Welcome to Bowl Prediction Central, high above downtown Indianapolis, where no obstacle stands in the way of instant postseason picks.
The transfer portal is opening, the coaching carousel will continue well into January and the NFL draft in the spring looms for promising players. But all that matters is that the bowl matchups are set — all 42 of them — including the final four-team College Football Playoff field and the New Year’s Six.
The objective here is to take the known information about the teams, estimate their personnel and coaching landscape as best as possible, assess game location, motivation and other factors and spit out predictions hours after the pairings are set.
Crazy? Perhaps. Prophetic? Hope so (but don’t bet your life savings on it). Fun? Undeniably
While there were some major misses in last year’s predictions (let’s not even discuss the New Year’s Six forecast), there were also a few correct score predictions. There’s a fresh set of bowls to perform better now. Let me be clear: these are straight up selections, not spread bets.
Two great CFP semifinals, along with noteworthy New Year’s Six matchups like Georgia-Florida State and Ohio State-Missouri, are scheduled following a contentious Selection Day. Other noteworthy bowl games are Oregon State vs. Notre Dame in El Paso, Arizona vs. Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl, and Kansas State vs. NC State in the storied Pop-Tarts Bowl. The next six weeks are going to be a ton of fun. Alright, now for the forecasts.
Get your bowl ready!
I was in the room when Michigan found out it would play Alabama in a CFP semifinal instead of Florida State, and the response seemed to indicate the Wolverines didn’t want to play Alabama. Alabama’s dominance over then-No. 1 Georgia in the SEC championship game demonstrated that they are a flawed but developing team. One of the best quarterbacks in the country, Jalen Milroe, will attack downfield against a Michigan secondary that is led by Mike Sainristil, a player who is known for producing touchdowns.
It is impossible to overlook the difference between the two teams’ postseason performances. Nick Saban of Alabama is 9-4 in CFP games and has won seven national championships. Jim Harbaugh of Michigan has gone 1-6 in bowl games and 0-2 in the CFP, but he has performed significantly better in the Big Ten than on the national scene, much like his college coach Bo Schembechler. The Tide advance to the national championship game behind a strong fourth-quarter lead from Milroe.
