College Bowl Picks 2019-20: Predictions For Biggest Matchups After Poll Release
For most of the season, the Alabama Crimson Tide and Utah Utes were involved in the College Football Playoff discussion.
In the last two weeks, both sides suffered defeats that knocked them out of the playoff hunt and even a New Year's Six bowl game.
On Sunday, the pair of programs were matched up with two of the most recognizable teams in college football.
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Alabama faces the Michigan Wolverines on New Year's Day, while Utah earned a meeting with the Texas Longhorns in the Alamo Bowl on New Year's Eve. How each team responds to deflating losses will be one of the most intriguing storylines of bowl season.
All Times ET
College Football Playoff
Peach Bowl (December 28): No. 1 LSU vs. No. 4 Oklahoma (4 p.m.)
Fiesta Bowl (December 28): No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Clemson (8 p.m. ET)
New Year's Six
Cotton Bowl (December 28): Memphis vs. Penn State (Noon, ESPN)
Orange Bowl (December 30): Florida vs. Virginia (8 p.m., ESPN)
Rose Bowl (January 1): Wisconsin vs. Oregon (5 p.m., ESPN)
Sugar Bowl (January 1): Georgia vs. Baylor (8:45 p.m., ESPN)
Other Bowls
Bahamas Bowl (December 20): Charlotte vs. Buffalo (2 p.m., ESPN)
Frisco Bowl (December 20): Kent State vs. Utah State (7:30 p.m., ESPN2)
New Mexico Bowl (December 21): San Diego State vs. Central Michigan (2 p.m., ESPN)
Cure Bowl (December 21): Georgia Southern vs. Liberty (2:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network)
Boca Raton Bowl (December 21): SMU vs. Florida Atlantic (3:30 p.m., ABC)
Camellia Bowl (December 21): Arkansas State vs. Florida International (5:30 p.m., ESPN)
Las Vegas Bowl (December 21): Washington vs. Boise State (7:30 p.m., ABC)
New Orleans Bowl (December 21): Appalachian State vs. UAB (9 p.m., ESPN)
Gasparilla Bowl (December 23): UCF vs. Marshall (2:30 p.m., ESPN)
Hawaii Bowl (December 24): BYU vs. Hawaii (8 p.m., ESPN)
Independence Bowl (December 26): Miami vs. Louisiana Tech (4 p.m., ESPN)
Quick Lane Bowl (December 26): Pittsburgh vs. Eastern Michigan (8 p.m., ESPN)
Military Bowl (December 27): North Carolina vs. Temple (noon, ESPN)
Pinstripe Bowl (December 27): Wake Forest vs. Michigan State (3:20 p.m., ESPN)
Texas Bowl (December 27): Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma State (6:45 p.m., ESPN)
Holiday Bowl (December 27): USC vs. Iowa (8 p.m., FS1)
Cheez-It Bowl (December 27): Washington State vs. Air Force (10:15 p.m., ESPN)
Camping World Bowl (December 28): Notre Dame vs. Iowa State (noon, ABC)
First Responder Bowl (December 30): Western Kentucky vs. Western Michigan (12:30 p.m., ESPN)
Music City Bowl (December 30): Mississippi State vs. Louisville (4 p.m., ESPN)
Redbox Bowl (December 30): California vs. Illinois (4 p.m., Fox)
Belk Bowl (December 31): Kentucky vs. Virginia Tech (noon, ESPN)
Sun Bowl (December 31): Florida State vs. Arizona State (2 p.m., CBS)
Liberty Bowl (December 31): Navy vs. Kansas State (3:45 p.m.. ESPN)
Arizona Bowl (December 31): Wyoming vs. Georgia State (4:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network)
Alamo Bowl (December 31): Utah vs. Texas (7:30 p.m., ESPN)
Citrus Bowl (January 1): Alabama vs. Michigan (1 p.m., ABC)
Outback Bowl (January 1): Auburn vs. Minnesota (1 p.m., ESPN)
Birmingham Bowl (January 2): Boston College vs. Cincinnati (3 p.m., ESPN)
Gator Bowl (January 2): Tennessee vs. Indiana (7 p.m., ESPN)
Idaho Potato Bowl (January 3): Ohio vs. Nevada (3:30 p.m., ESPN)
Armed Forces Bowl (January 4): Tulane vs. Southern Miss (11:30 a.m., ESPN)
Mobile Alabama Bowl (January 6): Louisiana vs. Miami (Ohio) (7:30 p.m., ESPN)
Predictions for Biggest Matchups
Alabama 34, Michigan 21
The last time Alabama did not play in a marquee bowl game, it rocked Michigan State 49-7 in the 2011 Capital One Bowl.
The same fate could await Michigan, which has lost its last three bowl matchups.
The Crimson Tide's offense is not as explosive without Tua Tagovailoa, but it still contains plenty of stars that can hurt Michigan's defense. Najee Harris has 1,088 rushing yards, DeVonta Smith has 1,200 receiving yards and Jerry Jeudy needs 41 more receiving yards to hit the century mark.
If all of Alabama's stars play in the Citrus Bowl, it could find similar success as Ohio State, which put up 577 total yards on Jim Harbaugh's team. The only way Nick Saban's top players does not participate is if they opt to focus on the NFL draft process, but those decisions have not been made yet.
There could be concerns about the UA defense, but it did hold five opponents to single digits.
Xavier McKinney could be the most dangerous threat to Michigan's offensive production, as he has four forced fumbles, three interceptions and a pair of sacks. Sack leaders Anfernee Jennings and Terrell Lewis could squash the running threat posed by Zach Charbonnet and limit Shea Patterson's pocket space.
Alabama is familiar with the Michigan quarterback from his time at Ole Miss. He was held to 165 passing yards and picked off twice in his lone meeting against the Tide in 2017.
In 2019, the senior has five touchdowns and four interceptions versus ranked foes, and he did not throw a scoring pass against Penn State and Iowa. Additionally, Patterson was sacked on eight occasions in the previous three games and has been taken down 22 times.
If Alabama's pass rush wreaks havoc early on, it could roll to a New Year's Day triumph at Camping World Stadium.
Utah 31, Texas 16
No matter which way you put it, Utah's Alamo Bowl appearance is a disappointing finish after it was in the playoff mix for the last month.
But the Utes may have lucked out with one of the best possible matchups to take out their frustration.
Texas failed to live up to expectations, as it regressed from a 10-4 season with a Sugar Bowl victory to 7-5. Tom Herman's side has one of the worst Power Five defenses, as it was gashed for 306.4 passing yards and 28.9 points per game.
That could allow Tyler Huntley and Zack Moss to run all over the Longhorns inside the Alamodome.
Huntley completed 73.7 percent of his passes and he is 34 yards away from hitting 3,000, while Moss eclipsed 100 yards in five of his last six contests. The senior running back has also developed into an asset in the passing game with 18 receptions in the previous five games.
Utah's defense could be poised to bounce back from allowing 432 yards to Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship Game. Kyle Whittingham's side still owns the top run defense and sixth-best scoring defense in the FBS.
That could make life difficult for Sam Ehlinger, who has thrown six interceptions and been sacked 11 times over the last five contests. The junior's lack of pocket protection could hurt him against the Utes, as he has been taken down on 32 occasions.
As long as the Pac-12 runner-up reverts back to its season-long form from before the Oregon loss, it should control the Alamo Bowl.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.
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