After a long year of pick’em amongst our "experts," it all comes down to this. It’s bowl season and we’re picking 15 games! It’s the time of year when leads can be blown and massive comebacks can be staged. Anything can happen!
Enjoy our picks.
Current Standings
Chris Williams, 55-31
Adam Carper, 48-38
Bret Culbertson, 46-40
Dave Zawilinski, 45-41
Brent Blum, 45-41
Adam Gray, 45-41
Bret Meyer, 44-42
Kirk Haaland, 44-42
Chris Hassel, 40-46
Trevor Enerson, 38-48
Austen Arnaud, 38-48
Cyclone Fanatic Publisher Chris Williams
CLICK HERE for my predictions and analisis on all 35 bowl games.
STRAIGHT UP
Holiday Bowl: Baylor vs. UCLA – UCLA
Pinstripe Bowl: West Virginia vs. Syracuse – West Virginia but closer than many think.
Alamo Bowl: Texas vs. Oregon State – Texas
Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl: TCU vs. Michigan State – TCU
Liberty Bowl: Iowa State vs. Tulsa – Iowa State
AGAINST THE SPREAD
Meineke Car Care Bowl of Houston: Texas Tech (-13) vs. Minnesota – Texas Tech
Chick-fil-A Bowl: LSU (-4) vs. Clemson – LSU
Outback Bowl: South Carolina (-5) vs. Michigan – South Carolina
Capital One Bowl: Georgia (-10) vs. Nebraska – Georgia
Cotton Bowl: Texas A&M (-5) vs. Oklahoma – Oklahoma
Sugar Bowl: Florida (-13.5) vs. Louisville – Louisville
Rose Bowl: Stanford (-6.5) vs. Wisconsin – Stanford
Orange Bowl: Florida State (-13.5) vs. Northern Illinois – Florida State
Fiesta Bowl: Oregon (-9) vs. Kansas State – Kansas State covers, Oregon wins.
BCS Title Game – Alabama (-9.5) vs. Notre Dame – Irish cover. Bama wins.
Former Iowa State linebacker Adam Carper
Holiday Bowl: Baylor vs. UCLA – UCLA
Pinstripe Bowl: West Virginia vs. Syracuse – Syracuse
Alamo Bowl: Texas vs. Oregon State – Oregon State
Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl: TCU vs. Michigan State – TCU
Liberty Bowl: Iowa State vs. Tulsa – ISU
Meineke Car Care Bowl of Houston: Minnesota vs. Texas Tech (-13) – Texas Tech
Chick-fil-A Bowl: LSU (-4) vs. Clemson – LSU
Outback Bowl: South Carolina (-5) vs. Michigan – Michigan
Capital One Bowl: Georgia (-10) vs. Nebraska – Georgia
Cotton Bowl: Texas A&M (-5) vs. Oklahoma – Oklahoma
Sugar Bowl: Florida (-13.5) vs. Louisville – Louisville
Rose Bowl: Stanford (-6.5) vs. Wisconsin – Wisconsin
Orange Bowl: Florida State (-13.5) vs. Northern Illinois – Florida State
Fiesta Bowl: Oregon (-9) vs. Kansas State – Oregon
BCS Title Game: Alabama (-9.5) vs. Notre Dame – Alabama
Former Iowa State kicker Bret Culbertson
Holiday Bowl: Baylor vs. UCLA – I’d like to use my "Ask an ESPN Anchor" life-line here, but I think Mr. Hassel’s phone line is still busy with congratulations. UCLA comes out strong.
Pinstripe Bowl: West Virginia vs. Syracuse – I didn’t see much of Syracuse this year at all. I’ll go with the Big 12.
Alamo Bowl: Texas vs. Oregon State – I think Oregon State comes out swinging in this one. Beavers win.
Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl: TCU vs. Michigan State – This is a toss up. I’m going to go with TCU.
