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College Football Bowl Picks 2017-18: Predictions for Every Postseason Game
December 11, 2017
The two-week wait to start bowl season that has felt like an eternity ends on Saturday with a five-game slate which starts early in the afternoon.
Although Saturday's group of contests might not be the best, they still mark the start of an exciting period of college football that should give us plenty to talk about during the holiday season.
There are stars playing their final games, programs looking to impress incoming head coaches, records to be achieved and so much more over the next few weeks.
December 16
R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl (1 p.m. ET)
Troy vs. North Texas
TV: ESPN
Prediction: Troy 24, North Texas 17
AutoNation Cure Bowl (2:30 p.m. ET )
Western Kentucky vs. Georgia State
TV: CBS Sports Network
Prediction: Western Kentucky 24, Georgia State 19
Las Vegas Bowl (3:30 p.m. ET)
No. 25 Boise State vs. Oregon
TV: ABC
Prediction: Boise State 49, Oregon 41
Gildan New Mexico Bowl (4:30 p.m. ET)
Marshall vs. Colorado State
TV: ESPN
Prediction: Colorado State 37, Marshall 21
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl (8 p.m. ET)
Middle Tennessee vs. Arkansas State
TV: ESPN
Prediction: Middle Tennessee 31, Arkansas State 24
December 19
Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl (7 p.m. ET)
Akron vs. Florida Atlantic
TV: ESPN
Prediction: Florida Atlantic 45, Akron 10
December 20
DXL Frisco Bowl (8 p.m. ET)
Louisiana Tech vs. SMU
TV: ESPN
Prediction: SMU 31, Louisiana Tech 24
December 21
Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl (8 p.m. ET)
Temple vs. Florida International
TV: ESPN
Prediction: Temple 24, Florida International 20
December 22
Bahamas Bowl (12:30 p.m. ET)
UAB vs. Ohio
TV: ESPN
Prediction: UAB 41, Ohio 31
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (4 p.m. ET)
Central Michigan vs. Wyoming
TV: ESPN
Prediction: Wyoming 34, Central Michigan 31
December 23
Birmingham Bowl (12 p.m. ET)
Texas Tech vs. South Florida
TV: ESPN
Prediction: South Florida 55, Texas Tech 49
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (3:30 p.m. ET)
San Diego State vs. Army
TV: ESPN
Prediction: San Diego State 31, Army 17
Dollar General Bowl (7 p.m. ET)
Appalachian State vs. Toledo
TV: ESPN
Prediction: Toledo 27, Appalachian State 20
December 24
Hawaii Bowl (8:30 p.m. ET)
Fresno State vs. Houston
TV: ESPN
Prediction: Houston 41, Fresno State 37
December 26
Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl (1:30 p.m. ET)
West Virginia vs. Utah
TV: ESPN
Prediction: Utah 38, West Virginia 24
Quick Lane Bowl (5:15 p.m. ET)
Duke vs. Northern Illinois
TV: ESPN
Prediction: Northern Illinois 31, Duke 24
Cactus Bowl (9 p.m. ET)
Kansas State vs. UCLA
TV: ESPN
Prediction: UCLA 45, Kansas State 40
December 27
Walk On's Independence Bowl (1:30 p.m. ET)
Southern Miss vs. Florida State
TV: ESPN
Prediction: Florida State 31, Southern Miss 27
New Era Pinstripe Bowl (5:15 p.m. ET)
Boston College vs. Iowa
TV: ESPN
Prediction: Iowa 17, Boston College 13
Foster Farms Bowl (8:30 p.m. ET)
Arizona vs. Purdue
TV: Fox
Prediction: Purdue 40, Arizona 31
Academy Sports & Outdoors Texas Bowl (9 p.m. ET)
Texas vs. Missouri
TV: ESPN
Prediction: Missouri 37, Texas 31
December 28
Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman (1:30 p.m. ET)
Virginia vs. Navy
TV: ESPN
Prediction: Navy 27, Virginia 24
Camping World Bowl (5:15 p.m. ET)
No. 22 Virginia Tech vs. No. 19 Oklahoma State
TV: ESPN
Prediction: Oklahoma State 31, Virginia Tech 24
Valero Alamo Bowl (9 p.m. ET)
No. 13 Stanford vs. No. 15 TCU
TV: ESPN
Prediction: Stanford 24, TCU 21
San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl (9 p.m. ET)
No. 18 Washington State vs. No. 16 Michigan State
TV: Fox
Prediction: Michigan State 26, Washington State 23
December 29
Belk Bowl (1 p.m. ET)
Wake Forest vs. Texas A&M
TV: ESPN
Prediction: Wake Forest 35, Texas A&M 28
Hyundai Sun Bowl (3:30 p.m. ET)
No. 24 NC State vs. Arizona State
TV: CBS
Prediction: NC State 28, Arizona State 27
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl (4:30 p.m. ET)
No. 21 Northwestern vs. Kentucky
TV: ESPN
Prediction: Northwestern 37, Kentucky 24
Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl (5:30 p.m. ET)
Utah State vs. New Mexico State
TV: CBS Sports Network
Prediction: Utah State 20, New Mexico State 17
Goodyear Cotton Bowl (8:30 p.m. ET)
No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 8 USC
TV: ESPN
Prediction: Ohio State 27, USC 21
December 30
TaxSlayer Bowl (Noon ET)
No. 23 Mississippi State vs. Louisville
