In round two of “Here’s hoping I wasn’t totally off on my predictions, considering I made most of them at the beginning of December,” here are more predictions for this season’s 40-plus college football bowl games:
Thursday, Dec. 21
• Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl (Thomas Robinson Stadium in Nassau, Bahamas)
Match-up: Florida International vs. Toledo
Time, channel: 9:30 a.m., ESPN
The skinny: In a prime contest between two teams few people outside Miami and Toldeo know about, the Florida International Golden Panthers (8-4) will edge the Toledo Rockets (7-5) by virtue of having played slightly better in a loss to common opponent: FIU feel to Miami 31-17 while Toledo lost to Miami 49-24 just a week prior.
My pick: Florida International 41, Toldeo 30.
• Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho)
Match-up: Western Michigan vs. BYU
Time, channel: 1 p.m., ESPN
The skinny: Western Michigan (7-5) has been up and down, starting 0-2 before reeling off a six-game win streak, only to lose starting quarterback Jon Wassink to injury — then three games in a row. The Broncos pulled out of a nosedive with a seven-point win over Northern Illinois to set up the contest with BYU (6-6), whose Cougars switched quarterbacks mid-season after going 3-3 and finished … 3-3. Despite fewer wins, BYU has been a bit more battle-tested, having played Utah, Boise State and North Illinois close and having a win over Wisconsin to its credit.
My pick: BYU 31, Western Michigan 28.
Friday, Dec. 22
• Jared Birmingham Bowl (Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala.)
Match-up: Memphis vs. Wake Forest
Time, channel: 9 a.m., ESPN
The skinny: An impressive 59-7 win over Duke sent Wake Forest (6-6) to the “Jared” bowl. The Demon Deacons finished fifth in the ACC Atlantic conference having face four ranked teams, including FBS semi-finalists Clemson and Notre Dame. Memphis (8-5), the American Athletic-West champ, nearly knocked off UCF (twice) and whose only losses are to bowl teams; the Tigers’ most impressive win, however,came against a Houston team that lost its starting QB a week prior (see below). Memphis will ride junior Darrell Henderson, the nation’s No. 2 rusher and new AAC rushing record holder at 1,909 yards, to a win.
My pick: Memphis 42, Wake Forest 29.
• Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas)
Match-up: Houston vs. Army
Time, channel: 12:30 p.m., ESPN
The skinny: A wild, 10-win year for the run-first Army Knights (10-2) includes an overtime loss to FBS semi-finalist Oklahoma and solid wins over Buffalo, Hawai’i, Miami-Ohio and Eastern Michigan. Houston (8-4), despite losing three of its last four, posted some impressive offensive numbers but lost quarterback D’Eriq King late in the season, and split their final two (beat Tulane, lost to Memphis). In another classic clash of styles (Army’s 3,500-plus rushing yards to Houston’s 3,600 through the air), the Knights find a way to win.
My pick: Army 28, Houston 21.
• Dollar General Bowl (Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala.)
Match-up: Buffalo vs. Troy
Time, channel: 4 p.m., ESPN
The skinny: At 10-3 the Buffalo Bulls might give the NFL’s Buffalo Bills a run for the money. A balanced attack helped the MAC-East champions post a strong record, though they don’t have a signature win. The Troy Trojans (9-3) took the Sun Belt-East conference with five- and four-game win streaks, their losses coming against good Boise State and Appalachian State teams — despite losing their starting quarterback mid-season. Troy QB Sawyer Smith proves to be the difference in this one.
My pick: Troy 28, Buffalo 27.
• Hawai’i Bowl (Aloha Stadium in Honolulu)
Match-up: Louisiana Tech vs. Hawai’i
Time, channel: 9:30 p.m., ESPN
The skinny: A meeting of two teams going in the wrong direction, in a way. Hawai’i (8-5) lost four in a row before scraping by UNLV and a decent San Diego State Team (in OT). Louisiana Tech (7-5) has lost three of four, including a 15-point loss to a 3-9 Western Kentucky team on Nov. 24. The Rainbow Warriors have home turf advantage and a pretty impressive quarterback in sophomore Cole McDonald (3,790 yards, sixth in nation) and junior receiver John Ursua (1,343 yards, fifth in nation, and 16 TD catches, first).
My pick: Hawai’i 45, Louisiana Tech 21.
Wednesday, Dec. 26
• SERVPRO First Responder Bowl (Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas)
Match-up: Boston College vs. (25) Boise State
Time, channel: 10:30 a.m., ESPN
The skinny: BC’s Eagles (7-5) finished fourth in the ACC, thanks to three straight losses to end the season. They have a nice QB-RB combo in Anthony Brown and A.J. Dillon, but I like the Broncos from Idaho in this one after conference champ BSU (10-3) racked up some strong wins led by Spokane native Brett Rypien. He and 1,400 yards-plus rusher Alexander Mattison take this one.
