College Football Bowl First Thought Predictions, Analysis For All 41 Games, National Championship – Page 20

Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic

USC vs Tulane
Monday, January 2, 2023
1:00, ESPN

No Research Instant Analysis: The early returns are that Caleb Williams’ hamstring injury is a big problem. The bigger issue for USC should be the loss of a slew of the other all-star transfers that helped get the team just this close to the College Football Playoff.

I don’t like picking games like this assuming the worst, USC might have a tough mix of lost parts, a team that can’t tackle even with everyone there, and a demoralized team overall. Tulane will come in jacked up for the big stage. Even so. the Trojans will wake up late just in time to lose close.

No Research Bowl Prediction: Tulane 34, USC 30
Early Bowl Line Guess: Tulane -2.5
Actual Line: Tulane -1.5

Rose Bowl

Penn State vs Utah
Monday, January 2, 2023
5:00, ESPN

No Research Instant Analysis: It’s the first game of the rest of Penn State’s life. Sean Clifford will close out his career, but everything will be about the loaded team returning for next season. There’s another aspect that’s going to be forgotten going into this – the 2022 version of Penn State was fantastic, too.

It might not have the big wins, but it played Ohio State tough and rolled everyone else but Michigan. Utah will be Utah – it’s going to be a war – but unlike USC, the Nittany Lions can tackle. It might not be last year’s epic Ohio State-Utah Rose Bowl, but it’ll be fantastic.

No Research Bowl Prediction: Penn State 37, Utah 30
Early Bowl Line Guess: Penn State -3
Actual Line: Penn State -1.5

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