Post-Spring College Football Bowl Game Predictions for 2015-16 Season

Spring practice is in the books, which means there's nothing left to do until the 2015 college football season except to wait. And wait. And wait some more.

And make predictions for things so far off in the future that they cannot possibly come true, such as picking the matchup (and winner) of every bowl game. But that doesn't mean we won't try.

The bowl lineup has grown yet again, with the Orlando-based Cure Bowl giving us at least 40 games including the College Football Playoff National Championship game. Two more bowls, proposed for Austin, Texas, and Tucson, Arizona, hope to get approved as well, which would up it to 42 games and require 82 schools to be bowl-eligible.

And as luck would have it, that's exactly the number of teams we project will be eligible after the 2015 season.

Check out our sure-to-be-mostly-wrong bowl predictions for this year, and give us your thoughts in the comments section.

East Carolina vs. Texas State

When: TBD

Where: Austin, Texas

One of two prospective bowls that still await NCAA approval, the as-yet-unnamed game would be the first played in Texas' capital and give the state seven stops on the bowl schedule.

To commemorate this new game, it would make sense to get a team from the Lone Star State into the matchup to help with attendance, and affiliated leagues Conference USA and Sun Belt have a combined five schools. Four of those are in C-USA, but it will be Sun Belt member Texas State to land this invitation for its first bowl bid.

The Bobcats were eligible last year, but the Sun Belt only had three slots and six schools with six or more wins.

Winner: Texas State

Middle Tennessee vs. Wyoming

When: TBD

Where: Tucson, Arizona

Tucson has been on the bowl slate before, hosting what began as the Copper Bowl in 1989 and was the Insight.com Bowl during its final season in southern Arizona in 1999 before moving to Phoenix (where it's currently known as the Cactus Bowl).

The previous rendition featured schools from every power conference except the SEC and also had schools from the now-defunct Western Athletic Conference before much of that league branched off and became the Mountain West.

The MWC will be part of this new game, if it gets approved, and two-time Copper Bowl participant Wyoming will make its first trip to Tucson since 1993. Middle Tennessee last played in Arizona in 1999, losing to host Arizona in a regular-season game.

Winner: Wyoming

Georgia Southern vs. UCF

When: Dec. 19

Where: Orlando, Florida

Orlando is most famous for being the home of nearby Disney World, but the central Florida tourist destination now can lay claim to the most bowl games of any city, as the Cure Bowl joins the Russell Athletic Bowl and the Citrus Bowl.

All three are played in the Citrus Bowl stadium, though this matchup of teams from the American and Sun Belt conferences isn't likely to draw the same kind of crowds the other two get, even with hometown UCF projected for the inaugural matchup.

By adding this game to the docket, it ensures that at least two more FBS programs get to play a bowl game, reducing the number of schools that get left out in the cold. Georgia Southern was in that category last season, despite going 9-3 and going unbeaten in Sun Belt play, but that was because the Eagles were a transitioning FCS team and weren't allowed to bowl in that first year.

Winner: Georgia Southern

Fresno State vs. Louisiana-Lafayette

When: TBD

Where: New Orleans

Death, taxes and Louisiana-Lafayette playing in the New Orleans Bowl.

The Ragin' Cajuns have been in a bowl after each of the previous four seasons, and all of those have been in the Superdome in New Orleans. They've also claimed all four victories, beating Nevada, Tulane, East Carolina and San Diego State, respectively, during that span.

Fresno State would make for a potential fifth straight victim and third from the Mountain West. The Bulldogs would be decided underdogs because of the home-crowd advantage, though they should be motivated based on horrible performances in their last four bowl outings (including a 30-6 loss to Rice in last year's Hawaii Bowl) and a bowl skid of six straight games.

Winner: Louisiana-Lafayette

Colorado State vs. UTEP

When: TBD

Where: Albuquerque, New Mexico

UTEP made its first bowl appearance since 2010 in last year's version of this game, but the Miners only managed six points in a loss to Utah State. That alone should be more than enough reason to want to head back to Albuquerque for another shot to end a bowl losing streak that extends back to the late 1960s.

The Miners' last bowl win came against Ole Miss in the 1967 Sun Bowl, played in their home stadium.

