MILITARY BOWL
PRESENTED BY NORTHROP GRUMMAN
TEAMS: Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech
TIME: Noon ET
TV: ESPN
WHERE: at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in
Annapolis, Maryland
Why to watch: Former Ohio State assistant Luke
Fickell has done one of the more remarkable rebuilding jobs in the FBS, guiding
the Bearcats from 4-8 in 2017 to 10-2 in 2018.
Whom to watch: Cincinnati redshirt
freshman Desmond Ridder was
outstanding in his first season as a starter. He completed 62.5 percent of his
attempts for 2,359 yards, 19 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.
Motivating factor for Cincinnati: The Bearcats
haven't won more than 10 games in a full season since Brian Kelly guided them
to a 12-1 mark in 2009 before leaving to take over Notre Dame. They also
haven't won a bowl game since 2012.
Motivating factor for Virginia Tech: Year 3
under Justin Fuente wasn't nearly as good as the first two, and the Hokies
would like to build some momentum heading into the offseason.
Prediction: Cincinnati 33, Virginia Tech 21
HYUNDAI SUN BOWL
TEAMS: Stanford vs. Pittsburgh
TIME: 2 p.m. ET
TV: CBS
WHERE: Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas
Why to watch: It's expected to be the final
college game for Stanford running back Bryce Love,
who struggled with injuries and a mediocre offensive line after returning for
his senior season. He finished with 739 yards and 6 touchdowns in 10 games.
Whom to watch: For the first time in school
history, the Panthers have a pair of 1,000-yard rushers: Qadree
Ollison (1,190) and Darrin Hall (1,021).
Ollison had 235 with 3 touchdowns against Virginia Tech while Hall had 229 with
3 touchdowns against Virginia.
Motivating factor for Stanford: After winning at
least 10 games in six of seven seasons from 2010 to 2016, the Cardinal will try
to avoid losing five games in back-to-back seasons.
Motivating factor for Pittsburgh: The Panthers
have dropped three straight bowl games, including two under Coach Pat Narduzzi,
and haven't won in the postseason since 2013.
Prediction: Stanford 34, Pittsburgh 27
REDBOX BOWL
TEAMS: Michigan
State vs. Oregon
TIME: 3 p.m. ET
TV: Fox
WHERE: Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California
Why to watch: You can see Oregon's Justin
Herbert, who is expected to be the first quarterback selected in the
2019 NFL draft if he forgoes his senior season, according to ESPN's Mel Kiper
Jr. and Todd McShay.
Whom to watch: At 6-foot-6 and 233 pounds,
Herbert has prototypical size for an NFL quarterback. He completed 59.6 percent
of his passes for 2,985 yards, 28 touchdowns and 8 interceptions this season.
He injured his right shoulder against Oregon State in the Civil War, but Coach
Mario Cristobal said Herbert is expected to play in the bowl game.
Motivating factor for Michigan State: Hopefully,
the Spartans will use the extra practice time to muster up some offense before
the bowl game. They ranked next-to-last in the Big Ten in scoring, with 19.8
points per game, and had six points in two of their past three games.
Motivating factor for Oregon: The Ducks have
dropped their past three games in the postseason, including a 38-28 loss to
Boise State in the Las Vegas Bowl last season, after coach Willie Taggart left
for Florida State.
Prediction: Oregon 24, Michigan State 17
AUTOZONE LIBERTY
BOWL
TEAMS: Missouri vs. Oklahoma
State
TIME: 3:45 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
WHERE: Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee
Why to watch: It's going to be a high-scoring
shootout with Missouri quarterback Lock throwing against Oklahoma State's
defense.
Whom to watch: Pokes receiver Tylan Wallace was
a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award after hauling in 79 catches for 1,408
yards and 11 touchdowns. He leads all FBS players with 59 catches of at least
10 yards and 25 of at least 50.
Motivating factor for Missouri: After winning
three straight bowl games at the end of Gary Pinkel's tenure, the Tigers are
0-1 in the postseason under Barry Odom. They haven't won a bowl game since
2014.
Motivating factor for Oklahoma State: The Pokes
lost five of their last seven games and needed a 45-41 upset of West Virginia
in their penultimate game to finish 6-6. They haven't finished with a losing
record since going 4-7 in 2005, which was Mike Gundy's first season as coach of
his alma mater.
Prediction: Missouri 38, Oklahoma State 27
SAN DIEGO COUNTY
CREDIT UNION HOLIDAY BOWL
TEAMS: Northwestern vs. Utah
TIME: 7 p.m. ET
TV: FS1
WHERE: SDCCU Stadium in San Diego, California)
Why to watch: Northwestern couldn't win a bowl
game for more than six decades but has now won three of its past four. Utah
almost never loses in the postseason under Coach Kyle Whittingham.
Whom to watch: Utah's Chase Hansen had
114 tackles and 5 sacks and led the Pac-12 with 22 tackles for loss in his
first season at linebacker after playing the previous three at safety.
Motivating factor for Northwestern: The Wildcats
won seven of eight games before falling to Ohio State 45-24 in the Big Ten
championship game. A victory over Utah would give Northwestern its fourth
season with at least nine wins in the past seven years.
Motivating factor for Utah: The Utes are 11-1 in
bowl games under Whittingham since he served as co-head coach of the Utes with
Urban Meyer in the 2004 Fiesta Bowl. His only loss was a 26-3 defeat against
Boise State in the 2010 Las Vegas Bowl.
Prediction: Utah 27, Northwestern 20
TAXSLAYER GATOR
BOWL
TEAMS: NC State vs. Texas A&M
TIME: 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
WHERE: TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Florida)
Why to watch: If nothing else, Aggies punter Braden Mann is
worth the price of admission. He had punts longer than 60 yards in eight of 12
games and won the Ray Guy Award. He is on pace to break the NCAA single-season
record for punting average (49, set in 2003) and averaged 60.8 yards against
Alabama. It's art, really.
Whom to watch: Aggies junior Trayveon
Williams leads the SEC with 1,524 rushing yards and has 15
touchdowns. He had more than 150 yards in each of the three previous games.
Motivating factor for NC State: The Wolfpack won't
have leading receiver Kelvin Harmon or
leading tackler Germaine
Pratt, who are both focusing on preparing for the NFL draft. They've
never played Texas A&M and are 3-1 in bowl games under Dave Doeren.
Motivating factor for Texas A&M: It was a pretty
productive initial season for Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, who guided the
Aggies to an 8-4 record. They'll have to beat NC State to avoid losing at least
five games for the fifth straight season.
Prediction: Texas A&M 41, NC State 34
No comments:
Post a Comment