College Football Bowl Picks 2015-16: Game Predictions for Each Matchup of Season

While only four teams are competing for a national championship, a total of 80 teams will compete in the postseason as part of 40 bowl games. No matter what you are looking for, there is something for everyone to enjoy.  

There are certainly some games more interesting than others. Even though there is no national title at stake, the Fiesta Bowl should be must-see television. On the other hand, the Cure Bowl might not get quite as many viewers.

Regardless of the importance, however, every team at this stage deserves its time in the spotlight, and all of them will fight hard to end their seasons on a high note. The question is which teams will end up victorious.

Here is a look at score predictions from every single bowl game as well as a deeper breakdown of some of the more interesting battles.

Date	Bowl	Winner	Loser	Score
Dec. 19	AFR Celebration	Alcorn State	North Carolina A&T	37-28
Dec. 19	Gildan New Mexico	Arizona	New Mexico	35-31
Dec. 19	Royal Purple Las Vegas	Utah	BYU	21-20
Dec. 19	Raycom Media Camellia	Appalachian State	Ohio Bobcats	38-24
Dec. 19	Cure	Georgia State	San Jose State	31-27
Dec. 19	R+L Carriers New Orleans	Arkansas State	Louisiana Tech	45-41
Dec. 21	Miami Beach	Western Kentucky	South Florida	51-20
Dec. 22	Famous Idaho Potato	Utah State	Akron	16-10
Dec. 22	Marmot Boca Raton	Temple	Toledo	27-24
Dec. 23	SD County Credit Union Poinsettia	Boise State	Northern Illinois	34-28
Dec. 23	GoDaddy	Bowling Green	Georgia Southern	50-38
Dec. 24	Popeyes Bahamas	Middle Tennessee	Western Michigan	33-28
Dec. 24	Hawaii	San Diego State	Cincinnati	23-20
Dec. 26	St. Petersburg	Marshall	Connecticut	17-16
Dec. 26	Hyundai Sun	Washington State	Miami (Fla.)	37-28
Dec. 26	Zaxby's Heart of Dallas	Washington	Southern Miss	35-24
Dec. 26	New Era Pinstripe Bowl	Duke	Indiana	41-38
Dec. 26	Camping World Independence	Virginia Tech	Tulsa	38-20
Dec. 26	Foster Farms	UCLA	Nebraska	31-26
Dec. 28	Military	Navy	Pittsburgh	28-27
Dec. 28	Quick Lane	Minnesota	Central Michigan	21-13
Dec. 29	Lockheed Martin Armed Forces	California	Air Force	35-31
Dec. 29	Russell Athletic	North Carolina	Baylor	34-30
Dec. 29	NOVA Home Loans Arizona	Nevada	Colorado State	27-24
Dec. 29	AdvoCare V100	LSU	Texas Tech	41-28
Dec. 30	Birmingham	Memphis	Auburn	38-31
Dec. 30	Belk	Mississippi State	North Carolina State	31-27
Dec. 30	Franklin American Mortgage Music City	Texas A&M	Louisville	26-17
Dec. 30	Holiday	USC	Wisconsin	24-14
Dec. 31	Chick-fil-A Peach	Florida State	Houston	30-27
Dec. 31	Capital One Orange	Oklahoma	Clemson	35-31
Dec. 31	Goodyear Cotton	Alabama	Michigan State	20-17
Jan. 1	Outback	Northwestern	Tennessee	23-21
Jan. 1	Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus	Michigan	Florida	16-13
Jan. 1	BattleFrog Fiesta	Ohio State	Notre Dame	34-28
Jan. 1	Rose	Stanford	Iowa	27-17
Jan. 1	Allstate Sugar	Ole Miss	Oklahoma State	35-31
Jan. 2	TaxSlayer	Georgia	Penn State	21-20
Jan. 2	AutoZone Liberty	Arkansas	Kansas State	34-17
Jan. 2	Valero Alamo	TCU	Oregon	48-41
Jan. 2	Motel 6 Cactus	Arizona State	West Virginia	35-28
Jan. 11	CFP National Championship	Oklahoma	Alabama	31-24

Most Intriguing Games

Russell Athletic Bowl: North Carolina vs. Baylor

Bob Leverone/Associated Press

In some ways, this game could be telling for the eventual Orange Bowl matchup between Oklahoma and Clemson. Each team gave its conference champion a solid fight before losing a close battle, and a blowout either way would be noteworthy.

