After a phenomenal Saturday Night game between Clemson and Ohio State in which the Tigers just barely prevailed over the Buckeyes, 29-23, thanks to a late interception in the Clemson endzone by safety Nolan Turner, from Vestavia Hills and the son of the late Kevin Turner who played fullback for the Crimson Tide in the 1990’s and passed away tragically from Alzheimer’s recently, the No.3 Clemson Tigers will face the offensive juggernaut that is LSU in the National Championship Game Monday, January 13th, 2020 at 7 PM CT on ESPN.

LSU destroyed Oklahoma in Atlanta, 63-28, behind Joe Burrow’s 7 TD passes after tragedy that offensive coordinator Steve Ensmenger had to absorb just before the game when he was told his daughter in law had been killed in a private plane crash. So the Bengal Tigers will be playing with passion for their coach in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome (New Orleans) Monday, January 13th.

That one should be a classic. On one side you have the awesome Trevor Lawrence and the lightning bolt explosive player Travis Etiene along with star wideouts Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross and a stout defense that leads the nation in scoring defense at just over 10 points per game. LSU will counter with the spectacular Burrow and his elite wide receiving corps and will hope that running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, their 1,200 yard rusher and key receiver out of the backfield, will be available to play as he recovers from his hamstring injury. He played a little Saturday against Oklahoma, but they’ll need him at full strength versus Clemson.

It’s quite a matchup.

Dabo vs O is a colorful coaching matchup as well. “Rest of Y’all” vs “Go Tiguhs.”

So that will be one phenomenal night of football in 2020.

Here’s a look at today’s contests along with predictions.

Saturday: 4-0

Overall: 9-8

All times Central

ServPro First Responder Bowl

Western Kentucky (8-4) vs. Western Michigan (7-5)

Gerald R. Ford Stadium, Dallas, 32,000

11:30 AM

ESPN

Dave Neal, DJ Shockley, Dawn Davenport

Refs, Sun Belt, Jeremy Parker

Western Kentucky by 3 1/2

Western Kentucky went to Arkansas on November 9th and won 45-19. That was the end of Chad Morris’s tenure in Fayetteville, but that is still impressive. The HIlltoppers have the No.21 scoring defense in the country giving up just over 20 points per game. Western Michigan is 57th at over 26 per game. Both teams have 1,000 yard rushers, Western Ky’s Gaej Walker has rushed for 1,115 yards and 8 TDs, and the Broncos LeVante Bellamy has rushed for 1,412 yards and an FBS leading 23 TDs. Quarterback play is pretty solid with the Broncos Jon Wassink completing 60 percent of his passes (222-of-371) for 2,904 yards, 19 TDs and 7 ints, and Western Kentucky’s Ty Storey completing 70% of his throws (206-of-294) for 2,209 yards, 12 TDs and 5 ints. Defensively, bookends DeAngelo Malone (21 TFLs -117 yards, 11 1/2 TFLs -61, 6 sacks, -44 yards) lead the Hilltoppers while defensive end Ali Fayad leads Western Michigan with 14 TFLs for -64 yards and 6 1/2 sacks for -47.

Final Decision

I really like that scoring defense stat from Western Kentucky. Western Michigan is 18th in turnover margin while Western KY is 97th. Still like the Hilltoppers to get the job done today in Big D.

Western Kentucky 30, Western Michigan 17

Music City Bowl

Mississippi State (6-6) vs. Louisville (7-5)

Nissan Stadium Nashville, 68,798

3 PM

ESPN

Tom Hart, JRodg, Cole

Refs, Pac-12, Mark Duddy

State by 4 1/2

State lost quarterback Garrett Shrader after he got injured in a fight last week with a teammate. Tommy Stevens, the Penn State graduate transfer, will start. They seem a little dysfunctional to me. I’m going with the upset.

Louisville 34, Mississippi State 31

RedBox Bowl

California (7-5) vs. Illinois (6-6)

Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA., 75,000

3 PM

FOX

Joe Davis, Brock Huard, Bruce Feldman

Refs, SEC, Matt Loeffler

Cal by 6 1/2

The Golden Bears have the 32nd best scoring defense allowing 22 per game. Illinois is 57th at 26 per game. I like the Cal defense led by the nation’s leader in total tackles, linebacker Evan Weaver with 173, to carry the Golden Bears over the top.

California 28, Illinois 20

Capital One Orange Bowl

No.9 Florida (10-2) vs No. 24 Virginia (9-4)

Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, 74,767

7 PM

ESPN

Steve Levy, Brian Griese, McShay, Molly McGrath

Refs, Big 12, Reggie Smith

Gatuhs by 14 1/2

Virginia has put together a pretty solid season, but they are no match for the Gators. Kyle Trask has done an excellent job for Florida filling in for starter Feleipe Franks, who was lost for the season back in September. Trask completed 213-of-315 passes, 68%, for 2,636 yards, 24 TDs and 6 ints. Florida has excellent receivers in Kyle Pitts (51-610, 5), Van Jefferson (43-528, 6) and Freddie Swain (35-496, 7). Linebacker Jonathan Greenard is a load on defense as he has 8 1/2 sacks for -45 yards, and he’s a total disrupter. Florida is 8th in the country in scoring defense giving up 14 per game. Virginia is 59th at 26. I like the Gators to excel in Hard Rock and complete another double digit victory season under 2nd year coach Dan Mullen. Mullen went 10-3 in 2018 after destroying Michigan in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, 41-15, and aims to go 11-3 this year with the 7th best recruiting class coming in next season (Rivals), and, as of now, the 4th best class in 2021.

Florida 37, Virginia 14