Colorado State was in Albuquerque two years ago for this game, and thanks to some questionable play-calling by opponent Washington State, the Rams rallied to score 18 points in the final three minutes to win, 48-45. That came a year after Arizona scored two touchdowns in the last 42 seconds of a 49-48 win over Nevada.

Winner: Colorado State

San Diego State vs. Stanford

When: TBD

Where: Las Vegas

San Diego State and Stanford have only played each other four times in football—and not since 1988. But the California schools could end up getting quite familiar over the next few years if our projection comes true, since it will mark the first of three meetings over the next four years.

The schools announced Monday they were starting a home-and-home series in 2017, at SDSU, with a return trip to Stanford in 2018.

Only a handful of players from this year's teams will still be with those programs in 2017, but assuming Rocky Long and David Shaw are still the coaches, there's plenty of value in the film from this contest.

Winner: Stanford

Akron vs. Utah State

When: TBD

Where: Boise, Idaho

Some of the most...memorable images from the 2014 bowl season came on the first day of play in a game that wasn't much of a game. Air Force dominated Western Michigan, 38-24, but there's not much from the on-field action that compares to what could be seen on the sideline.

First there was the sight of a poor intern who was tasked with the job of holding an umbrella over the Famous Idaho Potato mascot to keep the spud from getting soaked by the sleet and freezing rain. There was also some footage that ESPN showed going to a commercial of the Western Michigan Broncos mascot looking like he had a little too much fun with the white stuff that lined the edges of the field in Boise.

Utah State's Logan campus is only four hours away, so the Aggies could bring a strong fanbase that is ready for some winter mischief, while the thought of what kind of fun the Akron Zips kangaroo mascot could have in the snow makes us wish it were bowl season now!

Winner: Utah State

Appalachian State vs. Western Michigan

When: TBD

Where: Montgomery, Alabama

Western Michigan made its first bowl appearance since 2011 when it played in the Potato Bowl in Boise last year, though the Broncos weren't able to put an exclamation point on a turnaround from 1-11 the year before. Now that they've got that first trip under coach P.J. Fleck under their belt, the Broncos will head into a second straight bowl as the more experienced squad.

Appalachian State wasn't eligible to go bowling last year as a first-year FBS team, despite going 7-5, but a program that has won FCS national titles showed a lot of promise in 2014 and will be among the top teams in the Sun Belt this season.

None of the Mountaineers have any significant postseason experience, though, so Western Michigan will have the edge.

Winner: Western Michigan

Navy vs. Old Dominion

When: TBD

Where: Miami

The first football game played in the Miami Marlins' baseball stadium won't get remembered for the back-and-forth battle between BYU and Memphis or the amazing finish that gave Memphis a 55-48 overtime victory. Unfortunately, all that will be remembered from the inaugural Miami Beach Bowl is the vicious postgame brawl between the Cougars and Tigers.

"Sadly, the events that took place after the game will stain the memory of what was a wildly entertaining bowl game," Kevin McGuire of NBC Sports wrote.

There are no guarantees in college football, but we're pretty sure the Naval team full of future soldiers and an Old Dominion squad making its first bowl appearance won't get chippy like that.

Winner: Navy

Bowling Green vs. Cincinnati

When: TBD

Where: Boca Raton, Florida

The explosion of bowl sites all over the last decade has made it so that we get some weird matchups of teams that likely would never be seen in that part of the country. That's why we won't even bat an eye at the idea of a pair of Ohio schools that haven't played in 21 years meeting in South Florida.

Boca Raton has a reputation for being a senior-friendly Florida community, something furthered by Seinfeld. Cincinnati coach Tommy Tuberville probably has a while before he's set to retire, but he might be able to find some time during the runup to this game to look for a condo.

Tuberville's Cincinnati teams haven't fared well in bowl games so far, losing to North Carolina in the 2013 Belk Bowl and to Virginia Tech in last year's Military Bowl. Bowling Green knocked off South Alabama in last year's Camellia Bowl to end a four-game, 10-year bowl skid.

Winner: Cincinnati

Air Force vs. South Alabama

When: Dec. 23

Where: San Diego, California

The only game on the 2015-16 schedule that will need to search for a replacement team is the Poinsettia Bowl, which made the ambitious deal to have Army play in this year's contest if it were bowl-eligible. The Black Knights haven't been to a bowl since 2010 and have had no more than four wins in any season since.