My pick: Boise State 40, Boston College 31.
• Quick Lane Bowl (Ford Field in Detroit, Mich.)
Match-up: Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech
Time, channel: 2:15 p.m., ESPN
The skinny: In a game pitting two schools that scraped by with bowl berths, Georgia Tech gets the nod here based almost solely on the fact that the Yellow Jackets (7-5) looked better in losses than the Golden Gophers did (Illinois? Nebraska?).
My pick: Georgia Tech 37, Minnesota 27.
• Cheez-It Bowl (Chase Field in Phoenix)
Match-up: California vs. TCU
Time, channel: 6 p.m., ESPN
The skinny: My favorite bowl name for 2018-2019 (“Cheez-It, it’s the cops!”) … anyway, Cal (7-5) is Jeckyl and Hyde this season with wins over Washington and BYU and a near upset of WSU, but also lost to Arizona and UCLA (badly). TCU somehow got bowl-eligible at 6-6 with a win over Oklahoma State in the final week despite shifting starting QBs twice this season. In likely the only time a frog beats a bear. TCU takes this one.
My pick: TCU 28, California 17.
Thursday, Dec. 27
• Walk-On’s Independence Bowl (Independence Stadium in Shreveport, La.)
Match-up: Temple vs. Duke
Time, channel: 10:30 a.m., ESPN
The skinny: Perhaps the most anticipated match-up of the season … in basketball, perhaps. Duke (7-5) got destroyed by Wake Forest (59-7) to close the season and may not recover, while Temple (8-4) comes in winners of six of their past seven. The Owls’ starting QB Anthony Russo may have broken his hand in the second-to-last game, however.
My pick: Temple 28, Duke 17.
• Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl (NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas)
Match-up: Baylor vs. Vanderbilt
Time, channel: 6 p.m., ESPN
The skinny: In a clash of 6-6 “Hey we’re bowl eligible!” teams, Baylor has the better uniforms … and their defense has gotten (slightly) better as the season wore on.
My pick: Baylor 45, Vanderbilt 41
• New Era Pinstripe Bowl (Yankee Stadium in New York, NY)
Match-up: Miami vs. Wisconsin
Time, channel: 2:15 p.m., ESPN
The skinny: Can anyone stop the running attack of those Wisconsin (7-5) Badgers? Jonathan Taylor leads the traditionally tough Badger rush — and the nation — with 1,989 yards to go with 15 TDs. Miami (7-5), a pass-heavy squad back in the days I started watching college ball, was well-balanced this year and is coming off a 24-3 win over Pitt. The Big Ten controls the line, however, and it proves the difference.
My pick: Wisconsin 24, Miami 13.
Friday, Dec. 28
• Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl (Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn.)
Match-up: Purdue vs. Auburn
Time, channel: 10:30 a.m., ESPN
The skinny: Able to lay claim to wins over Ohio State (then ranked No. 2) and Iowa (No. 16), the 6-6 Purdue Boilermakers rebounded nicely from an 0-3 start to look respectable, even in a three-OT loss to Wisconsin. David Blough is the real deal at QB (3,521 yards, 25 TDs). On the other side, Auburn (7-5) got bowl eligible in a tough SEC and looked good (at times), even in losses to Alabama, LSU and Georgia.
My pick: Auburn 28, Purdue 27.
• Camping World Bowl (Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.)
Match-up: (16) West Virginia vs. (20) Syracuse
Time, channel: 2:15 p.m., ESPN
The skinny: West Virginia (8-3) has longest losing streak of any team in the top 25 (two) — but nearly knocked off Oklahoma in a three-point loss to end the season. Will Grier has a cannon for an arm (3,864 passing yards and 37 TDs, both top-five in the nation) and the Mountaineers can run the ball at times. Syracuse (9-3) has some solid wins on its record and one of the top place-kickers in the nation in Andre Szmyt, but looked out of place in winning five of its past six. West Virginia has been tested a bit more.
My pick: West Virginia 41, Syracuse 33.
• Valero Alamo Bowl (Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas)
Match-up: (24) Iowa State at (13) Washington State
Time, channel: 6 p.m., ESPN
The skinny: I’ve got friends on both sides of the aisle here. Hard to pick against Washington State (10-2) and quarterback Gardner Minshew (4,477 passing yards, 36 TDs). Iowa State has surprised a lot of folks after beating West Virginia and keeping it close with both TCU and Oklahoma, but narrow wins against Kansas State and Drake to close the season didn’t impress.
My pick: Washington State 38, Iowa State 28.