Liberty Bowl: Iowa State vs. Tulsa – Sports fans define a "good bowl matchup" as having two teams paired up that people want to see play. THIS is not a good bowl matchup. The Liberty Bowl committee would never know the difference though with the way our fans travel. What bowl committee would not want Iowa State? Our fans are awesome. Despite the disapproval of the bowl game pairing they are still flocking to this post season game. It’s great to see Cyclone fans supporting their team. The Clones will beat Tulsa in a game too close for comfort.
Meineke Car Care Bowl of Houston: Minnesota vs. Texas Tech (-13) – Tech covers.
Chick-fil-A Bowl: LSU (-4) vs. Clemson – LSU covers
Outback Bowl: South Carolina (-5) vs. Michigan – SC covers.
Capital One Bowl: Georgia (-10) vs. Nebraska – Bulldogs take this one home and cover.
Cotton Bowl: Texas A&M (-5) vs. Oklahoma – This may be one of the best games this bowl season. I’ll be pulling for the Big 12 of course.
Sugar Bowl: Florida (-13.5) vs. Louisville – Another stellar bowl matchup. (http://tinyurl.com/ccondey) Gators by 93 touchdowns.
Rose Bowl: Stanford (-6.5) vs. Wisconsin – Barry Alvarez gets to relive his glory days without looking over Bielema’s shoulder. Stanford by a TD.
Orange Bowl: Florida State (-13.5) vs. Northern Illinois – The Orange Bowl committee is giving NIU a chance to prove themselves on the big stage. FSU offers a reality check. Seminoles cover.
Fiesta Bowl: Oregon (-9) vs. Kansas State – Team Nike covers.
BCS Title Game: Alabama (-9.5) vs. Notre Dame – Upset please. For the sake of humanity.
ABC 5 Sports Director Dave Zawilinski
Holiday Bowl: Baylor vs. UCLA – UCLA
Pinstripe Bowl: West Virginia vs. Syracuse – West Virginia
Alamo Bowl: Texas vs. Oregon State – Oregon State
Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl: TCU vs. Michigan State – TCU
Liberty Bowl: Iowa State vs. Tulsa – ISU. Don’t expect anything different than the first game. Tulsa is like 1-33 all time vs BCS opponents. Can’t believe this is virtually a pick’em in Vegas.
Meineke Car Care Bowl of Houston: Minnesota vs. Texas Tech (-13) – Texas Tech
Chick-fil-A Bowl: LSU (-4) vs. Clemson – LSU. Remember Clemson’s bowl game last year?
Outback Bowl: South Carolina (-5) vs. Michigan – South Carolina
Capital One Bowl: Georgia (-10) vs. Nebraska – Georgia
Cotton Bowl: Texas A&M (-5) vs. Oklahoma – Oklahoma covers but A&M wins outright.
Sugar Bowl: Florida (-13.5) vs. Louisville – Florida
Rose Bowl: Stanford (-6.5) vs. Wisconsin – Wisconsin covers and maybe wins outright.
Orange Bowl: Florida State (-13.5) vs. Northern Illinois – Florida State
Fiesta Bowl: Oregon (-9) vs. Kansas State – KSU. I think KSU slows the game down and their O is good enough to keep up with Oregon.
BCS Title Game: Alabama (-9.5) vs. Notre Dame – 9.5 is way to many points IMO. Notre Dame.
Cyclone Fanatic Columnist Brent Blum
Holiday Bowl: Baylor vs. UCLA – Baylor and their 135 fans will enjoy San Diego…until the UCLA offense steps on the field. Could get ugly. UCLA 48 Baylor 30.
Pinstripe Bowl: West Virginia vs. Syracuse – I would love to see Wally Burnham fly down from the Yankee Stadium rafters to get revenge on Geno Smith, WWE style. Unfortunately, that is unlikely. It is also unlikely that Syracuse is competitive. West Virginia 38 Syracuse 27.
Alamo Bowl: Texas vs. Oregon State – Longhorn>Beaver. Always. Texas 27 Oregon State 24.
Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl: TCU vs. Michigan State – Sparty is reportedly bringing only 2,000 or so people to this game. I have never been to East Lansing over the Holidays, but they must have Brazillian models and magic shows to keep people from going to 70 degree weather. Way to represent B1G! TCU 24 Michigan State 20.
