It has been a strange Bowl Season thus far, with many games being canceled due to COVID19, but we are finally approaching the meat of the bowl schedule. Many major matchups are on the horizon before we finally reach the College Football Playoff Semifinals on New Year’s Day. Below are a few picks for this week’s biggest matchups, including a heavyweight matchup in a New Year’s Six bowl.
Last Week’s College Football Picks: 2-2
21 Oklahoma State vs. 17 Miami (-1)
Today’s biggest matchup takes place in the Cheez-It Bowl when both Oklahoma State and Miami look to shake off rough ends to the season to end the year on a high note. In a reversal from normal years, Oklahoma State has ridden their defense to a 7-3 season while the offense, which was supposed to be explosive, stumbled for a bulk of the year. A Miami defense that is reeling after giving up 61 points in a loss to UNC might just be the perfect medicine for Spencer Sanders and co. to get back on track. The Hurricanes, meanwhile, were given a boost with the news that D’Eriq King will shockingly return for another season in 2021 after many assumed he would make the jump to the NFL. However, Miami’s hot and cold defense will be without its top two stars as Quincy Roche and Jaelan Phillips have both opted out of the game. Expect Oklahoma State to take advantage and do just enough on defense to come away with a victory.
The Pick: Oklahoma State +1
7 Florida (-3) vs. 6 Oklahoma
The Cotton Bowl might just be the most exciting matchup of any bowl, playoffs included. Two high flying offenses. Two below-average defenses. It should be a shootout in Texas between the Gators and the Sooners, and some Florida players have even thrown gas on the fire with linebacker James Houston saying, “Oklahoma is a good matchup, but they’re not on our level. They’re not the SEC. They’re not the Florida Gators. So we should put on a good show.” Enter the Big 12 Champion Sooners, who are playing their best football of the season heading into this one. They are coming off a surprisingly solid defensive effort in a win over Iowa State, but Florida’s offense is an entirely different animal. If Alabama couldn’t even remotely slow down Kyle Trask, don’t expect the Sooners to either. Spencer Rattler has been prone to making a few mistakes this season, and it might just take one turnover to make this too high a mountain to climb for the Sooners.
The Pick: Florida -3
Arkansas vs. TCU (-4.5)
One of the more intriguing matchups of bowl season takes place on Thursday in the Texas Bowl. Arkansas enters this game at 3-7 and reeling after four straight defeats, while TCU comes in hot at 6-4 and winners of three in a row. All signs point to TCU winning this one easily, right? I am not so sure. Arkansas has played incredibly hard this season for new head coach Sean Pittman, and the opportunity for them to play in primetime on ESPN against a strong Big 12 team should have them juiced up to make a statement heading into 2021. This program is no longer a pushover, so the Horned Frogs should tread carefully. For TCU, QB Max Duggan has been playing excellent football lately, and high dual-threat ability will pose a major problem for Barry Odom’s Razorback defense. There might be more points than expected in this one, and Arkansas will stick around longer than most think, but Duggan and the TCU offense should have just enough to keep them at arm’s length.
The Pick: TCU -4.5 & Over 56.5
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