To make up for the loss of Army, the bowl will pick another military school, Air Force, to fill the Mountain West slot in the matchup. South Alabama will take up the other place, avoiding the fate of many previous bowl-eligible Sun Belt teams by grabbing an at-large spot instead of having to stay home for bowl season.

Winner: Air Force

Marshall vs. Toledo

When: TBD

Where: Nassau, Bahamas

Thanks to Central Michigan and Western Kentucky last year, it's been established that all bowl games in the Bahamas have to be bonkers.

The Chippewas rallied from a 35-point deficit in the fourth quarter behind five touchdown passes from Cooper Rush, the last resulting in the wildest play of the bowl season thanks to several laterals before Titus Davis dove into the end zone as time expired. But Western Kentucky held on for the 49-48 win when CMU's two-point conversion try came up short.

Whether Marshall and Toledo can replicate that finish is unlikely, but they very well could blow away the point total. The Thundering Herd averaged more than 45 points per game last year, while Toledo has a bruising running back in Kareem Hunt who had at least 100 rushing yards in every game he played last season.

Winner: Toledo

BYU vs. Louisiana Tech

When: Dec. 24

Where: Honolulu

BYU got a jump on the 2015 bowl season by setting up a predetermined bid to one of two games if it is eligible. The Cougars will play either in the Hawaii or Las Vegas Bowl after this season, and the other following the 2019 campaign, being proactive as an independent rather than hope a slot is open later on.

"We are fortunate to have a large fanbase in both areas, and it will be great to renew the many longtime friendships we’ve enjoyed in these two cities," BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe said, per the school's website.

Las Vegas would be the better game for BYU, but a schedule that features games at Michigan, Nebraska and Utah and against Missouri in Kansas City is more likely to produce a record more fitting of the lesser game in the tropics.

For Louisiana Tech, it would be its first bowl game in the islands.

Winner: Louisiana Tech

Pittsburgh vs. Utah

When: Dec. 26

Where: El Paso, Texas

Pittsburgh gets the honor of being the ACC team that's shipped out to the Southwest for a game that nobody wants to play in. The league is 1-4 against the Pac-12 since aligning with the game, with only Georgia Tech (against an equally uninspired USC team) in 2012 coming back to ACC territory with a trophy.

It's not the most desirable place for Pac-12 schools, either, but Utah is still relatively new to the conference and isn't picky despite this being its second trip to El Paso in five years. Last year, the Utes blew out Colorado in the Las Vegas Bowl, but they haven't faced a power opponent in a bowl since a 2011 Sun Bowl win over Georgia Tech.

This will be the fourth all-time meeting between the schools, the first coming in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl. That game marked the first game of Utah coach Kyle Whittingham's tenure, as he had been named interim coach for the Utes after Urban Meyer left to go to Florida.

Winner: Utah

Maryland vs. Western Kentucky

When: TBD

Where: Dallas

With as wild as Western Kentucky's last bowl game went, we can only hope the Hilltoppers are capable of importing some of the craziness that ensued at the end of its Bahamas Bowl win over Central Michigan to the mainland.

Conference USA's champ gets to pick where it goes for a bowl, and while an island game was nice last year, Western Kentucky will want to play closer to home this time around after winning the C-USA title. It will also want another chance to knock off a power program after facing Indiana, Vanderbilt and LSU during the regular season.

Maryland doesn't exactly scream "big-name opponent," but being able to beat a second Big Ten team—we're projecting the Hilltoppers to knock off Indiana—is something to strive for no matter who the opponent.

Winner: Western Kentucky

Duke vs. Michigan

When: TBD

Where: Detroit

Ford Field has played host to the NCAA Final Four, and more than 72,000 people were on hand to watch North Carolina beat Michigan State for the men's basketball title in 2009.

The stadium holds about 65,000 for football, but in order to come anywhere close to that number, it would need Duke's and Michigan's basketball teams playing instead of the football squads. Even with in-state Michigan in the matchup, and the Wolverines having missed a bowl last season, it's unlikely that a big crowd will be on hand, though it should top last year's figure of 23,876 for North Carolina and Rutgers.

If the bowl wants to improve attendance, it might be wise to employ new Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh and his strong Twitter skills to get the message out on social media. Or he could be employed to sell discount coupons during his satellite camps this summer.