TV: ESPN
Prediction: Louisville 41, Mississippi State 26
AutoZone Liberty Bowl (12:30 p.m. ET)
No. 20 Memphis vs. Iowa State
TV: ABC
Prediction: Memphis 21, Iowa State 17
PlayStation Fiesta Bowl (4 p.m. ET)
No. 9 Penn State vs. No. 11 Washington
TV: ESPN
Prediction: Penn State 31, Washington 17
Capital One Orange Bowl (8 p.m. ET)
No. 6 Wisconsin vs. No. 10 Miami (FL)
TV: ESPN
Prediction: Wisconsin 21, Miami (FL) 14
January 1, 2018
Outback Bowl (Noon ET)
Michigan vs. South Carolina
TV: ESPN2
Prediction: Michigan 27, South Carolina 19
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (12:30 p.m. ET)
No. 7 Auburn vs. No. 12 UCF
TV: ESPN
Prediction: Auburn 34, UCF 31
Citrus Bowl presented by Overton's (1 p.m. ET)
No. 14 Notre Dame vs. No. 17 LSU
TV: ABC
Prediction: LSU 31, Notre Dame 27
Rose Bowl (National Semifinal, 5 p.m. ET)
No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Georgia
TV: ESPN
Prediction: Oklahoma 17, Georgia 14
Sugar Bowl (National Semifinal, 8:45 p.m. ET)
No. 1 Clemson vs. No. 4 Alabama
TV: ESPN
Prediction: Clemson 31, Alabama 20
January 8, 2018
National Championship Game (8 p.m. ET)
TV: ESPN
Las Vegas Bowl is the Best of Opening Slate
If you do a quick glance over Saturday's five bowl games, only one stands out in terms of programs in the national spotlight.
Boise State and Oregon may not be in their prime as they were a few years ago, but they'll still give us a must-watch matchup in the Las Vegas Bowl.
The Broncos have weapons in all facets of their offense in quarterback Brett Rypien, who has thrown for 2,515 yards, running back Alexander Mattison, who has 1,074 rushing yards and leading receiver Cedrick Wilson, who recorded 1,290 receiving yards in the regular season.
Boise State has also been on a tear as it has one loss since the start of October. The Broncos avenged their November 25 loss to Fresno State in the Mountain West Championship.
Oregon has a few dynamic playmakers itself in the form of quarterback Justin Herbert and running back Royce Freeman.
Herbert hasn't received a ton of attention due to the other star quarterbacks in the Pac-12, but he could end up being a player in the 2018 Heisman Trophy race if he finds success under new head coach Mario Cristobal.
Freeman, who has 1,475 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns to his name, has picked up 100 yards on the ground in each of his last six games dating back to Stanford on October 14.
Florida State Trying to Impress New Head Coach
One of the most curious games of bowl season will be the Independence Bowl, where Florida State faces off against Southern Miss.
The Seminoles had a brutal season and needed a December 2 win over Louisiana-Monroe to just become bowl-eligible and earn the trip to Shreveport, Louisiana.
The Florida State players could take their bowl game two ways. They could either use it as motivation to impress new head coach Willie Taggart, or they could lay an egg and make a loss to Southern Miss a fitting end to the disappointing season.
One has to believe star freshmen such as James Blackman and Cam Akers will come ready to play with Taggart watching intently.
Blackman, who replaced the injured Deondre Francois, came three yards short of 2,000 in the passing game, while Akers totaled 930 yards on the ground with seven touchdowns.
Stopping Southern Miss' offense might be a tough task for the Florida State defense, as the Golden Eagles have scored 137 points in their last three games.
Lamar Jackson Looking to Cement Legacy
Lamar Jackson could be playing his final college football game on December 30 against Mississippi State in the TaxSlayer Bowl.
The 2016 Heisman winner and 2017 third-place finisher for college football's most prestigious award could declare for the NFL Draft after this game, which means he might have one more chance to cement his legacy as one of the best quarterbacks in the sport in recent memory.
The Louisville junior has put up triple digits in the passing and rushing yards columns in nine of his 12 games, and there's a good chance he does it for the 10th time against the Bulldogs, who are in a state of transition.
Mississippi State possesses a daunting defense, one that almost helped upset Alabama at home, but the Bulldogs' coaching staff is in a transition period with Dan Mullen now at Florida and Joe Moorhead ready to take the reigns.
In addition to the coaching situation, the Bulldogs will be without quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, who was injured on Thanksgiving against Ole Miss.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90
All statistics obtained from ESPN.com