College Football Bowl Picks 2014: Predictions for Remaining Postseason Games
College football fans could not have asked for much more out of the pre-Christmas bowl games.
After all, we were treated to a double-overtime thriller that ended in a brawl between Memphis and BYU, an incredible Hail Mary finish in the clash between Central Michigan and Western Kentucky and nail-biting fourth quarters in Navy’s win over San Diego State and Bowling Green’s win over South Alabama.
What is in store for the post-Christmas games? Here is a look at predictions for every game before digging into a preview for an under-the-radar matchup to watch.
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| 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 Matchup to Watch: Rutgers vs. North Carolina
Rutgers from the Big Ten and North Carolina from the ACC will put on their own Big Ten-ACC Challenge at the Quick Lane Bowl Friday.
The Scarlet Knights may have been new in the Big Ten this season and struggled against the likes of Ohio State and Michigan State, but they won all four nonconference games, including a tilt with Washington State from the Pac-12 and fellow bowl team Navy. They will try to win outside of the league yet again Friday.
Quarterback Gary Nova discussed the season as a whole, via ESPN.com: "Obviously we wanted to be undefeated, but 8-5 is a solid season, especially in this conference with the great teams, great players, so it would be a great way to end the season.”
Nova should have a big day against the Tar Heels. He finished the season with 2,667 passing yards and 20 touchdown passes, which were both third in the Big Ten. He and wide receiver Leonte Carroo, who finished with 1,043 receiving yards and 10 touchdown catches, will look to exploit a North Carolina defense that finished 108th against the pass and 117th against the run.
The Tar Heels allowed 38.9 points per game, which was an abysmal 119th in the country, and 495.7 yards per game. They gave up 70 points to East Carolina, 50 points to Clemson, 50 to Notre Dame, 47 to Miami, 43 to Georgia Tech and 35 to North Carolina State in the season finale.
Rutgers' leading rusher, Desmon Peoples, will miss the bowl game with an injury, but that shouldn’t even be a concern against this vulnerable North Carolina defense. What’s more, Robert Martin and Josh Hicks both filled in admirably in the final three games.
Sammy Batten of The Fayetteville Observer pointed out one potential reason why the Tar Heels have struggled:
"UNC's defense suffered three significant losses in July before the start of training camp. Potential linebacker starter Darius Lipford made himself eligible for the NFL's supplemental draft, then defensive lineman Shawn Underwood and Greg Webb left the team for what was described as "personal reasons." …
The departures may have been a sign of the struggles to come on defense for UNC.
Over the next three months, the Tar Heels found themselves repeatedly out of position to make plays, missing tackles and blowing assignments in the secondary.
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North Carolina will have to counter Rutgers on offense, and that is certainly a possibility with dual-threat quarterback Marquise Williams, who finished with 2,870 passing yards, 737 rushing yards and 32 total touchdowns.
North Carolina is a dangerous passing team that finished 24th in the country in aerial yards per game with multiple receiving threats in Ryan Switzer and Mack Hollins. The offense as a whole finished 33rd in the country in scoring and had to be effective to counterbalance the terrible defense enough to reach .500 and become bowl-eligible.
Rutgers' defense is certainly nothing to write home about, but it was a mediocre 67th in the country against the pass. The secondary will have to at least be solid Friday because the Tar Heels will throw it early and often.
As long as Rutgers doesn’t completely fall flat on defense, it should walk away with a victory. The Tar Heels can’t stop anyone, and that won’t change just because it is bowl season.
Prediction: Rutgers 37, North Carolina 28
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