Winner: Michigan

Memphis vs. Rice

When: TBD

Where: St. Petersburg, Florida

The bowl game formerly sponsored by Bitcoin (for a lone season) and equally obscure underwriters such as Beef O'Brady's and MagicJack, it's one of those games that just seems to be there, without any tradition or excitement, but we'll still end up watching no matter who plays.

Memphis vs. Rice doesn't sound like that great of a game on the surface, but the teams have some history. They split four meetings in six years from 2007 to 2012 when each was in Conference USA, and since then, both have won division or conference titles. Rice claimed the C-USA's West crown in 2013 and will be riding a school-record four-year bowl streak, while Memphis is fresh off its first league title (the American) since the early 1970s.

Winner: Memphis

Houston vs. North Carolina

When: TBD

Where: Annapolis, Maryland

Tom Herman pulled double duty last bowl season serving as offensive coordinator for Ohio State during its national championship run while also getting the ball rolling on his first head-coaching gig at Houston. This December will be decidedly less busy for him but no less successful.

Herman inherited a pretty decent Cougars team, one that should compete for the American Athletic Conference title and, with a few breaks, will win the West Division and possibly the league championship game.

Larry Fedora won't be in the running to make the ACC final, but he also won't have as disastrous a season as in 2014, when his defense was so bad, it seemed like it gave up points during timeouts. The hiring for former Auburn coach Gene Chizik as coordinator will allow the Tar Heels' strong offense to do its job and produce a decent number of wins.

Winner: Houston

Louisville vs. Mississippi State

When: TBD

Where: Shreveport, Louisiana

Nine-win teams the year before, Louisville and Mississippi State are expected to slip back toward the mean this year, as each has to find a way to replace a large portion of its 2014 team. Louisville had 10 players drafted last weekend, while MSU brings back the fourth-fewest starters in FBS.

But this game won't be completely lacking in star power, both in terms of players and coaches. Cardinals coach Bobby Petrino is trying to lay low in his second stint at Louisville as he repairs his reputation, but he's still someone who gets a lot of attention. And for MSU, quarterback Dak Prescott may be the nation's top dual-threat passer and figures to be in the Heisman conversation all year.

Winner: Mississippi State

Rutgers vs. Virginia Tech

When: TBD

Where: Bronx, New York

To get people to watch a bowl game in a cold-weather baseball stadium in the week between Christmas and New Year's, it's going to take at least one team with either a local connection or a strong fanbase to make it work. Rutgers and Notre Dame made for a double dose of that in 2013, as was the case with Boston College and Penn State last year.

Rutgers will return to Yankee Stadium this December, but instead of from the American/Big East, it will be as a flag bearer for the Big Ten in its effort to corner the New York City market. Virginia Tech won't bring along a similar level of interest, either locally or regionally, but as each season ends, the possibility that longtime Hokies coach Frank Beamer could be calling it quits does add some intrigue to the matchup.

Winner: Virginia Tech

Arizona vs. Iowa

When: TBD

Where: San Diego

Arizona was the surprise winner of the toughest division in college football last season, parlaying a Pac-12 South title into a Fiesta Bowl berth. But the Wildcats lost to upstart Boise State in that game, ending on a two-game skid combined with the Pac-12 title game loss, so the otherwise-strong season ended on a sour note.

The Holiday Bowl is the site of one of Arizona's most significant bowl victories, when it knocked off Nebraska in 1998 to finish 12-1. Beating a mid-level Big Ten team in Iowa won't be as big of an achievement, but it also won't be considered a step back.

For Iowa, getting into this contest will be the result of emerging from a very balanced Big Ten West Division to claim its championship...and then get bulldozed by Ohio State in the conference final. The Hawkeyes will be making their first trip to California since the 1991 Rose Bowl.

Winner: Arizona

LSU vs. Oklahoma

When: TBD

Where: Memphis, Tennessee

LSU and Oklahoma are two of the most successful programs in the country but also ones that have fallen far short of their lofty expectations quite often lately. The 2015 season is considered a crossroads for both programs and their coaches, eccentric LSU head man Les Miles and longtime Oklahoma leader Bob Stoops.

Each has a national title with his current program but not much to show for recently. And after another underachieving year in which each team is out of contention for its league title before the calendar turns to November, this game will take on extra importance as it will serve as a chance for both to finish on a high note.

