Fiesta Bowl
Glendale, AZ
1/1 1 PM
Notre Dame (10-2) vs. Ohio State (11-1)
Ohio State
Confidence: 33
It’s such a shame that Michigan and Ohio State have to play at the same time but this is the much better game to watch. Notre Dame has surprised many to get to this point. The Irish have had to overcome a lot of injuries and tough opponent to get here. The only two losses were to Clemson and Stanford, teams playing in the Rose Bowl and Orange Bowl. Notre Dame still has a lot of talent with OT Ronnie Stanley, NT Sheldon Day, LB Jaylon Smith, and WR Will Fuller but they can’t match the talent of Ohio State. Ohio State did not look like the team it did last year for most of the season. They seemed like the truly missed offensive coordinator Tom Herman who left and has led Houston to a New Year’s Eve bowl in his first season there. After the offensive coordinator switched from being on the field to the press box, Ohio State put up 42 in a blowout of Michigan. Coincidence or not it’s too early to tell. The Buckeyes are loaded with talent and should have more draft picks than any other school this year. The key is controlling the distractions. Ezekiel Elliott has called out coaches over play calling, JT Barrett has been suspended for DWI, and Adolphus Washington is suspended for this one for solicitation. If the team can stay together long enough to make it through then they will win.
Ohio State 27 Notre Dame 23
Rose Bowl
Pasadena, CA
1/1 5 PM
Stanford (11-2) vs. Iowa (12-1)
Stanford
Confidence: 23
The country will finally get its chance to look at Stanford’s do it all Christian McCaffrey. He set the NCAA record this season for all-purpose yards between rushing, receiving, and returning. He broke Barry Sanders record to put things in perspective. He set it by recording 461 yards in the Pac-12 Championship on the big stage. He did it with 207 rushing yards, 105 receiving yards, and 149 return yards. He was helped by Joshua Garnett, the Outland winner for best interior lineman. Stanford has become a great school for developing NFL offensive lineman and being led by intelligent QBs and RBs behind them. Stanford beat a lot of good PAC-12 teams that doesn’t get the credit it deserves because they all beat each other up to even out the records. They also beat USC twice this season. Iowa made it all the way to the Big Ten Championship undefeated before losing late in the game to Michigan State. The Hawkeyes aren’t a flashy team but have been able to get the job done week in and out. In the end, I just don’t see Iowa having the fire power to overcome McCaffrey and this intelligent Stanford team.
Stanford 30 Iowa 17
Sugar Bowl
New Orleans, LA
1/1 8:30 PM
Oklahoma State (10-2) vs. Ole Miss (9-3)
Ole Miss
Confidence: 28
Oklahoma State comes into this one cold, losing their last two after winning the first ten. They have an explosive offense though that’s capable of putting up points in a hurry as they’ve thrown for 35 touchdowns on the season. Ole Miss has more of the top end talent on its team with a possible three top ten picks this year in WR Laquon Treadwell, DT Robert Nkemdiche, and OT Laremy Tunsil. Nkemdiche playing in this game might be in question because of his continued off the field problems. Ole Miss though is the only team this season to beat Alabama which speaks volumes for them. They also took down conference foes in LSU and Mississippi State. The talent for Ole Miss is too much in this one.
Ole Miss 42 Oklahoma State 31
TaxSlayer Bowl
Jacksonville, FL
1/2 12 PM
Penn State (7-5) vs. Georgia (9-3)
Georgia
Confidence: 30
Here’s going to be the other contender with Florida Michigan for the lowest scoring bowl game. The star standout for this one is 6’7” senior DE Carl Nassib of Penn State who leads the country with 15.5 sacks. He has come out of nowhere this season and recorded at least one sack in every game he’s played in this season. Penn State as a team is tied for second in the country in sacks trailing only Alabama. The question is who will score. QB Christian Hackenberg was a highly touted prospect who has just not taken the step forward under Franklin. His offensive line has done nothing to help either, being sacked 44 times last year and 38 this year. Georgia hasn’t had great play from its QB and really took a dive when star RB Nick Chubb got hurt. Whatever team can score more will win this one.
Georgia 20 Penn State 14
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