2014 Season Bowl Game Predictions

The 2014 season has come to an end and it is time for the bowl games to take over ESPN and give us something to watch besides Christmas movies for an entire month. This year is a very monumental year because it marks the beginning of the College Football Playoffs. There are some really great bowl games this year, but the world will be paying the most attention to the playoffs themselves. The four teams that will playing for the National Championship are Alabama, Oregon, Florida State, and Ohio State. I am very excited about the playoffs even though I don't have a team that I am rooting for.

I tried to do something different this year by breaking up the bowl game predictions by posting them as they happen from day to day. This is very time consuming and with the holidays looming around it doesn't leave me very much time to spread out my writing. Instead of trying to do something different I am going to go back to way I have one it before. I shouldn't try to fix something that isn't broke. I am going to go ahead and post my predictions that I already posted, so if you see games on here that have already happened that is why. I will do a separate prediction for the National Championship game. Here are my predictions for the 2014 bowl season.

New Orleans Bowl
Nevada vs Louisiana Lafayette
Nevada wins 25-24

New Mexico Bowl
Utah State vs UTEP
Utah State wins 21-14

Las Vegas Bowl
Utah vs Colorado State
Colorado State wins 30-21

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Western Michigan vs Air Force
Western Michigan wins 29-25

Camellia Bowl
South Alabama vs Bowling Green
South Alabama wins 16-15

Miami Beach Bowl
BYU vs Memphis
Memphis wins 29-22

Boca Raton Bowl
Marshall vs Northern Illinois
Marshall wins 39-23

Poinsettia Bowl
Navy vs San Diego State
San Diego State wins 20-19

Bahamas Bowl
Central Michigan vs Western Kentucky
Western Kentucky wins 38-35

Hawaii Bowl
Fresno State vs Rice
Rice wins 23-20

Heart of Dallas Bowl
Illinois vs Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech wins 32-12

Quick Lane Bowl
Rutgers vs North Carolina
North Carolina wins 28-27

St. Petersburg Bowl
North Carolina State vs Central Florida
Central Florida wins 22-14

Military Bowl
Cincinnati vs Virginia Tech
Cincinnati wins 29-23

Sun Bowl
Arizona State vs Duke
Duke wins 27-24

Independence Bowl
Miami (FL) vs South Carolina
Miami (FL) wins 24-20

Pinstripe Bowl
Boston College vs Penn State
Boston College wins 20-17

Holiday Bowl
Nebraska vs USC
Nebraska wins 31-30

Liberty Bowl
Texas A&M vs West Virginia
Texas A&M wins 28-27

Russell Athletic Bowl
Oklahoma vs Clemson
Oklahoma wins 33-31

Texas Bowl
Arkansas vs Texas
Arkansas wins 26-14

Music City Bowl
Notre Dame vs LSU
LSU wins 22-14

Belk Bowl
Georgia vs Louisville
Georgia wins 36-28

Foster Farms Bowl
Maryland vs Stanford
Stanford wins 20-10

Peach Bowl
Ole Miss vs TCU
TCU wins 41-31

Fiesta Bowl
Boise State vs Arizona
Boise State wins 34-28

Orange Bowl
Mississippi State vs Georgia Tech
Mississippi State wins 31-28

Outback Bowl
Auburn vs Wisconsin
Wisconsin wins 29-24

Cotton Bowl
Michigan State vs Baylor
Baylor wins 43-42

Citrus Bowl
Missouri vs Minnesota
Missouri wins 21-20

Rose Bowl
Oregon vs Florida State
Oregon wins 40-28

Sugar Bowl
Alabama vs Ohio State
Ohio State wins 39-35

Armed Forces Bowl
Houston vs Pittsburgh
Houston wins 23-19

Taxslayer Bowl
Iowa vs Tennessee
Iowa wins 22-21

Alamo Bowl
Kansas State vs UCLA
Kansas State wins 30-21

Cactus Bowl
Washington vs Oklahoma State
Washington wins 25-14

Birmingham Bowl
East Carolina vs Florida
East Carolina wins 31-29

GoDaddy Bowl
Toledo vs Arkansas State
Arkansas State wins 30-27


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2014 Miami Beach Bowl Preview and Prediction

