The No. 11 Crimson Tide squares off with Michigan today in the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa. The Wolverines, as everyone remembers, won it all last year, including a Rose Bowl victory over Alabama in the four team semifinals, but lost Jim Harbaugh to the LA Chargers and several key players departed off the 2023 team and struggled some this season, finishing with a 7-5 record. However, the Wolverines defeated Ohio State on the road for its fourth straight victory in the bitter rivalry, 13-10, so that made this season a whole lot better.

 Alabama is pretty well stocked for the ReliaQuest Bowl, with most every player available except for Malachi Moore, who is out with after having surgery for an undisclosed injury, along with the players who were injured during the regular season, including OLB Q Robinson and safety Keon Sabb among others.

 Here’s a look at today’s games along with preddictions

 

ReliaQuest Bowl

 

No. 11 Alabama (9-3) vs. Michigan (7-5)

 Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, 75,000

 11 AM CT

 ESPN

 Dave Flemming, Brock Osweiler, Sherree Burruss

 Refs: Big 12, Tuta Salaam

 Crimson Tide by 16 ½

 

Michigan’s pair of star running backs have opted out, their two leading defensive players have opted out, and some other starters are done, so they’re a shell of the team that defeated Ohio State on Saturday, November 30th, 13-10. The Crimson Tide is pretty much at full strength. Expect Jalen Milroe (189-of-287, 66%, 2652 yards15 TDs/10 ints, 719 rushing yards, 20 TDs), Ryan Williams (45-857, 8 TDs) and Germie Bernard (46-714, 2 TDs) to have big days in the passing game today. It’s not clear whether Milroe is definitely going to the NFL  after this game, though I’m “pretty sure” he is, as Tracy Morgan said in the Rocket Mortgage commercial before pushing a guy out of an airplane and saying “I’m pretty sure” the parachute will work. Linebacker Jihaad Campbell, a first team All American, who led the team in tackles with 106, and added a team leading 11 ½ tackles for loss 55 yards and a team leading 5 sacks for -39 yards, will lead the defense against the Wolverines. Campbell is a highly rated NFL prospect and will more than likely go in the first round. He’s a junior. Good chance for the Crimson Tide to look at some of the players who will be suiting up for them in 2025 as well. A note of personal interest: the starting quarterback for Michigan today, Davis Warren, is the son of a Phi Delta Theta fraternity brother of mine, Jeff Warren. So I hope Davis can have a good game, even though I like the Tide to have a better one. Davis threw for 6 TDs and 9 ints in his first season splitting time with Alex Orji under center. Jeff, his father, was an awesome guy at Vanderbilt, two years younger than me. I remember when we were rushing the great Philadelphian, Vanderbilt had a game @Kentucky on a Saturday morning at 11, and it was a good excuse for a “road trip.” The great Nelson Bean, and our  head rush chairman, George “Freedaddy” Freeman, and a couple others of us took Jeff and a couple of other rushees up to Lexington. We might have had a few adult beverages that day, “I can’t remember,” as I used to say the day after some Saturday Night band parties. Vanderbilt had a pretty decent team that year, even went to a bowl game, but nothing like this Diego Pavia-led team we have now and the one forthcoming.

 

Alabama 34, Michigan 10

 

 First Playoff Game

 

Vrbo Fiesta Bowl

 

No.6 Penn State (12-2) vs. No.3 Boise State (12-1)

 State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona, 63,400

 6:30 PM CT

 ESPN

 Bob, Louis, Kris, Tom

 Refs: SEC, Steve Marlowe

 Penn State by 11 ½

 

The Nittany Lions are a heavy favorite to move on to the semifinals where they’ll face the winner of No.7 Notre Dame and No.2 Georgia, which are playing in a quarterfinal game Wednesday at 7:45 PM CT in the Sugar Bowl. That semifinal game will take place in the Orange Bowl.

 But not so fast. The Broncos only loss is to Oregon, 37-34, at Autzen Stadium on Saturday, September 7th. Ashton Jeanty rushed for 2,497 yards and 29 TDs this season, though the Penn State defense is pretty tough against the run. Maddux Madsen has thrown for 22 TDs against only 3 ints for the Broncos. And their defense is pretty scrappy.

 Penn State will be led by quarterback Drew Allar, who completed 237-of-346 passes, 69%, for 3,021 yards, 21 TDs against 7 ints. The backfield is excellent with Nicholas Singleton rushing for 928 and 8 TDs and Kaytron Allen adding 892 and 8, 7’s himself. Super tight end Tyler Warren caught 92 passes for 1,095 yards and 6 TDs.

 

Final Analysis and Prediction

 Penn State has the weaponry to dominate the game along with a tough, physical defense. They just came off a 38-10 thrashing of SMU in the first round. But I like Boise State to keep this closer than anticipated. Give me the Nittany Lions to advance to the semis, but the Broncos to give them a real scare.

 Penn State 34, Boise State 31

 

 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl

 

No. 15 South Carolina (9-3) vs. No.20 Illinois (9-3)

 

Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL., 60,219

 2 PM CT

 ABC

 Mark, Roddy, Quint

 Refs: Big 12, Kevin Mar

 SC by 9

 

Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer, an Ole Miss transfer, threw for 2,543 yards, 21 TDs against 5 ints and completed 61% of his passes. He’s a really good player. But I like LaNorris Sellers of South Carolina even better. Sellers threw for 17 TDs against 7 ints, for 2,274 yards and completed 65% of his passing attempts. He also rushed for 655 yards and 7 TDs. Raheim “Rocket” Sanders and his 881 yards and 11 TDs is sitting this one out for the draft, but I like Sellers and a highly talented defense, though there are a couple of opt outs, per usual, to take care of business in Orlando.

