Final bowling frame:
San Jose State and Cincinnati look to cap stellar college football seasons with unblemished records in two of the 12 non-playoff bowl games on tap this week.
DUKE’S MAYO BOWL Wake Forest vs. Wisconsin
TV: Noon ET, Dec. 30
It’ll be pure power vs. crafty quickness. Wisconsin’s (3-3) offense has been injured, inept and inconsistent after an amazing start, but the defense is No. 1 in the nation overall and No. 1 on third downs, and the team is No. 1 in time of possession. Wake Forest (4-4) has a fun, creative attack that doesn’t care a lick about controlling the clock, moves quickly, and doesn’t get a whole lot out of the lines. Wisconsin doesn’t have an elite running back, but Graham Mertz is the highest-ranked quarterback recruit in the program’s history. He’s working through the rough patches of a tough season – the receiving corps has been leveled by injuries – but he’s a talent. Wake Forest QB Sam Hartman is a fun veteran who threw 10 touchdown passes and just one interception.
Danny Sheridan’s line: Wisconsin by 7 1⁄
2
Prediction: Wisconsin 24, Wake Forest 20
GOODYEAR COTTON BOWL CLASSIC Oklahoma vs. Florida
TV: 7: 15 p.m. ET Dec. 30, ESPN
It’s only the second meeting between the two college football powerhouses, with the first a 24-14 Tim Tebow/Urban Meyerled Gator victory over Sam Bradford’s Sooners for the 2008 national championship. This isn’t that, but the two offenses should put on a show in what could and should be the highest-scoring firefight of the bowl season … maybe. Oklahoma (8-2) and Florida (8-3) each average 42 points per game, but … Florida star QB Kyle Trask is missing his phenomenal targets. TE Kyle Trask and receivers Kadarius Toney and Trevon Grimes are all skipping this to preserve the investment for the NFL. Trask is still great, so the
Gators have plenty of strong young receivers who should step up. Oklahoma lost late to Kansas State and Iowa State early in the season, matured and improved as the season went on, got a few key parts back in RB Rhamondre Stevenson and DE Ronnie Perkins in the middle of the campaign, and went on a seven-game winning run on the way to the Big 12 title. QB Spencer Rattler got better and the offensive kept on improving as the team ended up sixth in the final CFP rankings.
Danny Sheridan’s line: Oklahoma by 3
Prediction: Florida 38, Oklahoma 34
LOCKHEED MARTIN ARMED FORCES BOWL Tulsa vs. Mississippi State
TV: Noon ET Dec. 31, ESPN One of two Power Five versus
Group of Five bowl matchups. Tulsa (6-2) has been one of the most fun teams of the season. Not only did it shockingly rise up to get to the American Athletic championship game, but every game seemed to have some sense of drama, including losing to Cincinnati on a walkoff field goal. Be shocked if any team this bowl season – led by LB Zaven Collins, the Bronko Nagurski winner as the nation’s best defensive player – brings more effort. Mississippi State (3-7) is coming off a blowout win over Missouri, but it’s been a rough first season under Mike Leach. But if the offense works like it’s supposed to, the Bulldogs should be able to open things up and make this fun.
Danny Sheridan’s line: Tulsa by 2 1⁄
2
Prediction: Mississippi
State 27, Tulsa 24
ARIZONA BOWL
Ball State vs. San Jose State
TV: 2 p.m. ET Dec. 31, CBSSN
The Allstate Sugar Bowl – a College Football Playoff semifinal between Ohio State and Clemson – and this. Those are the only two bowl games with a matchup of conference champions. Ball State (6-1) is a veteran team with a good balance and a whole lot of offense. It shocked Buffalo to win the Mid-American championship game, but handling Mountain West champion San Jose State is a whole different issue. It’s the best season in the history of San Jose State football, going 7-0 with every win by double digits. Head coach Brent Brennan has become a hot name on the coaching carousel circuit, QB Nick Starkel has been fantastic after transferring in from Arkansas and before that Texas
A&M, and the defense has been steadily great. The Cardinals have problems against good passing teams, but they own the turnover battle with an ultraaggressive style on both sides of the ball.
