December 22, 2016 v3 p70
For the top teams that didn’t make it into the playoffs there is still a great reward. There are six bowl games that still hold prestige, and two are actually played as the semi-finals. Here’s my preview of those six games.
orangebowldotorg
Capital One Orange Bowl – No. 6 Michigan vs No 11 Florida State – Michigan makes its first return to a New Year’s six game for the first time since appearing in the Sugar Bowl in 2011. Florida State appears for the first time since suffering a blowout loss against Oregon in the Rose Bowl in 2015 as a semifinalist in the playoffs. Michigan will bring their stout defense and a steady offense to face a Florida State team that was predicted to finish atop the ACC, where they struggled against opponents with strong defenses.
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl – No. 4 Washington vs No. 1 Alabama – Alabama is making their third straight appearance in the playoffs, the only team to be able to boast that feat. Washington will represent the PAC 12 Conference in the playoffs after securing a spot by blowing out Colorado in the conference championship game. This should be the first game that Washington has where they aren’t the odds on favorite, and what better way to evaluate how good your team, and conference, really is than by going against the best.
Playstation Fiesta Bowl – No. 3 Ohio State vs No. 2 Clemson – The Buckeyes make their second appearance in the playoffs three year history, Clemson is doing the same, but their appearances are back-to-back. Clemson is the conference champion from the ACC, and Ohio State didn’t even appear in the B1G title game. That speaks to the strength of the B1G Conference and how the committee viewed the ACC, in what should be the better of the two semi-final matchups.
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic – No. 15 Western Michigan vs No. 8 Wisconsin – PJ Fleck put a sign up in the Broncos locker room last January listing the date of the 2016 Cotton Bowl, the game the best Group of Five teams would go. It proved to be enough motivation for them to row the boat all the way to Dallas behind an undefeated regular season. Wisconsin was favored to win this game, as they should be, but if they slip Western will be 3-0 against the B1G West division this season.
thespundotcom
Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual – No. 9 USC vs No. 5 Penn St – Despite winning the conference the Nittany Lions didn’t make it in to the playoffs. The Trojans finished their season strong by winning their final eight games after stumbling to a 1-3 start. This traditional Rose Bowl matchup should be the best bowl game of the six.
Allstate Sugar Bowl – No. 14 Auburn vs. No. 7 Oklahoma – A matchup between a team that was ranked in the top three at the beginning of the year and a team that wasn’t even ranked doesn’t really sound too exciting. Oklahoma had a tough schedule early, but were able to finish out their season by going undefeated in the Big 12. Auburn worked their way up through the rankings to earn an appearance as the SEC representative in the Sugar bowl, where they may be able to prove why the Big 12 is considered the weakest conference in the nation.
The first matchup starts on Friday night at 8 pm with the Orange bowl, there will be nothing on my TV but football for four straight days. Be sure to check back after the holidays as I recap what happened and preview the championship game.
The Sporting Dad 