Here’s a look at today’s five bowl games with previews and predictions.
 

Military Bowl

Cincinnati Bearcats (9-3) vs. Virginia Tech

Hokies (6-6)

Navy-Marine Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Maryland (34,000)

1 PM ET/Noon CT

ESPN

Beth Mowins, Joey Galloway, Paul Carcaterra

Coaches:

Virginia Tech: Frank Beamer; 68 years old, 28 years as head coach at Va Tech, 228-113-2 (67%), 9-12 in bowls;

Cincy: Tommy Tuberville (Tubby); 60 years old, 19 years as a head coach: Ole Miss (’95-’98), Auburn (’99-2008), Texas Tech (2010-’12) and Cincinnati (2013-present). 148-84 overall (64%); 18-7 at Cincy. 7-4 bowls.

Refs: Sun Belt: Kevin Stine

Series record: 5-5; Cincy won most recent, 27-24 in Sept. 2012

Weather: 46 degrees at kickoff, sunny, 0 % chance of rain all afternoon, Wind: SE 3 MPH

Line: Cincy by 2 1/2

Virginia Tech is in their 22nd straight bowl game trailing only Florida State which has been to 33 straight, but they’ve struggled in bowl games. Their defense is only allowing 20.4 points per game, which was 18th in the country this season. Bud Foster’s secondary is good too, let by superstar Kendall Fuller, who had a 47 yard int for a TD earlier this year. Kendall’s brother, Kyle, is the starting cornerback for the Chicago Bears, and his other brother, Corey, is a wide receiver for the Detroit Lions. His oldest brother, Vincent, also played in the NFL. They all played at Virginia Tech. Kendall and the Hokie defense will be tested by Cincy qb Gunner Kiel who has thrown for 30 TDs (9th in the country) and 3,010 yards. Cincy has a real advantage behind center, as the Hokies Michael Brewer, a Texas Tech transfer, has thrown 14 ints this season against 17 TDs. He doesn’t have the proven playmakers on the outside and he’s been sacked 31 times this season.

Final analysis and prediction

I love what Frank Beamer does at Virginia Tech. He wins with integrity. He’s a high character man and a very good football coach. If it came down to coaching I’d go with Beamer over Tubby. He’ll get it back going in Blacksburg; he just needs some more offense. His defense is still really good. But I like Kiel over Brewer in this one. If it was a rainy kind of day, I might like the Hokies because of ball security issues, but it’s clear and sunny in Annapolis, so I’m going with the better quarterback and offense in this one though Virginia Tech will play some good defense and keep it close. But Kiel and Cincy do enough to get the W.

Cincy 24, Va Tech 21

 

Hyundai Sun Bowl

Arizona State Sun Devils (9-3) vs. Duke Blue

Devils (9-3)

Sun Bowl Stadium, El Paso, Texas (51,500)

2 PM ET/1 PM CT

CBS

Carter Blackburn, Gary, Allie-Verne on a cruise loading up on the buffets

Coaches:

Arizona State: Todd Graham; 50 years old, 9 years as a coach, 76-41 overall, 27-12 at Zona State in 3 years, previously at Rice (2006) Tulsa (2007-10), Pitt (2011) and Zona State since 2012. 4-2 in bowls.

Duke: David Cutcliffe; 60 years old, 13 years as a head coach. Ole Miss (1999-2004), Duke (2006-present). 84-76, 4-2 bowls.

Refs: SEC, Hubert Owens, get ready for some serious laundry

Weather: 43 at kickoff, warming up to 48 throughout game, partly cloudy, 0% rain, wind SW @ 2 MPH.

Line: Zona State by 7 1/2

David Cutcliffe is another high character coach in college football. First class man and football coach. Birmingham, Alabama native. Cutcliffe was Peyton and Eli’s mentor as offensive coordinator at Tennessee (Peyton) and head coach at Ole Miss (Eli). He has a pretty good, athletic quarterback in Anthony Boone. But Zona State has a pretty high powered offense, and even though Duke is pretty solid on defense, I don’t think they can keep up with the Sun Devils on the offensive end enough to win this game. Graham has done an excellent job in Tempe. Like the Sun Devils to win a close one here.

Arizona State 31, Duke 28

 

Duck Commander Independence Bowl

Miami  (6-6) vs. South Carolina (6-6)

Independence Stadium, Shreveport, Louisiana (65,000)

3:30 PM ET/2:30 PM CT

ABC

Dave Neal, Andre Ware, Laura Rutledge (good crew)

Coaches:

Steve Spurrier, better known as the Ol’ Ball Coach: 69 years old,  25 year as a head coach: 225-85-2 (72%) Bowls: 10-10; Duke (1987-89), Florida (1990-2001) and South Carolina (2005-present). Cup of coffee with the Redskins in 2002-2003.  One national championship, Florida, 1996.