That was the case for each last year as well, but LSU fell to a sliding Notre Dame in the Music City Bowl, and Oklahoma was blown out by Clemson in the Russell Athletic Bowl. Miles and Stoops can't both come out on top from this one, so who will it be?

Winner: Oklahoma

Georgia Tech vs. West Virginia

When: TBD

Where: Orlando

One of the many great things about bowl season is the opportunity to see teams face off that would otherwise never end up on each other's schedule. Georgia Tech and West Virginia have only played three times in their history, and each time has been in a bowl, most recently when West Virginia beat the Yellow Jackets to win the 2007 Gator Bowl.

Tech will be playing in a second straight Florida-based game, winning handily over Mississippi State in last year's Orange Bowl. West Virginia last played in the state in 2012, dropping 70 on Clemson in the Orange Bowl.

In addition to the infrequency of the meetings, this one also pits two very divergent offensive game plans. West Virginia attempted the ninth-most passes last year, while Georgia Tech turned to its triple-option attack to run the ball more than all but one other FBS program.

Winner: Georgia Tech

Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M

When: TBD

Where: Houston

Texas A&M might not be willing to play old rival Texas, but it has no problem playing other Big 12 teams in bowl games. This would mark the third time in four years the Aggies played a team from their former league, having beat Oklahoma in the 2013 Cotton Bowl and then West Virginia in last year's Liberty Bowl.

The problem is that the matchups are coming as a result of poorer and poorer finishes in the SEC. A&M could end up as bad as 6-6 this year, based on its schedule and if the young defense doesn't improve as hoped, and this game gets the equivalent of the SEC's 10th-best team.

It's a step up for Oklahoma State after playing in the Cactus Bowl a year ago. The Cowboys could have also gone to a game in Florida, but this is a better deal for their fanbase despite being in enemy territory.

Winner: Texas A&M

Nebraska vs. Ole Miss

When: TBD

Where: Nashville, Tennessee

Last year's game in Nashville was one of the most anticipated matchups not part of the power lineup around New Year's Day, pitting LSU against Notre Dame in a contest that lived up to the billing and went down to the final play. We can only hope Nebraska and Ole Miss can do the same.

This game won't seem like a big deal for most Cornhuskers fans, who during Bo Pelini's run played exclusively in Florida and California for bowl games. But it will mean a lot to new coach Mike Riley, who faced huge expectations after coming from Oregon State and replacing someone who averaged more than nine wins per season but was fired for a lack of success.

Ole Miss will be making its second trip to the state of Tennessee and will hope this one goes better than the first, when the Rebels lose to Memphis in mid-October.

Winner: Ole Miss

Arkansas vs. North Carolina State

When: TBD

Where: Charlotte

Game sponsor Belk's slogan for its department stores is "Modern. Southern. Style." Bret Bielema might not be the most stylish coach in college football, since he tends to lean toward track suits and hoodies instead of suits and slacks, and his aversion to uptempo play goes against the game's modern trend, but he's still one of the most fun guys around and someone who will make any game he's coaching in a must-see.

North Carolina State's Dave Doeren doesn't have similar allure, but he does have a program that's one of the fastest risers in FBS. After furthering along the Northern Illinois machine at the mid-major level, he's turned the Wolfpack around in just three years to where they contended for the ACC's Atlantic Division this season.

Winner: Arkansas

Arizona State vs. Minnesota

When: TBD

Where: Santa Clara, California

Among the many super-early bowl predictions we got wrong last year was the Foster Farms Bowl, which we thought would have Arizona State facing Minnesota but ended up pitting Maryland and Stanford in windy Levi's Stadium in the Bay Area.

The ASU-Minnesota matchup would have been far better than the 45-21 Stanford win that wasn't as close as it sounds, so we're going to go double or nothing on the Sun Devils and Golden Gophers getting together.

Minnesota hasn't played a bowl in California since the 1962 Rose Bowl, and while that venue would be preferred to the cavernous home of the San Francisco 49ers, it's still a good result for a team that lost its two best players (tight end Maxx Williams, running back David Cobb) from last season.

ASU again contended for the Pac-12 South title but ultimately ends up no better than third in that deep division and has to settle for the conference's fifth-best bowl slot.