 

South Carolina 34, Illinois 21

 

 Texas Bowl

 Baylor (8-4) vs. LSU (8-4)

 NRG Stadium, Houston, 72,220

 2:30 PM

 ESPN

 Roy Philpott, Sam Acho, Taylor Davis

 Referees: ACC, Justin Elliott

 Baylor by 3 ½

 Everything is pointing in Baylor’s favor. LSU has a ton of opt outs including its’ two top offensive linemen and its’ three top receivers. So it’ll be up to quarterback Garrett Nussmeier. Nussmeier completed 313-of-491 passes, 64%, for 3,739 yards, 26 TDs against 11 ints. He’ll have a lot of reserves helping him out on offense. Baylor is led by quarterback Sawyer Robertson, who completed 199-of-317, 63%, for 2,626 yards, 26 TDs against 7 ints. Byron Washington rushed for 1,004 yards and 12 TDs, and Josh Cameron caught 44 passes for 643 yards and 9 TDs.

 Final Analysis and Prediction

 

It’s hard to go against the SEC, but I gotta do it here. Brian Kelly just does not have enough players left in the tank. I’ll take former LSU Defensive Coordinator Dave Aranda and his Bears.

 Baylor 35, LSU 30

 

Wednesday: Three other College Football Playoff Quarterfinal Games, Previews/Predictions.

 

No.5 Texas vs. No. Arizona State, Chick-fil-A Bowl, Atlanta, 12 PM CT, ESPN

 

No. 8 Ohio State vs. No.1 Oregon, The Rose Bowl, Pasadena, 4 PM CT, ESPN

 

No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No.2 Georgia, Sugar Bowl, 7:45 PM CT, ESPN

 

Semifinals

 

Thursday, 1/9/25, Orange Bowl

Friday, 1/10/25, Cotton Bowl.

 

Georgia/Notre Dame winner vs. Penn State/Boise State winner.

 

Oregon/Ohio State winner vs. Texas/’Zona State winner.

The 4 teams in which game will be determined after the Quarterfinal matchups.

 

Both games will kickoff at 6:30 PM CT on ESPN.

 

 

It’s a highly interesting and entertaining week of College Football this week as the No.11 Crimson Tide plays in the ReliaQuest Bowl Tuesday at 11 AM CT in Tampa at Raymond James Stadium vs Michigan with an 11 AM CT kick, and the 4 quarterfinal playoff games commence Tuesday Night at 6:30 with No.6 Penn State squaring off with No.3 Boise State in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ. on ESPN. S is going to make sure both teams have “no fun.”  

 There will be a Playoff extravaganza on Wednesday with No.5 Texas facing No.4 Arizona State in the Chick fil-A Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta at 12 PM CT on ESPN. Then, at 4 PM CT at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, No.1 Oregon squares off against No. 8 Ohio State in a rematch from a regular season 32-31 Ducks’ victory on Saturday, October 12th at Autzen Stadium in Eugene. Ohio State looked prolific in its 42-17 dismantling of No.9 Tennessee at a bitterly cold Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Saturday, 12/21. The Rose Bowl will also be broadcast by ESPN. To close out the day on Wednesday,  No.2 Georgia matches up with No.7 Notre Dame, a 27-17 winner over No.10 Indiana in the first round at Notre Dame Stadium, in the Allstate Sugar Bowl at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans at 7:45 PM on ESPN.  Georgia starting quarterback Carson Beck is unavailable to play after having elbow surgery, so Gunner Stockton will get the start for the Dawgs. Stockton did a pretty good job in relief in Georgia’s 22-19 victory over Texas in the SEC Championship Game after Beck was injured and unable to play in the second half. He’ll certainly be under the gun in the Sugar Bowl versus a pretty fiesty Notre Dame defense.

The Crimson Tide will be without starting safety Malachi Moore as he had season ending surgery recently for an undisclosed injury. That hurts as he’s been a prolific player and a leader who has been with the Tide for 5 years. He’ll be preparing for the draft when he gets cleared from his recovery, and has a shot at becoming a very good NFL player. Jalen Milroe and the rest of the team, those who aren’t injured, will play. Always interesting to watch the Crimson Tide compete. Gives the Bama fans a chance to see the team play and get a look at what kind of material is on the horizon for 2025.

Also on Tuesday, No.15 South Carolina plays No.20 Illinois in the Cheez-it Citrus Bowl in Orlando at 2 PM CT on ABC. And LSU plays Baylor in the Texas Bowl in Houston at 2:30 PM on ESPN.

 Today it’s Missouri versus Iowa in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl in Nashville at 1:30 PM CT on ESPN. Here’s the rundown and prediction.

