college-football-picks – Page 5

Liberty vs Toledo RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl Prediction Game Preview

Liberty vs Toledo game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl on Tuesday, December 20

Liberty vs Toledo prediction, game preview, odds, how to watch. RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl, Tuesday, December 20

Liberty vs Toledo RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl Prediction Game Preview

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Liberty vs Toledo How To Watch

Date: Tuesday, December 20
Game Time: 7:30 ET
Venue: FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, FL
How To Watch: ESPN
Record: Liberty (8-4), Toledo (8-5)
– Sign up and live stream college football on ESPN+

Liberty vs Toledo RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl 5 Things To Know

RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History

– Liberty is in a transitional phase. It ended the regular season with a thud after starting 8-1, losing its last three games including an embarrassing 49-14 home whacking from New Mexico State.

Head coach Hugh Freeze bolted for Auburn, and now the program is waiting to get the former Coastal Carolina head man Jamey Chadwell’s era going. Josh Aldridge will be the interim head coach, there are plenty of great parts in place, and there’s still firepower.

– Toledo wasn’t perfect, it had a whole lot of turnover problems, and it struggled late in the regular season as it limped into the MAC Championship. One terrific defensive performance against Ohio later in a 17-7 win, and head coach Jason Candle has his second conference title in six season. Now …

– He and Toledo need to win a bowl game. Candle stepped in as an interim head man in the 2015 Boca Raton Bowl, and Toledo pulled off the 32-17 win over Temple. That’s been it for the bowl fun going 0-4 since then including a 31-24 Bahamas loss to Middle Tennessee last year. The team was able to keep it close in three of the losses, but that’s not enough – winning this matters.

– Liberty has been perfect in the bowls. Hugh Freeze took the Flames to three straight bowls and it won all three, with last year’s LendingTree 56-20 win over Eastern Michigan the most dominant of the group. Again, this season’s bowl version is going through some changes, but the program knows how to get up for these.

– If nothing else, the Boca Raton bowls have put on some great offensive shows. They haven’t been all that close – none of the eight were decided by fewer than 15 points – but the winning side hung up 50 points or more four times and 32 or more in the other four.

CFN Bowl Expert Picks: Dec 16-19 | Dec 20-27

Why Liberty Will Win The RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl

The pass rush continues to be devastating.

The offense might have slipped late, and the team completely lost its focus, but it’s still bringing one of the nation’s most dangerous defensive fronts that leads the nation in tackles for loss and is fourth in sacks. That’s a huge problem for Toledo.

The Rocket offensive line isn’t awful in pass protection, but it allows close to seven tackles for loss per game. That’s a concern, and the bigger one is a case of the turnovers that almost crushed the end of the regular season.

Toledo didn’t turn it over in the MAC Championship win over Ohio, but before that it gave it away 16 times in the previous five games.

That’s all fine, but what’s the problem with Liberty? There were a whole lot of injures, but the passing game still managed to finish with 200 yards or more in ever game but a win over Akron, the rushing attack is good enough to get to 200, and …

Why Toledo Will Win The RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl

Liberty has bigger turnover problems than Toledo.

The Rocket miscues came in a late flurry, but Liberty has cranked out a steady stream of screwups with two or more in nine of the 12 games. They haven’t always been lethal – the mistakes are baked into the cake – but the defense doesn’t come up with a ton of takeaways.

At the very least, Toledo probably won’t get hurt if it starts giving the ball away, especially if its secondary can come up with its usual pick or two.

Offensively, the Rockets need to run well. They have a good group to work into the rotation, QB Dequan Finn is dangerous no matter what he does, and the team is 5-0 when running for 225 yards or more.

What was Liberty’s biggest problem over the rough last stretch? The run defense went bye-bye – allowing almost 600 yards and 11 touchdowns in the last three games.

RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History

NEXT: What’s Going To Happen, Liberty vs Toledo Prediction, RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl History

Pages: 12

Marshall vs UConn Myrtle Beach Bowl Prediction Game Preview

Marshall vs UConn game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Myrtle Beach Bowl on Monday, December 19

Marshall vs UConn prediction, game preview, odds, how to watch. Myrtle Beach Bowl, Monday, December 19

Marshall vs UConn Myrtle Beach Bowl Prediction Game Preview

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Marshall vs UConn How To Watch

Date: Monday, December 19
Game Time: 2:30 ET
Venue: Brooks Stadium, Conway, SC
How To Watch: ESPN
Record: Marshall (8-4), UConn (6-6)
– Sign up and live stream college football on ESPN+

Marshall vs UConn Myrtle Beach Bowl 5 Things To Know

Myrtle Beach Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History

– How did Jim Mora Jr. not make every Coach of the Year list? Before 2022, UConn won exactly ten games since 2015, hadn’t had a winning season since 2010, didn’t play in 2020, and a 2019 victory over UMass was the lone win against an FBS team since the middle of the 2017 season. Mora’s team shocked Fresno State as it went on a 5-1 run to get bowl eligible before dropping the regular season finale. This has been a wildly successful year no matter what happens here.

