Bowl Games 2014-15: Schedule, Predictions and More for Rest of Postseason
Take a much-deserved breath, college football fans. There are no bowl games Sunday after an incredible start to the postseason that has featured overtime thrillers, costly kicking gaffes, Hail Mary endings and conference pride.
The good news is there are plenty of games remaining after your one-day, NFL-induced Sunday break.
Here is a look at some predictions for the remaining bowl showdowns before a closer look at an intriguing game to watch.
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| 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 |
Intriguing Battle to Watch: Oklahoma vs. Clemson
Two of the most recognizable programs in college football will square off Monday in the Russell Athletic Bowl, although motivation could come into play for both Oklahoma and Clemson.
Remember, Clemson finished last season with an Orange Bowl victory over Ohio State, while Oklahoma knocked off perennial powerhouse Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Now, the Crimson Tide and Buckeyes are squaring off in the initial College Football Playoff, while the Sooners and Tigers turned in mediocre seasons by their standards to reach Orlando.
Even if the motivation is there, Clemson could have some trouble on offense.
Quarterback Deshaun Watson was the leader of that unit with 14 touchdown passes to only two interceptions. He also added five scores with his legs and improved as the season progressed.
The problem is that he is recovering from knee surgery and will not play in this game.
That means the Tigers will turn the offense over to Cole Stoudt, who threw zero touchdowns and six interceptions in his eight games against bowl-bound teams. That is not exactly an encouraging statistic for Clemson fans, and it may be difficult to watch this offense Monday.
Granted, the Sooners are an abysmal 115th in the country against the pass, but Clemson is not exactly positioned to take advantage of that with Stoudt under center. Don’t expect the Tigers to have a lot of luck relying on the run either, considering Oklahoma is 10th in the nation in rushing yards allowed per game.
The Clemson defense seemed to understand that it has to turn in a solid game to win, as defensive tackle Grady Jarrett said, according to STATS LLC, via ESPN.com:
"We have full confidence in our offense and their abilities. They just got to handle their adversity and they're going to do fine, but we're going to continue to do our part and do what we've been doing all year and try to put a strong finish on our season."
The Tigers defense is well positioned to do just that. It finished first in the nation in yards allowed per game, third against the pass, seventh against the run and sixth in scoring defense. Defensive end Vic Beasley took home the ACC Defensive Player of the Year award behind his 11 sacks.
Something will have to give since Clemson held seven of its last eight opponents to 20 points or fewer, while the Sooners scored at least 30 in every game but one.
That Oklahoma offense was 10th in the nation in scoring and will rely heavily on superstar running back Samaje Perine. He set a major college record with 427 rushing yards against Kansas and has averaged 8.6 yards per carry in the past five games. He also finished eighth in the country with 1,579 rushing yards.
Perine was dealing with injuries late in the season, but John Shinn of The Norman Transcript had some good news for Sooners supporters:
Ultimately, Oklahoma’s biggest weakness—its vulnerable secondary—will not be nearly the same issue against Stoudt as it would against Watson. Throw that on top of the fact that the Sooners consistently stuff the run, and it is difficult to envision Clemson scoring a lot of points.
This will be a low-scoring affair simply because the Tigers bring a top-notch defense to the table, but the injured Clemson offense will not have enough firepower to keep up with Perine for four quarters.
Look for a late Oklahoma touchdown to put this one away.
Prediction: Oklahoma 21, Clemson 13
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