 Saturday- SU-4-0; Overall, 163-60, 73%; ATS, 3-1, 117-104, 53%

 

TransPerfect Music City Bowl

Iowa (8-4) vs. No. 19 Missouri (9-3)

 Nissan Stadium, Nashville, 69,143

 1:30 PM  CT

 ESPN

 Taylor, Matt, Alyssa

 Yella: ACC, Michael Roche

 Mizzou by 2 ½

 

Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara is transferring and running back Kaleb Johnson, who rushed for 1,599 yards and 21 TDs, has opted out for the NFL Draft and will not play. Missouri will be without star wide receiver Luther Burden III, who has opted out as well. So the teams will go with what they’ve got. I like Tigers quarterback Brady Cook, who completed 183-of-289, 63%, for 2,248 yards, 9 TDs against only 2 ints, running back Nate Noel, who rushed for 830 and 3, 7’s, and wide out Theo Weese, who caught 55 passes for 809 and 3 TDs, to lead the Tigers to victory and help them post another double digit victory season, at 10-3, after finishing 11-2 in 2023, which included a 14-3 Cotton Bowl victory over Ohio State. Eli Drinkwitz is doin’ work. Iowa’s defense is solid, so that’ll keep them in it for a while.

 

Missouri 24, Iowa 10

Diego Pavia and the Commodores had their way with the Ramblin Wreck, 35-27. Outstanding performance by Diego and the Dores at the Birmingham Bowl. Excellent crowd. I was there with my family thanks to Derrick who gave us his box tickets.Thank you, D.. Really awesome time.

Navy edged out Oklahoma in the Armed Forces Bowl, 21-20, when Brent Venables went for two after what looked like would be the game tying TD and extra point with six seconds left. Questionable.

Arkansas blasted Texas Tech in the Liberty Bowl, 39-26 in an awesome performance by quarterback Taylor Green who threw for 2 TDs and ran for another rushing for 81 yards and throwing for 341!

And USC scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter in a 35-31 Las Vegas Bowl victory over Texas A&M. Super comeback by Lincoln Riley’s Trojans, while Mike Elko and his Aggies left a lot to be desired at the end of the season.

Yesterday 2-2 SU and ATS.

Overall, SU- 159-60, 73%. ATS: 114-103, 53%

Today’s Bowl Matchups and Predictions

New Mexico Bowl

TCU 37, Louisiana 34

University Stadium, Albuquerque, 39,224

 1:15 PM CT

 ESPN

 TCU by 9 ½

 

 

Pop Tarts Bowl

 

Iowa State 35, Miami 31

Camping World Stadium, Orlando, 60, 219

 2:30- PM CT

 ABC

 Miami by 4

 

Alamo Bowl

No. 17 BYU 34, No.23 Colorado 33

 

Alamo Dome, San Antonio, 73,086

 6:30 PM CT

 ABC

 Colorado by 3

 

 

Independence Bowl

 No. 22 Army 34, Louisiana Tech 17

 Independence Stadium, Shreveport, LA., 50,000

 8:15 PM CT

 ESPN

 Army by 14 1//2

 

 ***This coming Week starting Monday, SEC, Alabama and Playoff Games Previews/Predictions***

Christmas Day in the NFL was a bust as Mahomes and KC and Lamar and the Ravens annihilated the Steelers and the Texans, respectively. I still don’t know why Mike Tomlin of the Steelers is considered such a prolific coach. He hasn’t done much since he won the Super Bowl in 2009 with Bill Cowher’s players. Just because he’s never had a losing record to me is irrelevant. He’s not done anything in the postseason the last several years, and that’s what matters. The Steelers have only had three coaches in their history: the Great Chuck Noll, who won four Super Bowls with the greatest teams of all time, the 1970’s Steelers. All 22 of those starters should be in the Hall of Fame. I know Lombardi and the Packers, Shula and the Dolphins, the Raiders, the Cowboys and the Patriots are in that conversation, but give me Lynn Swann, Jack Lambert, Franco Harris, Terry Bradshaw, Mel Blount and John Stallworth all day and Bill Curry might have been able to win a Super Bowl with those players. I take that back; they would have gone 8-8 under Curry and made the playoffs once in his tenure. But Chuck Noll was a superb football coach as well. Lombardi and Shula are hard to go against as an all time great, I would have to take the generationally great Lombardi, but as far as the talent, I’d go with the Steelers, and Chuck Noll is right up there in that upper echelon with Lombardi, Shula, George Halas, men like that. Jimmy Johnson was good, but he didn’t stay in Dallas long enough, mostly because of Jerry, and Bill Belichick-who’s now coaching at North Carolina? Are you kiddin me?- won 6 Super Bowls, though he did it all with Tom Brady. Without Brady he was never that successful.

Tomlin is a smooth talker, but he just hasn’t gotten the job done when it matters. He’s fine. I don’t have a major problem with him. Do I think the Steelers can do better? Yes. Will they change coaches at some point if Tomlin just keeps on with his winning records, but no success in the playoffs? I know the fans are tired of it. But the Steelers’ ownership is loyal to a fault. You’ve got to be loyal to the fans who support you more than one person despite the fact that you like him. The Steelers are that way with Tomlin. Just kind of spinning their wheels and not getting anything significant accomplished. I don’t see another Lombardi Trophy for the Steelers if they keep Tomlin for the long run. He’ll have to resign though. They won’t fire him.

 

On the flip side of that, Patrick Mahomes is more prolific than ever. He completed 29 of 38 for 320 yards, 3 TDs and 0 ints in the Chiefs’ 29-10 victory over the Steelers in a matinee yesterday in the steel city. He was the player of the game, according to Netflix, which broadcast both games and did a horrendous job with it. I don’t know about other people, but I had to do a lot of fast forwarding to get to the current state of each game yesterday. It was ridiculous. I ended up watching the movie Zero Dark Thirty about the takedown of Osama Bin Laden in 2011 and it was terrific. We had our family get together on Christmas Eve.

