Bowl Picks 2014-15: Predictions for Every Remaining Postseason Game
The 2014-15 college football bowl season has already featured several exciting matchups, but the best is very likely yet to come.
In addition to the College Football Playoff games and other bowls featuring highly ranked teams, there are plenty of other less-heralded bowls that have the potential to be extremely entertaining as well.
While not every bowl has a ton riding on it, there is no question that every team involved wants to end the season on a high note.
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Here is a full slate of picks for every remaining bowl game, along with a closer look at some of the most intriguing, under-the-radar bowls.
| 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 | Nebraska |
| 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 | Ole Miss |
| 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 | Mississippi State |
| 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 | Tennessee |
| Valero Alamo Bowl | No. 11 Kansas State vs. No. 14 UCLA | 6:45 p.m. | ESPN | UCLA |
| TicketCity Cactus Bowl | Oklahoma State vs. Washington | 10:15 p.m. | ESPN | Oklahoma State |
| Birmingham Bowl | Florida vs. East Carolina | 1 p.m. | ESPN or ESPN2 | Florida |
| GoDaddy Bowl | Toledo vs. Arkansas State | 9 p.m. | ESPN | Toledo |
| National Championship Bowl | TBD vs. TBD | 8:30 p.m. | ESPN | Oregon |
Picks for Under-the-Radar Bowls
AutoZone Liberty Bowl: West Virginia vs. Texas A&M
The AutoZone Liberty Bowl will feature two 7-5 teams that looked elite at times during the 2014 regular season. Both West Virginia and Texas A&M scored some high-profile wins, and it will be interesting to see how they fare in a head-to-head situation.
The Mountaineers were the only team to beat Baylor, thus costing it a CFP spot. WVU also lost to Alabama by just 10 points and fell to TCU by one, so there is no question that it can hang with the big boys.
Although the Aggies faded after a 5-0 start, they managed to end Auburn's CFP hopes with an upset victory.
Most would have figured early in the season that this game would feature a quarterback battle between Clint Trickett and Kenny Hill. While Hill was replaced by freshman Kyle Allen several games ago, Trickett has been injured.
In fact, the senior intends to retire from football due to concussion issues, according to SportsCenter:
Stepping away has to be a difficult decision for Trickett, but he has a positive outlook regarding his final season of football, per ESPN.com's Jake Trotter.
"I would love to be out there and finish the season with my guys [for] my last game," Trickett said. "It's unfortunate how it ended, but I had a great senior year."
While the sample size is small, sophomore signal-caller Skyler Howard has been great in place of Trickett. He threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Iowa State, so he should be ready to step up.
He also has a pair of elite wide receivers to throw to in the form of Kevin White and Mario Alford, so there is plenty to like about the Mountaineers' chances in this game.
The Aggies can be potent in their own right, but West Virginia will simply have a little too much offensive punch.
Foster Farms Bowl: Maryland vs. Stanford
The 2014 season was likely a disappointing one for Stanford, as it has grown accustomed to being in contention for national titles, but it has a chance to end on a high note by beating Maryland in the Foster Farms Bowl.
On the heels of victories over California and UCLA, the Cardinal will enter the bowl with momentum on their side. The Terrapins, on the other hand, have been a model of inconsistency by trading wins and losses through their past eight games.
Perhaps Stanford's greatest advantage is the fact that the Foster Farms Bowl will take place at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, according to Pac-12 Networks:
That means it will essentially be a home game that will undoubtedly feature plenty of Cardinal fans in the stands. At the same time, though, Stanford head coach David Shaw doesn't believe his team will have an advantage, per Stanford play-by-play announcer Scott Reiss:
The biggest key to Stanford's success in this game may be the play of senior quarterback Kevin Hogan. Nobody is ever quite sure how Hogan will perform from one game to the next, but he is coming off a contest that saw him complete 84 percent of his passes for 234 yards and four touchdowns.
He may not be that efficient, but he should be able to move the ball against a Maryland defense that allows 29 points per game.
Conversely, the Cardinal defense ranks No. 2 in the nation at 16 points allowed per contest. With such a strong defense and a game close to home, Stanford should find a way to come out on top.
TicketCity Cactus Bowl: Oklahoma State vs. Washington
It took a virtual miracle for Oklahoma State to make itself bowl eligible, and now that the Cowboys have put themselves in that position, they have a legitimate chance to score a bowl victory.
The Pokes will meet 8-5 Washington in a game that may favor the Huskies on paper—although OK State is still flying high after upsetting Oklahoma in Bedlam to end the regular season.
Oklahoma State has also received a late-season spark from freshman quarterback Mason Rudolph. He is averaging over 270 yards and two touchdowns per game in a pair of starts, and he didn't look overmatched in the least as he led the Cowboys past the Sooners.
Rudolph's rapid emergence has been quite surprising, especially since he hasn't necessarily shown a ton of promise in practice, according to Tim Ahrens of OColly.com:
The Huskies have a young quarterback in their own right in sophomore Cyler Miles, who has started for most of the year. Miles has 16 touchdowns and just three interceptions, but even he has admitted that this has been a trying season for him, per Adam Jude of The Seattle Times.
"It's been a hard time this year, personally," Miles said. "I don't want to give you the sob story, but I thank God and I thank my teammates."
Miles has played much better down the stretch, so the TicketCity Cactus Bowl should feature an intriguing matchup between two up-and-coming gunslingers.
It could conceivably go either way, but Rudolph is performing so well that the Cowboys should have a slight upper hand in this one.
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