2014 College Football Bowl Picks: Gator Bowl, Heart of Dallas Bowl, Outback Bowl and Capital One Bowl Odds and Predictions – Free College Football Picks 1/1/2014: Is there a better way to usher in a new year than with a full slate of college football games? Bowl season is already in full swing, and New Year’s Day is the busiest day of them all. Six games are on the slate, including the first two BCS bowls. However, before the Rose Bowl and Fiesta Bowl kickoff, there are for other games on the schedule with four ranked teams set to be in action. With that in mind, here is a closer look at the four early New Year’s Day bowl games.
TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl: Nebraska Cornhuskers (8-4, 5-3 Big Ten) vs. No. 22 Georgia Bulldogs (8-4, 5-3 SEC)
These two teams will meet in a bowl game for the second year in a row, but this time around, both teams will be without their star quarterbacks. Georgia lost Aaron Murray to a knee injury late in the year while Nebraska’s Taylor Martinez has battled a variety of injuries. As a result, the game will likely become a battle between Bulldogs’ back Todd Gurley and Cornhuskers back Ameer Abdullah and how well each team’s defense stops the opposing feature back. With that in mind, Georgia should be able to take control of this game. After all, the Bulldogs rank in the top 20 nationally in points per game, and even without Murray, they have been able to put points on the board at a solid rate. Nebraska on the other hand has struggled on offense recently, failing to reach 30 points in its last six games. Neither defense has been great this season so Gurley and company should have no trouble putting enough points on the board to run by the Cornhuskers.
Prediction: Georgia Bulldogs (-9) Cover the Spread
Heart of Dallas Bowl: UNLV Rebels (7-5, 5-3 MWC) vs. North Texas Mean Green (8-4, 6-2 C-USA)
A pair of non-BCS conference teams will get to show their stuff on New Year’s Day in this matchup, and while UNLV has gone 12 years without playing in a bowl game, North Texas will be in the postseason for the first time in a decade. Both sides are fairly balanced on offense, while the Mean Green rank 51st in scoring, the Rebels rank 53rd. Although both teams have been able to put points on the board at a reasonable clip, the difference between them comes on the defensive side of the ball. UNLV has struggled all year to slow down opponents, allowing 31.5 points per game. On the flip side, North Texas is allowing just 18.1 points per game and ranks in the top 10 nationally in points allowed. Their balance on both sides of the ball should give the Mean Green the edge in this matchup.
Prediction: North Texas Mean Green (-6 ½) Cover the Spread
Outback Bowl: Iowa Hawkeyes (8-4, 5-3 Big Ten) vs. No. 16 LSU Tigers (9-3, 5-3 SEC)
On paper, the Tigers seem like the obvious favorite in this matchup. After LSU has had one of the most balanced offenses all year, featuring a 1,000-yard back in Jeremy Hill and a pair of 1,000-yard receivers in Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham. Meanwhile, the Hawkeyes have been forced to rely largely on their defense that ranks just 75th in scoring. However, LSU lost quarterback Zach Mettenberger and his NFL-caliber arm to a knee injury prior to the regular season finale, forcing freshman Anthony Jennings under center. Without Mettenberger, the Tigers were forced to squeak out a four-point win against an Arkansas team that failed to win a single SEC game all year. With Jennings under center, LSU has reverted to the run-first team of recent years, and a battle in the trenches is what Iowa is built for. The Hawkeyes have a top-20 run defense, and while they probably wouldn’t have a shot at keeping pace with a healthy LSU bunch, they should be able to hang tough with a Tigers’ team missing its starting QB.
Prediction: Iowa Hawkeyes (+8) Cover the Spread
Capital One Bowl: No. 19 Wisconsin Badgers (9-3, 6-2 Big Ten) vs. No. 9 South Carolina (10-2, 6-2 SEC)
In many ways, Wisconsin and South Carolina are mirror images of each other. Both sides rely heavily on their power running games with the Badgers bringing a pair of 1,000-yard backs to the table in James White and Melvin Gordon and the Gamecocks using workhorse back Mike Davis and dual-threat quarterback Connor Shaw. Both sides also have top-15 defenses, and while Wisconsin has a great group of linebackers, South Carolina has a stout defensive line that features the highly-touted (and highly-ticketed for speeding) Jadeveon Clowney. Joking aside, South Carolina’s defense will likely be the deciding factor in this matchup. While the Badgers gave up more than 30 points to the two best offenses they faced in Arizona State and Ohio State, the Gamecocks held the high-powered offense of Clemson to just 17 points and held Missouri to just 24 points in double overtime. South Carolina has the muscle in the trenches to slow Wisconsin’s ground attack, and that is bad news for the Badgers.
Prediction: South Carolina Gamecocks (+1 ½) Cover the Spread
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