Winner: Arizona State

Illinois vs. San Jose State

When: TBD

Where: Fort Worth, Texas

The Armed Forces Bowl is one of five games on the slate that match schools from a power conference against one from the Group of Five, and for the second year in a row, Illinois gets to play in one after losing to Louisiana Tech in the Heart of Dallas Bowl. But the Fighting Illini shouldn't be picky, because it means having gone at least 6-6 for the second year in a row, which likely means Tim Beckman's job has been saved again.

San Jose State likely wouldn't be complaining about a trip to Texas, either, since the Spartans weren't eligible last year and were snubbed after the 2013 season. Ironically, they became eligible that season by knocking off then-unbeaten Fresno State, a result that kept FSU from getting a BCS bid and, in return, reduced the number of bids available for Mountain West teams.

With so much "happy to be here" vibes going around, even the loser of this game will probably have something positive to say about the result.

Winner: Illinois

Tennessee vs. Wisconsin

When: TBD

Where: Tampa, Florida

After Tennessee romped over Iowa in the TaxSlayer Bowl to cap a 7-6 season, many saw it as the opening salvo in an attack by Vol Nation on the College Football Playoff. It'll have to settle for a high-level game that's one step below the CFP's bowl tier.

The youth movement in Knoxville continues to reap benefits, but it's a slow climb rather than a sudden rise that will still be filled with hurdles. But taking third in the SEC East still counts as improvement, as does getting a chance to face a more quality opponent in the postseason.

Wisconsin remains on the Tampa-Orlando back-and-forth that a lot of Big Ten and SEC teams get on, switching between this and the Citrus Bowl after similar finishes. The Badgers won't make the Big Ten final this year but will still do well enough to earn another trip to central Florida.

Winner: Tennessee

Florida State vs. Missouri

When: Jan. 1

Where: Orlando

After playing in the national championship two years ago and the national semifinals last season, an otherwise-meaningless New Year's Day game downstate might feel like a major letdown for Florida State fans (and is likely to be treated as such by #FSUTwitter). But after having 29 players get drafted over the past three years, including a record 12 this past weekend, to still be able to get into a game of this magnitude speaks volumes for what Jimbo Fisher has done with this program.

Same too, for what Missouri has been able to achieve under Gary Pinkel. Not given much chance to succeed when moving from the Big 12 to the SEC in 2012, the Tigers won back-to-back East Division titles. They will finish second this year and will have the chance for an unprecedented third straight 10-win season.

The game itself should be pretty good, too, with a young FSU team getting itself set up for another run at the title in 2016 by knocking off one of the most consistent SEC teams not named Alabama.

Winner: Florida State

Penn State vs. South Carolina

When: Jan. 2

Where: Jacksonville, Florida

Penn State's slow journey out of NCAA sanctions made its first postseason stop in New York last year when the Nittany Lions knocked off Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl. Now PSU heads south for its first Florida-based bowl game since losing to Florida in the 2011 Outback Bowl.

Steve Spurrier will be glad to get his South Carolina team back to a game in the Sunshine State after having to endure the ungolfable late-December weather in Shreveport from last year. The Gamecocks had been making Florida finishes a season tradition with three straight trips to either Orlando or Tampa before last season's trip to Louisiana, and the Head Ball Coach should be tickled pink about getting some good tee times at Jacksonville's finest courses.

This will also provide some great sound bites in the form of the pregame and postgame comments from noted rabble-rousers Spurrier and James Franklin of Penn State.

Winner: Penn State

Oregon vs. Texas

When: Jan. 2

Where: San Antonio

The 2013 Alamo Bowl served as Mack Brown's last stand with Texas and also served as a springboard to bigger and better things for Oregon. Two years later, it's a lot of the same for these programs, though the Ducks' first post-Marcus Mariota year will have some bumps along the way while the Charlie Strong-led Longhorns are on their way upward.

The move to a more spread-oriented offense will pay off big for Texas this season, as it will finish in third place (albeit a distant third) behind Baylor and TCU and land the Big 12's top non-CFP bowl slot. It's the same for Oregon, which, after losing to USC in the Pac-12 title game, gets this non-major consolation prize.

Texas has come a long way since the last time it met Oregon and subsequently got run over, 30-7. It won't be another blowout, but the Longhorns will still have to wait another year to get a bowl victory under Strong.

