The game we’ve been waiting for
No score to report until our next article so not much to say here.
Next round of games starts Friday, December 27th, at noon. Please get your picks in before then.
Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
First round of the playoffs came and went, and they were pretty boring. There were some exciting moments, but the games as a whole were blowouts. The home teams took advantage of their overwhelming homefield advantages, and temperature and lack of talent seemed to weigh down the road teams.
I watched the games with some SEC fans who had their fair share of thoughts about who the committee chose, at least until Tennessee got blown out. I’m not sure I expected anything crazy to happen in the first round but hopefully there will be more excitement in the quarterfinals.
Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
People keep saying bowl games are dead, but we have had a few fun shootouts early on. Georgia Southern versus Sam Houston and Ohio versus Jacksonville State were both pretty exciting. I’m hoping the next round of bowl games continues to deliver.
picks:
Birmingham Bowl
Protective Stadium, Birmingham, AL:
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (-2.5) v Vanderbilt Commodores
Logan: This is what the whole season has built to. It’s been full of ups and downs and now we have one last game to play to end it on a high note. Vandy has pulled some upsets this year but ended their season on a 3 game slide, fair to say they will be motivated to win this game and end the season with a record over the .500 mark. Vandy has a Haynes King equivalent on their offense in Diego Pavia who can move the ball through the air and on the ground with his legs. Tech has generally been good at the run but has struggled at containing rushing QBs (see the NC State game for reference). Vandy has a bend but don’t break defense that gives up a lot of yards but has been pretty successful at keeping teams out of the endzone. Georgia Tech will need to convert in the redzone and use their run game to wear down Vandy over time. Vandy is going to be a tougher matchup than some may think, but I still believe Tech wins by a FG. If we prep for this game like we did against uga we should win, but if not expect this to be a stressful experience to watch.
Logan’s pick: Georgia Tech
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, TX:
Oklahoma Sooners (-8.5) v Navy Midshipmen
Logan: There’s a bunch of numbers that put this game in favor of Oklahoma, but who cares about that. This has been a magic season for Navy. The Midshipmen may not have won the American Conference, but they earned the Commander and Chief trophy and had a fantastic season. Midshipmen deserve to end the season with a win. Navy should at least cover the spread.
Logan’s pick: Navy
AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Played in Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, Memphis, TN:
Texas Tech Red Raiders v Arkansas Razorbacks (-2.5)
Logan: Sometimes it feels like teams get favored just because they are in the SEC. Arkansas has played some good teams close but has not been able to actually win those games. Texas Tech was able to beat both teams that played in the Big 12 championship, and has an offense that couldn’t be stopped to end the year. I expect Arkansas to struggle if they fall behind early, I’ll take the Red Raiders.
Logan’s pick: Texas Tech
DirecTV Holiday Bowl
Played in Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego, CA:
#21 Syracuse Orange (-6.5) v Washington State Cougars
Logan: I don’t like Fran Brown because he seems to be more of a uga fan than a fan of his own program. Still I can’t argue with his coaching results, Syracuse has played excellently this year. Going into the bowl game Fran is indicating that star QB Kyle McCord will be playing. I don’t know how true that is, but if McCord is playing I can’t pick against Syracuse.
Logan’s pick: Syracuse
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl
Played in Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV:
Texas A&M Aggies (-3.0) v USC Trojans
Logan: Texas A&M nearly won the SEC this year. They are rewarded for this feat with a trip to Vegas to play a 6-6 USC. Crazy things happen in Vegas, and USC is a better team than their record, but sometimes the SEC team is favored for a reason. Texas A&M should win this game handily.
Logan’s pick: Texas A&M
Wasabi Fenway Bowl
Played in Fenway Park, Boston, MA:
UConn Huskies v UNC Tar Heels (-4.5)
Logan: I hate Geoff Collins, which should be enough of a reason to pick UConn. There is plenty of chaos right now with the coaching turnover for UNC so we’re not entirely sure who will be playing in this game. Combine that with a cold environment that UConn is used to and this may be a tough game for UNC. UConn, because I hate UNC right now.
Logan’s pick: UConn
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl
Played in Yankee Stadium, New York, NY:
Boston College Eagles v Nebraska Cornhuskers (-2.5)
Logan: I’m not sure how I feel about Nebraska this year. They won 6 games and hung close in some tough games against teams like Ohio State. But I would’ve expected better that a 6-6 record if they were truly over the hump. Boston College had a good stretch at the end of the season and pulled of a good upset against Syracuse which makes me think they are a good team. I’ll take what I think I know over what I definitely don’t know. Boston College.