– It’s been a crazy season for Marshall. It made a massive splash with a shocking win over Notre Dame, and then it promptly followed it up with a loss to Bowling Green as part of a rough 2-4 run with a tough November looming. The switch was flipped, the defense took things up a notch, and the Herd closed out 4-0.

– For years Marshall was a bowl season given. It lost its first two, and then from 1998 to 2018 it went 12-1, with the only loss coming to Cincinnati in the 2004 Fort Worth. Along that ride was a 16-10 win over UConn in the 2015 St. Petersburg. Now it’s on a three-bowl losing streak including a 36-21 rocking from Louisiana in last year’s New Orleans Bowl.

– It’s just the seventh bowl appearance in the history of UConn football. It’s 3-3 with the last win coming over South Carolina in the 2009 PapaJohn.com Bowl. The only bowl between this and the 2010 Fiesta loss to Oklahoma was that loss to Marshall. Yeah, this game means something.

– The Myrtle Beach Bowl is only in its third season, but the first two games at least were interesting. It’s become a landing place for good Group of Five programs, and it’s got the college football day all to itself on a Monday afternoon. Appalachian State ran wild in a 56-28 win over North Texas in the inaugural game, and Tulsa’s 30-17 win over Old Dominion last year was more entertaining than the final score.

CFN Bowl Expert Picks: Dec 16-19 | Dec 20-27

Why Marshall Will Win The Myrtle Beach Bowl

It’s a nice UConn team, but it’s about to run into a brick wall – not literally, but almost.

Marshall might not have a high-powered offense, but the run defense has been tremendous all year long, finishing fifth in the nation allowing just 88 yards per game. No one was able to get to 200 on this bunch – not Notre Dame, not Appalachian State, not Coastal Carolina – and UConn has to run well to win.

The Huskies were able to pull off a few wins when the ground game wasn’t flying, but the O line allows way too many plays behind the line, third downs are almost impossible to convert, and the passing attack does nothing down the field – UConn is dead last in the nation in yards per completion.

On the other side, Marshall is 6-0 when running for 200 yards or more. UConn is 1-6 when allowing more than 155 yards, but ….

Why UConn Will Win The Myrtle Beach Bowl

The running game really could work.

Granted, it cranked up the big yards against some of the worst run defenses in America, but with time to prepare and get everyone healthy again, the offense is about to hit Marshall with a wave of young backs.

Zion Turner is a dangerous young quarterback who can get on the move, the running backs should push for close to five yards per carry, and it should be able to slow the game down a bit.

The UConn defense doesn’t do too much to get behind the line, but it doesn’t take much to disrupt the Marshall attack. The passing game isn’t great, the O is miserable at converting drives into points, and the line is way too leaky.

However …

Myrtle Beach Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History

NEXT: What’s Going To Happen, Marshall vs UConn Prediction, Myrtle Beach Bowl History

Pages: 12

Boise State vs North Texas Frisco Bowl Prediction Game Preview

Boise State vs North Texas game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Frisco Bowl on Saturday, December 17

Boise State vs North Texas prediction, game preview, odds, how to watch. Frisco Bowl, Saturday, December 17

Boise State vs North Texas Frisco Bowl Prediction Game Preview

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Boise State vs North Texas How To Watch

Date: Saturday, December 17
Game Time: 9:15 ET
Venue: Toyota Stadium, Frisco, TX
How To Watch: ESPN
Record: Boise State (9-4), North Texas (7-6)
– Sign up and live stream college football on ESPN+

Boise State vs North Texas Frisco Bowl 5 Things To Know

Frisco Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History

– Boise State probably deserved a bigger spotlight – not to bowl shame – but the Mountain West tie-ins weren’t anything amazing. It might have missed out on the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl with the Mountain West Championship loss to Fresno State, but there’s a shot at the first ten-win season since 2019 – that’s a long drought for this program.

After a midseason change of quarterbacks and offensive coordinators, the running game became dominant, the defense was among the best in the nation, and this is a chance to show off in the late night game at the end of a LONG day of football.

