This is the 19th year of our annual bowl picks, so you know the drill. In case Santa fails to fulfill all of your needs, you come here, weigh the sage advice carefully, paying particular attention to five KEY games, and then you shop accordingly after collecting your winnings.
(At least that would be true if such a thing as gambling existed which, of course, it does not).
So simply enjoy. And Happy Holidays.
HEART OF DALLAS _ Army minus 10{ over North Texas
A wise man taught me long ago that when you see a line that is out of whack, bet it the opposite of what makes sense. Did you know this game is a rematch? The Mean Green beat Army in October by 17. At West Point. And now a double-digit underdog? Makes zero sense. So I'm going with Army.
CACTUS BOWL _ Boise State minus 7 over Baylor
Jim Grobe can't wait to hand the KEYS to his office to AD Mack Rhoades and get the heck out of coaching. Baylor has to be a rarity among bowl teams in that it is riding a six-game losing streak into this one. The Bears were a good team when they lost a bowl game in Arizona to Central Florida three years ago. They're not so good now.
TEXAS BOWL _ Kansas State plus 2{ over Texas A&M
Not much question that A&M has better talent. But will it show up? I mean Aggies will be thrilled they aren't facing LSU again, but starting with Tennessee, Aggies gave up 38, 33, 35, 29 and 54 in their last five SEC games. K-State sneaks off with this one.
BELK BOWL _ Arkansas plus 7 over Virginia Tech
No team is harder to predict than the Hogs in the Age of Bielema. In between beating Ole Miss and Florida, they lost to Auburn by 53. But as long as no one on his staff is giving a playbook to the Hokies, now involved in the WAKEYLEAKS scandal, Razorbacks should cover this.
ALAMO BOWL _ Colorado minus 3 over Oklahoma State
As a pseudo-CU alum (OK, I took my first 27 hours there before transferring to a year at NorthPark Mall, then UT), it's a rare opportunity to see the Buffs in a bowl. Is Mike MacIntyre the next Les Miles? Passed through Valley Ranch as a low-profile Cowboys assistant but has it all going now as a head coach. Meanwhile, Mike Gundy keeps changing his hairstyle in hopes that T. Boone Pickens won't recognize him and will leave him alone.
LIBERTY BOWL _ Georgia even over TCU
If bowl games were all about teams reaching their peak, they would be so much easier to pick. That's especially true here. The best SEC team Georgia beat was Auburn, ranked No. 9 at the time and now in the Sugar Bowl. The best Big 12 teams that TCU beat were Texas and Baylor, both finishing 3-6 in the conference. KEY for TCU is health of QB Kenny Hill and his ability to avoid mistakes, which has been an issue all season.
ORANGE BOWL _ Florida State plus 7 over Michigan
Does Jim Harbaugh have his residence in Florida? He holds enough camps down there. Wolverines may prevail, but their slow-moving offense will keep this one close.
PEACH BOWL _ Washington plus 15 over Alabama
I really don't think the Crimson Tide has seen a QB like Jake Browning all season. And after about 20 minutes or maybe a half, it probably won't matter other than to keep this game right around the point spread before Alabama marches on to a title.
FIESTA BOWL _ Clemson plus 3 over Ohio State
When DeShaun Watson outplays J.T. Barrett and the Buckeyes are eliminated, there will be cries that this team that failed to reach the Big Ten title game didn't deserve to be here. More attention should be paid to Watson, the man who will lead Tigers to a second shot at Alabama in a championship game.
COTTON BOWL _ Wisconsin minus 9 over Western Michigan
In the most un-Cotton Bowl sounding matchup of all time, the Badgers will wear down the Broncos, but it will take time because this isn't the Big Ten's most explosive offense.
ROSE BOWL _ USC minus 7 over Penn State
Nittany Lions think they belong in playoff. And Colorado thinks it belongs here because it won the Pac-12 South, not the Trojans. Doesn't change the fact that between two hot Rose Bowl teams, USC is better. Look for KEY performance from WR JuJu Smith-Schuyler, who had three straight 100-yard receiving games in midseason and, yes, he has an exceptionally cool name.
SUGAR BOWL _ Auburn plus 3 over Oklahoma
Sooners coach Bob Stoops claims to have found religion on domestic violence, but he still can't bring himself to suspend RB Joe Mixon as an indication of a new approach in Norman. Sophomore Kerryon Johnson (KEY for short?) and a healthy Kamryn Pettway will find lots of running room against a Sooners defense that fell apart against the run in November.