The Netflix crew offered Mahomes some sort of velvet cake afterwards, but he declined saying he wanted to watch his diet for the playoffs. Like the discipline. The guy’s just got it together. The Chiefs have been criticized for winning a lot of close games this season, but they’re 15-1 for crying out loud with the home field advantage for the entire AFC Playoffs at Arrowhead. Now Arrowhead is a massive home field advantage. That place gets electric, raucous. The Chiefs are looking strong once again heading into the postseason. The main question to me is: can Mahomes break Tom Brady’s all time Super Bowl victories record? Brady earned seven Lombardi’s and Mahomes has three. Mahomes turned 29 in September and won Super Bowls 54, 56 and 58, in the 2019, 2021 and the 2023 seasons, respectively. Mahomes is under contract wih the Chiefs until 2032, when he will turn 37. He’s making $55 million a year, loves Kansas City and do they surely love him there. They’ll extend his contract with another Super Bowl victory this year and may anyway. I watched the first season of Netflix’s documentary called Quarterbacks in the summer of 2023 in which Mahomes was one of the quarterbacks featured. His work ethic is beyond reproach. I’ve never seen a quarterback, much less any player, who trains as hard as he does. I can see him breaking the record. He’s a little more down to earth to me than Brady, who has always loved the celebrity spotlight. If he continues with his work ethic and humility, I see him breaking Surfer Boy’s record. In my preseason NFL projections, I picked Detroit over KC in Super Bowl LIX at Caesar’s Superdome in N’Awlins on Sunday, February 9th, 2025 with a 5:30 PM CT kickoff on FOX. However, I’m rethinking that right now. Can the spontaneous Lions’ decision making coach Dan Campbell not mess up his team with dumb decision making on fourth downs? That’s a real question mark to me. I can see Andy Reid outcoaching him and Mahomes just being too good for the Lions to stop and the KC defense being, as always, totally awesome under defensive coordinator Steve Spagnola. We’ll get to that in January as the NFL Playoffs are just around the corner.

 

College Football First Round Playoff games

 The first round Playoff games were a disaster. College Football needs to take away home field in these first round games and use neutral sites, and the Committee needs to employ strength of schedule and football judgment as the main criteria for ranking these teams. SMU? Indiana? Are you kiddin’ me? Clemson and Tennessee weren’t much better.  Greg Sankey and the college commisioners need to think long and hard about expanding the field to more teams. They really need to get this 12 team model right before they do anything else. It should be an 8 team tournament and not any more with the right teams playing. I’m not saying Alabama, Ole Miss and South Carolina didn’t have their flaws; they did. But Indiana and SMU both proved they had no business being in the Playoff. Conference championships matter for legacy, but they shouldn’t automatically qualify a team for a bye or home field advantage. I just say take away the home field. That’s an unfair advantage for teams that are used to the freezing climates in December against the teams that are not. The committee needs to figure out their ranking of the top 12 teams next season. I’m not sure about a couple of these quarterfinal matchups. Arizona State may do OK against Texas, but Penn State-Boise State looks lopsided in Penn State’s favor, though James Franklin can be unpredictable with how well his teams play when they are supposed to win handily. He may win a game he’s supposed to win, but it gets a little too interesting for the Penn State faithful and the gamblers. Oregon-Ohio State in the Rose Bowl and Georgia-Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl New Year’s Day look riveting. I’ll have previews and predictions for those games on Monday. I would like an eight team playoff with the right teams in it. That probably won’t happen when the TV Playoff contract renews in 2026, but that’s my preference. This 12 team model is not working so far.

 

Record to date

 

Last weekend:

Florida over Tulane and 4 first round Playoff games- 3-2 straight up, 3-2 against the spread.

 

Overall, SU-157-58, 73%, ATS-112-101, 53%.

 

Friday’s Bowl Games

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl

 Oklahoma (6-6) vs. Navy (9-3)

 Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, 46,000

 11 AM CT

 ESPN

 Courtney Lyle, Rene Ingoglia, Morgan Uber? Can I get a ride from DFW to the Stadium, Ubes?

 Laundry: Big 12, Mike McCabe

 OU by 3

 I’m taking quarterback Blake Horvath and the Midshipmen over a Sooners team that has been decimated by transfers and opt outs. Their quarterback this season, Jackson Arnold, has transferred to Auburn where Hugh tries to do a better job with him than he did with Payton Thorne. Maybe Thorne was impossible to coach and Hugh had no chance making Thorne successful. Thorne just wasn’t good enough either talent-wise or upstairs, or both. Arnold has talent, which he showed against Alabama in OU’s 24-3 victory at Norman in November, so Hugh needs to do better with Arnold or his job could be in jeopardy.

I like the Midshipmen, coming off their extremely impressive 31-13 victory over Army, and Horvath, who rushed for  1099 yards and 15 TDs this season along with throwing for 1,200+ yards and 13 TDs, to get it done in FW.

 Navy 24, Oklahoma 21

 

Birmingham Bowl

 Georgia Tech (7-5) vs. Vanderbilt (6-6)

 Protective Stadium, B’ham, 47,100

 2:30 PM

 ESPN

 Dave Neal, Aaron Murray, Ashley ShahAhmadi

 Yella: Big Ten, Mark Kluczynski:

 Tech by 3

 

This is a toss up, but I’m going to Anchor Down in the Magic City.

 Vanderbilt 24, Georgia Tech 21

 

Liberty Bowl

Texas Tech (8-4) vs. Arkansas (6-6)

 Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, Memphis, 58,325

 6 PM CT

 ESPN

 Anish Shroff, Andre, Carc

 Suds and Duds (What a Due Right needs while standing over a 6 footer): Big Ten, Chris Coyte

 Arkansas by 1 ½

 I like the Red Raiders to pull off a slight upset.

