Ducks get to clash with the best roster in college football in the quarterfinals, then have a potential matchup with Texas IN DALLAS of all places. Bet they’re sure glad they went undefeated. Anyway, Oregon still feels like the more complete team here.
The pick: Oregon
Monday, Jan. 20
National Championship Game: No. 1 Oregon (projected) vs. No. 7 Notre Dame (projected), 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Breakdown: I hardly think Notre Dame is one of the two best teams in the nation, but their path sets itself up nicely for a title game appearance. Oregon, on the other hand, is loaded at almost every position and feels well-equipped to win its first-ever national championship.
The pick: Oregon