The problem is Baylor has a lot of question marks at quarterback with uncertainty about who will start. 

Shehan Jeyarajah of the Dallas Morning News reported Jarrett Stidham is still a possibility to play, although head coach Art Briles previously told Matt Murschel of the Orlando Sentinel third-string quarterback Chris Johnson will start. 

The coach also had some advice for a player who had struggled at times this year.

"Play for everybody out there on the field except for yourself and be a great leader and a great competitor," Briles said of Johnson, per Murschel. "He's done an admirable job. He's made some mistakes, which are understandable, but we sure feel like we can go out and win with him."

Stidham played well in relief of Seth Russell, but Johnson has not been quite as efficient when in the game. Even in a system designed for open throws, he has completed just 39.5 percent of his passes this year.

For the first time in a while, Baylor's offense might actually be overmatched by a North Carolina unit averaging 40.9 points per game. The squad is healthy and has dynamic playmakers such as quarterback Marquise Williams and running back Elijah Hood.

Both teams know how to light up the scoreboard, but the Tar Heels will continue to surprise people with an upset victory.

Holiday Bowl: USC vs. Wisconsin

Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

USC has made plenty of changes to the coaching staff, but interim head coach Clay Helton will remain after being given the permanent job. This is certainly something the players can get behind:

This type of emotion is something you can't ignore in bowl games, as the players often fight for a head coach or fall flat after changes. In this case the Trojans will likely be giving it their all behind their leader.

Of course, you can't dismiss the talent on the field either.

USC won five of its last seven games against quality competition by getting the most of the roster, including quarterback Cody Kessler. The senior had struggled with his decision-making for much of the year but has been red-hot lately with 11 touchdowns and one interception in this stretch. The Trojans also showed more balance in the rushing attack and created an offense that is not easy to stop.

Even with Wisconsin's No. 1-ranked scoring defense, USC should be able to get enough points on the board to pull out a win.

On the other side of the field, the Badgers don't have a Christian McCaffrey who can run all over the USC defense. Wisconsin has struggled with its consistency offensively, and unless it can win the field-position battle, it might be tough to get onto the scoreboard.

This will be one of the better matchups in the bowl season, but look for the Pac-12 squad to pull out the win.

Birmingham Bowl: Memphis vs. Auburn 

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

A battle between an SEC team and anyone outside the Power Five usually leads to an easy call in itself, especially when the opposing team lost three of four games to end the year. However, Memphis is much more than just a generic squad.

The Tigers did lose to some quality opponents to end the year, but they are still led by one of the top quarterbacks in college football in Paxton Lynch. The 6'7" quarterback has been incredibly efficient this year with 28 touchdowns and just three interceptions, completing 69 percent of his passes in the process.

ESPN's Adam Caplan noted this will likely be the junior's last game before declaring for the NFL draft:

If he does go pro, Lynch has a good chance of being one of the top players selected. ESPN's Jesse Palmer called him the top quarterback in the class:

With the ability to spread it around to a wide variety of receivers, Lynch should be able to move the ball against an Auburn defense that ranks just 69th in the nation in points allowed per game. These Tigers have been one of the most disappointing teams in the country this year thanks to their inefficient quarterback play. Sean White and Jeremy Johnson have combined for just 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions, leading to stalled drives and overall poor offense. 

Even without departed coach Justin Fuente, Memphis should be able to finish the year off strong against a squad hoping to just end the season as soon as possible.

Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for more year-round sports analysis.