College Football Bowl Picks 2015: Schedule and Predictions for Upcoming Action
Bowl season is well underway, and while the early slate is generally not as anticipated as the games at the end of the year and beyond, there are still great games ahead of the marquee matchups on the horizon.
So far, there are eight bowls down with 32 to go, including the College Football Playoff, and with a great deal to digest, here is a look at the remaining slate with a closer look at Wednesday’s games.
| San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl | Boise State vs. Northern Illinois | 4:30 p.m. | ESPN | Boise State |
| GoDaddy Bowl | Georgia Southern vs. Bowling Green | 8 p.m. | ESPN | Georgia Southern |
| Popeyes Bahamas Bowl | Middle Tennessee vs. Western Michigan | 12 p.m. | ESPN | Middle Tennessee |
| Hawai'i Bowl | San Diego State vs. Cincinnati | 8 p.m. | ESPN | San Diego State |
| St. Petersburg Bowl | Connecticut vs. Marshall | 11 a.m. | ESPN | Marshall |
| Hyundai Sun Bowl | Miami vs. Washington State | 2 p.m. | CBS | Washington State |
| Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl | Washington vs. Southern Miss | 2:20 p.m. | ESPN | Southern Miss |
| New Era Pinstripe Bowl | Indiana vs. Duke | 3:30 p.m. | ABC | Duke |
| Camping World Independence Bowl | Tulsa vs. Virginia Tech | 5:45 p.m. | ESPN | Virginia Tech |
| Foster Farms Bowl | UCLA vs. Nebraska | 9:15 p.m. | ESPN | UCLA |
| Military Bowl | Pittsburgh vs. Navy | 2:30 p.m. | ESPN | Pittsburgh |
| Quick Lane Bowl | Central Michigan vs. Minnesota | 5 p.m. | ESPN2 | Central Michigan |
| Lockhead Martin Armed Forces Bowl | California vs. Air Force | 2 p.m. | ESPN | Air Force |
| Russell Athletic Bowl | North Carolina vs. Baylor | 5:30 p.m. | ESPN | North Carolina |
| NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl | Nevada vs. Colorado State | 7:30 p.m. | Campus Insiders | Colorado State |
| AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl | LSU vs. Texas Tech | 9 p.m. | ESPN | LSU |
| Birmingham Bowl | Auburn vs. Memphis | 12 p.m. | ESPN | Auburn |
| Belk Bowl | NC State vs. Mississippi State | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN | Mississippi State |
| Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl | Texas A&M vs. Louisville | 7 p.m. | ESPN | Texas &AM |
| Holiday Bowl | USC vs. Wisconsin | 10:30 p.m. | ESPN | USC |
| Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl | Houston vs. Florida State | 12 p.m. | ESPN | Florida State |
| College Football Playoff Semifinal – Orange Bowl | Clemson vs. Oklahoma | 4 p.m. | ESPN | Clemson |
| College Football Playoff Semifinal – Cotton Bowl | Michigan State vs. Alabama | 8 p.m. | ESPN | Alabama |
| Outback Bowl | Northwestern vs. Tennessee | 12 p.m. | ESPN2 | Tennessee |
| Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl | Michigan vs. Florida | 1 p.m. | ABC | Michigan |
| Fiesta Bowl | Notre Dame vs. Ohio State | 1 p.m. | ESPN | Ohio State |
| Rose Bowl | Stanford vs. Iowa | 5 p.m. | ESPN | Stanford |
| Sugar Bowl | Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss | 8:30 p.m. | ESPN | Oklahoma State |
| Taxslayer Bowl | Penn State vs. Georgia | 12 p.m. | ESPN | Georgia |
| AutoZone Liberty Bowl | Kansas State vs. Arkansas | 3:20 p.m. | ESPN | Arkansas |
| Valero Alamo Bowl | Oregon vs. TCU | 6:45 p.m. | ESPN | Oregon |
| Motel 6 Cactus Bowl | Arizona State vs. West Virginia | 10:15 p.m. | ESPN | Arizona State |
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GoDadddy Bowl: Georgia Southern vs. Bowling Green
Chalk up the matchup between Georgia Southern and Bowling Green as the Interim Coach Bowl.
Both teams enter Wednesday’s game without the coach that guided them to the game in Mobile, Alabama.
Bowling Green’s Dino Babers took the head-coaching job at Syracuse, while Georgia Southern’s Willie Fritz took the same position at Tulane.
However, such circumstances aren’t out of the norm for this particular bowl game, per Mark Inabinett of AL.com:
"The double-interim game isn't unprecedented for the GoDaddy Bowl. The game's tradition of coaching turnover serves as a testament to the quality of its participants as top young coaches move from successful stints in the Mid-American and Sun Belt conferences to jobs at schools higher in college football's pecking order.
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According to Inabinett, before the 2014 game, there were six straight years with at least one major coaching-staff change to one of the GoDaddy Bowl participants between the regular season and game itself.
While such turnover isn’t unexpected, the annual ceremony where the Mobile mayor presents each coach a key to the city, as shown by the GoDaddy Bowl, comes off a tad awkward:
All the while, this year’s departures are well understood and deserving.
Babers led Bowling Green to its fifth straight bowl game on the heels of winning its second Mid-American Conference title in three years. The Falcons are 10-3 and led the MAC with 43.4 points and 561 total yards per game with an offense that should give Georgia Southern fits.
The Falcons, however, should match up well riding their triple-option attack that led them to an 8-4 mark and a near road upset in Week 12 over Georgia and one of the nation’s top defenses.
Bowling Green enters a 7.5-point favorite, per Odds Shark, and while the absence of their head coaches should logically offset any advantage, this should be a close but high-scoring game.
Georgia Southern made the leap to FBS in 2014 after a lengthy tenure of success at the lower levels and has been building all season toward its first bowl game win.
Predicted winner: Georgia Southern
Poinsettia Bowl: Boise State vs. Northern Illinois
This year's Poinsettia Bowl pits a pair of the modern day’s most successful mid-major programs, with Boise State meeting Illinois at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.
The Broncos and Huskies gained national acclaim in the BCS era, reaching some of the sport’s most prestigious bowl games, but find themselves in the midst of underachieving seasons by their standards.
Northern Illinois hobbles into Wednesday’s game after starting the year winning five of its first six but finishing 8-5, capped by a 34-14 loss in the MAC title game to Bowling Green.
Boise State enters at 8-4 and under second-year head coach Bryan Harsin, who led the Broncos to a Fiesta Bowl win over Arizona just one year ago.
Despite Boise State’s proverbial down year, NIU coach Rod Carey rightfully holds the Broncos among the Group of Five elite, per NIU Huskie Athletics:
Boise State is dealing with a slew of injuries but continues to flex its offensive juggernaut, which is churning out 488.8 yards and 37.8 points per game, both among the Top 20 in the FBS.
The Broncos have had ongoing issues with ball security—including a seven-turnover half against Utah State earlier this season—but if they’re able to pile on points, they should run to victory and give the Huskies another kick while they’re down.
Predicted winner: Boise State
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