Logan’s pick: Boston College
Isleta New Mexico Bowl
Played in University Stadium, Albuquerque, NM:
Louisiana Ragin Cajuns v TCU Horned Toads (-12.5)
Logan: I feel confident that TCU will win, but this spread seems pretty large even with Louisiana getting blown out by Marshall in their conference championship game. I’ll take Louisiana to cover.
Logan’s pick: Louisiana
Pop-Tarts Bowl
Played in Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL:
#18 Iowa State Cyclones v #13 Miami Hurricanes (-3.5)
Logan: I don’t really care about this game, but I do want to see what antics the Pop-Tarts Bowl has in store this year. On paper this should be a close game, but it would be the most Miami thing ever for most of their team to decide not to play and to lose to Iowa State by a fair margin. I’m expecting that to be how things playout.
Logan’s pick: Iowa State
Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl
Played in Arizona Stadium, Tucson, AZ:
Miami of Ohio Red Hawks (-3.0) v Colorado State Rams
Logan: Another game where I am more curious about the off the field antics than the actual game. I do like the narrative for Colorado State here. This is Colorado State’s first bowl since 2017 and first 8+ win season since 2014. The Rams finished behind only UNLV and Boise State in the Mountain West, so they are a good team even if they didn’t get to play in the conference championship. Miami of Ohio has a good offense, so this game could be a shoot-out but I’ll take Colorado State.
Logan’s pick: Colorado State
Go Bowling Military Bowl
Played in Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, MD:
East Carolina Pirates v NC State Wolfpack (-5.0)
Logan: Both teams seemed to figure things out at the end of the year, but for ECU they had the benefit of an easy schedule to assist on that front. I’m not sure what will happen with transfers for NC State but assuming most of their players are good to go in the bowl game I expect the Wolfpack to handle their business against the Pirates.
Logan’s pick: NC State
Valero Alamo Bowl
Played in Alamodome, San Antonio, TX:
#17 BYU Cougars v #23 Colorado Buffaloes (-3.0)
Logan: Just another Big 12 game played in Texas. Despite the Buffaloes having a strong end to the season, I still think BYU has the better resume between the 2. I’ll take BYU, despite them facing down Heisman winner Travis Hunter.
Logan’s pick: BYU
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl
Played in Independence Stadium, Shreveport, LA:
Marshall Thundering Herd Louisiana Tech Bulldogs v #22 Army Black Knights (-16.5)
Logan: Imagine having your best season of the millennium and getting rewarded with a trip to Shreveport. Then Imagine the team you were going to play dropping out of the bowl game because they lost most of their team and their coach. This is not an article about discussing the impact of the portal, this is an article about picking games. Army has been the surprise of the season and I love how well their team has performed. How can I not pick Army to end the year?
Logan’s pick: Army
TransPerfect Music City Bowl
Played in Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN:
Iowa Hawkeyes v #19 Missouri Tigers (-3.0)
Logan: Iowa didn’t have much offense last year. This year they managed more offense, but most of that was on the back of Running Back Kaleb Johnson who has already opted out of the bowl game. Regardless of what happens on Mizzou’s side I don’t expect Iowa to be able to move the ball much without Johnson. I’ll take the Tigers to win by at least a field goal, probably more.
Logan’s pick: Mizzou
ReliaQuest Bowl
Played in Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL:
#11 Alabama Crimson Tide (-10.0) v Michigan Wolverines
Logan: This bowl will be full of opt outs. Oddly Alabama is currently expecting less opt outs than the Wolverines, at least per reports at the time of this article. Alabama has been on a downward spiral, and I’m not sure if it would be worse or better for them if Milroe decides to opt out of this game. Michigan will be missing their top receiver (who is a tight end) in Colston Loveland but currently are retaining the majority of their defense. I lean in Michigan’s favor simply because of the large spread and how Alabama has struggled recently. This game probably means more to Michigan after the season they just had, so lets go with the Wolverines. My policy of always picking Alabama is just falling apart this year.