Liberty Bowl: Iowa State vs. Tulsa – Tulsa is 1-33 against BCS teams in the last 12 years and Iowa State was able to beat them in the trenches in September. Not sure that changes this time around. Iowa State 30 Tulsa 21.
Meineke Car Care Bowl of Houston: Minnesota vs. Texas Tech (-13) – Tech has no coach and the Minnesota players don’t care for their coach. Anarchy! Tech 31 Minnesota 20.
Chick-fil-A Bowl: LSU (-4) vs. Clemson – The closest thing Clemson faced to LSU this year was South Carolina and Carolina won by 10 at Clemson. Give me some money, Vegas. LSU 30 Clemson 19.
Outback Bowl: South Carolina (-5) vs. Michigan – Michigan is feisty here, but the South Carolina defensive line is ridiculous and will give them major issues. Low-scoring affair. Clemson 20 Michigan 13.
Capital One Bowl: Georgia (-10) vs. Nebraska – Bo Pelini…tanking in meaningful December/January games since 2010. A tradition that keeps on giving. Georgia 35 Nebraska 17.
Cotton Bowl: Texas A&M (-5) vs. Oklahoma – Wrong team favored here in my mind. OU gives Johnny Football a little Landry Legend. Oklahoma 34 A&M 28.
Sugar Bowl: Florida (-13.5) vs. Louisville – America loses. Louisville squeaks out a cover. Florida 24 Louisville 13.
Rose Bowl: Stanford (-6.5) vs. Wisconsin – So Barry Alvarez is going to come down from the AD box and coach up the Badgers to a win? No chance. Although I’d love to see what kind of offense Jamie Pollard would run. Stanford 31 Wisconsin 17.
Orange Bowl: Florida State (-13.5) vs. Northern Illinois – America loses again. I don’t blame Northern Illinois for this debacle though. As Ice-T once said, "Don’t hate the player, hate the game." Florida State 34 Northern Illinois 17.
Fiesta Bowl: Oregon (-9) vs. Kansas State – This is like seeing the creatures from "Avatar" meet the Revolutionary’s from "The Patriot." Always bet on the future. Oregon 30 K-State 20.
BCS Title Game: Alabama (-9.5) vs. Notre Dame – This one is tight. Nobody has put up big points on Notre Dame all year and I think they scrap their way to a few touchdowns. Alabama 24 Notre Dame 20.
Cyclone Fanatic Sales Director Adam Gray
Holiday Bowl: Baylor vs. UCLA – I think Baylor’s defense struggles to stop UCLA, like they struggled in last year’s bowl game. UCLA Wins.
Pinstripe Bowl: West Virginia vs. Syracuse – These two teams should know each other well. WVU is to talented and wins big.
Alamo Bowl: Texas vs. Oregon State – I think Texas runs the ball well enough to take pressure of whoever plays QB and they come out with a win.
Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl: TCU vs. Michigan State – Michigan State has a horrible offense and is going against a talented defense. Poor season for MSU and their fans aren’t excited about going. TCU wins big.
Liberty Bowl: Iowa State vs. Tulsa – 15-20K fans there to witness Iowa State beat Tulsa for the 2nd time this year!
Meineke Car Care Bowl of Houston: Minnesota vs. Texas Tech (-13) – Who is coaching TT? How excited are the players and coaches? I think this went from a huge blowout to a close game.
Chick-fil-A Bowl: LSU (-4) vs. Clemson – I think Clemson makes 1 more big play and comes out with a close win.
Outback Bowl: South Carolina (-5) vs. Michigan – I’ve got South Carolina winning by a FG.
Capital One Bowl: Georgia (-10) vs. Nebraska – A lot of points and I think Nebraska was embarrased enough that they will be hungry all month. They will come out fast, cover, but lose.
Cotton Bowl: Texas A&M (-5) vs. Oklahoma – Best game of bowl season? I don’t think A&M’s defense is good enough to keep Landry Jones and OU under 40 and I’m going with a Heisman slump game from the exciting Johnny football. OU wins.
