Ranking the 2013-14 Bowl Games

On the eve of the 2013-14 College Football Bowl season, let’s look at the best and worst games, to figure out which games to watch, and which ones to avoid.

5 Stars:

Rose Bowl Game presented by VIZIO – Stanford vs. Michigan State – If you love defense, this is the game for you.  Both teams have defenses that are among the best in the country.  This game will come down to which team can consistently put enough offense together to score more than the other.

VIZIO BCS National Championship – Florida State vs. Auburn – This game will be great for the exact opposite reason of the Rose Bowl.  Both of these teams have high-powered offenses, each featuring a Heisman finalist.  Florida State has the better defense, but Auburn has shredded some of the SEC’s best defenses in 2013.

4 Stars:

Discover Orange Bowl – Clemson vs. Ohio State – This game is very intriguing considering it is two teams that thought it would be their year.  All Ohio State had to do was beat Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship Game, and they are playing for a national title.  Clemson was dismantled by Florida State early in the year, and it kind of put them in a long-shot situation.

Chick-fil-A Bowl – Duke vs. Texas A&M – Two competing story-lines in this game.  First there is Duke, who shocked the world and made it to the ACC Championship Game.  Then there is Texas A&M, who had a somewhat disappointing season, especially considering the return of Johnny Manziel.

Valero Alamo Bowl – Oregon vs. Texas – This game gets 4-star quality considering it is Mack Brown’s final game at Texas.  Oregon is significantly better than Texas, but the question will be how much does emotions play a part of the game.

3 Stars:

 

Allstate Sugar Bowl – Oklahoma vs. Alabama

Outback Bowl – Iowa vs. LSU

Capital One Bowl – Wisconsin vs. South Carolina

TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl – Nebraska vs. Georgia

Hyundai Sun Bowl – Virginia Tech vs. UCLA

National University Holiday Bowl – Arizona State vs. Texas Tech

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl – Ole Miss vs. Georgia Tech

Russell Athletic Bowl – Miami (FL) vs. Louisville

New Era Pinstripe Bowl – Rutgers vs. Notre Dame

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl – Boise State vs. Oregon State

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s St. Petersburg Bowl – Ohio vs. East Carolina

Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl – Fresno State vs. USC

2 Stars:

GoDaddy Bowl – Arkansas State vs. Ball State

AT&T Cotton Bowl – Oklahoma State vs. Missouri

AutoZone Liberty Bowl – Rice vs. Mississippi State

Advocare V100 Bowl – Arizona vs. Boston College

Belk Bowl – Cincinnati vs. North Carolina

Fight Hunger Bowl – BYU vs. Washington

Texas Bowl – Syracuse vs. Minnesota

Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman – Marshall vs. Maryland

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl – Utah State vs. Northern Illinois

Gildan New Mexico Bowl – Washington State vs. Colorado State

1 Star:

BBVA Compass Bowl – Vanderbilt vs. Houston

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl – UCF vs. Baylor

Heart of Dallas Bowl – UNLV vs. North Texas

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl – Middle Tennessee vs. Navy

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl – Michigan vs. Kansas State

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl – Pittsburgh vs. Bowling Green

R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl – Tulane vs. Louisiana-Lafayette

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl – Buffalo vs. San Diego State

Week 12 College Football Picks

With a big battle in the MAC on Wednesday night, this week’s picks are coming a day early.

Keep and eye out later for a new batch of bowl projections, as the final few weeks of the college football season are upon us.

Last Week:  18-6 (.750)

Overall:  242-50 (.829)

Ball State vs. #15 Northern Illinois (Huge game in the MAC with BCS implications as well.)

Georgia Tech vs. #8 Clemson (Could be a trap game for Clemson.)

Washington vs. #13 UCLA

#1 Alabama vs. Mississippi State

Syracuse vs. #2 Florida State

#3 Ohio State vs. Illinois

#4 Stanford vs. USC

Texas Tech vs. #5 Baylor

Utah vs. #6 Oregon

#25 Georgia vs. #7 Auburn

Florida vs. #10 South Carolina

#12 Oklahoma State vs. #24 Texas

#16 Michigan State vs. Nebraska

#17 UCF vs. Temple (Fresno State will keep a close eye on this game.)

Iowa State vs. #18 Oklahoma

Oregon State vs. #19 Arizona State

Houston vs. #20 Louisville

Indiana vs. #22 Wisconsin (Could be a trap game for Wisconsin.)

#23 Miami (FL) vs. Duke (This game could determine who will step up and get a whipping in the ACC Championship Game.)

North Carolina State vs. Boston College

North Carolina vs. Pittsburgh

Maryland vs. Virginia Tech

Troy vs. Ole Miss

Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt

College Football Week 4 Picks

Last week had some marquee match-ups, but this week, it’s back to easy tune-up games as teams head into their conference schedules.

Last Week:  24-3 (.889)

Overall:  85-12 (.876)

#3 Clemson vs. NC State (This might be a trap game for Clemson, since North Carolina State has a knack for pulling upsets at home to top ranked team.  It would really stall the Tigers, a favorite of the poll voters, climb to #1.)

Colorado State vs. #1 Alabama

Florida A&M vs. #4 Ohio State

#23 Arizona State vs. #5 Stanford (The only game between ranked opponents.)

Auburn vs. #6 LSU (This will be the first time we will really be able to measure Auburn and the Gus Malzahn factor.)

Florida International vs. #7 Louisville

Bethune-Cookman vs. #8 Florida State

North Texas vs. #9 Georgia

SMU vs. #10 Texas A&M

New Mexico State vs. #13 UCLA

#15 Michigan vs. Connecticut

Savannah State vs. #16 Miami (FL)

Idaho State vs. #17 Washington

Maine vs. #18 Northwestern

Tennessee vs. #19 Florida (Home-field advantage wins it for Florida.  If this one was in Knoxville, I’d take the upset.)

Louisiana-Monroe vs. #20 Baylor

Michigan State vs. #22 Notre Dame

Purdue vs. #24 Wisconsin

Texas State vs. #25 Texas Tech

North Carolina vs. Georgia Tech

Marshall vs. Virginia Tech

Wake Forest vs. Army

Pittsburgh vs. Duke (This would be a great basketball game, but it’s football.)

Tulane vs. Syracuse

West Virginia vs. Maryland

VMI vs. Virginia

Vanderbilt vs. Massachusetts

Arkansas vs. Rutgers

Troy vs. Mississippi State

Missouri vs. Indiana (This too, would be a great basketball game, but again, we’re talking football.)