College Football Bowl Picks 2015-16: Predictions for Every Postseason Game

The entire bowl-season schedule is set, and it is littered with exciting matchups. Much of the focus will be on the College Football Playoff, and with good reason. While the battle for college football supremacy between the Clemson Tigers, Alabama Crimson Tide, Michigan State Spartans and Oklahoma Sooners is a compelling one, we'll focus one some of the non-CFP matchups here.

For what it's worth, Alabama is the team to beat behind Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry, a nasty offensive line and a stingy defense. They should outlast the Spartans in the Cotton Bowl and overpower the Tigers in the National Championship Game.

Neither of their opponents will be able to win the battle at the line of scrimmage against the Tide. This Bama team doesn't have a ton of dynamic playmakers, but it wears down opponents with physicality and depth.

Here's a look at all of the predictions. 

Bowl Game	Matchup		Location	Prediction
Gildan New Mexico Bowl	Arizona	New Mexico	University Stadium , Albuquerque, NM	New Mexico
Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl	BYU	No. 22 Utah	Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, NV	Utah
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl	Ohio	Appalachian State	Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, AL	Ohio
AutoNation Cure Bowl	San José State	Georgia State	Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando, FL	Georgia State
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl	Arkansas State	Louisiana Tech	Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA	Louisiana Tech
Miami Beach Bowl	Western Kentucky	South Florida	Marlins Park, Miami, FL	Western Kentucky
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl	Akron	Utah State	Albertsons Stadium, Boise, ID	Utah State
Marmot Boca Raton Bowl	Temple	Toledo	FAU Football Stadium, Boca Raton, FL	Temple
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsetta Bowl	Boise State	Northern Illinois	Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, CA	Northern Illinois
GoDaddy Bowl	Georgia Southern	Bowling Green	Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, AL	Georgia Southern
Popeyes Bahamas Bowl	Middle Tennessee	Western Michigan	Thomas Robinson Stadium, Nassau	Middle Tennessee
Hawai'i Bowl	San Diego State	Cincinnati	Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI	Cincinnati
St. Petersburg Bowl	Connecticut	Marshall	Tropicana Field, Saint Petersburg, FL	Connecticut
Hyundai Sun Bowl	Miami (FL)	Washington State	Sun Bowl, El Paso, TX	Miami (FL)
Zaxby's Heart of Texas Bowl	Washington	Southern Mississippi	Cotton Bowl, Dallas, TX	Washington
New Era Pinstripe Bowl	Indiana	Duke	Yankee Stadium, New York, NY	Duke
Camping World Independence Bowl	Tulsa	Virginia Tech	Independence Stadium, Shreveport, LA	Virginia Tech
Fosters Farm Bowl	UCLA	Nebraska	Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, CA	UCLA
Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman	Pittsburgh	No. 21 Navy	Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, MD	Navy
Quick Lane Bowl	Central Michigan	Minnesota	Ford Field, Detroit, MI	Minnesota
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl	California	Air Force	Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, TX	Air Force
Russell Athletic Bowl	No. 10 North Carolina	No. 17 Baylor	Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando, FL	North Carolina
Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl	Nevada	Colorado State	Arizona Stadium, Tucson, AZ	Nevada
Advocare V100 Texas Bowl	No. 20 LSU	Texas Tech	NRG Stadium, Houston, TX	LSU
Birmingham Bowl	Auburn	Memphis	Legion Field , Birmingham, AL	Memphis
Belk Bowl	NC State	Mississippi State	Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC	NC State
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl	Texas A&M	Louisville	Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN	Louisville
Holiday Bowl	No. 25 USC	Wisconsin	Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, CA	USC
Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl	No. 18 Houston	No. 9 Florida State	Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA	Florida State
Capital One Orange Bowl - College Football Semifinal 1	No. 4 Oklahoma	No. 1 Clemson	Sun Life Stadium, Miami, FL	Clemson
Goodyear Cotton Bowl - College Football Playoff Semifinal 2	No. 3 Michigan State	No. 2 Alabama	AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX	Alabama
Outback Bowl	No. 13 Northwestern	No. 23 Tennessee	Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL	Northwestern
Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl	No. 14 Michigan	No. 19 Florida	Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando, FL	Michigan
Battlefrog Fiesta Bowl	No. 8 Notre Dame	No. 7 Ohio State	University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ	Ohio State
Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual	No. 6 Stanford	No. 5 Iowa	Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA	Iowa
Allstate Sugar Bowl	No. 16 Oklahoma State	No. 12 Ole Miss	Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA	Oklahoma State
Taxslayer Bowl	Penn State	Georgia	EverBank Field, Jacksonville, FL	Georgia
Autozone Liberty Bowl	Kansas State	Arkansas	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, TN	Arkansas
Valero Alamo Bowl	No. 15 Oregon	No. 11 TCU	Alamodome, San Antonio, TX	TCU
Motel 6 Cactus Bowl	West Virginia	Arizona State	Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ	Arizona State
College Football Playoff National Championship	No. 2 Alabama	No. 1 Clemson	University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ	Alabama

