Music City Bowl
Nashville, TN
12/30 7 PM
Texas A&M (8-4) vs. Louisville (7-5)
Texas A&M
Confidence: 27
These are two teams that were hoping their season went much better than it did. Both come in with a mediocre record and not a whole lot to talk about in this one. Both also have young offenses. The Aggies have a variety of big play ability receivers led by freshman Christian Kirk who leads the team with 70 receptions for 925 yards and 6 TDs. Louisville starts freshman Lamar Jackson at QB who is a dual threat QB leading the team in rushing as well. Both of these teams are going through some learning curves this season but a lot of experience can benefit them for a return next year. Overall A&M just has more weapons.
Texas A&M 34 Louisville 26
Holiday Bowl
San Diego, CA
12/30 10:30 PM
USC (8-5) vs. Wisconsin (9-3)
USC
Confidence: 22
This season has been nothing short of a roller coaster for USC with the whole Sarkisian debacle. Clay Helton got the interim tag removed and fired some assistants so let’s see how this whole thing plays out. The good thing is USC always has a bunch of talent. Senior QB Cody Kessler put together another solid season with 28 TDs to 6 INTs and had his top target JuJu Smith haul in 10 TDs and almost 1400 yards. Su’A Cravens, the LB/Safety hybrid is the highlight of the Trojans defense. Wisconsin took advantage of an easy Big Ten schedule, but couldn’t win the big ones losing 10-6 to Iowa and 13-7 to Northwestern. Wisconsin allows the fewest points against at 13 and has held opponents to seven points or fewer in five games. Wisconsin also has a tendency to turn the ball over, with 13 interceptions this season and USC is eighth in sacks so the pressure may cause some issues. USC is the more talented team in this one.
USC 31 Wisconsin 21
Peach Bowl
Atlanta, GA
12/31 12 PM
Houston (12-1) vs. Florida State (10-2)
Florida State
Confidence: 37
I feel bad for Houston. They had such a good season and a chance to get a big win on New Year’s Eve and then they draw Florida State. The Seminoles are about as athletic of a team as you can get and filled with talent because Jimbo Fisher is becoming an elite recruiter with the ranks of Urban Meyer and Nick Saban. Going back to Houston, their whole year came down to the final four games. They beat ranked Memphis, Navy, and Temple but were killed by a loss to Connecticut. Florida State had that shocking loss to Georgia Tech and a good loss to the top team Clemson. The Cougars are going to have their hands full trying to stop Dalvin Cook from running on them. The Seminoles defense is pretty good too led by possible top five pick Jalen Ramsey. If it gets close, Florida State has my favorite kicker, Roberto Aguayo who is 68 of 76 (89.5%) for his career and 195 of 195 on XPs. He won the Lou Groza award in 2013 as a freshman.
Florida State 38 Houston 21
Orange Bowl
Miami, FL
12/31 4 PM
Oklahoma (11-1) vs. Clemson (13-0)
Oklahoma
Confidence: 13
We finally get our first playoff game and the closer one in my opinion. Let’s start with the number four Sooners. The Sooners like most of the Big 12 are all about one thing, offense. They are third in points scored at 46 a game. The offense starts and is all about QB Baker Mayfield. The former Texas Tech transfer has had the biggest change on the football landscape this year. His 35 TDs to 5 INTs has been phenomenal. They also have one of the best young running backs in Perine, who has ran for just under 1300 yards and 15 TDs after going for 1700 and 21 TDs last year. Like Oklahoma, the Tigers are led by a top QB. Deshaun Watson finished third in Heisman voting, had 3500 yards passing and 30 TDs to 11 INTs to go along with his 887 yards and 11 TDs on the ground. Clemson is again one of the most athletic teams in the country that makes them difficult to match against. The most impressive thing was their ability to win the big game. They sit as the only undefeated team with wins over Notre Dame, Florida State, and North Carolina.
Oklahoma 42 Clemson 39
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