 Texas Tech 34, Arkansas 31

 

 Las Vegas Bowl

 

USC (6-6) vs. Texas A&M (8-4)

 Allegiant Stadium, Vegas, 65,000

 9:30 PM CT, Coffee or another six needed.

 ESPN

 Dave Flemming, Brock Osweiler, Stormy Buonantony

 Vogue: ACC, Marcus Wood

 A&M by 4

Mike Elko and A&M faded down the stretch, losing 3 of their last 4, but I like them to prevail over the struggling Lincoln Riley and USC.

 A&M 27, USC 21

 

  

 

 

The 12-team playoff commences Friday and continues all day Saturday with host sites in South Bend, Indiana. University Park, PA., Austin Texas and Columbus, Ohio, respectively. 

Should be a riveting weekend of college football. Another interesting game takes place Friday afternoon at the Gaspirarilla Bowl in Tampa as the resurgent Florida Gators take on the Tulane Green Wave.

 Can any of these decided first round underdogs knock off the higher seeds. Here’s my take on what will happen on Friday and Saturday.

 

Friday

 

No. 10 Indiana (11-1) @ No.7 Notre Dame (11-1)

Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN. 77,622

7 PM CT

ABC/ESPN

Sean, Gregory, Molly, Katie

Yella: Big 12, David Alvarez

Winner gets No.2 Georgia (11-2) in the Sugar Bowl, Wednesday, 1/1/25, 7:45 PM CT, ESPN

 Fighting Irish by 7

 It’ll be in the mid 20’s at kickoff in Notre Dame Stadium, but neither of these teams will mind. They’re both built for this. I like the Fighting Irish’s running game, quarterback Riley Leonard and the defense to be the difference in this game. The Fighting Irish move on to face No.2 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl 1/1/25 at 7:45 PM CT on ESPN..

Notre Dame 21, Indiana 13

 

Saturday

 

No. 11 SMU (11-2) @ No. 6 Penn State (11-2)

Beaver Stadium, University Park, PA. 106, 572

11 AM CT

***TNT/Max***

Mark, Roddy, Quint

Refs: SEC, David Smith

Winner gets No.3 Boise State (12-1) in the Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix, Tuesday, 12/31 at 6:30 PM CT on ESPN.

Penn State by 8 ½

I’m going to go out on a limb here and take the Ponies. The Ponies shock the college football world and move on to face Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl on Tuesday, New Year’s Eve at 6:30 PM CT on ESPN.

 SMU 21, Penn State 20

 

No. 12 Clemson (10-3) @No.5 Texas (11-2)

Darrell K. Royal Stadium, Austin, 100, 119

3 PM CT

TNT/Max

Dave, Dusty, Taylor, Laura

Refs: Big Ten, Ron Snodgrass?

Winner gets No. 4 ‘Zona State (11-2) in the Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta Wednesday, 1/1/25 at 12 PM CT on ESPN

Horns by 12

I like Quinn Ewers and the Longhorns to get the job done and move to face Zona State in Atlanta on 1/1/25.

 

Texas 28, Clemson 14

 

No. 9 Tennessee (10-2) @ No.8 Ohio State (10-2)

Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio, 102,780

7 PM CT

ABC/ESPN

Chris, Kirk, Holly

Refs: ACC, Jerry Magallanes (these names, sheesh).

Winner gets No.1 Oregon (13-0) in the Grandaddy of them all, the Rose Bowl, 4 PM CT, E-S-P-N

Buckeyes by 7

 Going to take quarterback Nico Iamaleava (199-of-305, 66%, 2,512 yards, 19 TDs, 5 ints), running back Dylan Sampson (1,509 yards, 5.8 yards per carry, 22 TDs) and a physical Tennessee defense to lead  them to the upset victory in the Horseshoe and take on Oregon in the Rose Bowl on January 1st, 2025.

 

Tennessee 21, Ohio State 17

 

Friday

Gaspirilla Bowl

Tulane (9-4) vs. Florida (7-5)

Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, 75,000

2:30 PM CT

ESPN

Anish Shroff, Andre, Carc

Refs: MAC, Matt Packowski (Are you kiddin’ me?)

Gators by 13

 Like the SEC here. Billy Napier and the Gators finish their season strongly.

 

Florida 31, Tulane 17

 

 

 

 

 

Last time out: Navy 31, Army 13

 

Surprise, but the Academy played a heckua game. Blake Horvath rushed for 204 yards and 2 TDs. Stellar performance by the junior quarterback.

 

South Alabama 30, Western Michigan 23

 

Two former Crimson Tide coaches under S; Major Applewhite of South and Lance Taylor of Western Mich. Good game in the Salute to Veterans Bowl at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery.

 

For Year: SU 153-56, 73%; ATS: 108-99, 52%. Need to get on a hitting streak.

