We've seen this story a few times already. This is Alabama's seventh playoff appearance, and it has gone in its first six semifinals with its lone loss coming to Ohio State in Its five wins have come by an average of Will that happen again?
There's a good chance! Cincinnati has featured an excellent pass-rush all season, which will come in handy against this Bama offense. If you allow Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young to sit in the pocket and allow his receivers to come open, he will pick you apart.
You need to make him uncomfortable and have him moving to have a chance. I'm not sure Cincinnati can accomplish that feat as this Crimson Tide offensive line will be better than any line the Bearcats have seen this season. On the back end, Cincinnati has top-tier defensive backs in Ahmad Gardner and Coby Bryant to slow Alabama's receivers, but nobody can cover Jameson Williams for 60 minutes. On the other side of the ball, the Bearcats will need Desmond Ridder to have one of the best games of his life to keep pace with the Alabama offense, and I don't see it happening.
My heart is hoping for a close, exciting game, but my head tells me there won't be much drama left in this one in the fourth quarter. Pick: Alabama Total: While I don't love either side of the total, I'd rather be on the over if I'm going in either direction. Cincinnati's defense has been phenomenal this season, but as I wrote above, I'm not confident it can withstand this Alabama offense.
Whether Alabama covers the spread or not, I don't see many outcomes to this game in which Bama doesn't score at least 30 points, and there's a good chance the Tide will get into the 40s by themselves.
So whether it's a blowout or not, it should be a high-scoring affair as opposed toa slugfest. Prop : The Bearcats have had one of the best defenses in the country all season as corners Ahmad Gardner and Coby Bryant have helped shut down passing attacks. The duo has been so effective that Cincinnati hasn't allowed more than two touchdown passes in a game this season, and it's only happened twice against Indiana and Houston.
Of course, Cincinnati has not faced a passing attack or a quarterback near the caliber of what they'll see against Alabama and Bryce Young. Even with Jon Metchie missing the game, Alabama should have success moving the ball in the air to its other weapons, as Bryce Young has averaged 3.
I'm expecting him to have another average performance today. Pick: Bryce Young Over 2. Which College Football Playoff picks should you make, and will any underdogs will win outright? By Tom Fornelli. Dec 31, at pm ET 6 min read. Covers Staff. There are more than 40 bowl games slated for the next two months. Copy this into the source of your page where you want the article to appear: Article Content.
Provided by. Close Copy to Clipboard. Popular Content. Douglas Farmer Jan 10, About Us. Betting Guides. Coordinator Frank Ponce's offense surges and Appalachian State keeps its all-time bowl record perfect.
There's simply no way I'm picking against Coach Prime in Atlanta. Deion Sanders will lead a surging Jackson State team, which won its final nine games -- six by double digits -- after a start. Not surprisingly, Sanders has Jackson State's defense playing at an extremely high level. Linebacker James Houston IV is a playmaking machine -- South Carolina State Fresno State is the far superior team, but the Bulldogs have lost their head coach Kalen DeBoer to Washington and their star quarterback Jake Haener to the transfer portal.
How they respond for a bowl game will shape how things play out in Albuquerque, as UTEP certainly will be more excited to show up.
The Miners appear in their first bowl since Ultimately, Fresno State will lean on a defense that allowed just 16 points in the final two games and shut out Wyoming last month. The big question for the Cougars will be motivation, as they can still post their second consecutive win season. BYU is a more mature team than most, and will find a way to grind out a victory behind bruising sophomore running back Tyler Allgeier , who has been excellent down the stretch.
Allgeier rumbles for two second-half touchdowns and the Cougars finish Both teams come in at but are feeling different about their seasons. Eastern Michigan won three of its final five games to reach its third bowl in six seasons under Chris Creighton, among the nation's most underrated coaches. Liberty ended the season with three double-digit losses, although coach Hugh Freeze still got a sweet new contract.
If Flames standout quarterback Malik Willis plays, he'll be a handful for an EMU defense that had some struggles against the pass this season. I like the Eagles' motivation level more, though, and Creighton's teams have shown they can win in different ways.
EMU with the upset. The Beavers are bowling for the first time under coach Jonathan Smith, and the first time overall since the season. Oregon State has a signature win over Pac champion Utah but didn't finish the season nearly as well as Utah State, which thumped San Diego State to win its first Mountain West title since Other than a no-show against Wyoming, coach Blake Anderson's Aggies team played very complete football down the stretch.
Oregon State's defense isn't reliable enough to get my pick here, as I like Logan Bonner 3, pass yards, 36 touchdowns and Deven Thompkins 96 receptions for 1, yards to have big days in L.
Louisiana will be without Billy Napier, as he has moved on to his new duties at Florida. But new Ragin' Cajuns coach Michael Desormeaux should provide a smooth transition, especially given his deep roots with the program. Desormeaux will make his head-coaching debut before a likely partisan crowd in nearby New Orleans, as a senior-laden Louisiana team aims for its 12th win.