Al Golden: 45 years old, nine years as a head coach, record; 55-55; 0-2 bowls; Temple (2006-2010), Miami (2011-present).

Refs: Pac-12, Jack Folliard

Weather: 57 degrees @ kickoff, cloudy, 0% rain, wind NW 9 MPH. 60% rain @ 5 PM on.

Line: Miami by 3

The Gamecocks have had a rough year on defense as they are 93rd in the country in points allowed per game and 92nd in total yards surrendered. I’m surprised defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward is still around, though this may be his final chance in the bowl game to prove he can get it done. But quarterback Dylan Thompson has had a pretty solid year throwing for 3,280 yards, 24 TDs against 11 ints and has a 60% completion rate. Pharaoh Cooper is his favorite target. The dynamic wide out has caught 60 passes for 966 yards and eight TDs. Mike Davis didn’t have the exceptional year everyone expected him to have at running back, but he did run for 927 yards and nine TDs. He’s declared for the draft, he is a junior, so he may be ready to light it up today. Brad Kaaya had an excellent freshman campaign at quarterback for the Canes. He passed for 2,962 yards and 25 TDs against 11 ints. But Duke Johnson is the catalyst for the Canes at running back. He tallied 1,520 yards on the ground this season with 10 TDs and an impressive 7 yards per carry average. He also caught 33 passes out of the backfield for 370 yards and three TDs.

Final take:

South Carolina’s defense isn’t up to their usual standards, but Thompson, Cooper and Davis should excel on offense and outscore the Canes, barely.

South Carolina 35, Miami 34

New Era Pinstripe Bowl

Penn State (6-6) vs. Boston College (7-5)

Yankee Stadium, New York City (50,291)

4:30 PM ET/3:30 PM CT

ESPN

Bob Wischusen, Matt Millen, Quint Kessenich

Coaches:

Penn State: James “Benedict” Franklin; 42 years old, four years as head coach, 30-21 overall. First year at Penn State (6-6). At Vanderbilt from 2011-13. 2-1 bowls.

Boston College: Steve Addazio, 55 years old. four years as a head coach. 27-22 overall, 1-1 in bowls. Temple (2011-12), Boston College 2013-present.

Refs: SEC, Matt Loeffler

Weather: 47, clear, 0% rain, wind, SW @ 6 MPH

Line: BC by 3

I’m still getting over Franklin bolting my alma mater to go to Penn State, but it’s over and I’ve moved on.  Penn State’s defense is good, but their offense pretty bad. BC beat USC 37-31 at home, which was impressive, then took Florida State to the wire in Tallahassee, losing 20-17. Like those numbers. Penn State lost to Michigan, 18-13, and lost their last two to Illinois, 16-14 on the road, and at home to Michigan State to end their season, 34-10. With those numbers, I’m going with the Golden Eagles over the Nittany Lions.

Boston College 21, Penn State 17

 

National University Holiday Bowl

Nebraska (9-3) vs. USC (8-4)

Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California (71,294)

8 PM ET/7 PM CT

ESPN

Rece, Jess, Dave, Sam

Coaches:

USC: Steve Sarkisian, first year at SC (8-4), overall: 42-33, five years at Washington (2009-13). 1-2 bowls.

Nebraska: Barney Cotton (interim). Mike Riley comes over from Oregon State and will take over after the bowl game.

Refs: Big 12, Randy Christal

Weather: 59, clear, 0% rain, wind N 5 MPH.

Line: USC by 7 1/2

Final Take:

Nebraska is a little dysfunctional right now after firing Bo Pelini. They want Big Ten and national championships in Lincoln and Pelini wasn’t giving them enough. May have been a little unfair to fire him, he was 67-27 in seven years and 4-3 in bowls, but the standards are high at Nebraska and Pelini’s personality was a little bothersome to Huskers fans. Pelini just accepted the head job at Youngstown State where former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel is the president, so it seems like he landed on his feet. I like SC here. Running back Ameer Abdullah of the Cornhuskers had an excellent season running for 1,523 yards and 18 TDs, but I like SC quarterback Cody Kessler, who threw for 3,505 yards, 36 TDs and only four ints. Kessler and SC get the job done in San Diego.

USC 41, Nebraska 31