Now comes the fun stuff.
After all of the buildup with 30-plus undercard games, the college bowl season hits a fever pitch with the New Year’s Six and the College Football Playoff semifinal doubleheader.
Of course, becuase New Year’s Day falls on a Sunday and the NFL wraps up its regular season, ESPN, ABC, and Fox executives are smart enough not to challenge the big boys and in stead have moved their games to Saturday and Monday.
And don’t blink your eyes if you think every remaining bowl games resembles an SEC game — 12 of the 14 teams qualified for a bowl, and as of Wednesday the conference had a collective 1-2 record (Mississippi State won, Vanderbilt and Texas A&M lost).
The ACC — which had 11 teams qualify for bowls — was a conference-best 4-1 heading into Thursday’s action.
Here’s a closer look at the final eight bowl games before the CFP Championship game on Jan. 9:
Saturday
Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl
No. 20 LSU (7-4) vs. No. 13 Louisville (9-3)
Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Fla. (11 a.m., ABC)
Line: LSU by 3½ (59½)
Big time college football reared its ugly head when LSU coach Les Miles was fired after his Tigers started the season 2-2. Tigers running back Leonard Fournette says he prefers not taking chances before turning pro, but teammate Derrius Guice scored 14 touchdowns and his 96-yard run against Arkansas was not only a school record, but the longest run of the year in the FBS.
Heisman winner Lamar Jackson lost his edge toward the end of the season. Without his A-Game the Cardinals dropped their last two but Jackson’s had a month’s rest and wants to prove he’s worthy of winning the Heisman.
PICK: Louisville (OVER)
Taxslayer Bowl
Georgia Tech (8-4) vs. Kentucky (7-5)
Everbank Field, Jacksonville, Fla. (11 a.m., ESPN)
Line: Georgia Tech by 3½ (61½)
Rambling Wrecks won five of their last six games to make it into a New Year’s Eve bowl game. They began the season in Dublin barely beating Boston College, but their triple option offense can befuddle defensive coordinators the same way a knuckleball confounds hitters.
Kentucky finally put a good football team together with a well-balanced rushing and passing attack and a reliable placekicker. Running backs Bennie Snell Jr. and Stanley Williams teamed up for 20 TDs and 2,192 yards rushing. Their biggest win of the year was 41-38 against Louisville in the regular season finale.
PICK: Georgia Tech (UNDER)
Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl (CFP Semifinal)
No. 4 Washington (12-1) vs. No. 1 Alabama (13-0)
Georgia Dome, Atlanta (3 p.m., ESPN)
Line: Alabama by 14 (54½)
What came first, the Saban or the Calipari? Both coaches promise a pathway to the pros, and both deliver. At season’s start there were 35 Alabama players on active NFL rosters. Against Washington they’ll have two projected top-five picks — defensive lineman Jonathan Allen and linebacker Reuben Foster, together with four other probable first rounders — edge rushers Tim Williams and Ryan Anderson, tight end O.J. Howard, and offensive tackle Cam Robinson.
Huskies freshman QB Jake Browning comes in ranked fourth in FBS pass eficiency, second in passing TDs and seventh in yards per attempt. He’ll likely have dropped a couple of notches in all three of those categories after the Tide comes in.
Pick: Alabama (UNDER)
PlayStation Fiesta Bowl (CFP Semifinal)
No. 3 Ohio St. (12-1) vs. No. 2 Clemson (12-1)
U. of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz. (7 p.m., ESPN)
Line: Ohio St. by 3 (59½)
The Buckeyes are 13 of 19 on fourth-down conversions this season and second only to Alabama in defensive TDs with seven interception returns. They have the double-triple threat with running back Mike Weber, quarterback J.T. Barrett and dual weapon Curtis Samuel rushing 462 times for 2,623 yards, and Samuel teaming up with Noah Brown and Donte Wilson for 122 catches and 1,559 yards.
Clemson QB DeShaun Watson was a Heisman finalist. He threw 487 passes this season, completing 329 (67.6) for 3,914 yards and 37 TDs. He wasn’t afraid to throw into coverage, as attested by his 15 INTs. Mike Williams was his favorite target (80 catches, 1,171 yards, 10 TDs), and running back Wayne Gallman kept defenses honest, rushing 196 times for 1,002 yards and 15 TDs.