– North Texas also lost its conference championship game – dropping the Conference USA title to UTSA 48-27 – but even with a relatively successful year and a bowl appearance, the program sacked head coach Seth Littrell. Veteran head man Phil Bennett will take over for this, and then Washington State receivers coach Eric Morris will step in. Part of the problem for Littrell was …

– North Texas has been awful in bowl games. It lost its last five and seven of eight since 2002. Not only have the Mean Green lost in the recent post-season, they got trucked in four straight blowouts. The program is just 2-10 all-time in bowls starting with a loss to Nevada in your 1947 Salad Bowl. But …

– Boise State hasn’t exactly been a killer in this things lately. The first bowl appearance was in 1999 under head coach and now offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter. After winning four straight and getting out to an 11-5 bowl start up until 2016, the Broncos have lost two of their last three, weren’t able to play in the 2018 First Responder, and last year got hosed when UCLA had to back out of the Holiday at the last second. This is the team’s first bowl game since 2019. They haven’t won one since 2017.

– The Frisco Bowl has been a tad rocky so far, to be nice about it. This is the fifth time the game has been played with the 2020 version canceled, and the other four … they weren’t anything great. Kent State’s 51-41 win over Utah State in 2019 was a fun shootout, but that’s as close a game as there out of the four.

CFN Bowl Expert Picks: Dec 16-19 | Dec 20-27

Why Boise State Will Win The Frisco Bowl

Defense. Yeah … North Texas doesn’t really do that.

It’s 124th in the nation in total D, it has a hard time getting off the field, and worst of all in this, it struggles against the run. There isn’t enough pressure delivered into the backfield to generate enough big plays.

It played one Mountain West team this year, and got run over by UNLV for 365 yards in a 58-27 loss.

Boise State picked up the running game with 316 yards in a late September win over San Diego State, ran for 316 more yards in the win over Fresno State the following week, and everything kept on rolling from there. On the year the team is 7-0 when running for 148 yards or more.

North Texas allows 188 rushing yards per game. However …

Why North Texas Will Win The Frisco Bowl

North Texas has enough of an offense to be a problem for the Broncos.

The run defense isn’t going to slow down George Holani and company from getting their yards, but the Mean Green ground game needs to rip off big runs of their own.

They have a veteran in quarterback Austin Aune who can keep things moving with his midrange passes, but it needs to be the rotation of several good young running backs that has to keep grinding. Boise State doesn’t allow a slew of big, gashing runs, but it’s just 3-3 this season when giving up 150 yards or more.

North Texas hit that mark in every game but three, and lost all of them. In the other ten games it’s 7-3 when it’s able to control things a bit.

Boise State has had its breakdowns at times, and it suffered a power outage in the Mountain West Championship with just 321 yards of total offense. The team is 1-4 when failing to get to 325 yards, but …

Frisco Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History

NEXT: What’s Going To Happen, Boise State vs North Texas Prediction, Frisco Bowl History

Pages: 12

Rice vs Southern Miss LendingTree Bowl Prediction, Game Preview

Rice vs Southern Miss game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the LendingTree Bowl on Saturday, December 17

Rice vs Southern Miss prediction, game preview, odds, how to watch. LendingTree Bowl, Saturday, December 17

Rice vs Southern Miss LendingTree Bowl Prediction Game Preview

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Rice vs Southern Miss How To Watch

Date: Saturday, December 17
Game Time: 5:45 ET
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, AL
How To Watch: ESPN
Record: Rice (5-7), Southern Miss (6-6)
– Sign up and live stream college football on ESPN+

Rice vs Southern Miss LendingTree Bowl 5 Things To Know

LendingTree Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History

– There weren’t quite enough eligible teams, so the bowl types had to dip into the APR (Academic Progress Rate) among the five-win teams and Rice was on top of the list. It’s not exactly coming in rolling, losing its last three games and four of its last five, but the energy and interest will be there. The program caught a break, and it’ll play like it.

– Southern Miss isn’t exactly rolling into this, but it was able to get the job done with a win over ULM to break a three-game losing streak and get bowl eligible. It’s not going to bring a high-powered offense, but it has a way of keeping games close.

– It’s USM’s first bowl appearance under head coach Will Hall and the program’s first post-season game since 2019. However, it hasn’t won one since taking down Louisiana in the 2016 New Orleans, and it’s 3-6 since winning the 2008 New Orleans.

– This is just the 13th bowl appearance for Rice, going 7-5 in the first 12. It’s the first appearance wince beating Fresno State in the 2014 Hawaii, going 3-1 in the last four bowls after a four-bowl losing streak that reached back into the 1950s.

– The bowl has gone through a few transformations when it comes to the name – the game had six different name changes since 1999 as it settled into LendingTree at the end of the 2019 season – and it’s way overdue for a good game. The first three LendingTrees were all decided by double-digits, and there hasn’t been a close version since Troy beat Ohio 28-23 in the 2016 Dollar General. To make this worse, seven of the last eight games have been relative blowouts.