Winner: Oregon

Kansas State vs. Washington

When: TBD

Where: Phoenix

Kansas State will be going through a bit of a rebuilding year in 2015 with the loss of so many impact players, but legendary coach Bill Snyder still has enough in the tank to get the Wildcats into a sixth straight bowl game. They were in this contest two years ago, beating Michigan, when it was the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl.

Washington will be making its second straight appearance in this game, having lost to Oklahoma State last year, but this time around, the game will be in Chase Field (where the Arizona Diamondbacks play) because Arizona State's Sun Devil Stadium is undergoing renovations.

The Huskies won't have that cadre of first- and second-round defensive studs to fall back on this time around, but then again, they also won't likely have to deal with their opponent rolling a 300-pound defensive tackle out there as a receiver in the flat and also as a Wildcat quarterback.

Winner: Washington

Kentucky vs. Temple

When: TBD

Where: Birmingham, Alabama

For the post-New Year's Day bowl games that don't have playoff implications, there's got to be something that draws in viewers and makes the teams playing in them feel motivated. We don't know how many casual fans will want to see a bottom-tier SEC team play one from the American, but odds are each program's fans are going to be happy with any bowl.

Kentucky hasn't been to a bowl since losing to Pittsburgh in the 2011 BBVA Compass Bowl, which is what the Birmingham Bowl used to be, and the Wildcats haven't won a bowl game since 2009. They looked headed for one last year, starting the season 5-1, then dropped six straight including a 44-40 loss to rival Louisville.

Temple was bowl-eligible at 6-6 a year ago but was one of the few that didn't get a bid since the American was short on tie-ins. The Owls could win eight or nine games this year, which would ensure them their first bowl appearance since 2011.

Winner: Kentucky

Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois

When: TBD

Where: Mobile, Alabama

If the New Orleans Bowl ever gets renamed to honor the annual inclusion of Louisiana-Lafayette, the same should be done with the GoDaddy Bowl and Arkansas State. This will be the Red Wolves' fifth straight trip to the game in Mobile, where it won in 2013 and 2014 but lost to Bowling Green in January and to Northern Illinois in 2012.

While the matchup will have a lot of history to it, there will still be plenty of newness. It will be Arkansas State's first time playing a bowl while coached by someone in his second season at the school, as from 2012 to 2014, it was led by interim coaches before Blake Anderson stuck around after last year. And for Northern Illinois, it will mark the first time since 2009 that it won't be coming off a berth in the Mid-American title game.

Winner: Northern Illinois

Auburn vs. Clemson

When: Dec. 31

Where: Atlanta

Auburn and Clemson wrapped up a three-game series in 2012 with Clemson taking the final two meetings. Before that, their previous two matchups came in this bowl game, first in 1998 when it was called the Peach Bowl and then in 2007 as the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

Auburn took both of those bowl meetings, but Clemson will snare this one to complete the best of its impressive run of strong seasons this decade. Clemson won 42 games between 2011 and 2014 and will end 2015 with 12 victories, including its first ACC title since 2011 and then a fourth straight bowl victory.

Auburn will have bounced back nicely from its 2014 backslide, though the defense will again be the reason the Tigers can't take down a top team.

Winner: Clemson

Boise State vs. Notre Dame

When: Jan. 1

Where: Glendale, Arizona

The Fiesta Bowl doesn't get to be a part of the semifinal rotation until next year—though University of Phoenix Stadium does host this season's title game—and as a result, it will have a second straight year pairing so-called "at large" teams that earned non-playoff bids from the selection committee. And that means getting the non-power-conference entrant again.

That will be Boise State for the second year in a row, as the Broncos will win the Mountain West with at least 10 wins (not including the conference title game), and that will be good enough to beat out the best from the American Athletic Conference or Conference USA.

Notre Dame will earn another at-large bid thanks to navigating a tough schedule, but not as tough as last year's, meaning only 10 wins are needed to get to Arizona.

Boise had the magic to knock off an inexperienced Arizona team, but it won't be able to replicate that success against a very deep and talented Notre Dame squad.

