The inaugural College Football Playoff is almost here. But, before we get there, there will be four other phenomenal bowl games played. I’ll preview the two National Semifinal games separately, but before I do, I’ll preview the other four New Year’s Six bowl games in this space. Please don’t overlook these games due to excitement over the two marquee College Football Playoff games. You’ll be sorry if you do.
LWOS Bowl Preview: New Year’s Six Games
Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, 12:30 p.m., December 31st, ESPN:
Mississippi vs. TCU
If you consider yourself a big-time fan of college football DO NOT miss this game. This contest may be the best of all of the bowl games played this postseason. Either—or both—of these teams could easily have been in the CFP and playing for a national championship this season.
Ole Miss is the only team in the nation to outscore #1 Alabama during the 2014 season. The Land Shark defense has been very prolific, and should be ready to play in this game. Their challenge: Trevone Boykin, who finished 4th in the voting for the 2014 Heisman Trophy. This kid is a WR-turned-QB whose development better compares to Ryan Tannehill’s than Devin Gardner’s. He is a legitimate, top-level FBS signal-caller, and his versatility will be difficult for Ole Miss to handle.
On the other side, Bo Wallace seeks to cement his legacy as the best non-Manning QB in Ole Miss history. A win on a big stage in this game should do just that. Rebel fans are wondering if they’ll get “Good Bo” or “Bad Bo”. I expect the former to show up in the Georgia Dome. Wallace should play well in this game.
What to look for: TCU’s motivation. The Horned Frogs may feel that they got jobbed, after being dropped from #3 to #6 by the CFP Committee, after a win in their final regular season game. They have a point. I expect Gary Patterson to have them ready to play, and I expect Boykin and his weapons to outpoint Ole Miss in a classic bowl game that will be discussed for years to come.
Vizio Fiesta Bowl, 4:00 pm, December 31st, ESPN:
Boise State vs. Arizona
This game features two of the most surprising teams in all of college football in 2014. Boise State has a legacy of greatness, but figured to regress after losing Chris Petersen to Washington in the offseason. That didn’t happen. Bryan Harsin has done a great job in his first year at the helm, and earned a Mountain West championship and the Group of Six bowl bid.
PAC-12 Coach of the Year Rich Rodriguez led Arizona to the PAC-12 South title this season, knocking off the 2nd ranked team in the nation on its home field in the process. The Wildcats have been a revelation, behind dynamic RS Freshman QB Anu Solomon, who had some unbelievable moments during his 2014 campaign, most notably that game-winning Hail Mary against Cal early in the season.
What to look for: Boise State has made a living off of major bowl game upsets through the years, with innovative game-planning and crunch-time play calls. This year, though, they face an ascendant Arizona team, not a team disappointed to not be playing in an even bigger game, a la Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. Look for Arizona’s bulk in the trenches to be too much for Boise State to overcome, and for Chuck Bednarik Award winner Scooby Wright to cause all kinds of problems for the Broncos’ skill personnel. Beardown should win this one fairly comfortably.
Capital One Orange Bowl, 8:00 pm, December 31st, ESPN:
Mississippi State vs. Georgia Tech
Dak Prescott and the Bulldogs get to face an altogether different kind of challenge in Paul Johnson’s Rambling Wreck. Count MSSU among the teams whose season concluded in a somewhat disappointing fashion. That said, this was still among the best seasons in program history.
Georgia Tech is another of those over-achieving teams this year, who has the added benefit of being extremely difficult to prepare for, because of the unique and difficult style of offensive play that it employs. QB Justin Thomas is small, but tough, and extremely proficient within that scheme. Thomas has rushed for more than 700 yards this season, and triggers the attack, which averages more than 330 yards per game. He will be without his leading receiver, DeAndre Smelter, which is a tough loss, even for such a run-heavy attack.
Mississippi State reached the top spot in the national polls for the first time ever this year, but could handle neither Alabama nor in-state rival Ole Miss on the road late in the season. That said, anyone who doesn’t believe that Dan Mullen’s squad is one of the best in the nation this year hasn’t watched them play. For some perspective on what the team is capable of, ask one of the three top 10 teams that the Bulldogs beat in successive weekends during the middle of the season.
What to look for: Georgia Tech is a very difficult team to play when they are able to stay even or play from ahead throughout a game. Expect Mississippi State not to let that happen. The extra preparation time should be enough for the Bulldog defense to slow GT down early, and Prescott won’t shy away from his chance to play one last 2014 game on the big stage. MSSU should get ahead early in this one, and stay there.
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, 12:30 pm, January 1st, ESPN:
Michigan State vs. Baylor
If styles make fights, this one should be a humdinger. Old school, smashmouth football versus the epitome of the new style of spread-em-out, fast-break football. These two teams each finished in the Top 10 during 2014, but got there in totally different ways.
Michigan State suffered a disappointing loss early in the season on the road at Oregon, but rebounded to play very well thereafter. Only a red-hot J.T. Barrett and Ohio State kept Sparty from a chance to play in its 2nd consecutive B1G Championship Game. Mark Dantonio’s biggest worry in this game might just be the focus of his defensive coordinator, Pat Narduzzi, who is the new head man at Pitt.
Baylor, on the other hand, may have the biggest beef of any team not to make the 2014 Final Four in college football. The Bears dropped just one game this season, on the road, and also handed TCU it’s only loss during the 2014 campaign. Bryce Petty had a solid season, despite some fairly serious injury problems, and the defense played better than in past years (with the exception of that win over TCU, when it was atrocious. To be fair, Trevone Boykin and company did that to a lot of defenses.). Still, Baylor was the first team out this season, ostensibly because of its atrocious out-of-conference scheduling. Expect that to be rectified in the future.
What to look for: Baylor’s motivation—and Pat Narduzzi’s motivation. This game is probably the least predictable of the New Year’s Six bowls, because each team is so good at what it does best. The bet in this column is that Connor Cook and the Spartan offense fares better against the Baylor defense than Bryce Petty and company do against the MSU D. Sparty rallies around Coach Narduzzi one last time, and prevails at AT&T Stadium, albeit not in the postseason game it hoped it would play in.
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