 

 

Frisco Bowl

No. 25 Memphis (10-2) vs. West Virginia (6-6)

 Toyota Stadium, Frisco, TX., 20,500

8 PM CT

 ESPN

 Mike Monaco, Kirk “Caravan” Morrison, Dawn Davenport

 Laundry: Sun Belt, Lead, Jeremy (spoke in, Pearl Jam) Parker

 Tigers by 4 ½

 

There are some transfers off each team, but most of the teams are intact. Each has its quarterback playing in the game. The Tigers’ Seth Henigan has completed 291 of 451, 65%, for 3,208 yards, 23 TDs against 6 ints. Wide receiver Demeer Blankumsee has caught 41 passes for 557 and 5 TDs. Running back Mario Anderson Jr. has rushed for 1,308 yards and 17 TDs. Memphis is explosive and handled Tulane on the road to end its season, 34-24. On defense, middle linebacker Chandler Martin leads the Tigers with 94 tackles, 15 TFLs for -62 yards and 7 sacks for -46 yards. Cornerback Davion Ross leads the D with 3 ints. The team has 10 interceptions on the season. The defense also has 14 fumble recoveries on the season, and is led by Martin with 4. Forty four year old Ryan Silverfield is the Memphis head coach. He is 41-21 overall and has led Memphis to three bowl victories including the Liberty Bowl in 2023 over Iowa State, 36-26.

 

For West Virginia, their last outing wasn’t a pleasant one as they lost to Texas Tech on the road, 52-15. Quarterback Garrett Greene completed 160 of 275, 58%, for 1,972 yards, for 13 TDs against 11 ints. Their leading rusher is Jahiem White, who’s rushed for 817 yards and 7 TDs. Hudson Clement leads the wide receiving corps with 40 receptions for 575 and 3 TDs. Safety Anthony Wilson Jr. leads the defense with 95 tackles and 2 ints.

 

Final Analysis and Prediction

The Mountaineers fired head coach Neal Brown, the former Troy coach, at the end of this season. Brown, who had great success at Troy going 35-16 and 23-9 in the Fun Belt, and won all three bowls his teams played in,  couldn’t quite find his footing in Morgantown going 37-35 overall and 25-28 in the Big 12, including 6-6 this season. Brown is a good coach, it just didn’t work out this time. Rich Rodriguez was hired from Jacksonville State where he had good success with a 27-10 overall record and 18-3 in Conference USA leading the Gamecocks to a 9-4 season in 2023 along with a New Orleans Bowl victory, and a 9-4 season this year with a berth in the Cure Bowl. And at West Virginia from 2001-2007, Rich Rod was 60-26 with a victory in the Sugar Bowl in 2005 and an appearance in the Fiesta Bowl in 2007. He had left the program before the Fiesta Bowl, but the Mountaineers still defeated Oklahoma in Phoenix, 48-28. So he had a lot of success there. He was head coach at Michigan from 2008-10, and was 15-22 overall and 6-18 in the Big Ten and 0-3 against the team from the South before being fired after the 2010 season. He was at Arizona from 2012-17 and compiled a  43-35 record  there including 24-30 in the PAC-12 before being fired. He was an offensive coordinator at Ole Miss, Hawaii, and LA-Monroe before landing the Jax State head coaching job. At one time, he was a candidate for the Alabama job after the 2006 season when Alabama fired Mike Shula before the Crimson Tide hired Nick Saban. I know the Tide faithful are happy about that decision. Maybe they wish they had him back now.

 

Chad Scott, the West Virginia offensive coordinator for the past two seasons, will be the interim coach for the Frisco Bowl.

 

Memphis is a very good team and I like them to be successful in Texas today.

 

Memphis 38, West Virginia 24

 

 

The 125th meeting between the Cadets and the Midshipmen is shaping up to be a classic. Navy leads the series 62-55-7, but Army has won the last 2 meetings. Army is 10-1 and just captured the American Conference Championship by blasting Tulane last Friday Night in West Point, 35-14, in a terrifically impressive performance by the great Jeff Monken’s Black Knights team in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game. Army will play Marshall in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport on Saturday, 12/28, at 8:15 PM CT on ESPN.

The Naval Academy finished its season at 8-3 overall and 6-2 in the American and will play Oklahoma in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth at Amon G. Carter Stadium on Friday, 12/27, at 11 AM CT on ESPN. The Midshipmen were cookin’ at 6-0 when they met up for Playoff bound Notre Dame on Saturday, October 26th, and were shellacked, 51-14 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. But they still put together a nice season under second year head coach Brian Newberry. Army was 9-0 when they met up with the Fighting Irish in Yankee Stadium on Saturday, 11/23, but suffered a similar fate to the Midshipmen, losing to the Fighting Irish, 49-14.

But you throw out the record books here if you don’t mind redundance. When Coach Monken was interviewed last Friday Night by Taylor McGregor of ESPN after the Tulane game, he said he was pumped his team had won for sure, but said there was also the most important game on the calendar coming up; the most important game 365 days of the year coming up for both Academies. Monken finished off the interview with a signature “Beat Navy.” I’m sure both academies have been saying it all week. Every one of those guys in both academies along with their respective alumni bases have been saying it every day this year. “Beat Army!.” Beat Navy!.”

Here’s a look at this patriotic classic and which team I like to emerge victorious, along with the bowl season kicking off Saturday. I know Alabama fans are disappointed that they aren’t in the Playoff. Tough deal in Tuscaloosa not making the tournament, and I’m sorry for all my friends who bleed Crimson, including my wife and sister. That doesn’t happen much in Tuscaloosa. Alabama is usually playing for the national championship this time of year. Maybe a growing year this season. The Auburn Tigers have done well in the portal and the Tide did well with their 2025 recruiting class as did the Tigers. The Tide was second in the 247 Sports recruiting rankings and Auburn was sixth, so that’s good stuff from both programs. The transfer portal is kind of obnoxious, but you CAN pick up some nice players in that mechanism.

