Written by: Garett

After a four day break from college football bowl games, we are back in action the day after Christmas. Three bowl games will be played to give everyone who has the day off from work, a day full of football. I will preview each game and make a prediction. Let’s see if I can stay on a roll in making these picks. So far I have predicted 12 out of 15 games correctly.

SERVPRO First Responder Bowl

Boston College vs. Boise State

1:30 p.m. ET

Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas

Boston College has come a long way from their dismal years of not winning a game/barely winning a game. They had a bounce back year by going 7-5 overall and 4-4 in the ACC. The ACC had a down year this year, with Clemson being the only threat and the rest of the teams being no better than average. When the Eagles played Clemson, they lost by 20 points. They also lost to the other two teams on their schedule who were ranked, so they have trouble winning the big games. The other troubling sign is they lost their last three games of the season. These teams generally tend to struggle in bowl games. Boise State had another impressive year going 7-1 in the Mountain West Conference and 10-3 overall. They had several good wins, including a thrashing of a good Troy team, and beating conference rivals Utah State and Fresno State. Fresno did get their retaliation though, beating the Broncos in the MW championship game. I think Boise State is the better overall team, and combining that with the fact Boston College’s offensive coordinator was recently hired away, the Broncos will win this game.

Prediction: Boise State 28 Boston College 24

Quick Lane Bowl

Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech

5:15 p.m. ET

Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan

Mediocre games have been played at Ford Field all season long, so it makes sense this game will be played here. Minnesota snuck in to clinch a bowl game with six wins. The worst part is the fact they went 3-6 within conference play, and in my opinion, that just can’t be rewarded with a bowl. They won their first three, before losing six out of their next eight games. They ended the season with a win against Wisconsin, which would be impressive if Wisconsin had the year they were supposed to have. Coach P.J. Fleck will try to prove his one-year contract extension was a good decision by getting the program a bowl victory. Georgia Tech played better in their conference, going 5-3, but the ACC was not as good as the Big 10 this year. The Yellow Jackets are a decent team, but won none of their big games this season. They lost to Clemson, Pitt, USF, and Georgia. The Duke game was not a “big” game, but they lost that one also. Neither one of these teams are ready for a big-time game, but someone has to win this one. Given that this is Georgia Tech’s coach Paul Johnson’s last game of a long career, I believe the Jackets will send him off with a farewell victory.

Prediction: Georgia Tech 18 Minnesota 16

Cheez-It Bowl

California vs. TCU

9:00 p.m. ET

Chase Field, Phoenix, Arizona

Here we have two teams with a history of college football success. However, this season both of these teams had down years by their standards. Both teams went 4-5 in conference play, and California won one more game on the season, with seven, than TCU did. The biggest win of the Golden Bears’ season was a victory against #15 Washington. They will have to lean on their defense to win this game, as they are a team that’s all defense and no offense. TCU has six wins, but none of them coming against quality opponents. Every good team they played (Ohio State, Texas, Oklahoma, and West Virginia) resulted in a loss for the Horned Frogs, plus a few other losses. They even lost to Kansas! While I do believe TCU will be back sooner than later, I don’t believe it will be in this game.

Prediction: California 15 TCU 9

Garett

College Football Bowl Preview: December 26