Danny Sheridan’s line: San Jose State by 9 1⁄
2
Prediction: San Jose State
34-20
AUTOZONE LIBERTY BOWL West Virginia vs. Army
TV: 4 p.m. ET Dec. 31, ESPN
Army (9-2) was originally set to go to the Independence Bowl, but the game was canceled due to a lack of other options as an opponent. The Knights were able to quickly turn into a fill-in to play West Virginia (5-4) when Tennessee had to opt out. It might seem a bit crazy considering the program’s long and storied history, but this is just the ninth bowl game for Army. Army is coming in on a run of three straight wins including back-to-back victories over Navy and Air Force to take the Commander-in-Chief ’s Trophy. It’s the great Army option rushing offense against the great Mountaineers run defense in what should be an interesting fight. West Virginia second-year head man Neal Brown was 3-0 in bowl games at Troy, but he’ll need a big day out of the NFLcaliber defensive line brother tandem of Dante and Darius Stills to slow down the Army ground attack.
Danny Sheridan’s line:
West Virginia by 7
Prediction: West Virginia
26, Army 21
TEXAS BOWL TCU vs. Arkansas
TV: 8 p.m. ET Dec. 31, ESPN
The two programs are all too familiar with each other, having played 70 times, mostly as Southwest Conference brothers. TCU (6-4) and Arkansas (3-7) aren’t exactly regional rivals – the schools are over 350 miles apart – but considering their history, being in the Texas Bowl fits. It’s the first time these
two have ever met in a bowl. TCU is on a roll. Very quietly, the Horned Frogs won their last three games and five out of the last six with an improving offense led by all-around playmaking QB Max Duggan. Blow off Arkansas’ bad record and the four straight losses to close out the regular season. The Hogs are playing much, much better than they have over the last few years with a far stronger offense and a whole lot of fight under first-year head coach Sam Pittman.
Danny Sheridan’s line: TCU by 4 1⁄
2
Prediction: sas 34
TCU 37, Arkan
CHICK-FIL-A PEACH BOWL Georgia vs. Cincinnati
TV: Noon ET Jan. 1, ESPN
It’s the annual referendum matchup in the College Football Playoff era. The committee throws the Group of Five programs a cookie with the topranked champion from the American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West and Sun Belt getting a big-name bowl slot against a Power Five program that wasn’t good enough to make the CFP. The Group of Five started out 3-1 against the big boys, but the Power Five has taken the last two. This time around means a wee bit more because there wasn’t a totally obvious No. 4 team for the playoff, and Cincinnati (9-0) finished ranked eighth in the final committee rankings. A win by the American Athletic Conference champion won’t necessarily change anything going forward, but in the battle for hearts and minds, it would give the Group of Five programs a major talking point. However … For good and for bad, Georgia (7-2) is terrific. Talent-wise, it’s right there with anyone in the country, but the quarterback play was shaky early on, things changed once JT Daniels was healthy enough to go, and the team ripped through a threegame run of wins with the offense improving along the way. Cincinnati has been knocking on the door of big things under head coach Luke Fickell. The program won 11 games two seasons in a row – and two bowl games over Power Five teams – and then came this unbeaten campaign with a conference championship.
Danny Sheridan’s line: Georgia by 7
Prediction: Georgia 30, Cincinnati 20
VRBO CITRUS BOWL Northwestern vs. Auburn
TV: 1 p.m. ET Jan. 1, ABC
It’s a big game for the Big Ten. Northwestern (6-2) played for the Big Ten championship, it pushed Ohio State a bit in the 22-10 loss, and it has one of the hottest head coaches in all of football with the NFL about to be knocking on Pat Fitzgerald’s door. It’s Northwestern, but it’s supposed to beat a mediocre Auburn (6-4) team with interim head coach Kevin Steele keeping the seat warm before newly hired head man Bryan Harsin takes over. If you like lots of fun, exciting, high-octane offense, this isn’t for you. However, Northwestern doesn’t miss a whole lot of tackles – despite getting run over by Trey Sermon and Ohio State – and it leads the nation in pass efficiency defense. Auburn’s D has been sneaky-decent, and QB Bo Nix is a hit-or-miss playmaker who could use a big performance going into the offseason.