Should be an entertaining playoff. I’ll have several bowl games, and, of course, playoff predictions forthcoming in the next several weeks. Can Georgia get back to the promised land once again? Texas could be a factor. Of course, Oregon believes they can win it all. Ohio State, Notre Dame, Arizona State, believe in them, Penn State, and Tennessee is a big factor. That Tennesee-Ohio State game will be a classic Saturday, December 21st at 7 PM CT on ABC. I’ll have more coverage coming up.

Here’s a prediction for Army-Navy game and the IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery on Saturday featuring South Alabama versus Western Michigan.

Last Week, Championship Week, SU: 3-3, 152-55, 73%. ATS: 3-3, 108-97, 53%

Saturday

Army (10-1) vs. Navy (8-3)

Northwest Stadium, Landover, MD., 62,000

2 PM CT

CBS

Brad, Gary, Jenny, good to see them on a national scale again.

Army by 6 1/2

It’s a battle of signal callers as Army’s Bryson Daily has rushed for 1,480 yards and 29 TDs and completed 45-of-78 passes, 58%, for 877 yards, 8 TDs against only one interception. Why is he not in New York along with Cam Skattebo of Arizona State? Skattebo has rushed for 1,568 yards and 19 TDs and caught 37 passes for 506 yards and 3 TDs. The finalists are Travis Hunter, Ashton Jeanty, Cam Ward and Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel. I agree with Gabriel and Jeanty, but I’d take Skattebo over Cam Ward. Team performance and that player’s role in his team’s performance has to matter. I’m not opposed to putting Daily ahead of Hunter either. Team results should matter along with the player’s performance for their respective teams, and Daily and Skattebo were invaluable to their respective team’s success. Army went 10-1. ‘Zona State went 11-2, won the Big 12, and is in the playoff. Hunter and Colorado finished 9-3 and Ward and Miami finished 10-2, but lost when it mattered and came extremely close to losing about 3 or 4 more games. Give me Skattebo, Daily, Gabriel and Jeanty. I’d take any one of those guys, but if I’d have to pick, I’d take Gabriel because Oregon has been so good this season. Gabriel has completed 297 of 406, 73%, for 3,558 yards, 28 TDs against 6 ints. He’s also rushed for 7 TDs. That and the fact that his team is the top ranked team in the playoff rankings should be the difference maker. Hunter is the favorite to win it and probably will unless Jeanty can edge him out. But that’s not likely. Hunter’s had a great season, but they’re a bunch of show offs at Colorado. It’s quite obnoxious. And his team is 9-3, not nearly as stellar as the other players’ teams.

Back to the game, Navy quarterback Blake Horvuth has been terrific as well rushing for 895 yards and 13 TDs. He’s completed 69 of 118 passes, 58%, for 1,154 yards, 11 TDs against 4 ints. He had a little bit of a breakdown against Notre Dame, which cost him and his team the game. Several turnovers against that Irish that sealed the Midshipmen’s fate in that game.

Final Analysis and Prediction

Army coach Jeff Monken is a winning machine. He’s taken his program to unprecedented heights and the future looks extremely bright with major renovations going on at Michie Stadium, a football building being built, and a big investment in the program to make it even more appealing and elite. There have been rumors about Monken and other head coaching openings, but nothing substantiated. He has said he would change his offense from the triple option to a more pro style if he were to go some place else. But he’s pretty committed to Army right now. This game is always a classic. The patriotism on display before, during and after the game is spectacular.

My father was a Lieutenant and Navy Fighter Pilot in WWII fighting the Japanese Zero pilots in the Pacific theater. My uncle, Derrick’s dad, was a lieutenant in the Navy in charge of ship repair in Pearl Harbor after December 7th, 1941. My grandfather was an Annapolis grad and a captain in WWI. They were accomplished and dedicated to their missions. Charles B. Perkins’ dad, Ham, was a Lieutenant Commander serving in the Korean War and hunting German subs in the summers during WWII as he was a Naval Academy graduate. So they’d all be mad at me with this prediction, including CBP. I know Bama, Derrick, Excedrin, Walt and Brombey don’t like it when I pick against their Crimson Tide. Brownie and EHS ‘80 aren’t happy when I pick against their Tigers. My lovely wife and passionate sister are also not happy when I pick against their Tide. I don’t like myself much when I pick against Vanderbilt. That’s the life of a sportswriter in a nutshell. As has been said, if you’re a sportswriter and you want a friend during football season, buy a dog.

Army 21, Navy 14

Saturday Night

IS$S Salute to Veterans Bowl

South Alabama (6-6) vs. Western Michigan (6-6)

Cramton Bowl, Montgomery

8 CT

ESPN

Wes Durham, Lugues, Dana Boyle

Referees: Mountain West, Lead, Cal McNeill

USA by 8

The most interesting storyline for Alabamians is this game features South and the game is being played in Montgomery. Give me the Jaguars to get’er done and finish a nice season off with an above .500 record, always a nice accomplishment for some programs.

South Alabama 31, Western Michigan 21

Last Saturday Night, I had had enough with the four fights I saw that afternoon in college football. The melee at Ohio State, the Alabama-Auburn scuffle, the Arizona-Arizona State bout and the North Carolina-North Carolina State brawl were all out of control, particularly Ohio State-Michigan. I kind of lost it. Beth wasn’t sure how to calm me down. She just let me have at it and cool down later and I apologized to her for my language. I usually get upset when the coach I predict to win makes a dumb decision like Dan Lanning did last season in Oregon’s 36-33  loss to Washington when he went for it on fourth and four or longer 5 times and cost his team the game. I got upset with the Vanderbilt Coach last Saturday for rushing three the entire game and allowing Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava to throw it all over the yard without any resistance.

