College football’s annual extravaganza of bowl games is about to crest on New Year’s weekend. There were 40-some bowls this year, with more than 80 teams, and this weekend the 2016 heavy hitters will collide.
That list, of course, includes the national semifinal games between college football’s version of the final four: Alabama, Washington, Ohio State and Clemson.
Before we discuss them, though, let’s take a look at some of the other intriguing matchups.
LIBERTY BOWL
Georgia (7-6) vs. TCU (6-6)
Friday, Dec. 30, noon
It’s safe to say that neither of these teams achieved what they were hoping for this season, especially Georgia which was looking to build on last season’s TaxSlayer Bowl win over Penn State.
The Bulldogs should still have enough in this one, even though they did not play very well down the stretch.
SUN BOWL
North Carolina (8-4) vs. Stanford (9-3)
Friday, Dec. 30, 2 p.m.
All bets are off here since Christian McCaffrey is skipping the game to get ready for the pro draft.
North Carolina can put up points, and now Stanford’s offense is in question, so the advantage goes to the Tar Heels.
MUSIC CITY BOWL
Nebraska (9-3) vs. Tennessee (8-4)
Friday, Dec. 30, 3:30 p.m.
Nebraska was in play for everything for most of the season, then lost big games down the stretch and finished 9-3. This game will be all about SEC and Big Ten pride, and Nebraska still has enough on defense to slow down Josh Dobbs and the Vols.
ARIZONA BOWL
Air Force (9-3) vs. South Alabama (6-6)
Friday, Dec. 30, 5:30 p.m.
This game looks like a mismatch on paper, and probably is in reality. Air Force could win big.
ORANGE BOWL
Florida State (9-3) vs. Michigan (10-2)
Friday, Dec. 30, 8 p.m.
Michigan is two extremely close calls away from being in the final four. But here it is in the Orange Bowl, and the Wolverines will have their hands full with FSU’s athletic ability and explosiveness.
The Wolverines will be motivated to prove they belonged, and they will use a big play on defense to edge the Seminoles.
TAXSLAYER BOWL
Georgia Tech (8-4) vs. Kentucky (7-5)
Saturday, Dec. 31, 11 a.m.
You’ll have to get up early to see Tech run the triple option — one of the few teams, besides Army and Navy, to use it.
It’s tough on teams not used to seeing it, and that will give the Yellow Jackets a big edge in this game.
CITRUS BOWL
Louisville (9-3) vs. LSU (7-4)
Saturday, Dec. 31, 11 a.m.
LSU running back Leonard Fournette is another player skipping his bowl game to prepare for the draft, which will put even more pressure on the LSU defense to stop Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson.
The Tigers will probably not be able to put up enough points to keep up.
OUTBACK BOWL
Florida (8-4) vs. Iowa (8-4)
Monday, Jan. 2, 1 p.m.
Iowa took on and beat Michigan after being blown out at Penn State. Much will depend here on which of those two Iowa teams shows up, but it might not matter if the Hawkeyes can’t run against Florida.
If they can, and don’t make any costly errors, this could be a big win over the SEC East champs.
COTTON BOWL
Western Michigan (13-0) vs. Wisconsin (10-3)
Monday, Jan. 2, 1 p.m.
This game boils down to football basics. If Western Michigan can hold on physically against Wisconsin, the Broncos will be right there to win the game.
If not, and the Badgers can establish their running game consistently, Wisconsin will pull away in the second half.
ROSE BOWL
Penn State (10-2) vs. USC (9-3)
Monday, Jan. 2, 5 p.m.
USC will start fast in this game, but the question is, can the Trojans get far enough ahead to hold off the Nittany Lions?
If Penn State can still pull off long plays against the USC defense, the answer to that is no.
SUGAR BOWL
Auburn (8-4) vs. Oklahoma (10-2)
Monday, Jan. 2, 8:30 p.m.
The Big 12 champs can light up the scoreboard (two Heisman candidates on offense — Baker Mayfield and Dede Westbrook), and Auburn is trying to regroup after some injuries.
Oklahoma looks strong enough to prevail in a close one.
The Peach Bowl, at 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 31, and the Fiesta Bowl, at 7 p.m. the same day, are the sites for the national semifinal games.
In the Peach Bowl, Alabama will take on Washington, and although it will not be a bigtime blowout, ’Bama will roll.
Ohio State and Clemson will matchup in the Fiesta Bowl in a game that should be full of fireworks.
But it doesn’t seem like Ohio State has a good enough passing game to keep up with Clemson. Yes, the Buckeyes’ defense has six pick-6s this season, but this could come down to the final possession and J.T. Barrett’s arm. If that happens, advantage Clemson.
