Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl – Kentucky vs. #21 Northwestern
Line: Northwestern -8.5
McElroy: Northwestern (39)
Galloway: Northwestern (35)
Palmer: Northwestern (34)
My Pick: Northwestern (39)
Result: Northwestern wins 24-23
In a game that almost everyone thought would be a blowout, this one turned out to be completely different. An early knee injury to Northwestern’s starting quarterback and ejections for significant players on each team evened the playing field. Northwestern pulled through at the end, despite neither team amounting much offense throughout the game.
NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl – Utah State vs. New Mexico State
Line: Utah State -3
McElroy: New Mexico State (6)
Galloway: Utah State (33)
Palmer: Utah State (5)
My Pick: Utah State (29)
Result: New Mexico State wins 26-20
Wow. I’m still trying to figure out how Utah State lost here. They outgained New Mexico State by 76 yards, held the ball longer, had more first downs, and had less turnovers. Before the game, I said Utah State would have to play just slightly below average to win this game, and apparently they were not able to perform up to those standards.
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic – #8 USC vs. #5 Ohio State
Line: Ohio State -7
McElroy: Ohio State (18)
Galloway: Ohio State (5)
Palmer: Ohio State (15)
Chizik: Ohio State (25)
Vilma: Ohio State (15)
My Pick: Ohio State (38)
Result: Ohio State wins 24-7
At no point did it ever look like USC had a chance against Ohio State. USC quarterback Sam Darnold was under relentless pressure from the first snap and Ohio State’s defense forced four turnovers as they coasted to an easy victory. The Buckeyes had every statistical advantage going into the Cotton Bowl and final score coincided with those numbers.