Danny Sheridan’s line: Northwestern by 3
Prediction: Northwestern 26, Auburn 23
TAXSLAYER GATOR BOWL North Carolina State vs. Kentucky
TV: Noon ET Jan. 2, ESPN
Sometimes bowl games are just bowl games, and sometimes they’re season-definers. It’s the latter for these two but for completely different reasons. Kentucky (4-6) had a disappointing losing season, but it’s in the bowl it likely would’ve been in had the schedule been normal and if it had a few nonconference wins to build up the record. For a team that relies on a rock-steady style of play, it’s been a flaky year with a whole slew of blowouts for both good and bad. Winning this would make the season. On the flip side … North Carolina State (8-3) had a strong record, it was the only team to beat Liberty this season, and it comes in on a four-game winning streak. It’s not the most scintillating of teams, but it finds ways to get wins. This matchup should be close.
Danny Sheridan’s line: Kentucky by 2 1⁄
2
Prediction: Kentucky 24, North Carolina State 23
OUTBACK BOWL Indiana vs. Mississippi
TV: 12:30 p.m. ET Jan. 2, ESPN
Be mad if this isn’t fun. These are two teams that play a fun style of football, they’re going to be fired up to be in a prime weekend bowl game, and they’re both very, very well coached. It’s been a better first year at Ole Miss (4-5) under Lane Kiffin than the record might indicate. The offense led the SEC and was third in the country with QB Matt Corral bombing away for close to 3,000 yards, but the defense – and this is a good thing for your bowl enjoyment – is awful. Indiana (6-1) should help make this a shootout. The Hoosiers probably deserve a New Year’s Six bowl – its loss came on the road in a close fight to Ohio State – and now this is a chance to show the College Football Playoff committee made a mistake with the No. 11 final ranking. QB Jack Tuttle and WR Ty Fryfogle should go off on the soft Rebels secondary.
Danny Sheridan’s line: Indiana by 71⁄
2
Prediction: Indiana 45, Mississippi 38
PLAYSTATION FIESTA BOWL Oregon vs. Iowa State
TV: 4 p.m. ET Jan. 2, ESPN
It’s the Bowl of Misfit Teams, with Oregon (4-2) winning the Pac-12 championship game over Southern California after Washington wasn’t able to go due to COVID-19 issues battling an Iowa State (8-3) squad that had a great second half of the season but started with a 17-point loss to Louisiana and ended with a Big 12 championship game defeat to Oklahoma. However, this is a good Cyclones team that’s going to be fired up to close strong, and Oregon has a very young, very talented team that fought through key preseason opt-outs and now wants to make a statement going into the 2021 season. Duck head coach Mario Cristobal is locked into a long contract extension, the recruiting has been fantastic, and he has two straight Pac-12 titles under his belt. Oregon never quite found a groove in the shortened season, but the offense is efficient, the defense stepped up when it needed to against USC, and again, talent isn’t a question. Iowa State is a good, sound, experienced team, but the Ducks have the nextlevel guys across the board. Most of the blueblood programs that get into the big bowls just throw the appearance on to the pile. This is a big deal for Iowa State, and the hope is for it to be a moment that takes the program to another level when it comes to national perception. After losing to Oklahoma, Iowa State still has never won an outright conference title despite playing football since the late 1800s, and this is just the 16th bowl appearance.
Danny Sheridan’s line:
Iowa State by 4 1⁄
2 Prediction: Oregon 31, Iowa
State 27
CAPITAL ONE ORANGE BOWL
North Carolina vs. Texas A&M
TV: 8 p.m. ET Jan. 2, ESPN
If you like your bowl games with massive contrasts in styles, this is about as big as it gets. North Carolina (8-3) does a good job of controlling the clock, but it likes to hit the home run, relies on the big plays to overcome too many sleepy lulls during games – at least a few key ones this year – and it’s going to keep on coming with a quick pace that can strike quickly. However, the offense is missing star RB Javonte Williams and top WR Dyami Brown – they’re both out getting ready for the NFL – and it’s going to need to get used to the tempo slowing down to an almost dead stop. Texas A&M (8-1) doesn’t do anything all that fast, but it’s going to come into this was a major attitude after being passed over by the College Football Playoff committee for the fourth spot in the mini-tournament. It plays a deliberate style that dominates the clock, grinds out drives and makes opposing teams press when they finally get the ball. It’s a veteran team with a great back in Isaiah Spiller, a veteran quarterback in Kellen Mond and a defense that led the SEC in yards allowed and was third in the nation against the run. North Carolina was fourth in the country in yards per carry.
Danny Sheridan’s line: Texas A&M by 7 1⁄
2
Prediction: Texas A&M 34, North Carolina 24