College Football Bowl Picks 2018-19: Game Predictions for Each Matchup of Season
The gap between conference championship weekend and the first Saturday of bowl season feels like an eternity.
After racing through 12-hour slates of college football from the last weekend of August to the first weekend of December, we were forced to take a week off from the sport, with the exception of the Army-Navy Game.
Once bowl season picks up Saturday with five games, we'll have college football games almost every day, with the exceptions being Sundays and Mondays for NFL games and Christmas Day.
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Thirty-nine contests, including the two College Football Playoff semifinals, take place over a three-week span, and the slate is crowded with intriguing matchups, some of which are flying under the radar.
2018-19 Bowl Picks
All Times ET. Picks against the spread in bold.
Saturday, December 15
Cure Bowl: Tulane (-3.5) vs. Louisiana (1:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network)
New Mexico Bowl: North Texas vs. Utah State (-9) (2 p.m., ESPN)
Las Vegas Bowl: No. 21 Fresno State (-4.5) vs. Arizona State (3:30 p.m., ABC)
Camellia Bowl: Georgia Southern (-1) vs. Eastern Michigan (5:30 p.m., ESPN)
New Orleans Bowl: Middle Tennessee vs. Appalachian State (-7) (9 p.m., ESPN)
Tuesday, December 18
Boca Raton Bowl: UAB (-2.5) vs. Northern Illinois (7 p.m., ESPN)
Wednesday, December 19
Frisco Bowl: San Diego State vs. Ohio (-3) (8 p.m., ESPN)
Thursday, December 20
Gasparilla Bowl: Marshall (-2.5) vs. South Florida (8 p.m., ESPN)
Friday, December 21
Bahamas Bowl: Florida International vs. Toledo (-6) (12:30 p.m., ESPN)
Idaho Potato Bowl: Western Michigan vs. BYU (-12.5) (4 p.m., ESPN)
Saturday, December 22
Birmingham Bowl: Memphis (-5) vs. Wake Forest (noon, ESPN)
Armed Forces Bowl: Houston vs. Army (-3) (3:30 p.m., ESPN)
Dollar General Bowl: Buffalo (-2.5) vs. Troy (7 p.m., ESPN)
Hawaii Bowl: Hawaii (-1) vs. Louisiana Tech (10:30 p.m., ESPN)
Wednesday, December 26
First Responder Bowl: Boston College vs. No. 25 Boise State (-3) (1:30 p.m., ESPN)
Quick Lane Bowl: Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech (-4) (5:15 p.m., ESPN)
Cheez-It Bowl: California vs. TCU (Even) (9 p.m., ESPN)
Thursday, December 27
Independence Bowl: Duke vs. Temple (-3) (1:30 p.m., ESPN)
Pinstripe Bowl: Miami (-4) vs. Wisconsin (5:15 p.m., ESPN)
Texas Bowl: Baylor vs. Vanderbilt (-3.5) (9 p.m., ESPN)
Friday, December 28
Music City Bowl: Purdue vs. Auburn (-4) (1:30 p.m., ESPN)
Camping World Bowl: No. 16 West Virginia (-2) vs. No. 20 Syracuse (5:15 p.m., ESPN)
Alamo Bowl: No. 24 Iowa State vs. No. 13 Washington State (-3.5) (9 p.m., ESPN)
Saturday, December 29
Peach Bowl: No. 10 Florida vs. No. 7 Michigan (-7.5) (noon, ESPN)
Belk Bowl: South Carolina (-4) vs. Virginia (noon, ABC)
Arizona Bowl: Arkansas State (-1) vs. Nevada (1:15 p.m., CBS Sports Network)
Cotton Bowl (Playoff Semifinal): No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Clemson (-11.5) (4 p.m., ESPN)
Orange Bowl (Playoff Semifinal): No. 4 Oklahoma vs. No. 1 Alabama (-14) (8 p.m., ESPN)
Monday, December 31
Military Bowl: Cincinnati (-5) vs. Virginia Tech (noon, ESPN)
Sun Bowl: Stanford (-6.5) vs. Pittsburgh (2 p.m., CBS)
Redbox Bowl: Michigan State vs. Oregon (-3) (3 p.m., Fox)
Liberty Bowl: No. 23 Missouri (-8) vs. Oklahoma State (3:45 p.m., ESPN)
Holiday Bowl: No. 22 Northwestern vs. No. 17 Utah (-7) (7 p.m., FS1)
Gator Bowl: NC State vs. No. 19 Texas A&M (-5) (7:30 p.m., ESPN)
Tuesday, January 1
Outback Bowl: No. 18 Mississippi State (-7) vs. Iowa (noon, ESPN2)