PICK: Clemson (UNDER)
Monday
Outback Bowl
No. 17 Florida (8-4) vs. Iowa (8-4)
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Fla. (1 p.m., ABC)
Line: Florida by 3 (40½)
Nobody expected the Gators to be this good, considering nobody knew who coach Jim McElwain would start at QB. The Gators haven’t had a decent signalcaller since a kid named Tebow left Gainesville.
The season started and Luke Del Rio (Jack’s son) had trouble beating UMass in the home opener. As the season progressed he went Crazy 8s — eight TD passes, eight interceptions and eight sacks. Austin Appleby came in and threw eight TD passes and only five picks, but the 17 sacks revealed that he can’t move in the pocket or find his receivers — or both.
The Gators lost their last two games to Florida State and Alabama by a combined 85-29. Yeah, maybe they aren’t that good.
Nobody thought Iowa would be as good either, not after the Hawkeyes’ school-record 12 straight wins in 2015. Iowa has lost only two fumbles all season, tied with Nevada for fewest miscues in the FBS. Hawkeyes looked good their last three games, beating Michigan by a point, shutting out Illinois 28-0 and whacking Nebraska 40-10. They lost the Rose and Outback bowls the last two years, many of the same players are still around, and they’re hungry to bring a bowl win back to the Midwest.
PICK: Iowa (UNDER)
Goodyear Cotton Bowl
No. 15 Western Michigan (13-0) vs. No. 8 Wisconsin (10-3)
AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas (1 p.m., ESPN)
Line: Wisconsin by 8 (53½)
The MAC champion Broncos haven’t gotten a lot of respect despite being unbeaten, and here’s why: they played two FBS teams with a winning record, their opponents were a collective 63-74 (not counting the losses to to WMU) and four have already lost bowl games. What you have is a two-man team — QB Zack Terrell and receiver Corey Davis. They’ve hooked up for 50 TDs and Davis is a bona fide first-rounder. Shut down Batman & Robin, and you’ll tame the Broncos.
Wisonsin lost by two to LSU and by seven to both Ohio State and Penn State. They are easily the superior team.
The announcers will make much of coach BJ Fleck’s “Row the Boat” mantra. Ha! The Badgers will be chasing Fleck into the river to coach crew. This could be the biggest bowl mismatch since Oklahoma beat UConn 48-20 in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl. Or it could be the upset of the year, but that’s doubtful.
PICK: Wisconsin (UNDER)
Rose Bowl Presented by Northwestern Mutual
No. 9 USC (9-3) vs. No. 5 Penn State (11-2)
Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif. (5 p.m., ESPN)
Line: USC by 6½ (60½)
No one will accuse Nittany Lion QB Trace McSorely of dinking and dunking. His top five receivers all average 14 yards or more a catch and sophomore running back Saquon Barkley has 16 rushing touchdowns and three through the air. His presence alone is good for 10 points a game. Kicker Tyler Davis has converted all 55 PATs and is 22 of 24 field goal attempts.
The Trojans have reeled off eight straight wins and will be playing in their backyard. They run more, but score more passing. Freshman QB Sam Darnold is a 6-4, 225-pound gunslinger withat least two TD passes in eight straight games. His triple threat receiving corps of Juju Smith-Schuster, Darreus Rogers and Deontay Burnett have 157 catches for 1,893 yards and 16 TDs.
Defensive back Adoree’ Jackson is third in FBS punt return average (15.9 yards).
PICK: USC (UNDER)
Allstate Sugar Bowl
No. 14 Auburn (8-4) vs. No. 7 Oklahoma (10-2)
Mercedez-Benz Superdome, New Orleans (5 p.m., ESPN)
Line: Oklahoma by 3 (63½)
For the Sooners, sophomore running back Joe Mixon was second in FBS in all purpose yards (196 per game). Mixon punched a woman in the face in 2014 after being shoved and slapped. “It really don’t matter what she did, it’s all on me,” he told USA Today. Oklahoma boasted two Heisman finalists, quarterback Baker Mayfield who passed for 3,669 yards and 38 TDs, and wideout Dede Westbrook who caught 16 of Mayfield’s scoring strikes.
The Tigers lost two of their last three games, to Georgia (13-7) and Alabama (30-12). Sophomore Kerryon Johnson has 11 TDs and 862 rushing yards, but saturdaydownsouth.com concedes that Tigers fans are already saying Wait till next year.
PICK: Oklahoma (UNDER)