Marshall had a solid first season under coach Charles Huff, especially on defense, but too many factors favor the Ragin' Cajuns in this one. Both defenses show out, but Louisiana pass-rusher Chauncey Manac Both of these teams looked done by midseason, especially Old Dominion, which then rallied to win its final five games.
Monarchs quarterback Hayden Wolff played much better down the stretch but will face a tricky Tulsa defense, coordinated by Joseph Gillespie, which played well in the second half of the season.
The game likely comes down to which Davis Brin shows up for Tulsa, as the quarterback has six games with multiple interceptions. Old Dominion doesn't force many takeaways, though, and Tulsa comes off its best win of the season over SMU. Philip Montgomery's team wins a close one. Wyoming's defense has shown up more often than not this season, but the offense has been much less consistent other than in a win over Utah State. I like the location for Wyoming, but Crum and the Golden Flashes will be motivated to record their second consecutive bowl victory.
Kent State finds enough offense to win this one. San Diego State, meanwhile, must travel to Texas after a disheartening performance against Utah State in the Mountain West championship game. The Aztecs are excellent on defense and boast a solid run game led by Greg Bell. Meep meep! Army Black Knights Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, Texas. If this matchup had happened midseason, Missouri seemingly wouldn't have had much of a chance. The Tigers' run defense was beyond dreadful, leading to a change on the defensive staff.
But Missouri improved significantly against the run later on, holding both South Carolina and Florida to less than yards on the ground. Army will provide a big test, though, as the Knights rank second nationally in rushing Other than the Wake Forest loss, Army's defense has been solid, although Missouri is capable of attacking in multiple ways.
Coach Jeff Monken is in Dallas-area bowl games, and gets another win. A new bowl! How exciting. North Texas will be thrilled to participate after saving its season -- and most likely coach Seth Littrell's job -- with five consecutive wins to close the season, capped by a triumph against previously unbeaten UTSA.
Expect a competitive matchup won in the final minute by a North Texas field goal. In July, the teams finally got a series on the books beginning in , but the bowl gods can't wait that long.
Knights coach Gus Malzahn and his players will be amped up to face the Gators, who likely won't share the same motivation level after struggling to finish UCF won five of its final six games and played very well on defense, but the stretch came against the bottom of the AAC.
Plus, quarterback Dillon Gabriel entered the transfer portal. Still, it's hard to look at Florida and not see a team ready to move on to and the Billy Napier era in Gainesville.
I'm going with the Gators, but if this were a confidence pool, I'd rank this 1. Camellia Bowl : Georgia State Panthers vs. After a start that featured some ugly losses, Georgia State engineered a very impressive turnaround. The Panthers won six of their final seven games, losing only to Sun Belt champion Louisiana by four.
The location, team trajectory and potential motivation level point toward Georgia State, which records its third bowl win under coach Shawn Elliott. The combination of location and personnel availability strongly favors Western Michigan here.
Nevada star quarterback Carson Strong , an NFL prospect, is weighing whether to play as he has battled a knee injury since high school. Strong could understandably skip the game, and coach Jay Norvell will be challenged to get his team amped up to play in Detroit two days after Christmas. Although the Broncos were consistent in the second half of the season, their triple-threat combination of quarterback Kaleb Eleby , running back Sean Tyler and wide receiver Skyy Moore will show up in a big way in Motown.
Houston should win this game. The Cougars were much more consistent throughout the season. Doug Belk's defense nicely complemented the offense, and Houston has the nation's best returner on special teams in Marcus Jones. Coach Dana Holgorsen's bowl record concerns me, though, as he has dropped six of seven bowls since a dominant Orange Bowl triumph at West Virginia a decade ago.
Auburn certainly looks ready to move on to , and recently dumped offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. The location favors the Tigers, though, and their defense could certainly slow down Clayton Tune and the Cougars.
Louisville Cardinals Gerald J. Ford Stadium Dallas. The Falcons also are a balanced team, showing they can win with defense over Boise State or with offensive prowess over Nevada. The trajectory for Scott Satterfield's program is not overly promising right now. Air Force should have a strong contingent of fans in Dallas, while I'm not sure how interested Louisville will be for this game.
Those bowl executives are a sneaky bunch, aren't they? Mississippi State coach Mike Leach faces his former team, where he built his national reputation with exciting offense and odd commentary.
After a tough loss in the Egg Bowl, Will Rogers responds with four touchdown passes as Leach doesn't hold back much against a transitioning Texas Tech squad.
Leach improves to in bowls. The Bruins didn't produce the breakthrough season that they hoped for in Year 4 under Chip Kelly, but they finished with three straight wins and can record their first bowl victory since
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