This is a little late, but the holiday had me running around doing errands. I should have done it over the weekend, but I got caught up on other things going on. The game has already started, but I haven't watched or even kept up with the game yet. Here is my short little preview of the game that is currently going on. This seems pretty lame, but I had to get my original prediction out, so here it is.

The Miami Beach Bowl will showcase the BYU Cougars vs the Memphis Tigers.This is the first ever Miami Beach Bowl and I think they got two good teams to play in the inaugural event. Memphis is having one of the best seasons it has ever had. The Tigers are searching for their first 10 win season in over ten years. Memphis has one of the best defenses in college football and will look to keep BYU under control.

The BYU Cougars are going into their 10th consecutive bowl game appearance where they have won 6 out of the last 9 bowl games. BYU has a pretty stellar offense that they will try to use and throw off the Memphis Tigers' defense. That will be pretty tricky to do against a Memphis defense that is 5th in total points allowed.

Look for this to be a close game with Memphis coming out victorious by a score of 29-22.


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2014 FBS Bowl Game Predictions (New Orleans Bowl, New Mexico Bowl, Las Vegas Bowl, Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Camellia Bowl)

It's the most wonderful time of the year, and I'm not talking about the holidays. I'm talking about college football bowl season. The thing that makes this one of the most exciting bowls season in history is the beginning of the College Football Playoff. That's right, we will finally have a playoff system in college football. Although it's not a perfect system and needs some tweaking, it is something that fans have been wanting for a long time. To me, the bowl games are like inter-league play in Major League Baseball, where you get to see teams play each other that you normally wouldn't get a chance to see play. This year will showcase some really good teams against each other. My predictions have not been very accurate the last two years, but that is going to change this year. Instead of doing all of the bowl games in one blog, I am going to spread it out a little bit. In this blog I will be going over the bowl games that will be played on Saturday, December 20th. Here are my predictions for this Saturday's games.

Nevada vs Louisiana-Lafayette

This will be a pretty good game to watch between to very even teams.I think this will be a close game throughout its entirety. There's nothing that really special about these two teams, but they are good teams. Nevada has been up and down this year with wins against good teams and losses that should have been wins. Louisiana-Lafayette didn't have a signature win this season, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. They do have a good running back in Elijah McGuire who is averaging 7.8 yards per carry with only 150 attempts. Even though Louisiana-Lafayette will have the home field advantage, I think Nevada will come away with the victory by a score of 25-24.

Utah State vs UTEP

Utah State is coming off of the shellacking they took by the hands of Boise State in hopes to redeem themselves against UTEP. UTEP's running back, Aaron Jones, is averaging 5.7 yards per game, but he is going against a Utah State defense that is only allowing 3.3 yards per game. Utah State has a receiver in Hunter Sharp that is averaging 14.6 yards per catch with 7 touchdowns. Overall I think that Utah State is the better team. They have better wins against better teams, and will win this one by a score of 21-14.

Utah vs Colorado State

This could be the best game out of all of the bowl games this Saturday. Utah is the favorite to win the game, but I think Colorado State will get the victory. Colorado State's quarterback (Garrett Grayson) and receiver (Rashard Higgins) are two of the best in college football. Utah's defense isn't that good against the pass, and I believe that Colorado State's passing game will be the key factor for winning the game. I see Colorado State winning by a score of 30-21.

