Your gifts should be unwrapped by now, and here’s hope your Christmas was Merry and full of good cheer and you remembered the real reason for the season.
I’m back, so settle in with some left-over eggnog, and 2024’s bowl games, leading up to the College Football Playoff Quarterfinals next week.
These are my picks and I know I’m pretty good at this, but please don’t put any of your hard-earned spending money or savings on any of my predictions. This is for fun only.
Friday’s games
Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth: Oklahoma (6-6) vs. Navy (9-3), noon Eastern / 11 a.m. Central, ESPN: Who saw this coming, probably not Brent Venables. This will be the Sooners first appearance in the Armed Forces Bowl, and their first game against a service academy, while Navy is seeking just its sixth 10or more-win season.
Oklahoma will be without two of its defensive stalwarts as Danny Stutsman and Billy Bowman have opted out to prepare for the upcoming NFL Draft and several other recognizable players have opted into the transfer portal.
These are a couple of drawbacks to bowl games like every year in the recent past. The transfer portal and the NFL draft. My pick: Navy.
Birmingham Bowl: Georgia Tech (7-5) vs. Vanderbilt (6-6), 3:30 p.m. Eastern / 2:30 Central: Two teams with surprising seasons meet at Protective Stadium. The Yellow Jackets were picked to finish ninth in the ACC pre-season poll, but finished sixth and ended their season by falling to Georgia in eight overtimes. The opposing Commodores nearly upset Texas on the road in a season where they shocked everyone with an upset win over yes … Alabama. My Pick: Georgia Tech with the very-good Haynes King at quarterback.
AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis: Texas Tech (8-4) vs. Arkansas (6-6), 7 p.m. Eastern / 6 Central: This pits a pair of former conference rivals against each other in the old Southwest Conference for 35 straight seasons, but this will be their first meeting since 2015. This pulls on my heartstrings as I grew up watching and listening to SWC games every Saturday of the fall. Arkansas is searching for its second winning season since 2017, and the Razorbacks have won five of their last six bowl game appearances. Meanwhile, the Red Raiders are aiming for their first nine-win season since 2009. Should be a fun game. My Pick: Call those Hogs, baby.
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl: Texas A&M (8-4) vs. Southern California (6-6), 10:30 p.m. Eastern / 9:30 Central: A&M looks to end coach Mike Elko’s inaugural season on a high note amid losing three out of its final four games. The Aggies have a chance to win nine games for the first time since the memorable 2020 season. The Trojans have been ravaged by the transfer portal, and are coming into today’s late-night matchup with a very depleted roster. The Aggies have lost some players, also, but QB Marcell Reed will play as will running back Reuben Owens of El Campo, although he isn’t completely recovered from an injury earlier this season. I love the Trojans’ fight song, but MY Pick: Texas A&M
Saturday’s games
The Isleta New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque: TCU (8-4) vs. Louisiana (10-3), 2:15 / 1:15, ESPN: The Horned Frogs are a double-digit pick against the Sun Belt runner-up Ragin’ Cajuns. Double-digit picks, to be honest, sometimes make me nervous. Bunch of players from both sides have “reportedly” opted out here. This marks the first postseason for TCU since their 2022 National Championship Game appearance. A victory would give TCU its first season with nine wins since going 9-2 under head coach Abe Martin in 1955.
The Horned Frogs and Ragin’ Cajuns will be meeting on the gridiron for the first time. My Pick: TCU.
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La. Louisiana Tech (5-7) vs. Army (11-2), 9:15 / 8:15, ESPN: This marks the third meeting between the Black Knights and Bulldogs. It’s a series which Army leads 2-0. It will also wrap up a season in which Army won its first conference title in program history, ended the regular season in the AP Top 25 and the College Football Playoff Top 25 and saw quarterback Bryson Daily finish in the Top 10 in Heisman Trophy voting. This is a gift game for the Bulldogs, after Marshall dropped out as its coach departed as did a bunch of its players to the (Yeah, you guessed right) the transfer portal. La. Tech has played here numerous times and Army is making its first appearance since a 1996 loss to Auburn. My Pick: The Black Knights
Valero Alamo Bowl in San Antonio: BYU (10-2) vs. Colorado (9-3), 7:30 / 6:30, ABC: These two teams have not met since 1988. That meeting was a BYU win in a bowl game in Anaheim. This is the first meeting between the two teams as Big 12 opponents, and they are meeting in this bowl game with the bowls still having their old tie-ins, so BYU is the Big 12 representative, while Colorado is the Pac-12 representative. BYU can score a lot of points, so this could be a high-scoring contest. For me, I looking forward to seeing Deion’s boys: Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders, safety Shilo Sanders and this year’s two-way Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter in their final collegiate games for their dad. My pick: the Buffaloes.
Follow Joe Hale @etblitz.com or here on thefootballbeat.com
