College Football Bowl Season Expert Picks

I’m one of those people who absolutely loves the college bowl games…hell, I’ll watch the Camellia Bowl or Bahamas Bowl if I’m sitting on my couch with nothing better to do. However let’s be honest, 41 bowl games is simply too many. I’m not a fan of 78 FBS teams in the postseason…it just seems oversaturated. Make the number around 30 bowl games + a 6 team playoff and I’d be a happy camper. But that debate is for another day…

In the meantime, enjoy some bowl thoughts and predictions from our Cohen’s Corner CFB experts – JB, Bear Down Steve, Producer Wes and me. These may not be as fun as our weekly CFB picks…but hope you enjoy nonetheless!

1. Projected score of the ASU-Fresno State Las Vegas Bowl (Fresno State is -2.5).

Eric: Fresno State 31, ASU 24

Jon: ASU 24, Fresno State 20
Steve: Fresno State 27, ASU 20
Wesley: ASU 31, Fresno State 27

2. Pac-12 Bowl Record:

Eric: 2-5
Jon: 3-4
Steve 4-3
Wesley: 4-3

3. Projected score of the Wisconsin-Miami Pinstripe Bowl.
(since that’s Jon’s alma mater vs. my parents’ alma mater)
Eric: Wisconsin 23-21
Jon: Miami 27-13
Steve: Wisconsin 28, Miami 27
Wesley: Wisconsin 27-17

4. The biggest underdog against the spread to win a bowl game outright:

Eric: New Orleans Bowl – Middle Tennessee State (+7) vs. Appalachian State
Jon: No pick
Steve: Sugar Bowl – Texas (+11.5) vs. Georgia (Georgia lays an egg like so many other teams who just miss out on the playoff due to losing in the conference title game)
Wesley: Bahamas Bowl – Florida International (+6) vs. Toledo

5. Who is your ***** (5 star) lock against the spread)?

Eric: Quick Lane Bowl – Georgia Tech -4 vs. Minnesota
Jon: Rose Bowl – Ohio State -6 vs. Washington
Steve: Rose Bowl – Ohio State -6 vs. Washington
Wesley: Birmingham Bowl – Wake Forest +4.5 vs. Memphis

6. Name the highest scoring bowl game.

Eric: Orange Bowl – Alabama vs. Oklahoma
Jon: Boca Raton Bowl – UAB vs. Norther Illinois
Steve: Camping World Bowl – Syracuse vs. West Virginia
Wesley: Alamo Bowl – Iowa State vs. Washington State

7. Which bowl game outside of the major six bowls are you most excited to watch?

Eric: Pinstripe Bowl – Miami vs. Wisconsin
Jon: Camping World Bowl – Syracuse vs. West Virginia
Wesley: Las Vegas Bowl – ASU vs. Fresno State and if that doesn’t count, RedBox Bowl – Michigan State vs. Oregon

8. Predict the winners of these games:

Peach Bowl: Michigan-Florida
Fiesta Bowl: UCF-LSU
Rose Bowl: Ohio State-Washington
Sugar Bowl: Georgia-Texas

Eric: Michigan, LSU, Ohio State, Georgia
Jon: Florida, LSU, Ohio State, Georgia
Steve: Michigan, LSU, Ohio State, Texas
Wesley: Michigan, LSU, Ohio State, Georgia

9. Predict the winners of these games:
Cotton Bowl: Clemson-Notre Dame
Orange Bowl: Alabama-Oklahoma

Eric: Clemson-Alabama
Jon: Clemson-Alabama
Steve: Clemson-Alabama (though Notre Dame comes close against Clemson)
Wesley: Clemson-Alabama

10. National Championship Game Winner + Score Prediction

Eric: Clemson 34, Alabama 31
Jon: Alabama 41, Clemson 27
Steve: Alabama 38, Clemson 31
Wesley: Alabama 35, Clemson 31

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Some of you are in bowl pick’em leagues where you must rank each winner with confidence points. Below are my picks.

EC’s Bowl Confidence picks (including the Celebration Bowl):
(Team Winners + Point Values, 41 being the most confident, 1 being the least confident)

Alabama – 41
Ohio State – 40
Georgia Tech – 39
Missouri – 38
Clemson – 37
Utah – 36
Stanford – 35
Army – 34
Boise State – 33
Michigan – 32
Georgia – 31
South Carolina – 30
Texas A&M – 29
Vanderbilt – 28
Auburn – 27
Mississippi State – 26
Fresno State – 25
Ohio – 24
Georgia Southern – 23
Utah State – 22
Hawai’i – 21
UAB – 20
BYU – 19
Troy – 18
Penn State – 17
Wisconsin – 16
Nevada – 15
TCU – 14
Cincinnati – 13
South Florida – 12
Memphis – 11
Florida International – 10
Syracuse – 9
LSU – 8
Michigan State – 7
Duke – 6
Louisiana-Lafayette – 5
Iowa State – 4
Middle Tennessee – 3
North Carolina A&T – 2
Clemson (championship) – 1