This is part two of the college football bowl game preview for December 31. In this preview, I will go over the last three games of the day and make a prediction for each. You can find the preview for the first three games of the day in Part I.

AutoZone Liberty Bowl

#23 Missouri vs. Oklahoma State

3:45 p.m. ET

Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee

The former conference foes will square off in the birthplace of rock and roll in this one. Missouri had the normal “Missouri-type” year going 8-4 overall and 4-4 in conference play. They were lucky enough to face both Alabama and Georgia during their regular season, both of which they lost. Their other two losses were by a combined three points, so Missouri very easily could have gotten a much better bowl game. I think running back Larry Rountree will be the key in this game and will add a nice number to his 1,012 yards on the season. Oklahoma State is one of those six-win teams that shouldn’t even have a bowl game. They went 3-6 within the Big 12. 3-6! With that considered, they did manage to beat West Virginia and Texas, and only lose to Oklahoma by a point. I guess you can say the Cowboys rise to the occasion. I think their season-long inconsistency will plague them in this one though, and they will fail to capitalize on a big opportunity late in the game.

Prediction: Missouri 33 Oklahoma State 30

San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl

#22 Northwestern vs. #17 Utah

7:00 p.m. ET

SDCCU Stadium, San Diego, California

These two ranked teams will stay classy and head to the West coast to play in Ron Burgandy’s home town of San Diego. Northwestern has really built up its program in recent years, and it’s nice to see a new team make some noise. The Green Bay Packers are even requesting an interview with their head coach Pat Fitzgerald after this game. The Wildcats are 8-5, but three of their five losses came at the hands of really good teams in Ohio State, Michigan, and Notre Dame, so they are definitely battle-tested. They are also attempting to win their third bowl game in the last four years. Utah had a very nice season themselves, finishing with nine wins and first in the South division of the Pac-12. Like so many other teams, they struggled with the Washington teams this year, losing to the Huskies twice and the Cougars once. Utah has a solid all around team, but their major problem centers around bad fortune. They will be without their quarterback, leading rusher, and leading receiver due to late-season injuries. That is ROUGH. I’ve been a big believer in Utah all year long, but that is too much for any team to overcome. Wildcats will win this one.

Prediction: Northwestern 24 Utah 20

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl

NC State vs. #19 Texas A&M

7:30 p.m. ET

TIAA Bank Field, Jacksonville, Florida

The last game of the day features the Wolfpack from the ACC and the Aggies from the SEC. NC State had one of its better seasons in a while, so much so that Appalachian State is getting several of their coaches to replace the coaching staff that is following Scott Satterfield to Louisville. All three losses for State came within the ACC to Syracuse, Clemson, and Wake Forest. Other than that, they took care of business. I really would have liked to see the West Virginia game to get a better feel for NC State, but it was cancelled due to a hurricane. The Wolfpack have one of the better quarterbacks in the country in Ryan Finley, who threw for 3,789 yards and 24 touchdowns. He has weapons around him too, with running back Reggie Gallaspy and receiver Kelvin Harmon, both with over 1,000 yards on the season. This game will be a superb opportunity for Finley to prove he’s worth a 1st round draft pick, and the Wolfpack who seek better recognition. Texas A&M is always in the conversation of top teams around the country, but this year wasn’t quite as good for them. They finished 8-4 and 5-3 within the conference, which is very good, but they have extremely high expectations in College Station. Other than losing to Alabama, the Aggies lost to Mississippi State and Auburn. They really needed to win one of those games. They came within two points of beating a top Clemson team, but their most impressive performance was a ridiculous 74-72 win over #7 LSU. I guess at least it was impressive for their offense. Quarterback Kellen Mond is someone to watch for, as he has the ability to have a really big game. This will be an interesting game. NC State has the capability to win this game, but they seem to always lose the big games. Texas A&M has been there, done that, and I think they will leave Jacksonville with the W.

Prediction: Texas A&M 42 NC State 32

Garett

College Football Bowl Preview: December 31, Part II