Here comes the bowl season loaded with a whopping 41 games to keep us all busy with the college football postseason. Before we get ahead of ourselves and dive deep into each and every bowl game, let’s take a look at the five interesting matchups on Saturday for starters. Read on as we take a look at what the experts have to say about these games.
If you want to look ahead farther into the wild bowl season, then take a look at our complete predictions and preview as well as the experts’ projections for all 41 matchups.
[sc:NCAAFArticles ]Bowl Season Projections for December 19
ESPN
| Bowl | Adam Rittenberg | Mark Schlabach |
|---|---|---|
| New Mexico Bowl – Arizona vs New Mexico | Arizona, 31-30 | Arizona, 37-28 |
| Las Vegas Bowl – BYU vs Utah | Utah, 20-17 | Utah, 28-27 |
| Camellia Bowl – Ohio vs Appalachian State | Appalachian St, 34-27 | Appalachian St, 24-20 |
| Cure Bowl – Georgia State vs San Jose State | Georgia St, 38-27 | Georgia St, 35-27 |
| New Orleans Bowl – Arkansas State vs Louisiana Tech | Arkansas St, 44-41 | Arkansas St, 41-38 |
ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg and Mark Schlabach have differing views when it comes to the New Mexico and Camellia Bowls. But they both agree that the Las Vegas, Cure and New Orleans Bowls should go down the wire in very close games.
[sc:NCAA240banner ]Rittenberg and Schlaback believe that there’s a player in each team to keep an eye on in the Las Vegas Bowl’s Holy War matchup between BYU and Utah. Rittenberg believes that Utah linebacker Gionni Paul, who leads his team with 109 tackles, should solidify Utah’s defense in a win. Schlabach notes that BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum is a star to watch with 3,062 yards with 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions in his freshman campaign.
The two also agree that Georgia State wins a dominant game against San Jose State in the Cure Bowl. Georgia State quarterback Nick Arbuckle should be dominant in this matchup after throwing for over 4,000 yards in the regular season. Arbuckle only needs 95 yards to break the Sun Belt Conference’s single-season passing record.
ESPN’s two experts also made similar projections for the New Orleans Bowl matchup between Arkansas State and Louisiana Tech. Arkansas State quarterback Fredi Knighten should provide a spark in offense after directing his team to three-straight games with over 50-points. Louisiana Tech quarterback Jeff Driskel would then oblige in a shootout after throwing for 3,575 yards and 24 touchdowns in the regular season. Both Rittenberg and Schlabach have Arkansas State winning, 44-41 and 41-38 respectively.
SB Nation
| Bowl | Matt Brown | Wescott Eberts | Steven Godfrey | Jason Kirk | Peter Volk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona vs New Mexico |
New Mexico | Arizona | Arizona | New Mexico | New Mexico |
| BYU vs Utah | Utah | Utah | Utah | BYU | Utah |
| Ohio vs Appalachian St |
Appalachian State |
Ohio | Appalachian State |
Appalachian State |
Appalachian State |
| Georgia St vs San Jose St |
Georgia State |
SJSU | SJSU | Georgia State |
Georgia State |
| Arkansas St vs Louisiana Tech |
Arkansas State |
Arkansas State |
Arkansas State |
La Tech | La Tech |
The panel of five experts over at SB Nation does not have a unanimous decision when it comes to picking Saturday’s bowl games. But they do come close with the Las Vegas and Camellia Bowls. Four of the five experts picked Utah to win their Holy War matchup against BYU, while four of five also picked Appalachian State to win the Camellia Bowl against Ohio.
BYU will pin their hopes of winning the Holy War on freshman quarterback Tanner Mangum. He’s gotten better as the season progressed en route to throwing for a season-high four touchdowns in the Cougars’ regular season finale. But Mangum may struggle against a tight Utah passing defense, which has 19 interceptions this season (seventh-most in the nation).
What could give the Utes the victory in this game in their rushing offense. While Devontae Booker cannot suit up due to an injured knee, running back Joe Williams is there to save the day. Williams was solid in his two starts this season, rushing for 308 yards and a score on 60 carries.
Quarterback play is crucial in football. That statement will be put to the test when the Ohio Bobcats and Appalachian State Mountaineers meet in Saturday’s Camellia Bowl. The Bobcats face uncertainty at quarterback with starter Derrius Vick battling ankle injuries throughout the season. His replacement J.D. Sprague is also injured, dealing with shoulder issues as well as a bad concussion.
Appalachian State’s quarterback situation is a complete opposite to Ohio’s. Taylor Lamb has been solid this season, throwing for 2,200 yards and 29 touchdowns en route to winning the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year award.
Bleacher Report
| Bowl | Michael Felder | Barrett Sallee | Adam Kramer | Ben Kercheval | Greg Couch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona vs New Mexico |
Arizona | Arizona | Arizona | New Mexico | Arizona |
| BYU vs Utah | Utah | Utah | BYU | BYU | BYU |
| Ohio vs Appalachian St |
Appalachian State |
Appalachian State |
Appalachian State |
Appalachian State |
Appalachian State |
| Georgia St vs San Jose St |
SJSU | SJSU | SJSU | Georgia State | SJSU |
| Arkansas St vs Louisiana Tech |
Arkansas State |
La Tech | Arkansas State |
La Tech | Arkansas State |
The five experts from Bleacher Report are unanimously picking Appalachian State to win the Camellia Bowl against the Ohio Bobcats. The Mountaineers hold the advantage in starting quarterback with Sun Belt Freshman of the Year Taylor Lamb taking snaps under center. Lamb has thrown for 2,200 yards and 29 touchdowns this season.
The Mountaineers will have quite a challenge, though, against Ohio’s solid defense. The Bobcats are 55th in the nation, allowing 216.6 yards passing per game. They have allowed just 15 touchdowns all season long, while interception 11 passes. Having some playmakers in the defense should help Ohio keep Appalachian State quarterback, Lamb, in check. Still a freshman, Lamb may be susceptible to mistakes in a pressure-filled bowl game this late into the season.
Bleacher Report’s experts are also pretty high on San Jose State to win the Cure Bowl against Georgia Southern. The Spartans are led by running back Tyler Ervin, who ranks 11th in the nation in both carries (264) and rushing yards (1,469). Ervin has 13 scoring runs this season. But the San Jose State running back has a tough matchup ahead of him.
The Panthers limited Georgia Southern, the best rushing offense in the nation, to just 135 yards on the ground in their regular season finale. That’s almost 100 yards under Georgia Southern’s season average of 220 yards rushing per game. But if Ervin can’t run the ball efficiently, San Jose State still has quarterback Kenny Potter to turn to the offense.
The Spartans ranked second in the Mountain West in passing yards (232.8 per game) and passer rating (143.2) with Potter as their starting quarterback.
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