CFN Bowl Expert Picks: Dec 16-19 | Dec 20-27

Why Rice Will Win The LendingTree Bowl

Again, Southern Miss isn’t going to crank out a whole lot of offense to put this out of reach. It struggles on third downs, the offensive line is too leaky, and there are way, way, way too many turnovers.

They chilled out late with just two in the last three games, but before that the offense gave it away multiple times in five straight. The Rice offense could use the help.

The Owls should always have the ball. They’re great at controlling the tempo and winning the time of possession battle, and Southern Miss – partly because of the problems on third downs – only keeps the ball for 28:40 a game.

Owning the running game on both sides is a must. Rice is 0-6 vs FBS teams when allowing more than 155 yards and 4-1 when it doesn’t. Southern Miss hit the 155-yard mark just four times.

But about those turnovers ….

Why Southern Miss Will Win The LendingTree Bowl

Southern Miss had a turnover problem throughout the season, but that’s nothing compared to the problems Rice had. It gave it up 30 times on the year with 13 coming in the last four games.

The fumbling is bad, the interceptions are worse and overall the team was dead last in the nation – tied with Northwestern – for the most giveaways.

The Southern Miss defense might not be a rock, but good things happen when it stops the run – the team is 5-1 when it allows fewer than 150 rushing yards.

It all stems from one of the nation’s best pass rushes. All of that pressure is the last thing the Rice offense needs. Get in the Owl backfield, force mistakes.

LendingTree Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History

NEXT: What’s Going To Happen, Rice vs Southern Miss Prediction, LendingTree Bowl History

Pages: 12

BYU vs SMU New Mexico Bowl Prediction Game Preview

BYU vs SMU game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the New Mexico Bowl on Saturday, December 17

BYU vs SMU prediction, game preview, odds, how to watch. New Mexico Bowl, Saturday, December 17

BYU vs SMU New Mexico Bowl Prediction Game Preview

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

BYU vs SMU How To Watch

Date: Saturday, December 17
Game Time: 7:30 ET
Venue: University Stadium, Albuquerque, NM
How To Watch: ABC
Record: BYU (7-5), SMU (7-5)
– Sign up and live stream college football on ESPN+

BYU vs SMU New Mexico Bowl 5 Things To Know

New Mexico Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History

– It’s the last game for BYU before being off to the Big 12 next season, and SMU would love to show the conference what it’s missing. As is, the matchup has the potential to be fun offensive show depending on the parts still around – more on that in a moment – and worth the watch if and when the Miami-Buffalo game gets dull. This will be rolling as the NFL day finishes up.

– BYU was a relative clunker in last year’s Independence Bowl loss to UAB. It lost two of its last three bowl games and five of its last eight, but head coach Kalani Sitake is 3-2 in the post-season in his six seasons.

– It’s a nice way to end SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee’s second season. His team won four of the last five games, the offense showed off a ton of passing firepower, and the program will be jacked to get to play in this after the last two bowl games were canceled including last year’s Fenway against Virginia. SMU hasn’t won a bowl since taking down Fresno State in the 2021 Hawaii.

– The New Mexico Bowl has normally been a home for a Mountain West team, but BYU ended up being the fit. The Mountain West won the last four and seven of the last nine, and none of games were particularly amazing. Last year’s 31-24 Fresno State win over UTEP was okay, but there hasn’t been a ton of scoring since Colorado State’s 48-45 win over Washington State in 2013. This New Mexico Bowl should change that.

– It’s just the fourth time these two programs will meet – BYU is 3-0. The last time was a 19-16 Cougar win back in 1997, but if you’re interested at all in the history of college football, the 1980 Holiday Bowl – a miraculous 46-45 comeback victory led by BYU QB Jim McMahon – continues to be among the greatest bowl games of all-time.

CFN Bowl Expert Picks: Dec 16-19 | Dec 20-27

Why BYU Will Win The New Mexico Bowl

Run, run, run, and keep on running.

SMU might have a big-time offense that scores in bunches and takes teams out of their gameplans, but BYU should be able to get that big offensive line going right away and get physical.

RB Christopher Brooks came back after missing two weeks and ripped off 266 yards averaging close to eight yards per pop in the final two games – this will be his game to dominate.

On the other side, time of possession is relatively meaningless because of how quick SMU the passing game works. There’s a big problem with that – you have to beat BYU on the ground.

The Cougars are 7-0 when allowing fewer than 205 rushing yards and 0-5 when allowing more. SMU only hit the 200-yard mark three times, and all came against mediocre-to-awful run defenses.

