College Football Bowl Picks 2014: Predictions for Every Postseason Game
Even casual fans know about the marquee College Football Playoff matchups at this point.
After all, when the selection committee matched up Florida State against Oregon in the Rose Bowl and Alabama against Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl, it guaranteed a New Year’s Day of incredible football.
However, a full slate of bowl games is sure to entertain college football loyalists throughout the holiday season. Here is a look at the entire schedule and predictions for every postseason contest.
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| R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl | Nevada vs. Louisiana-Lafayette | 11 a.m. | ESPN | Nevada |
| Gildan New Mexico Bowl | UTEP vs. Utah State | 2:20 p.m. | ESPN | Utah State |
| Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl | Colorado State vs. No. 22 Utah | 3:30 p.m. | ABC | Colorado State |
| Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Western Michigan vs. Air Force | 5:45 p.m. | ESPN | Western Michigan |
| Raycom Media Camellia Bowl | South Alabama vs. Bowling Green | 9:15 p.m. | ESPN | Bowling Green |
| Miami Beach Bowl | BYU vs. Memphis | 2 p.m. | ESPN | Memphis |
| Boca Raton Bowl | Marshall vs. Northern Illinois | 6 p.m. | ESPN | Marshall |
| San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl | San Diego State vs. Navy | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN | San Diego State |
| Popeyes Bahamas Bowl | Western Kentucky vs. Central Michigan | Noon | ESPN | Western Kentucky |
| Hawai'i Bowl | Rice vs. Fresno State | 8 p.m. | ESPN | Fresno State |
| Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl | Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech | 1 p.m. | ESPN | Illinois |
| Quick Lane Bowl | Rutgers vs. North Carolina | 4:30 p.m. | ESPN | North Carolina |
| BITCOIN St. Petersburg Bowl | NC State vs. UCF | 8 p.m. | ESPN | NC State |
| Military Bowl presented By Northrop Grumman | Virginia Tech vs. Cincinnati | 1 p.m. | ESPN | Virginia Tech |
| Hyundai Sun Bowl | Duke vs. No. 15 Arizona State | 2 p.m. | CBS | Arizona State |
| Duck Commander Independence Bowl | Miami (Florida) vs. South Carolina | 3:30 p.m. | ABC | South Carolina |
| New Era Pinstripe Bowl | Boston College vs. Penn State | 4:30 p.m. | ESPN | Penn State |
| National University Holiday Bowl | Nebraska vs. No. 24 USC | 8 p.m. | ESPN | USC |
| AutoZone Liberty Bowl | West Virginia vs. Texas A&M | 2 p.m. | ESPN | West Virginia |
| Russell Athletic Bowl | No. 17 Clemson vs. Oklahoma | 5:30 p.m. | ESPN | Oklahoma |
| AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl | Texas vs. Arkansas | 9 p.m. | ESPN | Arkansas |
| Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl | Notre Dame vs. No. 23 LSU | 3 p.m. | ESPN | LSU |
| Belk Bowl | No. 21 Louisville vs. No. 13 Georgia | 6:30 p.m. | ESPN | Georgia |
| Foster Farms Bowl | Maryland vs. Stanford | 10 p.m. | ESPN | Stanford |
| Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl | No. 6 TCU vs. No. 9 Ole Miss | 12:30 p.m. | ESPN | TCU |
| VIZIO Fiesta Bowl | No. 10 Arizona vs. No. 20 Boise State | 4 p.m. | ESPN | Arizona |
| Capital One Orange Bowl | No. 7 Mississippi State vs. No. 12 Georgia Tech | 8 p.m. | ESPN | Georgia Tech |
| Outback Bowl | No. 18 Wisconsin vs. No. 19 Auburn | Noon | ESPN | Auburn |
| Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic | No. 5 Baylor vs. No. 8 Michigan State | 12:30 p.m. | ESPN | Michigan State |
| Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl | No. 25 Minnesota vs. No. 16 Missouri | 1 p.m. | ABC | Minnesota |
| Rose Bowl | No. 2 Oregon vs. No. 3 Florida State | 5 p.m. | ESPN | Oregon |
| Sugar Bowl | No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Ohio State | 8:30 p.m. | ESPN | Alabama |
| Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl | Pittsburgh vs. Houston | Noon | ESPN | Houston |
