We’re almost to the final weekend of our college football bowl season. It has been an interesting run for the past couple of weeks.
We’ve been to Charlotte, to Los Angeles, to Boise, to Texas, to Florida and other spots on our college football bowl journey. We’ve got a few more days. Let’s enjoy.
We went 4-0 on our Dec. 27 picks to bring the total to 13-11-1.
Wasabi Fenway Bowl
SMU 11-2 vs. Boston College 6-6
- Thurday, 11 a.m. ET, ESPN
- Fenway Park, Boston
- Line: SMU -10.5; Over/Under 49.5
SMU was this close to going to a New Year’s Six Bowl. The Mustangs knocked off Tulane to win the American Conference championship and, by all rights, should be playing Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl. Nobody counted on Liberty going undefeated.
The Mustangs have already moved on to 2024 at quarterback with Kevin Jennings, who took over for the AAC title game after starter Preston Stone went down the week before with a leg injury. Jennings got the job done, accounting for 260 yards of offense in the win. He’s a three-star recruit and has had a month to get ready for this game.
Boston College got hot in the middle of the season with five straight wins, but closed the season losing its last three. The defense is shaky, it was pummeled in losses to Virginia Tech and Miami, giving up more than 500 yards of offense in those games.
This looks like a big win for SMU, which comes in riding high and wanting to make a statement. We’ll take the Mustangs to cover.
Bad Boy Motors Pinstripe Bowl
Rutgers 6-6 vs. Miami 7-5
- Thursday, 2:15 p.m. ET, ESPN
- Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York
- Line: Miami -1.5; Over/Under 40.5
Several teams have had to make changes at quarterback during this bowl season, so nobody is going to feel sorry for Miami after Tyler Van Dyke entered the transfer portal. Now, Van Dyke did have 2,703 yards passing and 19 touchdowns.
But Van Dyke’s departure left the Hurricanes with two scholarship quarterbacks – sophomore Jacurri Brown and freshman Emory Williams, who suffered a season-ending injury against Florida State. So, looks like we’ll see what Brown can do for Miami (sorry, couldn’t pass that up).
Brown started two games in 2022 and played in eight games, but he redshirted this year.
Rutgers has a terrible passing attack, ranking at the bottom of almost every statistic. Instead, it relies on running back Kyle Monangai, who rushed for 1,099 yards . Miami’s defense allows 97.1 rushing yards per game, ranking 10th in the country.
Even with the questions at quarterback, we’re going with the Hurricanes and their stout defense for this college football bowl pick.
Related: 10 dumbest names for college football bowl games in 2023
Pop-Tarts Bowl
North Carolina State 9-3 vs. Kansas State 8-4
- Thursday, 5:45 p.m. ET, ESPN
- Camping World Stadium, Orlando
- Line: Kansas State -2.5; Over/Under 47.5
Kansas State quarterback Will Howard has opted out of the bowl game. Howard passed for 2,743 yards and 24 touchdowns.
North Carolina State will see that opt out and raise. The Wildcats linebacker Payton Wilson, who won the Dick Butkus Award given to the best collegiate linebacker and the Chuck Bednarik Award, given to the best defensive player, also has opted out.
To replace Howard, the Wildcats will go with freshman Avery Johnson, who was one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the 2023 recruiting class. He had three passing touchdowns and six rushing in spot play throughout the season.
To replace Wilson, NC State is, what, hoping for swarming tackles on every play? How do you replace someone with those credentials?
To be fair, the Wildcats had a great overall defense, but we’re going with Kansas State in this one.
Valero Alamo Bowl
Arizona 9-3 vs. Oklahoma 10-2
- Thursday, 9:15 p.m. ET, ESPN
- Alamodome, San Antonio
- Line: Arizona -2.5; Over/Under 62.5
Oklahoma lost its quarterback and offensive coordinator ahead of this game.
Dillon Gabriel is in the transfer portal, and he’ll be replaced by 5-star prospect Jackson Arnold. Jeff Lebby left to become the head coach at Mississippi State and has been replaced by Seth Littrell, offensive analyst following a seven-year head coaching stint at North Texas.
The Sooners ranked sixth in passing offense this season, so even with a new quarterback and a coach who was on staff, this unit should continue to perform.
Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita threw for 2,515 yards and 23 touchdowns. His top target is Tetairoa McMillan, who has over 1,240 yards and has scored 10 touchdowns.
Even with the changes and seeming advantage for Arizona, we like Oklahoma in this game.