Bowl Games 2013-14: Lopsided Matchups That Will Produce Blowouts
At the conclusion of a wild college football season, there are some phenomenal bowl games lined up for the 2013-14 winter holidays, but there are also a few blowouts waiting to happen.
Starting with four games on Dec. 21 and ending with the BCS National Championship Game on Jan. 6, fans will be treated to 35 bowl games in a 17-day stretch.
Here's a look at the entire slate of bowl games, followed by a closer examination of a few lopsided matchups that are sure to become blowouts:
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| Bowl | Date | Matchup | Predicted Winner |
| BCS Title Game | Jan. 6 | Florida State vs. Auburn | Florida State |
| Orange | Jan. 3 | Clemson vs. Ohio State | Clemson |
| Sugar | Jan. 2 | Alabama vs. Oklahoma | Alabama |
| Fiesta | Jan. 1 | Baylor vs. UCF | Baylor |
| Rose | Jan. 1 | Michigan State vs. Stanford | Stanford |
| Bowl | Date | Matchup | Predicted Winner |
| GoDaddy.com | Jan. 5 | Ball State vs. Ark. State | Ball State |
| BBVA Compass | Jan. 4 | Vanderbilt vs. Houston | Houston |
| Cotton | Jan. 3 | Oklahoma State vs. Missouri | Missouri |
| Outback | Jan. 1 | Iowa vs. LSU | LSU |
| Capital One | Jan. 1 | Wisconsin vs. South Carolina | South Carolina |
| Heart of Dallas | Jan. 1 | UNLV vs. North Texas | UNLV |
| Gator | Jan. 1 | Nebraska vs. Georgia | Georgia |
| Chick-fil-A | Dec. 31 | Duke vs. Texas A&M | Texas A&M |
| Liberty | Dec. 31 | Rice vs. Miss. State | Rice |
| Sun | Dec. 31 | Virginia Tech vs. UCLA | UCLA |
| AdvoCare V100 Independence | Dec. 31 | Arizona vs. Boston College | Arizona |
| Holiday | Dec. 30 | Arizona State vs. Texas Tech | Arizona State |
| Alamo | Dec. 30 | Texas vs. Oregon | Oregon |
| Music City | Dec. 30 | Georgia Tech vs. Ole Miss | Ole Miss |
| Armed Forces | Dec. 30 | Middle Tennessee St. vs. Navy | Navy |
| Buffalo Wild Wings | Dec. 28 | Kansas State vs. Michigan | Michigan |
| Russell Athletic | Dec. 28 | Louisville vs. Miami (FL) | Louisville |
| Belk | Dec. 28 | Cincinnati vs. North Carolina | Cincinnati |
| Pinstripe | Dec. 28 | Notre Dame vs. Rutgers | Notre Dame |
| Fight Hunger | Dec. 27 | Washington vs. BYU | BYU |
| Texas | Dec. 27 | Syracuse vs. Minnesota | Syracuse |
| Military | Dec. 27 | Maryland vs. Marshall | Maryland |
| Poinsettia | Dec. 26 | Utah State vs. Northern Illinois | Utah State |
| Little Caesars | Dec. 26 | Bowling Green vs. Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh |
| Hawaii | Dec. 24 | Oregon State vs. Boise State | Boise State |
| Beef O'Brady's | Dec. 23 | Ohio vs. East Carolina | Ohio |
| New Orleans | Dec. 21 | La.-Lafayette vs. Tulane | Tulane |
| Famous Idaho Potato | Dec. 21 | Buffalo vs. San Diego State | Buffalo |
| Las Vegas | Dec. 21 | Fresno State vs. USC | USC |
| New Mexico | Dec. 21 | Colorado State vs. Washington State | Colorado State |
Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs. Oklahoma
No doubt Nick Saban and his players are still bitter about losing to Auburn in the Iron Bowl. The decision to kick a 57-yard field goal instead of taking the game into overtime cost this team a chance at a three-peat.
The Crimson Tide will take out their frustrations on Oklahoma when the two schools meet up in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 2, and the Sooners don't stand a chance against this motivated team.
Oklahoma's two quarterbacks—Blake Bell and Trevor Knight—are both capable of running the ball. However, neither has the ability to match what Nick Marshall was able to do against Alabama in Week 14 when the dual-threat quarterback and his triple-option attack proved too difficult to stop.
Even after getting torched for 296 yards by Auburn, Alabama features the nation's No. 11-ranked running defense, allowing just 108.3 yards per game. The Crimson Tide will effectively shut down Oklahoma's running game, and the Sooners don't feature a strong passing attack.
On the other side, Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron has been red hot this year, and he comes into the Sugar Bowl having thrown at least two touchdown passes in his last six games, tossing just two interceptions during that stretch.
Combined with the two-headed monster Alabama features at the running back position (T.J. Yeldon and Kenyan Drake), Alabama's offense will have no trouble taking apart the Sooners' mediocre defense.
Projected Score: Alabama wins 45-13.
Alamo Bowl: Texas vs. Oregon
Oregon fans will surely be disappointed the Ducks didn't get an invite to one of the five BCS bowl games. However, they won't have anything to complain about after the Alamo Bowl, because a matchup against Texas is just what the doctor ordered to finish out a tough season.
The Longhorns don't feature the kind of offensive firepower to keep up with Oregon in a shootout. Case McCoy has been merely competent—at best—for Texas this year, and the senior quarterback is coming off his worst outing of the season against Baylor.
Making matters worse for Texas, the team's defense isn't stout enough to turn the game into a slugfest like Arizona and Stanford did in Oregon's only two losses of the year.
Oregon's potent offensive attack averaged 46.8 points per game in 2013 to rank No. 3 in college football. Marcus Mariota has been exceptionally sharp this year for the Ducks, scoring 39 touchdowns while throwing just four interceptions.
His play in the passing game, combined with Oregon's No. 9-ranked rushing attack, will easily spur the Ducks to a blowout victory.
Projected Score: Oregon wins 52-24.
Las Vegas Bowl: Fresno State vs. USC
It's hard to imagine USC will be operating at peak levels when it takes on Fresno State in December in Las Vegas.
The Trojans recently hired Washington's Steve Sarkisian to become the next head coach, thus spurning Ed Orgeron, who left campus after the hire. He had led USC to a 6-2 record as interim head coach after Lane Kiffin was fired earlier this year.
As detailed by Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times, Oregeron's abrupt departure left some USC players in tears. In his stead, "current Trojan offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Clay Helton will serve as interim head coach during the bowl," as reported by USCTrojans.com.
USC would be hard-pressed to take down Derek Carr and the Fresno State Bulldogs under the best of circumstances, and it'll be shocking if the Trojans are able to keep it close in Las Vegas.
Fresno State's offense is among the nation's most dynamic scoring units, averaging 45.3 points per game to rank No. 5 in college football. Carr has passed for 4,866 yards this season with 48 touchdowns and just seven interceptions.
USC has done a nice job holding opposing offenses to just 214.5 passing yards per game and 18 total touchdowns, but the Bulldogs will likely double that total in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Projected Score: Fresno State wins 45-27.
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