Western Michigan vs Air Force

The Western Michigan Broncos has had one of the biggest turnaround seasons this year. Last year the Broncos had an abysmal record of 1-11. This year they managed to turn around their program and finished the regular season with an 8-4 record. That is very impressive. This will be the school's 6th bowl game in its history. Air Force has also had a great year as well and shouldn't be looked over. Air Force is ranked 8th in rushing yards. Western Michigan has allowed only 4.2 yards per carry this season and 15 touchdowns. I think that Western Michigan's offense is going to attack in the air with precision and come away with the win by a score of 29-25.

South Alabama vs Bowling Green

This is a game of a couple of firsts. This is the first game of this new bowl, and it is the very first bowl game for South Alabama. South Alabama will have the home field advantage in this one playing in their back yard. But Bowling Green are considered the favorite to win, but not by me. While both of these teams don't have parts of their game that really stand out, I feel as though South Alabama has some things going for them that Bowling Green does not. While Bowling Green may have more experience in the FBS and bowl games, the Jaguars of South Alabama have the energy flowing through them. I think by having South Alabama play their first bowl game only tow hours away from their city in the inaugural Camellia Bowl will have these kids playing on another level. South Alabama will go into this game pumped up with plenty of support. I see South Alabama winning this game, which will be close, by a score of 16-15.


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2014 FCS Playoff Semifinals

We are down to the Semifinals of the FCS Football Playoff. It has been quite exciting so far. The last round I found myself going 3-1 with Sam Houston State pulling off another upset. That puts me at a 14-6 record so far in the playoffs. In the Final Four of the FCS Playoff we have the #1 seed New Hampshire taking on the #5 seed Illinois State, and the surprising team of the playoff unseeded Sam Houston State takes on #2 North Dakota State. I have been very impressed with how all four of these teams have been playing, especially Sam Houston State. I have to give the Bearkats a lot of credit, I didn't see them getting out of the 1st round, and I did not pick them to win any of the games since then.North Dakota State has come away with some close wins which always makes for exciting games. New Hampshire has been dominating throughout the playoff, and Illinois State has been blowing away opponents. So let's see who I think will move into the FCS Championship game.

The first game will be played on Friday at 8:00 pm et, and will feature the Cinderella Sam Houston State and the reigning 3-time champions North Dakota State. So I said earlier that I have picked against the Bearkats every game and they have won every time, and you would think that now I would finally pick them to win right? Wrong. No matter how great Sam Houston State has been I am not going to pick against the current champions. I think North Dakota State will be the team that is too much for the Bearkats to handle. North Dakota has too many weapons that Sam Houston State just isn't ready for. I see North Dakota State coming away with the victory by a score of 27-16.

he second game will played on Saturday at 2:00 pm et, and will feature two of the best offenses in the playoff. The New Hampshire Wildcats will look to knock off the Illinois State Redbirds from championship hopes. Both of these teams are averaging over 35 points per game and are only allowing 21.2 points per game. I think this will be one of the best games so far in the playoff. I expect this to be a back and forth battle of scoring. It will be close throughout the entire game. This will be a game that does not lack in the action department. These teams are very even with each other, and New Hampshire has the home field advantage. The problem is that New Hampshire doesn't get a very big crowd out to the games, so I'm taking the home field advantage out on this one. Like I said before it will be a close game with a lot of action, but ultimately I think Illinois State has been playing better through the playoff. I think Illinois State wins it by a field goal with a score of 35-32.

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2014 FCS Playoffs Elite 8

We have gotten through the second round of the FCS Playoffs and are now at the Elite 8. I ended the first round of predictions with a 5-3 record, which you can see on the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/sportscognition. The second round saw me finish with a record of 6-2. So now my record through this playoff is 11-5, which isn't too bad I guess. I really thought Fordham would beat New Hampshire, but I was proven wrong. I'm not afraid to admit when I'm wrong and it won't be the last time I'm wrong. If I was right all the time, I'd be placing bets instead of this. But, I really enjoy doing this and I love to watch the games. I've rambled on enough, so let's get to the predictions.

