College Football Bowl Season Bold Predictions

1. Four or more Group of 5 teams take down Power 5 opponents

There are seven bowl match-ups that can qualify here, and I think the Group of 5 teams have a shot to win the majority of them.  Bowl success has a lot to do with motivation, and many of the Power 5 teams may be disappointed with their season and feel like they don't have much to play for.  Meanwhile, the smaller schools will be excited and pumped up to play against a big-name school.  Look out for the little guy this postseason.

2. Boise State notches another Fiesta Bowl victory

Speaking of the little guy... the Fiesta Bowl has been good to the Broncos, who surprised everyone in 2007 with a stunning OT win over Oklahoma, and won again in 2010 against TCU.  Arizona comes in as the favorite, but I think Boise State wins another close one in Glendale, 28 - 24.

3. Ole Miss stifles TCU in Peach Bowl win

TCU has been a force to be reckoned with this season, on offense and defense.  The only problem is the defenses they have faced have been mediocre mostly - the best being the Wildcats' at 27th in the nation averaging 21.8 points allowed per game.  Enter Ole Miss, number one defense in the country, allowing just shy of 14 points per game.  The Rebels may struggle to move the ball, as that has been their Achilles' heal this year.  But they are the only team to beat top-ranked Alabama and I expect their defense to make enough big plays to win this one.  Ole Miss leaves Atlanta with a victory, 23 - 20.

4. Melvin Gordon claims number two spot on single-season rushing list

At 2,336 rushing yards, the Wisconsin running back is only 7 yards away from reaching number three on the list of top FBS rushers.  But, he will need another 225 yards on top of that in order to surpass Kevin Smith's 2,567 yards from 2007.  Auburn gave up an average of 246 rushing yards in their three losses, showing they can be beat on the ground, so I think Gordon can do it.  Barry Sanders' record 2,628 yards is likely out of reach, though, barring a herculean effort by the running back and offensive line.  It does make you really appreciate what Sanders did in 1988 in only 11 games (the NCAA didn't start including bowl game stats until 2002, otherwise his record would be an astonishing 2,850 yards).  With championship games and bowl games (and now, for a select few teams, playoff games), college players today have 14 or 15 games to accumulate stats.  Still, it's been an amazing year for Melvin Gordon and he'll obviously try to end his college career on a high note.

5. Baylor beats Michigan State by double-digits

The Spartans have dominated opponents this season, aside from losses to Oregon and Ohio State, whose offenses were too much for Michigan State.  That spells trouble for Sparty, as Baylor comes into the Cotton Bowl sporting the nation's top scoring offense.  I really like the Spartans, but I absolutely hate this match-up.  Like Michigan State's prior losses, I just don't think they will be able to match the Bears point-for-point.  Baylor pulls away in the fourth quarter to win it, 48 - 35.