Plenty of chances to be right (and wrong) with bowl picks

The bowl season begins with five games Saturday and counts us down to the College Football Playoff national championship game Jan. 9.

Here’s a prediction of each game through the Sugar Bowl (we’ll wait on that title game until a little later):

Saturday

New Mexico Bowl, Texas-San Antonio vs. New Mexico (2 p.m., ESPN): Remember when Bob Davie was Notre Dame’s head coach? Irish fans don’t like to think about that. ... New Mexico 35-28.

Las Vegas Bowl, San Diego State vs. Houston (3:30 p.m., ABC): Houston has a new head coach in Major Applewhite, but its momentum won’t slow down. ... Houston 38-35.

Camellia Bowl, Toledo vs. Appalachian State (5:30 p.m., ESPN): Appalachian State quarterback Taylor Lamb’s game is really impressive. ... Appalachian State 42-27.

Cure Bowl, Central Florida vs. Arkansas State (7 p.m., CBSSN): Central Florida had a bounce-back season in Scott Frost’s first year as its head coach. ... Central Florida 24-20.

New Orleans Bowl, Southern Miss vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (9 p.m., ESPN): Southern Miss has owned this series through the years. ... Southern Miss 27-21.

Dec. 19

Miami Beach Bowl, Tulsa vs. Central Michigan (2:30 p.m., ESPN): The Golden Hurricane wrap up a 10-win season. ... Tulsa 27-10.

Dec. 20

Boca Raton Bowl, Memphis vs. Western Kentucky (7 p.m., ESPN): Western Kentucky head coach Jeff Brohm has moved on to Purdue. ... Western Kentucky 33-30.

Dec. 21

Poinsettia Bowl, BYU vs. Wyoming (9 p.m., ESPN): This longtime series is closer than most folks would think with BYU leading 44-30-3. ... BYU 27, Wyoming 17.

Dec. 22

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Idaho vs. Colorado State (7 p.m., ESPN): Former Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo has been solid as Colorado State’s head coach. ... Colorado State 44-30.

Dec. 23

Bahamas Bowl, Eastern Michigan vs. Old Dominion (1 p.m., ESPN): Old Dominion makes its bowl debut. ... Old Dominion 20-17.

Armed Forces Bowl, Navy vs. Louisiana Tech (4:30 p.m., ESPN): Yes, Navy’s winning streak over Army was snapped, but the Midshipmen still had a terrific season. ... Navy 24-23.

Dollar General Bowl, Ohio vs. Troy (8 p.m., ESPN): Neal Brown has been really good as Troy’s head coach. ... Troy 20-16.

Dec. 24

Hawaii Bowl, Middle Tennessee vs. Hawaii (8 p.m., ESPN): The one time teams don’t mind playing on the road: at Hawaii. ... Middle Tennessee 17-13.

Dec. 26

St. Petersburg Bowl, Miami (Ohio) vs. Mississippi State (11 a.m., ESPN): Mississippi State is just so hard to figure out. ... Miami 33-21.

Quick Lane Bowl, Boston College vs. Maryland (2:30 p.m., ESPN2): If you watch this game, you really love these teams or hate yourself. ... Boston College 12-10.

Independence Bowl, N.C. State vs. Vanderbilt (5 p.m., ESPN2): The Wolfpack were so close to some big wins this season. ... N.C. State 28-20.

Dec. 27

Heart of Dallas Bowl, Army vs. North Texas (Noon, ESPN): Army is riding high after its win over Navy. ... Army 28-19.

Military Bowl, Wake Forest vs. Temple (3:30 p.m., ESPN): Wake Forest is better than most fans realize. ... Wake Forest 20-14.

Holiday Bowl, Minnesota vs. Washington State (7 p.m., ESPN): Always bet on Mike Leach. OK, not always, but here is OK. ... Washington State 44-40.

Cactus Bowl, Boise State vs. Baylor (10:15 p.m., ESPN): Baylor is such a mess. ... Boise State 45-20.