There’s one big question mark, though, that could affect all of this …

Why SMU Will Win The New Mexico Bowl

BYU has a massive injury concern at quarterback. Jaren Hall was brilliant all year throwing for close to 3,200 yards with 31 touchdowns and just six picks, and he was second on the team in rushing. He’s very, very questionable – and most likely out – with an ankle injury which means the Cougars might have to turn to …

Uhhhhhh. That’s a great question if Hall can’t go. No one else on the roster has thrown more than one pass this year.

SMU is going to be more concerned about its own offense. Yeah, SMU wins when it runs well, but it wants to throw and throw some more. BYU was able to hold up in wins over Stanford and Utah Tech – allowing over 300 passing yards in each game – but it’s 2-4 when allowing 220 yards or more.

SMU seems like it gets 220 passing yards on the first drive – the loss to Cincinnati was the only time it didn’t get there.

BYU doesn’t have a problem keeping up the pace if the passing game works and the points are flowing, but this is probably going to be a back-and-forth fight. That means …

New Mexico Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History

NEXT: What’s Going To Happen, BYU vs SMU Prediction, New Mexico Bowl History

Pages: 12

Jackson State vs North Carolina Central Cricket Celebration Bowl Prediction Game Preview

Jackson State vs North Carolina Central game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Cricket Celebration Bowl on Saturday, December 17

Jackson State vs North Carolina Central prediction, game preview, odds, how to watch. Cricket Celebration Bowl, Saturday, December 17

Jackson State vs North Carolina Central Cricket Celebration Bowl Prediction Game Preview

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Jackson State vs North Carolina Central How To Watch

Date: Saturday, December 17
Game Time: 12:00 ET
Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
How To Watch: ABC
Record: Jackson State (12-0), North Carolina Central (9-2)
– Sign up and live stream college football on ESPN+

Jackson State vs North Carolina Central Cricket Celebration Bowl 5 Things To Know

Cricket Celebration Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History

– Coach Prime has one more game at Jackson State. Deion Sanders has cranked it up as the new head coach at Colorado, instantly making it one of the hottest programs in college football – at least when it comes to the attention along with the interest from potential transfers. It’ll be TC Taylor’s job once this is over, but first …

– Sanders has some unfinished business. Last year’s Jackson State team got to the Celebration Bowl with a high-powered offense along with an 11-1 record and a whole lot of swagger. Oliver Pough’s South Carolina State team had other ideas on the way to a dominant 31-10 win. This time around, Sanders and his Tigers are trying to finis off a perfect season.

– This time around it’s North Carolina Central that’s trying to take down the might Jackson State team. It lost two early games – including a 26-24 loss to South Carolina State – before finding its footing on the way to a strong 9-2 season and the MEAC title.

– North Carolina Central won two Black College Division II national titles in the mid-2000s – and split one in 1954 – before making the move up to the MEAC in 2010. The 2016 team got to the Celebration Bowl but lost to Grambling State, meaning the pressure is on now because ….

– The MEAC is 5-1 in Celebration Bowl over the SWAC. That loss by the Eagles is the MEAC’s lone blemish. No matter what, expect a whole lot of scoring, a whole lot of offense, and one of the most entertaining all-around games on a Saturday loaded with bowls and key NFL matchups.

– CFN Expert Picks: Bowl Games December 16th-19th

Why Jackson State Will Win The Cricket Celebration Bowl

The offense gets all the headlines – along with the head coach – but it’s the defense that’s been able to take the team to a whole other level.

The Tigers have the best defense in the FCS, allowing just 233 yards and 11.2 points per game thanks to a killer pass rush that averages an FCS-best 3.9 an outing. The pressure will keep on coming, but that’s not a concern on the other side.

North Carolina Central will bring the offense, but it doesn’t generate nearly enough of a pass rush to bother Shedeur Sanders and a passing game that doesn’t hit a whole lot of big plays, but spreads it around and keeps on coming averaging close to 300 yards per outing.

Relentless, the Tigers can take over fast if the offense gets clicking right away. However …

Why North Carolina Central Will Win The Cricket Celebration Bowl

The great Jackson State defense was pushed a wee bit by Southern in the regular season finale.

The Tigers were never in any real danger, and they generated three picks, but they were also run on a bit and gave up a season-most 217 passing yards. Now they have to deal with NCCU QB Davius Richardson who threw for close to 2,500 yards with 24 touchdowns and ran for 691 yards and 13 scores.

Richardson is a big playmaker of an offensive weapon, he’s got a strong back in Latrell Collier to take some of the heat off, and no one in the FCS was better at keeping the chains moving on third downs.