Sugar Bowl: Florida (-13.5) vs. Louisville – Florida isn’t built to win big. I think they win but Louisville covers.
Rose Bowl: Stanford (-6.5) vs. Wisconsin – I think this is a bad matchup for Wisconsin and their offense will struggle to run the ball against Stanford.
Orange Bowl: Florida State (-13.5) vs. Northern Illinois – Florida State isn’t that good. They are poorly coached, soft, and underachieved big time this year IMO. With that said, they will beat Northern Illinois by 30.
Fiesta Bowl: Oregon (-9) vs. Kansas State – Big points against the greatest coach in college football. K-State covers.
BCS Title Game: Alabama (-9.5) vs. Notre Dame – I hate Alabama. Go Irish!
Former Iowa State quarterback Bret Meyer
Holiday Bowl: Baylor vs. UCLA – Baylor
Pinstripe Bowl: West Virginia vs. Syracuse – Syracuse
Alamo Bowl: Texas vs. Oregon State – Texas
Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl: TCU vs. Michigan State – TCU
Liberty Bowl: Iowa State vs. Tulsa – Iowa State
Meineke Car Care Bowl of Houston: Minnesota vs. Texas Tech (-13) – Minnesota
Chick-fil-A Bowl: LSU (-4) vs. Clemson – Clemson
Outback Bowl: South Carolina (-5) vs. Michigan – South Carolina
Capital One Bowl: Georgia (-10) vs. Nebraska – Georgia
Cotton Bowl: Texas A&M (-5) vs. Oklahoma – OU
Sugar Bowl: Florida (-13.5) vs. Louisville – Florida
Rose Bowl: Stanford (-6.5) vs. Wisconsin – Stanford
Orange Bowl: Florida State (-13.5) vs. Northern Illinois – FSU
Fiesta Bowl: Oregon (-9) vs. Kansas State – Oregon
BCS Title Game: Alabama (-9.5) vs. Notre Dame – ND
Kirk Haaland from enCYCLONEpedia
Holiday Bowl: Baylor vs. UCLA – Bears
Pinstripe Bowl: West Virginia vs. Syracuse – Mountaineers
Alamo Bowl: Texas vs. Oregon State – Beavers
Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl: TCU vs. Michigan State – Frogs
Liberty Bowl: Iowa State vs. Tulsa – CYCLONES
Meineke Car Care Bowl of Houston: Minnesota vs. Texas Tech (-13) – Red Raiders, even if they have no coaching staff.
Chick-fil-A Bowl: LSU (-4) vs. Clemson – Bayou Bengals
Outback Bowl: South Carolina (-5) vs. Michigan – Wolverines
Capital One Bowl: Georgia (-10) vs. Nebraska – Dawgs.
Cotton Bowl: Texas A&M (-5) vs. Oklahoma – Ags
Sugar Bowl: Florida (-13.5) vs. Louisville – Gators
Rose Bowl: Stanford (-6.5) vs. Wisconsin – Cardinal
Orange Bowl: Florida State (-13.5) vs. Northern Illinois – Seminoles
Fiesta Bowl: Oregon (-9) vs. Kansas State – Wildcats
BCS Title Game: Alabama (-9.5) vs. Notre Dame – Golden Domers.
WHO-TV 13’s Chris Hassel
Holiday Bowl: Baylor vs. UCLA – UCLA gets it done.
Pinstripe Bowl: West Virginia vs. Syracuse – A Big East rivalry renewed! Mountaineers have more talent. WVU wins.
Alamo Bowl: Texas vs. Oregon State – Texas finishes on a high note with a win.
Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl: TCU vs. Michigan State – I think MSU is better than its record indicates. Spartans win.
Liberty Bowl: Iowa State vs. Tulsa – They beat ’em once, and they can beat ’em again. Cyclones finish with a winning record.
Meineke Car Care Bowl of Houston: Minnesota vs. Texas Tech (-13) – What a miserable game. Minnesota is downright awful. TTU covers.
Chick-fil-A Bowl: LSU (-4) vs. Clemson – This should be a fun one. I’ll take the Tigers. The LSU Tigers.