Tonight we start off the Elite 8 with Chattanooga vs New Hampshire.Chattanooga came off a good performance against Indiana State beating them 35-14, and are looking to keep that momentum going against New Hampshire. The Wildcats have other plans. New Hampshire had a dominating performance against Fordham beating them 44-19. This should be a game where both defenses will be put to the test. Key players to watch for both teams are Nico Steriti (RB-New Hampshire) and Jacob Huesman (QB-Chattanooga). Both guys are coming off great performances last week and should be the key factors for their teams. Chattanooga has the 5th best overall defense in the FCS and will look to take down New Hampshire. It will be a close one, but I think New Hampshire wins by a score of 32-31.

The rest of the games will be played on Saturday with the first game being Coastal Carolina vs North Dakota State. North Dakota State has been the king of the FCs for the last three years and don't show any signs of slowing down. Both of these teams have great offenses and stifling defenses. Coastal Carolina have a couple of running backs that the Bison will have to stop in order to win this game. The Bison however have been in this position before and have a great quarterback and receiver combination with Carson Wentz and RJ Urzendowski. This will be another close game with the North Dakota State Bison coming away with the win with a score of 27-26.

The second game of the day will be Sam Houston State vs Villanova. Sam Houston State will look to take to the sky against Villanova like they did last week against Jacksonville State. The Bearkats have a very good quarterback (Jared Johnson) and wide receiver (LaDarius Brown) combination. They both scored all of the team's 6 touchdowns last week. Villanova's defense is going to have to step up and stop the pass in order to win this game. I think the key to winning this game for the Wildcats is their quarterback, John Robertson, who scored three of Villanova's touchdowns against Liberty last week. I was surprised that Villanova had a hard time with Liberty, and I was also surprised that Sam Houston State beat Jacksonville State. Even though both teams had unexpected games last week, I still think Villanova will play better and get the win against the Bearkatz. Villanova wins by a score of 32-24.

The last game of the Elite 8 will be Illinois State vs Eastern Washington. Illinois State The Redbirds are coming off a 20 point victory against conference foe Northern Iowa last week. Tre Roberson (quarterback) went 22/33 for 382 yards, with 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. If the Eagles can't contain Roberson then it's going to be a long night for them. Eastern Washington had a very good game against a very tough Montana team. Vernon Adams Jr. had three touchdowns (2 passing, 1 rushing) with 1 interception. This will be a very fun game to watch, but I think that Illinois State's defense will be too much for Eastern Washington to handle. I think Illinois State wins by a score of 33-28.

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SEMO vs SIU Buzzer Beater (video)

On Thursday night SEMO took on its regional rival SIU at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau, MO. It was a close game throughout most of it, even after the Redhawks found themselves down by 11 in the first half. SEMO came back to tie it and eventually took over the lead in the second half. SIU came back to take the lead by one point. SIU lost the possession by going out of bounds with 0.8 seconds left on the clock. SEMO in bounds the ball to Jarekious Bradley, who then makes a turn-around jumper to win the game. It was an amazing end to an amazing game. It was another game that makes the River Border Rivalry a great one. Here is the video of the winning shot by Bradley with 0.8 seconds left in the game.

Video courtesy of Scott Mygatt.

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2014 FCS Playoffs Round 2

Today starts the second round of the FCS Playoffs. This is my first year really paying any attention to the FCS, but I really like how they have their playoff system. Last week I made predictions on the first round of the playoffs and went 5-3. I only have 21 Likes on Facebook and I need 4 more in order to have a Facebook web address, but you can find the link on the bottom of this blog.

The Second Round of the FCS Playoffs start today at 1:00 pm et. So without any further ado, here are my predictions:

Fordham (11-2) vs New Hampshire (10-1). New Hampshire enters this year's playoffs as the #1 seed. Many are expecting New Hampshire to make a run to the Championship game, but I am not one of those people. I think Fordham will knock New Hampshire out of the playoffs today by a score of 36-32.