 But this was more frustration with the state of the game. Players are unruly. There needs to be consequences for this BS behavior. Somebody, the NCAA if they have any authority, or the conference commissioners need to ban flag planting on the opponent’s logo at midfield after a road victory. The lack of sportsmanship amongst these teams is absurd. The fans are out of control, too. With the NIL advantages these players have now and the ability to transfer if they aren’t getting what they want, whether it’s enough pay or playing time, there need to be rules on bad behavior. It’s a free for all out on the field now. I’m ready to see Greg Sankey and the conference commissioners take a stand on this. That goes for the Presidents of the universities and the ADs. Maybe Congress needs to get involved. We’ve entitled this generation of players. They act like idiots when they score touchdowns; gestures that used to be called unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. If we’re going to give them contracts and the ability to make money off commercials, they need to be treated like adults and fined for inappropriate behavior. I wish somebody would take some leadership in college football. Nobody seems to have  the courage to do it. Elvis Costello, in his song What’s So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding, has a very accurate line that applies to college football today. He said, “So where are the Strong and who Are the Trusted.”  I’m not seeing it in college football. Something needs to change and somebody or a group of people need to step up and change this free for all that we’re calling College Football. There’s nothing collegial about it. It takes away from the enjoyment of the game when these guys are engaging in urban warfare. Nobody really wants to see that. I know I don’t.

 

Onto this week’s predictions.

 

Last Week: SU-18-4, Overall: 149-52, 74%

ATS: 8-10, 105-94, 53%

 

The SEC Championship

 

No. 5 Georgia (10-2) vs. No.2 Texas (11-1)

 Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta

 3 PM CT

 ABC

 Chris, Kirk, Holly, Laura

 Texas by 2 ½

 Georgia out-physicaled the Longhorns in their first encounter in Austin on October 19th, 30-15, but I like Texas’s terrific running back Quintrevion Wisner and the Texas defense to push the Longhorns over the top and land a first-round bye in the 12 team playoff. The Dawgs are still a very good team, but they may have to travel in the first round.

 

Texas 24, Georgia 21

 

 

Big Ten Championship

 

No.1 Oregon (12-0) vs. No.3 Penn State (11-1)

 Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis

 7 PM CT

 CBS

 Brad, Gary, Jenny; been a while since we’ve talked about that prolific announcing team.

 Oregon by 3 ½

 I’ll take the upset here. Penn State’s defense and tight end Tyler Warren get them over the top and the Nittany Lions earn a bye. Oregon will host in the first round.

 

Penn State 24, Oregon 23

 

 

ACC Championship Game

 

No. 17 Clemson (9-3) vs. No.8 SMU (11-1)

 Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte

 7 PM CT

 ABC

 Sean, Gregory, Molly

 SMU by 2 ½

 

Give me the Ponies to win and earn a bye themselves. This will be a very good result for the No.11 Crimson Tide.

 

SMU 31, Clemson 27

 

 

Big 12 Championship Game

 No.16 Iowa State (10-2) vs. No.15 Arizona State (10-2)

 AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX.

 11 AM CT

 ABC

 Tess, Jess, Katie

 ‘Zona State by 2

 Give me Kenny “Dilly Willy” Dillingham and the best name in college football, Cam Skattebo, a stellar running back whose rushed for almost 1,400 yards and added 17, 7’s,, to carry the Sun Devils to the Big 12 title. ‘Zona State gets in and should host a first round game.

 

‘Zona State 28, Iowa State 24

 

 

Friday

 

Mountain West Championship

 No.20 UNLV (10-2) @ No. 10 Boise State (11-1)

 Albertsons Stadium, Boise, ID

 7 PM

 FOX

 Boise State by 4

 I like running back Ashton Jeanty and the Broncos. Jeanty has rushed for 2,228 yards and 28 TDs. Isn’t that better than Colorado’s Travis Hunter for the Heisman considering Boise State will be in the Playoff? The Broncos earn a first-round bye as the fourth highest rated conference champion. This is a rematch of a game Boise State won earlier this season at Allegiant Stadium in Vegas. It’s always tough to win a rematch, but I trust Jeanty, quarterback Maddux Madsen and the Broncos.

 Boise State 24, UNLV 17

 

Friday

 

American Athletic Championship

 Tulane (9-3) @ No.24 Army (10-1)

 Michie Stadium, West Point, NY

 7 PM CT

 ABC

 Dave, Dusty, Taylor

 Tulane by 5

 Two phenomenal universities. Two awesome coaches in Tulane’s Jon Sumrall and Army’s Jeff Monken. Both teams have had excellent seasons. This has no bearing on the Playoff, but it’s going to be a terrific game nonetheless. Both teams are playing for a championship and that always matters. Sumrall and Monken have been rumored for other jobs; Sumrall more-so. Army exists for a higher purpose; to protect and defend. But they really care about football there, too. They sure want to beat Navy next week, and Navy surely wants to beat them. But I also like the Cadets to come away with the upset in West Point where the temperature at kickoff will be 27 and feel like 19. Those N’Awlins guys are great players, but they’re not used to this. I think Sumrall’s job rumors might play a factor, too. Monken seems pretty solid at Army, but you never know. Army quarterback Bryson Daily and a stout D are the difference makers.

 

Army 17, Tulane 14