Outback Bowl: South Carolina (-5) vs. Michigan – This is one of the few games the Big Ten can win. Michigan covers.
Capital One Bowl: Georgia (-10) vs. Nebraska – Yikes. Nebraska won’t give up 70, but it might be close. Dogs cover.
Cotton Bowl: Texas A&M (-5) vs. Oklahoma – Love this game. OU wins.
Sugar Bowl: Florida (-13.5) vs. Louisville – Florida doesn’t score many points. Louisville covers.
Rose Bowl: Stanford (-6.5) vs. Wisconsin – Wisconsin not only covers, it wins outright.
Orange Bowl: Florida State (-13.5) vs. Northern Illinois – If NIU can’t beat Iowa, it probably can’t hang with FSU. Noles.
Fiesta Bowl: Oregon (-9) vs. Kansas State – Oregon should win but I don’t think it will be by 9.
BCS Title Game: Alabama (-9.5) vs. Notre Dame – This one is closer than many think. ND’s defense keeps them in it. Bama wins a tight one.
The Voice of the Fan, Trevor Enerson
Holiday Bowl: Baylor vs. UCLA – Give me UCLA.
Pinstripe Bowl: West Virginia vs. Syracuse – WVU does the same thing as least year and throttles Syracuse.
Alamo Bowl: Texas vs. Oregon State – This should be a good game. Give me Texas to win a tight one.
Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl: TCU vs. Michigan State – I’ll take TCU. MSU just doesn’t have enough offense to beat quality teams.
Liberty Bowl: Iowa State vs. Tulsa – ISU. Large.
Meineke Car Care Bowl of Houston – Minnesota vs. Texas Tech (-13)- Minnesota covers here. I just think Tech is going to be in complete disarray.
Chick-fil-A Bowl: LSU (-4) vs. Clemson – LSU is good enough defensively to limit Clemson. I think LSU covers in a good game.
Outback Bowl: South Carolina (-5) vs. Michigan – I think Michigan get’s smoked here. I hope I’m wrong but USC covers.
Capital One Bowl: Georgia (-10) vs. Nebraska – Georgia covers this. Too much talent offensively for the Huskers.
Cotton Bowl: Texas A&M (-5) vs. Oklahoma – This is a toss up. Give me Oklahoma to cover and win this one.
Sugar Bowl: Florida (-13.5) vs. Louisville – Louisville covers but still losses. I think 13.5 is a lot for that UF offense to have to cover.
Rose Bowl: Stanford (-6.5) vs. Wisconsin – Standford covers. Wisconsin just isn’t that good.
Orange Bowl: Florida State (-13.5) vs. Northern Illinois – NIU blows the haters away and wins this one. This ain’t the ACC brother.
Fiesta Bowl: Oregon (-9) vs. Kansas State – I have a feeling OU blows KSU out. I think their defense is better than they get credit for and KSU hasn’t seen this type of speed. Oregon covers.
BCS Title Game: Alabama (-9.5) vs. Notre Dame – I think ND covers this but I think Bama still wins. If you like defense watch this one.
Former Iowa State quarterback Austen Arnaud
Holiday Bowl: Baylor vs.UCLA – I always hate picking against a Big XII team in these type games because I am usually wrong. However, the Bruins are a very tough team under their new leadership of Jim Mora Jr. This game is going to be very similar to the game last year between Baylor and Washington, the game total cannot be high enough. I think the Bruins get more stops than the Baylor defense will, so 2 stops to Baylor’s 1 all night. 59-54 UCLA.
Pinstripe Bowl: West Virginia vs. Syracuse – I understand WVU is 6-6 and Syracuse has been to this bowl before. But, let’s not forget here that a lot of these Mountaineers were around last year on a team that did their homework in preparation and absolutely throttled a good Clemson football team in the Orange Bowl less than a year ago. Geno, Tavon, and company take care of business in a big way and win by at least 3 scores. 65-31 WVU.
Alamo Bowl: Texas vs. Oregon State – Horns figure out their QB difficulties… maybe. Texas defense comes up big and forces a couple turnovers and one for a touchdown. 24-23 UT.
Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl: TCUvs. Michigan State – What a total sleeper here, two good defensive teams who rely on a heavy run attack. Trevone Boykin will be the key in this one, the Horned Frogs go as he does. I think he plays well enough to get them over the hump in this one. 17-14 TCU.
Liberty Bowl: Iowa Statevs. Tulsa – 10 wins is a major feat in Division 1 football and it is obvious that Tulsa is a very good offensive football team. The motivation for the Clones will be getting that sour taste out of their mouth from last year in the Pinstripe Bowl. James White leads a balanced rushing attack and the Cyclones prevail 38-29.
Meineke Car Care Bowl of Houston: Minnesota vs. Texas Tech(-13) – No Tommy Tuberville, no problem. Minnesota has very little momentum going into this game, I think they are just happy to be here. Texas Tech covers
Chick-fil-A Bowl:LSU(-4) vs. Clemson – LSU’s defense is as good as it gets in college football and Clemson has one of the most prolific offenses in the game as well. However, Clemson looked very inefficient against a similar defense in South Carolina earlier this fall. LSU wins the battle in the trenches and covers.
Outback Bowl: South Carolina (-5) vs.Michigan – I am taking the points with the Wolverines here. This is a big IF but if Michigan can find ways to stay with JaDaveon Clowney in protection they have a definite shot of winning this game outright. They are few guys that are as disruptive as Clowney and rarely a D-Lineman is targeted as the most prolific player in a a game but Clowney is going to be an all pro when it is all said and done. Michigans two athletic QB’s give SCAR difficulty and they cover and make this a nail biter down in the Outback.
Capital One Bowl: Georgia (-10)vs. Nebraska – Wrong time of the year for the Huskers to get 70 hung on them like Wisconsin did in B10 championship. Georgia may score 100 and in comparison to Wisconsin’s attack insert the great running and play action passing game Aaron Murray and UGA possess It could be a very long day for the Huskers, the Dawgs roll.
Cotton Bowl: Texas A&M (-5) vs.Oklahoma – 5 Points will be too much in this one, now it is very difficult to assess which OU team will show up: the one’s with a chip on their shoulder because they were shunned from the BCS or the team that has played awful in January bowl games that feels sorry for themselves. I think Landry Jones in his last game as a Sooner has the team hitting on every cylinder and OU fights in this one, but Johnny Manziel goes out like fellow and former SEC QB Cam Newton… A Heisman winner and a national champion.
Sugar Bowl: Florida (-13.5) vs. Louisville – Charlie Strong knows this Florida program very well having been there recently as the DC. However, doesn’t help here Florida is mad they dont have a formidable opponent and thinks they should be in the national title game. Gators embarrass Louisville.
Rose Bowl: Stanford (-6.5) vs. Wisconsin – Barry Alvarez hasn’t lost a Rose Bowl game…. until now. These teams match up very well but David Shaw is one of the best manipulative coaches in the game. Wisconsin is weak in spots in the front seven and expect the Cardinal to take full advantage of that with Stefan Taylor and that big OL. Stanford wins by 2 scores.
Orange Bowl: Florida State (-13.5) vs. Northern Illinois – For you people out there thinking this will be a let down for Florida State, you couldn’t be more wrong. This Northern Illinois team is good dont get me wrong, but the level of athleticism that Florida State possesses is so great in comparison NIU has no chance.
Fiesta Bowl: Oregon (-9) vs. Kansas State – I probably will regret this pick but I think Oregon’s style of play is second to none and when Chip Kelly has a good beat on an opponent it can be a long night. A very large task ahead for the K-State defense but even more difficult is the task for K-State’s offense is scoring to keep up with the Duck offense. Oregon covers.
BCS Title Game: Alabama (-9.5) vs.Notre Dame – Alabama will win this game. But, ND will not go out with a fight, Manti Te’o and this vaunted Irish defense will be able to hang with the big boys up front for Bama. The only unknown in this game is the effectiveness of Notre Dame’s offense against this tough Tide defense. If the Irish offense cant sustain drives and score touchdowns in this game they have no chance. 23-17 Bama.
