BOWL PICKS
FRIDAY, DEC. 25
Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.): Buffalo vs. Marshall (plus 3): Why watch? Interesting matchup of strength vs. strength. Marshall has the fourth-best run defense in the country and allowed four rushing
TDs in nine games. Behind RB Jaret Patterson, Buffalo leads the nation in rushing and has 30rushing TDs in six games. Pick: Marshall 28-24.
SATURDAY, DEC. 26
Gasparilla Bowl (Tampa, Fla.): UAB (minus 6) vs. South Carolina: Why watch? You can say you watched the first — and hopefully the last — bowl game with a
2-8team. Pick: UAB 31-21.
Cure Bowl (Orlando, Fla.): No. 9Coastal Carolina (minus 6½) vs. No. 23Liberty: Why watch? Watching the Chanticleers play counts as reading Chaucer. Seriously, just tell your high school teacher that. It’s totally cool. Pick: Coastal Carolina 31-23.
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl (Dallas): No. 16 La.-Lafayette vs. UTSA (plus 13½): Why watch? A coach who turns down Auburn to stay with the Ragin’ Cajuns? Check out ULL’s Billy Napier. At some point, he will be coaching in the Power Five. Pick: LouisianaLafayette 28-17.
Lendingtree Bowl (Mobile, Ala.): Western Kentucky (plus 4½) vs. Georgia State: Why watch: A lot of people are really interested in what’s going on in the state of Georgia these days. This is more fun. Pick: Western Kentucky 23-21.
TUESDAY, DEC. 29
Cheez-It Bowl (Orlando, Fla.): No. 18Miami (plus 2) vs. Oklahoma State: Why watch? The Jimmy Johnson Bowl, the winner gets to claim the former coach all to its own. Pick: Miami 27-23.
Alamo Bowl (San Antonio): No. 20Texas vs. Colorado (plus 12): Why watch? If you want to watch a Pac-12team this bowl season, this is one of two opportunities. Pick: Texas 35-27.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 30
Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Charlotte, N.C.): Wisconsin (minus 6½) vs. Wake Forest: Why watch? Wisconsin in the Mayo Bowl. A perfect match for all that Badgers’ beef up front. Pick: Wisconsin 34-24.
Music City Bowl (Nashville, Tenn.): No. 17Iowa (minus 14½) vs. Missouri: Why watch? Hawkeyes closed with a six-game winning streak and might be the second-best team in the Big Ten. Pick: Iowa
38-21.
Cotton Bowl (Arlington, Texas): No. 8Oklahoma (plus 3) vs. No. 10Florida: Why watch: The Big 12 team is the one with the pretty good defense. Crazy, right? Pick: Oklahoma 35-31.
THURSDAY, DEC. 31
Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, Texas): No. 22 Tulsa (minus 2) vs. Mississippi State: Why watch? Tulsa LB Zaven Collins is a possible NFL first-rounder and the only player in the country with at least four interceptions and four sacks. Pick: Tulsa 27-20. Arizona Bowl: No. 19San Jose State vs. Ball State (plus 7): Why watch? Arizona just hired a coach and it wasn’t San Jose State’s Brent Brennan, a former assistant for the Wildcats. Pick: San Jose State 27-22. Texas Bowl: TCU vs. Arkansas (plus 5½): Why watch? Hogs vs. Frogs sounds like an appropriate way to end a year that has felt apocalyptic at times. Pick: Arkansas 24-21.
FRIDAY, JAN. 1
Peach Bowl (Atlanta): No. 6Cincinnati vs. No. 11 Georgia (minus 6½) : Why watch? Bearcats get the opportunity to score a victory for all those disrespected Group of Five teams. These Bulldogs, with J.T. Daniels at quarterback, might be looking to set the tone for next season. Pick: Georgia 27-20.
Citrus Bowl (Orlando, Fla.): No. 15Northwestern vs. Auburn (plus 3½): Why watch? Northwestern is trying to extend a three-game bowl winning streak. Not a big deal for many schools, but the Wildcats did not win a bowl game until 2012and have won four of five since. Picks: Northwestern 23-20.
College Football Playoff Semifinal (Arlington, Texas): No. 1Alabama (minus 19½) vs. No. 4Notre Dame: Why watch? The last time the Crimson Tide played the Fighting Irish in a big postseason game it ended 42-14. Can it get worse? Picks: Alabama 45-21. Sugar Bowl (New Orleans): No. 2Clemson vs. No. 3 Ohio State (plus 7½): Why watch? A rematch of last season’s thrilling semifinal and the likely last college game for Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State QB Justin Fields. Pick: Clemson 31-28.
SATURDAY, JAN 2
Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, Fla.): No. 24North Carolina State (plus 2½) vs. Kentucky: Why watch? The eight-win team is an underdog to the four-win team, which is weird. Pick: N.C. State 23-20.
Outback Bowl (Tampa, Fla.): No. 7Indiana (minus 6 ½) vs. Ole Miss: Why watch? How will excitable Indiana coach Tom Allen celebrate with his players and will he survive it? He says he has gotten black eyes and lost teeth before from sideline antics. Pick: Indiana 42-31. Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, Ariz.): No. 12Iowa State vs. No. 25Oregon (plus 4): Why watch? Oregon DE Kayvon Thibodeaux was a monster in the Pac-12championship game and will be one of the best defensive players in the country in 2021. Pick: Oregon 27-24. Orange Bowl (Miami Gardens, Fla.): No. 5Texas A&M (minus 7) vs. No. 14North Carolina: Why watch? Notre Dame’s 31-17victory over the Tar Heels helped keep the Aggies out of the playoff. Think Texas A&M would like to top that? Pick: Texas A&M 35-24. RECORD
Last week: 7-3straight; 6-4against the spread. Season: 167-65straight; 112-119-1against the spread.