Logan’s pick: Michigan
Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl
Played in the Sun Bowl, El Paso, TX:
Louisville Cardinals (-2.5) v Washington Huskies
Logan: Opt outs are becoming a regular trend in this article. Louisville has their starting and backup QB opting out, along with the vast majority of their offense and a few defensive players. The Huskies currently have 2 opt outs on defense but are otherwise intact. I think I have to pick the Huskies, just because I have no familiarity with the players Louisville is going to field in this game.
Logan’s pick: Washington
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl
Played in Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL:
#15 South Carolina Gamecocks (-9.5) v #20 Illinois Fighting Illini
Logan: Getting the opt outs out of the way, both teams have a few but not enough to make us question the state of their offenses and defenses. I like Illinois but the issue they had this year was over coming talented teams. South Carolina pulled quite a few upsets and the games they expected to win. South Carolina seems like the obvious choice pending more opt outs.
Logan’s pick: South Carolina
Kinder’s Texas Bowl
Played in NRG Stadium, Houston, TX:
Baylor Bears v LSU Tigers (-1.0)
Logan: Baylor flew under the radar this year and I think Baylor will have something to prove against a LSU team that hasn’t been that impressive this season. This game will be close, but I do think Baylor can get the victory here.
Logan’s pick: Baylor
CFP Playoff Quarter Final Round:
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl
Played in State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ
#6 Penn State Nittany Lions (-10.5) v #3 Boise State Broncos
Logan: This is probably the toughest one for me to pick. Penn State looked exceptionally dominant against SMU at home and they seem poised to reach the CFP Final. Boise State is well known for pulling upsets though and they have plenty of talent as well. What I have seen would lead me to pick Penn State, but if I go by my heart then I know Boise State is going to make this a game… What would life be if we don’t go with our heart sometimes?
Logan’s pick: Boise State
CFP Playoff Quarter Final Round:
Chick-fil-a Peach Bowl
Played in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
#5 Texas Longhorns (-14.0) v #4 Arizona State Sun Devils
Logan: I don’t have any of the feelings for Arizona State that I have for Boise State. Texas has all the talent and they are going to crush the Sun Devils.
Logan’s pick: Texas
CFP Playoff Quarter Final Round:
Rose Bowl
Played in Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA
#8 Ohio State Buckeyes (-2.5) v #1 Oregon Ducks
Logan: Oregon won the last one of these, and I do expect this matchup to be equally close. The difference here is that the game is at a neutral site and Ohio State doesn’t typically lose twice to the same team. I’ll take Ohio State to win by at least a FG.
Logan’s pick: Ohio State
CFP Playoff Quarter Final Round:
Allstate Sugar Bowl
Played in Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, LA
#7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish v #2 uga bulldogs (-1.5)
Logan: I continue to be upset that I have to pick the bulldogs… but here we are. uga will be without Carson Beck, but that might be an improvement for the dwags. Notre Dame should be able to matchup well, but I think uga’s defense will stifle the Irish enough to get the win.
Logan’s pick: uga
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl
Played in EverBank Stadium, Houston, TX:
#14 Ole Miss Rebels (-14.5) v Duke Blue Devils
Logan: Duke’s best offense piece in QB Malik Murphy has already opted out. I’m still waiting to see who opts out for Ole Miss, but I don’t foresee much of a fight coming out of Duke without their star QB.
Logan’s pick: Ole Miss
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl
Played in Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, TX:
North Texas Mean Green v Texas State Bobcats (-10.0)
Logan: I don’t know either of these teams very well. This bowl seems to be another case of one team finishing the season strong and one falling apart. Texas State will have some people opting out, but still has enough starters to finish their hot season with a bang.
Logan’s pick: Texas State
Duke’s Mayo Bowl
Played in Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC:
Minnesota Golden Gophers (-6.5) v Virginia Tech Hokies
Logan: Virginia Tech couldn’t figure things out to end their season. Despite losing some close games, Minnesota has looked better overall this season. With both teams looking like they will be missing some big names who are transferring out I will go with the Golden Gophers to keep the momentum into the bowl game.
Logan’s pick: Minnesota
Bahamas Bowl
Played in Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium, Nassau:
Buffalo Bulls v Liberty Flames (-2.0)
Logan: Buffalo seems to want this one. They get to go from one of the coldest climates to finish their season in one of the warmest bowl games. At the time of writing there are no opt outs for Buffalo. Liberty on the other hand has quite a few opt outs. This may just be a case of Buffalo wanting it more.
Logan’s pick: Buffalo