Dec. 28

Pinstripe Bowl, Northwestern vs. Pittsburgh (2 p.m., ESPN): Pittsburgh’s offense is overlooked as one of the best around. ... Pittsburgh 40-35.

Russell Athletic Bowl, Miami vs. West Virginia (5:30 p.m., ESPN): Mark Richt wraps up his first season as Miami’s head coach. ... Miami 24-21.

Foster Farms Bowl, Indiana vs. Utah (8:30 p.m., FOX): Utah is solid every year, and no one seems to notice. ... Utah 34-28.

Texas Bowl, Kansas State vs. Texas A&M (9 p.m., ESPN): Has any team underachieved at the end of seasons recently more than Texas A&M? ... Texas A&M 20-16.

Dec. 29

Birmingham Bowl, South Florida vs. South Carolina (2 p.m., ESPN): South Florida head coach Willie Taggart was hired recently at Oregon. ... South Florida 20-10.

Belk Bowl, Virginia Tech vs. Arkansas (5:30 p.m., ESPN): Justin Fuente is just getting started with the Hokies. ... Virginia Tech 35-14.

Alamo Bowl, Oklahoma State vs. Colorado (9 p.m., ESPN): This could be the most underrated good matchup of the bowl season. ... Colorado 31-28.

Dec. 30

Liberty Bowl, Georgia vs. TCU (Noon, ESPN): Georgia’s first season under Kirby Smart has been up and down. It would be nice to finish with an up. ... Georgia 24-14.

Sun Bowl, North Carolina vs. Stanford (2 p.m., CBS): Stanford could run for 400 yards on a North Carolina defense that doesn’t like to tackle. ... Stanford 27-24.

Music City Bowl, Tennessee vs. Nebraska (3:30 p.m., ESPN): I guess this is Tennessee being back? ... Nebraska 20-14.

Arizona Bowl, Air Force vs. South Alabama (5:30 p.m., ASN): My dad retired from the Air Force, so that makes this pick easy. ... Air Force 44-30.

Orange Bowl, Florida State vs. Michigan (8 p.m., ESPN): Dalvin Cook against that Michigan defense is must-see TV. ... Florida State 21-20.

Dec. 31

Citrus Bowl, LSU vs. Louisville (11 a.m., ABC): Lamar Jackson won the Heisman, but Bobby Petrino is still his head coach. ... LSU 28-20.

TaxSlayer Bowl, Georgia Tech vs. Kentucky (11 a.m., ESPN): Georgia Tech has plenty of momentum after beating Georgia, and Kentucky isn’t known for slowing down other teams’ momentum. ... Georgia Tech 42-20.

Peach Bowl, Alabama vs. Washington (3 p.m., ESPN): It’s never wise to pick against Alabama. ... Alabama 34-24.

Fiesta Bowl, Clemson vs. Ohio State (7 p.m., ESPN): Clemson needs one more win for its second straight national championship game shot at Alabama. ... Clemson 38-28.

Jan. 2

Outback Bowl, Florida vs. Iowa (1 p.m., ABC): Florida won the SEC East by default, but that’s still better than anything Iowa accomplished. ... Florida 13-10.

Cotton Bowl, Western Michigan vs. Wisconsin (1 p.m., ESPN): It will be nice to see Western Michigan take on a Big Ten team. Really nice. ... Western Michigan 38-30.

Rose Bowl, Penn State vs. Southern Cal (5 p.m., ESPN): This is the best matchup of the bowl season, outside of the playoffs, of course. ... Penn State 20-19.

Sugar Bowl, Oklahoma vs. Auburn (8:30 p.m., ESPN): Another must-see matchup with Auburn’s pass rush against the Oklahoma passing game. ... Oklahoma 36-30.

This story was originally published December 12, 2016 at 2:18 PM with the headline "Plenty of chances to be right (and wrong) with bowl picks."