2015 College Football Bowl Picks: Armed Forces Bowl, TaxSlayer Bowl, Alamo Bowl and Cactus Bowl Odds and Predictions – Free College Football Picks 1/2/15: It is going to be hard for any slate of bowl games to follow up the first-ever college football playoff games, but while much of the discussion will turn to the national title matchup between Oregon and Ohio State, there are still some bowl games to played, starting with a four-game slate Friday.
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl: Houston Cougars vs. Pittsburgh Panthers
While the Armed Forces Bowl doesn’t rank too high on the prestige list as far as bowl games go, this year’s matchup is tough to predict. After all, both Houston and Pittsburgh have mediocre records, and both teams lost a majority of their games by small margins. The Cougars lost four games by eight points or fewer, and the Panthers lost four games by five points or fewer.
While both teams have been rather bland on the offensive side of the ball, the Panthers do have a workhorse back to turn to in James Conner. Conner won the ACC Player of the Year Award, and he has run for 1,675 yards for the15th-best ground attack in the country. Meanwhile, the Cougars have been hurt by the run on a few occasions, including in a loss to BYU when they allowed 323 rushing yards. It might not be pretty, but Pittsburgh will grind out a win.
Prediction: Pittsburgh Panthers (-3.5) Cover the Spread
TaxSlayer Bowl: Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Tennessee Volunteers
It is tough to find a notable win for either of these teams this season so a bowl victory would be big for either program. Iowa dodged powerhouses Ohio State and Michigan State from the Big Ten East, and they lost to the three teams that finished ahead of the in the West, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Minnesota. Meanwhile, Tennessee suffered five of its six losses to teams ranked in the top 20 at the time, including four losses to ranked SEC teams.
The X-factor in the matchup could be Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs. Since the dual-threat sophomore took over the reins of the offense, the Volunteers are 3-2 and are averaging 32.0 points. Dobbs has accounted for a combined 14 scores in those fives game, and Tennessee held its own in close losses to SEC division winners Alabama and Missouri. The boost that Dobbs has provided to the offense should allow the Volunteers to grab the win.
Prediction: Tennessee Volunteers (-3) Cover the Spread
Valero Alamo Bowl: No. 11 Kansas State Wildcats vs. No. 14 UCLA Bruins
It is the marquee matchup of the day between two teams that just couldn’t get over the hump and into the college football playoff mix. UCLA battled an inconsistent offense all year, and the Bruins blew a chance at making a major bowl when a loss to Stanford to end the year cost them the Pac-12 South title. The Wildcats, on the other hand, loss a close game to Auburn out of conference and just couldn’t hang with Big 12 co-champions TCU and Baylor.
UCLA has the best NFL prospect on the field in quarterback Brett Hundley, but Kansas State QB Jake Waters is a dual-threat weapon in his own right, even though he doesn’t have the NFL arm and body of Hundley. More importantly, the Wildcats have been more consistent on both sides of the ball throughout the year. Plain and simple, it is impossible to know which UCLA team is going to show up, and while the Bruins probably have more talent on the field, Kansas State has utilized its talent better for much of the year. I’m taking the Wildcats and the points.
Prediction: Kansas State Wildcats (+1.5) Cover the Spread
TicketCity Cactus Bowl: Washington Huskies vs. Oklahoma City Cowboys
Neither of these teams really lived up to expectations this season as both finished 4-5 in their respective conferences. Oklahoma State actually started 5-1 with their lone loss coming to Florida State in the season opener, but the Cowboys lost five straight after that before beating Oklahoma in the regular season finale. Washington, on the other hand, just couldn’t get over the hump against the better teams in the Pac-12, losing all five games to conference foes ranked in the top 25 at the time.
Lost in Washington’s somewhat disappointing season is the fact the Huskies had three defensive players named first-team All-Americans. Two-way player Shaq Thompson receives most of the headlines, but Danny Shelton and Hau’oil Kikaha also earned first-time honors. Washington’s talent on the defensive end should put the Huskies in great position to win against a young Oklahoma State team that has bounced between quarterbacks and ranks just 77th in the country in scoring and 103rd in rushing.
Prediction: Washington Huskies (-6) Cover the Spread
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