Indiana State (8-5) vs Chattanooga (9-3). Indiana State surprised me when they defeated Eastern Kentucky, but I think their surprising ends today against Chattanooga. Chattanooga wins by a score of 29-15.

Richmond (9-4) vs Coastal Carolina (11-1). I think Coastal Carolina are faster and more athletic than Richmond and will be too much for them to handle. Coastal Carolina wins by a score of 32-20.

Sam Houston (9-4) vs Jacksonville State (11-1). Jacksonville State has been a pretty awesome team and fun to watch this year. I think Jacksonville State has what it takes to reach the finals and they will make a step towards that today against Sam Houston. Jacksonville State wins by a score of 30-23.

Northern Iowa (9-4) vs Illinois State (11-1). These two Missouri Valley Football Conference teams will battle it out to see who gets to move on to the next round. Illinois State lost to Northern Iowa earlier this season, but I don't think they will share the same fate this time around. This will be a very good game to watch, but ultimately Illinois State wins by a score of 33-28.

South Dakota State (9-4) vs North Dakota State (11-1). Another pair of Missouri Valley Football Conference teams face off against each other in the battle of Dakotas. North Dakota State has won the championship the last three years. They are the powerhouse in the FCS. North Dakota State rolled past South Dakota State earlier this year by a score of 37-17. I think this game will see less scoring from North Dakota State, but ultimately they get the job done against South Dakota State with a score of 27-13.

Montana (9-4) vs Eastern Washington (10-2). These two teams from the Big Sky Conference will go head-to-head in what should be a very exciting game with lots of scoring. Eastern Washington defeated Montana a month ago by 10 points and I think they beat them again, but this one will be a little bit closer. I see Eastern Washington winning by a score of 39-35.

Liberty (9-4) vs Villanova (10-2). Villanova has been tearing it up this season. While Liberty edged James Madison last week by 5 points, I don't expect to see anything close to that outcome against Villanova. I see Villanova putting Liberty away by a score of 33-21.

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Conference Championship Predictions

I'm going to go through a little run through of my predictions for the Conference Championships today. Today there will be 10 teams playing to become the champions of their conference.

First let's start with Conference USA. The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (8-4, 7-1 C-USA) will take on the Marshall Thundering Herd (11-1, 7-1 C-USA). Marshall has been plowing through their opponents all year with exception to Western Kentucky, who beat them by one point in OT. I see Marshall coming back in this game hungry and ready to show the Bulldogs why they are a force to be reckoned with. I expect Marshall to get back on track and beat Louisiana Tech easily. Marshall is a -9.5 favorite, but I expect them to beat the spread and win by a score of 41-29.

Next up is the SEC Championship game between the Missouri Tigers (10-2, 7-1 SEC) and the Alabama Crimson Tide (11-1, 7-1 SEC). Both of these teams have really good defenses so it should be a tough game for both offenses. However, Maty Mauk, quarterback for Missouri has been very inconsistent with his play. He has been doing better the last couple of games since his receivers have returned from injury. I just can't see Missouri getting past Alabama. Alabama is -14.5 favorite, but I only see them winning by 11 with a score of 31-20.

Now for the ACC. The Florida State Seminoles (12-0, 8-0 ACC) will play the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (10-2, 6-2 ACC). Many fans are just waiting to see the downfall of Jameis Winston, and the way he has been playing the last couple of weeks, they almost got to see it. But, the Seminoles have found a way to get the win. I think Jameis Winston will struggle in this game with everything he's been going through the last day or two. Florida State has been to close to losing some games and I think this game will be his first ever loss as a starting college quarterback. Florida State is a -4 favorite, but I like Georgia Tech to get the win against the Seminoles. I say Georgia Tech wins by a score of 31-30.