Fiesta Bowl: No. 11 LSU (-7.5) vs. No. 8 UCF (1 p.m., ESPN)
Citrus Bowl: No. 14 Kentucky vs. No. 12 Penn State (-6) (1 p.m., ABC)
Rose Bowl: No. 9 Washington vs. No. 6 Ohio State (-6.5) (5 p.m., ESPN)
Sugar Bowl: No. 15 Texas vs. No. 5 Georgia (-11.5) (8:45 p.m., ESPN)
Buffalo 37, Troy 24
The second Saturday of bowl season possesses some of the best under-the-radar games of the entire lineup.
The Dollar General Bowl presents us with a clash of two of the best Group of Five programs and rising candidates in the coaching ranks.
Buffalo and Troy come into the Dollar General Bowl with plenty of motivation to finish off the season on a high note after suffering disappointing defeats at the end of the regular season.
Lance Leipold's Bulls fell one point short of capping the best season in school history with an 11th win and a MAC championship.
Instead, the quest for a program-record 11th victory leads the Bulls to Mobile, Alabama against a Troy team that lost out on the Sun Belt East to Appalachian State on Thanksgiving weekend.
Buffalo is led by quarterback Tyree Jackson and wide receiver Anthony Johnson, who could be one of the top players at his position selected in the 2019 NFL draft.
Jackson and Johnson combined for 944 yards and 11 touchdowns through the air, while Jaret Patterson and Kevin Marks provided balance on the ground with 25 scores.
B.J. Smith is the star to watch on the Troy offense, as he carried the ball 199 times for 1,093 yards and 12 touchdowns.
While the Saturday night window will be perfect for the players to showcase their talents, what neutrals will be tuning in for is to watch how Leipold and Neal Brown design game plans for their respective teams.
Leipold and Brown might not be moving from their jobs this offseason, but if they keep their respective programs moving in a forward direction, they'll be power five coaches sooner rather than later.
Washington State 27, Iowa State 16
For most of the season, Washington State was the darling of the west coast, with quarterback Gardner Minshew doing little wrong in head coach Mike Leach's Air Raid system.
But everything the Cougars worked for came crashing down in the Apple Cup, as they fell in the snow to rival Washington and were denied a shot at the Pac-12 title and the New Year's Six.
The 10-2 Cougars were forced to settle for an appearance in the Alamo Bowl against an Iowa State program that isn't intimidated by teams ranked high in the Top 25.
How Minshew and Co. respond emotionally to getting up for a bowl game after a month of lingering disappointment will shape the complexion of the clash in San Antonio.
Minshew, who threw for 4,477 yards and 36 touchdowns, will make sure the Cougars are ready for the challenge, and he'll lead them down the field for a score on their first drive.
With a handful of options, including James Williams, Dezmon Patmon and Davontavean Martin, at his disposal, Minshew should be able to spread the ball around enough to keep Iowa State's defense off balance.
Doing so won't be easy since Matt Campbell's team beat Oklahoma State and West Virginia and played tight games vs. Oklahoma and Texas.
The real question for the Cyclones to answer is if they have enough firepower to keep up with the Cougars, and outside of running back David Montgomery, who ran 1,092 yards and 12 touchdowns, we're not sure they do.
The Cyclones won't get blown out, as they'll force a few stops to restore order, but there's no guarantee Brock Purdy matches the output of Minshew.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.
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