NCAA College Football Bowl Week 1 Picks - Early Games
NCAA College Football Bowl Week 1 Early Games
All times Eastern
Saturday, December 15
12:00 pm North Carolina A&T Aggies (9-2) (-7 1/2, 47 1/2) vs. Alcorn State Braves (9-3) - Admittedly, since these are Division 1-AA teams, there hasn't been much attention paid to these squads outside their regional leagues.
This year's Celebration Bowl is an FCS postseason game pitting the winner of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC., NC A&T) against the champion of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC, Alcorn State).
North Carolina A&T is will be making its third Celebration Bowl appearance in the four-year history of the game. They're also the most successful program to have played in the Celebration Bowl, winning the previous two games they played in. This is Alcorn State's first-ever appearance in the Celebration Bowl and they are the choice, getting points while averaged 33.6 points per game and having been held to less than 20 points just once this season. Happy Bowling!
Coin Flip: Alcorn State Braves
PREDICTION: Braves 31 Aggies 24
Autonation Cure Bowl
The Rajin' Cajuns also lost their last bowl game, a 28-21 defeat by Southern Miss in 2016, but they won their previous three bowls, from 2012-2014, in good fashion.
Both teams were 5-3 in their respective conferences, and the frenetic style of play in the Sun Belt gives LA-Lafayette an edge. This is a pretty even match, but the Cajuns arguably played a tougher schedule.
Coin Flip: Louisiana-Lafayette
PREDICTION: Ragin' Cajuns 36 Green Wave 28
The Mean Green of North Texas compiled a 5-3 conference mark in the weak Conference USA, but they were hellacious in out of conference action, winning all four of those games, which puts them in a good light in that regard.
On the surface, this is a mismatch. It will be up to the Aggies to prove they were no fluke this season, and not take North Texas too lightly. The Aggies have one of the better defenses in the country, and the line is hardly insurmountable, though it was 9 1/2 at the open.
Coin Flip: Utah State
PREDICTION: Aggies 44 Mean Green 23
Their defense is second to none and should pulverize the Sun Devil offensive line in this contest. While Arizona State's schedule included some of the best in the West, losses to Washington, Stanford and Oregon were close, though those teams are not exactly elite. While the Sun Devils can score plenty, they also are prone to giving up big plays on defense, but this game is likely to be very close, defensive and decided by special teams and field goals. Fresno may win, but it's likely to be by just a few points.
Coin Flip: Arizona State
PREDICTION: Bulldogs 24 Sun Devils 22
Neither team is a regular in bowl games, but in their last appearance, Georgia Southern walloped Bowing Green in the 2015 GoDaddy.com Bowl, 58-27. It might be a matter of which team is better prepared, or, location, which, with the game played in the Deep South of Montgomery, Alabama, favors the Georgia Southern folks.
Coin Flip: Eastern Michigan
PREDICTION: Georgia Southern Eagles 34 Eastern Michigan Eagles 24
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Bowl Week 1 late Games
1:30 pm Tulane (6-6) (-3 1/2, 59) vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (7-6) - Tulane slipped onto the bowl scene by winning four of their last five, including a narrow, 29-28, win over Navy in their final regular season game. The Green Wavehasn't been in a bowl since 2013, when they lost to UL-Lafayette, 24-21.
New Mexico Bowl
2:00 pm Utah State (10-2) (-7 1/2, 68) vs. North Texas (9-3) - The Aggies of Utah State were ranked in the Top 25 through the latter stages of the season, right up until their 33-24 loss to Boise State in the Mountain West, missing out on playing in the conference championship.
Las Vegas Bowl
3:30 pm Arizona State (7-5) vs. #21 Fresno State (11-2) (-5, 53) - Winners of the Mountain West with a 19-16 win over Boise State in the conference championship, the Bulldogs lost just twice this season, 21-14 at Minnesota in September, and 24-17 to Boise State in November. They held eight of 13 opponents to 14 points or fewer, and had a midseason streak in which they allowed just 13 points in three consecutive wins.
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl
5:30 pm Georgia Southern (9-3) (-3, 47 1/2) vs. Eastern Michigan (7-5) - If Georgia Southern is capable of establishing their running game against the Eastern Michigan squad. Both teams have Eagles as mascots, but this might not be a high-flying affair. Georgia Southern averaged less than 100 yards per game (83) in the air, but the Eastern Michigan Eagles threw for 229 yards per outing.