Now we move on to the Big Ten Championship game between the Wisconsin Badgers (10-2, 7-1 Big Ten) and the Ohio State Buckeyes (11-1, 8-0 Big Ten). This is going to be a tough game for both teams. Melvin Gordon is a beast and Ohio State is dealt with the task of trying to stop him, but I think they are up to it. I don't think Ohio State will completely shut him down, but they will keep him from running all over them. Another thing that Ohio State has going against them is that they are down to their third string quarterback. With all of this said I still like the Buckeyes to come away with a win. I trust Urban Meyer to have this team mentally prepared for the task at hand. Wisconsin is a -4.5 favorite, but I think Ohio State with pull off a close win by a score of 38-37.

For the Mountain West Conference it will the the Fresno State Bulldogs (6-6, 5-3 MW) taking on the Boise State Broncos (10-2, 7-1 MW) in what I consider to be the biggest lopsided game out of all of these. Ultimately Boise State will be too much for the Bulldogs to handle. Fresno State won't get totally destroyed, but they are going to have to comeback in the second half to win. Boise State is a -23 favorite, but I'm going to play it safe and say that they will only win by 17 with a score of 35-18.

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SEMO at Missouri Preview

Tonight the SEMO Redhawks will take on the Missouri Tigers in Columbia, MO at Mizzou Arena. The Redhawks are coming off an 85-51 win against Alabama A&M on Saturday, and the Tigers are coming off a 74-60 win against Chaminade in the Maui Invitational last Wednesday. Both teams are 3-3 so far in the season, and the Missouri Tigers lead the overall series 7-0. But tonight I think the Redhawks will leave Columbia with a win.

This year marks the inaugural season for Kim Anderson at Missouri. So far the team isn't playing as well as what some Tiger fans were hoping for. Kim Anderson was the guy that a lot of Tiger fans were wanting to see hired after Frank Haith left for the head coaching job at Tulsa. There were big expectations for Coach Anderson with him coming off a D-III National Championship with the Central Missouri Mules. I think having a 3-3 record is ideal for Missouri at this point into the season. The past 7 times that these two teams have faced it has been the Tigers handling the Redhawks with ease. I don't think that is going to happen this time around.

If you compare both teams you will see that SEMO has the statistical advantage over Missouri. SEMO is shooting the ball at 45.2%, that's 4% better than Missouri. SEMO also edges Missouri on assists per game by 2. SEMO is averaging more blocks per game as well, but they are equal in the turnover department. Jarekious Bradley (17.5), Nino Johnson (12.3), and Antonious Cleveland (10) are all averaging 10 or more points per game. Johnson (6) and Aaron Adeoye (6.7) are averaging 6 or more rebounds per game. Johnson is averaging 2.5 blocks per game, and 2.3 steals per game making him a powerful presence in the paint. J.J. Thompson is a point guard that can make things happen averaging 3.7 assists per game. Thompson is very good when it comes to dishing the ball to teammates.

Missouri is no slouch by any means. They are very capable of keeping their undefeated record against the Redhawks, but they are going to need to step it up if they want to win tonight. Missouri only has one player averaging 10 or more points in Montaque Gill-Caesar (13.7). Everyone on the Missouri Tigers are averaging under 5 rebounds per game, except for Ryan Rosburg (5.3). Wes Clark, who had a fantastic freshmen year last season, and Keith Shamburger are really good at moving the ball around. they are both averaging over 3 assists per game.

One of the biggest keys for SEMO to come away with the win is to watch the fouls. The Tigers are shooting 66.4% in free throws. I think SEMO needs to make sure that they get the ball to Johnson and Bradley and try to draw fouls on Missouri. Missouri has 134 fouls so far in the season, so it makes sense for SEMO to attack down low. I think if SEMO can stay aggressive down low and play smart defensively that they can come away with a big win against an SEC team tonight. Johnson, Bradley, Cleveland, Adeoye, and Thompson are going to be the key guys tonight. They need to play smart and collectively tonight. Missouri doesn't have great attendance in basketball so the crowd won't be a factor tonight. I see SEMO getting the victory tonight by a score of 67-58.