| TaxSlayer Bowl | Iowa vs. Tennessee | 3:20 p.m. | ESPN | Iowa |
| Valero Alamo Bowl | No. 11 Kansas State vs. No. 14 UCLA | 6:45 p.m. | ESPN | Kansas State |
| TicketCity Cactus Bowl | Oklahoma State vs. Washington | 10:15 p.m. | ESPN | Washington |
| Birmingham Bowl | Florida vs. East Carolina | 1 p.m. | ESPN or ESPN2 | East Carolina |
| GoDaddy Bowl | Toledo vs. Arkansas State | 9 p.m. | ESPN | Toledo |
| National Championship Bowl | TBD vs. TBD | 8:30 p.m. | ESPN | Alabama |
Under-the-Radar Bowl to Watch: Marshall vs. Northern Illinois in Boca Raton Bowl
Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com ranked the Boca Raton Bowl between Marshall and Northern Illinois as one of the best 15 bowl games on the entire slate:
"Set aside your Power 5 arrogance and hear me out. The Thundering Herd and Huskies were two of the best teams from the Group of 5 conferences this season. Marshall went 12-1 and its only loss was 67-66 in overtime to Western Kentucky. Northern Illinois went 11-2, falling to Arkansas and Central Michigan. Seeing Herd quarterback Rakeem Cato in action is enough of a reason to watch.
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Don’t scoff at the matchup between the Conference USA’s Marshall and the MAC’s Northern Illinois. Besides the "New Year's Six" bowls, it is the only game on the bowl schedule that features two conference champions, and it should see plenty of points.
What’s more, the Thundering Herd started the season 11-0 and appeared primed to at least challenge for the automatic "Group of Five" spot in a New Year’s bowl. Yes, a 67-66 heartbreaker against Western Kentucky ended those dreams, but they salvaged their season with a Conference USA Championship Game victory over Louisiana Tech.
Northern Illinois finished the season on a six-game winning streak and is playing the best football it has played all year.
Marshall coach Doc Holliday said the following about the matchup, via Nate Taylor of the Sun Sentinel: "I guarantee you Rod's team is a whole hell of a lot better than any team we could have played in that Power Five conference. That was our goal and we know we have our hands full. The exposure that we're going to get from this game will be second to none in any others we could have played."
On paper, Marshall quarterback Rakeem Cato is the offensive star to watch in this game.
He has thrown at least one touchdown pass in an astounding 45 consecutive games, which is an FBS record, and he finished the season with 3,622 passing yards and 37 touchdowns. He also became the first Marshall quarterback to throw for 30 or more touchdowns in three separate seasons.
Receiver Tommy Shuler, who finished with 953 receiving yards and eight touchdown catches, is Cato’s favorite target in the nation's No. 18 passing attack. However, Marshall is also seventh in the country in rushing yards per game and fifth in scoring offense, largely because running back Devon Johnson is the unheralded weapon who keeps the chains moving and gives Marshall some balance.
He finished with 1,636 yards on the ground and 16 touchdowns.
Northern Illinois does not bring the same type of offensive balance to the table, even though receiver Da'Ron Brown led the team with 64 catches for 1,002 yards and seven touchdowns.
The Huskies led the MAC and finished 14th in the country with 252.9 rushing yards per game thanks to the trio of quarterback Drew Hare and running backs Cameron Stingily and Joel Bouagnon.
However, Northern Illinois' passing offense was only 101st in the nation and will be too one-dimensional to consistently counter Marshall's powerful offense.
This game will be close throughout, but the Thundering Herd will take a late lead and force the Huskies to play from behind. That is not where an offense that relies heavily on the run wants to be in a bowl game.
Prediction: Marshall 41, Northern Illinois 28
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