Bowl Game Predictions 2015: Full Schedule and Picks for Remaining Contests
Do not be the foolish football fan who turns away from bowl season just yet now that the NFL playoffs are here.
Things as of late have been quite exciting. Notre Dame slipped past LSU in a classic at the Music City Bowl. USC outlasted Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl. Arizona State did the same against Duke in the Sun Bowl.
These are reasons to stay locked into bowl season, not turn away. Games of big and small meaning continue to provide thrilling action, which is both a testament to those in charge of making the games and the parity of the sport.
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As they say, the best is yet to come.
2014-15 College Football Bowl Schedule
| Outback Bowl | Auburn vs. Wisconsin | January 1 | 12 p.m. | ESPN2 | Auburn |
| Cotton Bowl | Michigan State vs. Baylor | January 1 | 12:30 p.m. | ESPN | Baylor |
| Citrus Bowl | Missouri vs. Minnesota | January 1 | 1 p.m. | ABC | Missouri |
| Rose Bowl (College Football Playoff Semifinal) | Oregon vs. Florida State | January 1 | 5 p.m. | ESPN | Oregon |
| Sugar Bowl (College Football Playoff Semifinal) | Alabama vs. Ohio State | January 1 | 8:30 p.m. | ESPN | Alabama |
| Armed Forces Bowl | Houston vs. Pittsburgh | January 2 | 12 p.m. | ESPN | Houston |
| Taxslayer Bowl | Iowa vs. Tennesseee | January 2 | 3:20 p.m. | ESPN | Tennessee |
| Alamo Bowl | Kansas State vs. UCLA | January 2 | 6:45 p.m. | ESPN | UCLA |
| Cactus Bowl | Washington vs. Oklahoma State | January 2 | 10:15 p.m. | ESPN | Washington |
| Birmingham Bowl | East Carolina vs. Florida | January 3 | 12 p.m. | ESPN | Florida |
| GoDaddy Bowl | Toledo vs. Arkansas State | January 4 | 9 p.m. | ESPN | Arkansas State |
| College Football Playoff National Championship | TBD vs. TBD | January 12 | 8:30 p.m. | ESPN | N/A |
Underrated Matchups to Watch
Alamo Bowl: Kansas State vs. UCLA
The Alamo Bowl is a consolation prize for the Kansas State Wildcats and UCLA Bruins, a pair of teams that allowed conference titles to slip right past their fingertips.
Both are angry and want a win.
Kansas State fell right behind Baylor and TCU in the Big 12 thanks to losses to the three best teams it played all season—the aforementioned two and Auburn. UCLA lost in the middle of the season to Utah and Oregon and then finished the season with a dud of a 31-10 loss to Stanford.
Observers win, though, as a war of wills is set to unfold:
The Kansas State defense is still great. This same unit held then-No. 5 Auburn to just 20 points. A 38-27 loss to Baylor looks rough, but the secondary did hold Bryce Petty to 412 yards with a touchdown and interception—one of just three times the Bears quarterback failed to throw for multiple touchdowns in a game this year.
As an added bonus, the locale seems to favor the Wildcats, as Kellis Robinett of The Kansas City Star captures:
The Wildcats will need all the help they can get against Bruins quarterback Brett Hundley.
Hundley runs roughshod on most defenses he encounters. This year he has completed 70.4 percent of his passes for 3,019 yards and 21 touchdowns to five interceptions, with another 548 yards and eight scores on the ground.
In what may be his last collegiate game before leaving for the pros, Hundley will be motivated to make a serious statement against a strong defense.
Dual-threat players under center such as Hundley have given Kansas State the most trouble this year, hence losses to a Nick Marshall-led Auburn and Trevone Boykin of TCU. Look for the Bruins signal-caller to have a massive day in all facets as his team pulls away late.
Prediction: UCLA 30, Kansas State 24
Birmingham Bowl: East Carolina vs. Florida
With interim coach D.J. Durkin at the helm before Jim McElwain takes over next year, the Florida Gators look to finish the 2014 campaign strong with a victory against a prolific aerial attack.
Durkin understands the task at hand in the Birmingham Bowl against the nation's third-ranked passing attack.
"Our guys know the challenge we have ahead of us," Durkin said, per STATS LLC (via ESPN.com). "Everyone keeps mentioning all the stats and numbers, which are very impressive and eye opening. The most important thing to me, when you turn on the film, is that they have a group of guys who play the game the right way."
Florida is no slouch defensively, though, with an average of just over 21 points allowed per game. A strong rushing attack that ranks among the top 50 in the nation figures to provide a strong counter to Shane Carden's aerial assault.
A miserable forecast helps, too, as Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel points out:
Carden has been great this season with 4,309 yards and 28 touchdowns, plus six more as a rusher. Sloppy conditions against a strong defense is not a recipe for success, though.
Look for Florida to ride a stout rushing attack early and often:
Florida's defense catches a serious break given the forecast, as errant throws are a forgone conclusion in a slick environment.
So long as the Gators can capitalize on those and control the clock, the Gators will end one era on a positive note and usher in another at the same time.
Prediction: Florida 27, East Carolina 24
Statistics and info courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified.
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