Winner: Notre Dame

Michigan State vs. UCLA

When: Jan. 1

Where: Pasadena, California

Michigan State knows where its fate lies: beat Ohio State and get a shot at a national title, or lose to the Buckeyes and settle for the Rose Bowl. The Spartans' best seniors came back knowing this was the scenario, so they shouldn't be disappointed making the program's second trip to Pasadena in three years.

UCLA hasn't played a bowl in its home stadium since 1999, but with freshman quarterback Josh Rosen at the helm, it will get back to this storied game. It won't be as Pac-12 champions, though, as the Bruins will finish second in their division behind USC but get the nod over North winner Oregon for the league's second CFP bid.

Last year was supposed to be UCLA's year, but the Bruins struggled early and couldn't live up to expectations. This season, they'll be overachievers to get this far but won't be able to outdo Michigan State's veteran squad.

Winner: Michigan State

Baylor vs. Georgia

When: Jan. 1

Where: New Orleans

The Sugar Bowl gets the best non-semifinal teams from the Big 12 and SEC this year, which means we'll get to see Georgia's Nick Chubb try to run away from Baylor behemoth Shawn Oakman while also hoping that the Bears have a few more trick plays in store for gargantuan tight end LaQuan McGowan.

Baylor will fail to get into the playoffs because of a loss to TCU, while Georgia will reach its first SEC title game since 2012 but fall to Alabama. This game might feel like a consolation to each, but there will be plenty of motivation based on recent postseason results.

The Bears will be making their third straight major bowl appearance, but after losing to UCF in the Fiesta Bowl and blowing a big lead to Michigan State in last year's Cotton Bowl, this will be a chance to redeem themselves. Same for Georgia, which found ways to lose its division the previous two years and therefore had to settle for lesser bowl games.

Winner: Baylor

Alabama vs. TCU

When: Dec. 31

Where: Arlington, Texas

TCU felt it was more than deserving of a playoff bid last year, despite losing to Baylor in Big 12 play. This year, the Horned Frogs won't have to worry about sharing a conference title, as they'll run the table and head into the semifinals as the No. 2 seed, while Alabama gets the No. 3 spot by surviving the SEC with a loss to Georgia that it will avenge in the league championship game.

Based on the proximity to TCU's campus—which is 15 miles to the west—you'd think the Horned Frogs would have a decided fan advantage, but the Crimson Tide will travel well and make it pretty even in the fan department. The talent edge, though, goes to Alabama, and that will be the deciding factor.

Throughout the regular season, no one will have been able to contain TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin, who will end up winning the Heisman Trophy based on his individual play and the success he leads the Horned Frogs to. But none of the defenses he's faced will be as good as the one Alabama brings to the Superdome, and he'll have his worst game of the year.

Winner: Alabama

Ohio State vs. USC

When: Dec. 31

Where: Miami

The new playoff format robbed us of the traditional Big Ten/Pac-12 matchup last year, as Florida State and Oregon met in the Rose Bowl. But this year, we'll make up for it, not only with the regular Rose Bowl but also this semifinal pitting top-seeded and defending national champion Ohio State against No. 4 USC.

These programs have met seven times before in bowl games but always in Pasadena. Many of those games had national title implications on it, though, so the locale shouldn't make a difference.

What will matter is that Ohio State is just far too good for the Trojans, who are probably a year away from being a true title contender after losing a lot from last year and being heavily dependent on underclassmen.

Winner: Ohio State

Alabama vs. Ohio State

When: Jan. 11

Where: Glendale, Arizona

Ohio State's run to last year's national title had to go through Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, a game it wasn't expected to win but ended up controlling down the stretch. This time, the Crimson Tide will be all that stands in the way of the Buckeyes repeating and of Urban Meyer surpassing Alabama's Nick Saban as the top coach in college football.

Because of last year's game, the revenge storyline will be quite prevalent but not really appropriate since Alabama lost most of the best players from that team, while OSU will have remained nearly intact. The Buckeyes had five players drafted last weekend but didn't lose anyone to early entry, compared to three of Alabama's seven draftees leaving with eligibility remaining.

"The NFL draft provided a very discreet but overpowering reminder that the Ohio State you watched last season will look a lot like the team that hits the field come fall," Bleacher Report's Adam Kramer wrote. "There are no guarantees that it will come together for another title, but what a lovely place to be."

And that talent-laden roster will claim a second straight championship.

Winner: Ohio State

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.