No, the Eagles don’t have Jackson State’s pass rush, but they hold tough in the red zone, are great against the run, and they come up with the big plays that should be there against an attack that turned it over 20 times this year.

Cricket Celebration Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History

NEXT: What’s Going To Happen, Jackson State vs North Carolina Central Prediction, Cricket Celebration Bowl History

Pages: 12

Washington State vs Fresno State Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl Prediction Game Preview

Washington State vs Fresno State game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl Presented by Stifel on Saturday, December 17, 2022

Washington State vs Fresno State prediction, game preview, odds, how to watch. Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl Presented by Stifel, Saturday, December 17

Washington State vs Fresno State Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl Presented by Stifel Prediction Game Preview

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Washington State vs Fresno State How To Watch

Date: Saturday, December 17, 2022
Game Time: 3:30 ET
Venue: SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles, CA
How To Watch: ABC
Record: Washington State (7-5), Fresno State (9-4)
– Sign up and live stream college football on ESPN+

Washington State vs Fresno State Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl Presented by Stifel 5 Things To Know

Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl Presented by Stifel Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History

– There’s a good chance this is the best bowl game of the first weekend. The Mountain West had a rocky season overall, and winning this won’t make everything all better, but it would be a huge narrative-boost to get a nice win over a good Pac-12 team. The Bulldogs lot to Oregon State and USC back in September.

Washington State had a strong season, beat Wisconsin, and whacked around a miserable Colorado State from the Mountain West. This is a different sort of Wazzu team under head coach Jake Dickert – more defense with lots of toughness and big plays – and it’s got a whole lot of talented parts. However …

– This is a bowl moment for Dickert and Washington State. The program hasn’t been great in bowl games lately – it’s just 8-9 all-time and 1-4 since a 2015 Sun Bowl win over Miami – with last year’s 24-21 Sun Bowl loss to Central Michigan one of the mini-shockers of the bowl season.

Not to conference shame, but another loss combined with a Cheez-It Bowl loss to Air Force in 2019 under the late Mike Leach, and this would make it three straight bowl losses to Group of Five programs. On the flip side …

– Fresno State has won three straight bowl games including two of them under Jeff Tedford. It’s his first season back at the helm after coaching the program from 2017 to 2019, he won the 2017 Hawaii Bowl over Houston and the 2018 Las Vegas Bowl over Arizona State. Last year’s team was able to slip past UTEP 31-24 even though it was in a transitional phase with head coach Kalen DeBoer off to Washington.

– It’s just the second LA Bowl. The inaugural version was canceled in 2020, and last year Utah State surprised Oregon State 24-13 in one of the bigger curveball wins of the bowl season.

– Not that one bowl win would make much of a difference in the business world of expansion, however, for a Pac-12 that needs to find more options and more schools to boost up the strength and media packages, a Fresno State win would go a long way to helping the perception of the school to potentially be part of the mix.

CFN Bowl Expert Picks: Dec 16-19 | Dec 20-27

Why Washington State Will Win The Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl Presented by Stifel

Washington State has a reputation as a high-flying offensive program that gets into wild and crazy shootouts. That’s not really what the 2022 version does.

The passing game is fine and the offense is good, but there’s more of a focus – at least over the second half of the season – on not turning the ball over and balancing out the attack.

This isn’t exactly Army when it comes to running the ball, but the ground game hit 130 yards or more in three of the last four games to go along with more of a steady than sensational passing attack. That’s good, but the O might have to do better – more on that in a moment.

Cameron Ward hasn’t thrown an interception in the last five games and just one in the last seven, the O is automatic in the red zone, and good things happen when the ground game works – the team is 5-1 when coming up with more than 75 rushing yards. Fresno State has only allowed one team – San Jose State – to under 87 yards on the ground.

On the other side, Washington State gets pressure in the backfield, it’s solid against the run, and it’s good enough on third downs. However …

Why Fresno State Will Win The Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl Presented by Stifel

Jake Haener is as good a quarterback as the defense will have seen outside of Caleb Williams and Michael Penix Jr.. He missed four games in the middle of the season, the team was able to tread water, and everything kicked in when he returned.

The Bulldogs are on an eight-game winning streak, Haener hasn’t thrown a pick and tossed 11 touchdown passes in his last five games, and he’ll keep the pressure on a Washington State defense that allowed 200 passing yards or more in every game but three. However, all three of those games were losses.

Washington State struggles more against running teams, going 1-5 when allowing more than 121 yards and 6-0 when giving up fewer. Fresno State prefers to wing it around a bit, but it can grind it out, too, averaging 125 yards per game.

On the flip side, Fresno State is 8-0 when allowing fewer than 178 rushing yards, and Washington State as only run for more than that once.

Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl Presented by Stifel Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History

NEXT: What’s Going To Happen, Washington State vs Fresno State Prediction, Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl Presented by Stifel History

Pages: 12

Florida vs Oregon State SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl Prediction Game Preview

Florida vs Oregon State prediction, SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl game preview, odds how to watch Saturday, December 17, 2022

Florida vs Oregon State prediction, game preview, odds, how to watch. SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl, Saturday, December 17, 2022

Florida vs Oregon State SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl Prediction Game Preview

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Florida vs Oregon State How To Watch

Date: Saturday, December 17, 2022
Game Time: 2:30 ET
Venue: Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV
How To Watch: ESPN
Record: Florida (6-6), Oregon State (9-3)
– Sign up and live stream college football on ESPN+

Florida vs Oregon State SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl 5 Things To Know

SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History

– It’s the first Power Five vs Power Five matchup of the bowl season, and both teams have a whole lot to prove. Florida is trying to avoid a losing season under first year head coach Billy Napier, and the program needs to close strong after dropping two straight to close the regular season.

Oregon State comes in rolling on a three-game winning streak taking down six of its last seven games. That’s all great, but it’s the nine-win team against the .500 club. It’s the College Football Playoff’s No. 14 team vs one that lost to Vanderbilt. The expectations are on to beat the SEC team. Jonathan Smith was just given a nice new contract worth over $30 million, and now …

– Oregon State has to win one of these bowl things after clunking in last year’s LA Bowl. It was stopped by Utah State 24-13 in the program’s first bowl appearance since the 2013 Hawaii. How special is this? The Beavers are 1-3 in bowl games since beating Pitt 3-0 in the 2008 Sun Bowl, and a win would give them their first ten-win season since 2006.

– Let’s just say the last two bowl games didn’t go well for Florida. The team was missing most of its parts in the rough blowout loss to Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl to close out the 2020 season, and last year it suffered the indignity of losing to UCF 29-17 in the Gasparilla Bowl.

– The Las Vegas Bowl could use some fun. Last year’s 20-13 Wisconsin win over Las Vegas was technically close, but it was hardly gripping, the 2020 game was canceled, and before that five of the six games and ten of the previous 12 were decided by double-digits.

– Not only is this the first meeting between the two programs, but this is the first time Oregon State faced an SEC team since losing to LSU 22-21 to open the 2004 season – Missouri was in the Big 12 when the two played in 2006.

Including the Fiesta Bowls in Tempe, this is the furthest west the Florida program has been since losing to Troy Aikman and UCLA in the 1987 Aloha Bowl in Hawaii. It beat the eventual Pac-12 champion Utah in the opener. That was the first game against a current Pac-12 team since losing to Washington 34-7 in the 1989 Freedom Bowl.

CFN Bowl Expert Picks: Dec 16-19 | Dec 20-27

Why Florida Will Win The SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl

The running game should still be okay.

The Gators will be missing star QB Anthony Richardson – he caught NFLitis and opted out – but most of the other key parts are around for the offense. The offensive line won’t have guard O’Cyrus Torrence – also preparing for the next level – but overall it’s good enough to pound away for the combination of Montrell Johnson and Trevor Etienne.

Oregon State’s run defense has been terrific all season long, but it shouldn’t take much to get control in this. The Beavers lost in two of the three games when they allowed 160 yards or more, and Florida has only been held under that four times.

Can Jack Miller get the job done? The former Ohio State Buckeye has talent, he’s more of a pro-style passer than Richardson, and the Gators are getting help from the time off with the receiving corps getting bay more options.

The Florida offense should work, but …

Why Oregon State Will Win The SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl

Yeah, you don’t get better by losing Anthony Richardson.

He’s a special talent with the upside to potentially be a top ten overall pick as the wild card in the 2023 NFL Draft – think a potentially faster Josh Allen with a little bit of time. He’s not alone. Five Gators so far have opted out, and all hands need to be on deck to deal with this Beaver team.

It’s not flashy, but it’s rock-solid with a balanced offense, a great O line, and a defensive front that might not generate much of a pass rush, but holds up well against the run – OSU finished second in the Pac-12 against the run.

Steady matters in this. Florida’s defense is miserable at coming up with third down stops, the run D sometimes doesn’t show up, and Oregon State should be able to pound away.

The Beavers are 8-0 when running for over 175 yards. Florida allows 176 rushing yards per game and is 2-5 when allowing 175 or more.

SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History

NEXT: What’s Going To Happen, Florida vs Oregon State Prediction, SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl History

Pages: 12

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

College Football Playoff, bowl game first quick predictions. early lines, analysis before starting the deep dive into all 41 matchups & the CFP National Championship

College Football Playoff and bowl game first quick-thought predictions. early lines, and analysis before starting the deep dive into the matchups.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

College Football Playoff, Bowl Game First Thought Predictions, Analysis

The real work and deep dives into all of the bowl games are coming over the next few weeks. With the matchups just released, here’s the first-thought, off-the-top-of-the-head, knee-jerk reactions, predictions, and analysis.

This can and will all change with opt-outs, injury updates, coaching changes, and all the other parts of the fun. But we’re here. It’s bowl game time.

Always go with your first answer.

Before yelling at me too much, how did I do last season with this in the same sort of sleep-deprived, unsound-mind-and-body state? 26-11, but I horribly whiffed on the national championship call.

I picked Georgia to beat Alabama 34-17. Georgia beat Alabama 33-18. I’ll try to do better this year.

Happy bowl season everyone.

All times Eastern

HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl

UAB vs Miami University
Friday, December 16, 2022
11:30 am, ESPN

No Research Instant Analysis: I’m actually likely going to love the Blazers more than I probably should. Trent Dilfer isn’t starting his coaching debut yet, Miami University has a sound team, and the Bahamas Bowl always seems to go against conventional wisdom. The Blazers can score and the RedHawks struggle to put points on the board.

No Research Bowl Prediction: UAB 27, Miami University 20
Early Bowl Line Guess: UAB -10.5
Actual Line: UAB -10.5

Duluth Trading Cure Bowl

Troy vs UTSA
Friday, December 16, 2022
3:00, ESPN

No Research Instant Analysis: This NEVER works like it’s supposed to. Two conference champions should put on a great show, especially if the Troy offense rolls like it did at the end of the season on the way to the Sun Belt title. UTSA games are always high-flying, but the Troy D might keep this from being a back-and-forth blast.

No Research Bowl Prediction: UTSA 34, Troy 30
Early Bowl Line Guess: UTSA -2.5
Actual Line: Troy -2.5

Pages: 12345678910111213141516171819202122

Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills Prediction Game Preview

Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the game on Saturday, December 17

Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills prediction, game preview, odds, how to watch, Saturday, December 17

Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills Prediction Game Preview

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Expert Picks: Bowl Games Dec 20-27
NFL Week 15 Expert Picks |  Bowl Schedule, Predictions
Ranking all 41 Bowls | Quick Analysis on Every Bowl

Miami Dolphins vs Buffalo Bills How To Watch

Date: Saturday, December 17
Game Time: 8:15 ET
Venue: Highmark Stadium,Orchard Park, NY
How To Watch: NFL Network
Record: Miami Dolphins (8-5), Buffalo Bills (10-3)
– Sign up and live stream college football on ESPN+

Why Miami Dolphins Will Win

The Dolphin run defense is good enough to hold up. The O wasn’t anything special in the 21-19 win in Week 3, but the defense did a lot of bending without breaking, keeping the Bills to 115 rushing yards.

And the conditions were great.

The passing in this isn’t going to happen in the snow – Tua Tagovailoa coming off a horrible performance in the 23-17 loss to the Chargers – and it’s going to take a big day from the D.

There aren’t a slew of takeaways coming from this group on a regular basis, and Buffalo has chilled on the giveaways, but the defensive front that allowed fewer than 90 rushing yards in two of the last three games should win its share of battles.

But …

CFN Bowl Expert Picks: Dec 16-19 | Dec 20-27
NFL Expert Picks Week 15

Why Buffalo Bills Will Win

Miami lives on the big deep plays, and those might not happen.

It’s possible Jaylen Waddle, Tyreek Hill, and company will be able to take advantage of the conditions and go off – they know where they’re going and might have better footing – but the offense has to run to get this done. That’s a problem with an offense that runs it the second-fewest times in the NFL.

Buffalo doesn’t have to get crazy.

It’s got the rotation of backs to go along with Josh Allen keeping things moving, and slow and steady might be enough to win this race.

All that, and …

What’s Going To Happen

It’s Buffalo. It’s Buffalo weather. The Bills were able to get through it all against the Jets last week thanks to the defense, and the same thing should work again.

Don’t expect any consistency whatsoever offensively, but don’t assume Miami will whither up and die in the cold. The Buffalo defense will be good enough, the running attack will work, and three takeaways will help.

Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills Prediction, Line

CFN Prediction: Buffalo 21, Miami 13
Line: Buffalo -7, o/u: 44
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2
Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills Must See Rating: 4

[protected-iframe id=”361699434b6d70baf15f631ed2408ac1-97672683-92922408″ info=”https://www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js” ]

Expert Picks: Bowl Games Dec 20-27
Ranking all 41 Bowls | Quick Analysis on Every Bowl