Russell Athletic Bowl — No. 10 North Carolina vs. No. 17 Baylor

Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

The quarterback play might leave a bit to be desired in this one. The Baylor Bears are down to their third quarterback, and even he might be a little banged up.

Sophomore Chris Johnson left the team's regular-season finale loss against the Texas Longhorns with a concussion, per Jimmy Burch of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. There's no official word on Johnson playing in the Russell Athletic Bowl against the North Carolina Tar Heels. Even if he does, it's hard to have confidence in him playing well against a talented and athletic Carolina defense.

The Tar Heels have held teams to 411.3 yards per game, and they should feel good about facing a short-handed Bears offense. Expect the Bears to lean heavily on running back Shock Linwood and their formidable run game.

North Carolina will likely counter by putting seven or eight defenders close to the line of scrimmage, daring Johnson—or whoever is at quarterback—to beat them through the air. Chances are, that won't happen.

Tar Heels dual-threat QB Marquise Williams and running back Elijah Hood will supply the offense that pushes North Carolina to the victory.

Fiesta Bowl — No. 8 Notre Dame vs. No. 7 Ohio State

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Of all the non-CFP bowl games, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish against the Ohio State Buckeyes is the best. It's going to come down to defense and the team that wins the turnover battle.

Turnovers have been an issue in both of Notre Dame's losses. They were minus-three in the category against the Clemson Tigers in the 24-22 defeat at the hands of the nation's top team. Against the Stanford Cardinal, the Irish were minus-one in the 38-36 loss.

The margins of victory have been extremely small, and that will again be the case against the Buckeyes. 

With J.T. Barrett under center, the Bucks are an efficient team capable of depending on running back Ezekiel Elliott to grind out yards, or Barrett's legs and arm. He and Elliott are always a threat to take it to the house as well.

Ohio State's defense has also proved to be stout.

They have allowed just just 303.5 yards per game this season. The defending champions blew their opportunity to repeat, but they will finish strong against Notre Dame.

Rose Bowl — No. 6 Stanford vs. No. 5 Iowa

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

The Iowa Hawkeyes fell just short of earning a berth in the CFP, but their defense will help to guide them to victory over the Stanford Cardinal in the Rose Bowl. Aram Tolegian of the Pasadena-Star News is hoping for a muddy track for the game:

With two grind-it-out teams like Stanford and Iowa, that could be interesting.

Stanford will undoubtedly look to Heisman Trophy runner-up Christian McCaffrey for most of their offense. He set the NCAA single-season record for all-purpose yards with 3,496. In the sophomore's first game since finishing second to Alabama's Henry for the award, the Cardinal will likely see to it that their star gets his touches.

Iowa's defense might just be the toughest Stanford has faced all season. The Hawkeyes allow just 334.2 yards per game, and they'll be keying on McCaffrey from the start.

The question then becomes: Can senior quarterback Kevin Hogan beat Iowa with his arm? Any Cardinal fan over the last four seasons can't feel comfortable with that scenario.

Hogan is having his best season with a QB rating of 81.4, but he's rarely had to throw the ball 25 or more times. When he has in 2015, the Cardinal are 1-2. 

Expect C.J. Beathard to be a little sharper than he was in the team's 16-13 loss to the Spartans in the Big Ten Championship Game. He completed 18-26 passes and was picked off once.

He'll protect the football and guide the Hawkeyes to a solid consolation prize with a Rose Bowl victory.