Wow……and then there were 9……Bowl Games that is!! 28 D1 schools changing head coaches, hundreds of players entering the transfer portal and a few more opting out to prepare for the NFL draft. Now, add in the next letter of the Greek Alphabet, Omicron, and what a way to finish the 2021 College Football Season!
Hopefully the 4 teams in the CFP are as effective in executing Covid protocols as they were in their seasons to make it to the playoffs!! In the mean time, got a few more games to prognosticate so let’s get to it!
Friday 12/31
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl – JAX, FL 10 AM
Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
ZT gives the Scarlet Knights props for being like a wrestler in the locker room on WWE Monday Night Raw and running to the squared circle when the scheduled opponent is attacked on his way to the ring and driven off in a hired ambulance!! In this match, the attacker was Covid. Rutgers is 5-7 this year and only picked up 1 win in November ( over the Indiana Hoosiers ). That said, Demon Deacons dropped 3 down the stretch including a trouncing by Pitt in the ACC Championship. Again, hats off to Rutgers for jumping in the ring but expect Wake to put them in a sleeper hold early…lights out knights! Demon Deacons 41 Good Night Knights 21
Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl – El Paso, TX 11 AM ( Cxld but back on!! )
Washington State Cougars vs. Central Michigan Chippewas ( Was The U but they cxld due Covid! )
NOW….Welcome Central Michigan Chippewas!!!! Fun deal as the Arizona Bowl got cancelled and noting CMU was just down I-10 hanging around in Tucson…..ZT taking Chippewas in honor of Gordon Lightfoot’s Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald ( Google the lyrics young people ) and for Taco Bell since El Paso is a closer “Run for the Border” ( google that ad campaign ) than Tucson. Chippewas 34 Cougars 31 Upset Special
Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl – Tucson, AZ 1pm
Central Michigan Chippewas vs ?????? ( Was Boise State but they cxld due to Covid ) — DONE, sent CMU to Tucson….Sponsors going to Home Plate Sports Pub and drink until……………….there will be stories………
Goodyear Cotton Bowl – CFP #1 – Arlington, TX 230pm
#4 Cincinnati Bearcats vs. #1 Bama
Bravo Bearcats!!!! You did everything you were asked to do to get in the CFP and, until a better playoff format is enacted, you gave lots of teams hope!!! That hope is a good thing until it gets crushed. Must admit, love Cincy QB Desmond Ridder and some solid DBs so this one will be closer than Vegas wants you to believe!!! ZT calling for the best team in the Covid Era to take this one! Bama 34 Bearcats 27
Capital One Orange Bowl – CFP #2 – Miami, FL 630pm
#3 Georgia Bulldogs vs. #2 Michigan Wolverines
This should be the best game of the day. Bulldogs were basically pre-awarded the championship in early November. But they still had to face their nemesis and here they are. Wolverines were written off after the embarrassing loss to in-state rival Sparty on Halloween weekend. All they did was win 5 straight and a Big 10 Championship. Harbaugh, only liked by 41% of Michigan fans until recently ( 2% below Gary Danielson ), has this team in position to do something special. ZT calling for the upset!! Wolverines 24 UGA 23
Saturday 1/1/22
Outback Bowl – Tampa, FL 11am
Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Arkansas Razorbacks
Big 10 vs. SEC……..Hopefully a SEC team will have won a bowl game or 2 ( 0-4 as of this prognostication ) by now. PSU will count on QB Sean Clifford to carry this team as the running game is slower than molasses in January in Vermont. Hogs have seen plenty of good offenses this year and can play fast or grind it. ZT loves BBQ, Pork Chops and …yes BACON!!! Bacon Boys 28 Kittens 21
PlayStation Fiesta Bowl – Phoenix, AZ 12pm
Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Cowboys looked good down the stretch but could not finish the deal when they lost to Baylor in the B12 Championship……..Notre Dame didn’t have that problem in their championship game…….. ZT loves new ND HC Marcus Freeman and he will have his QB Coan and a good defense ready to play. Gundy excited to be back in a NY6 bowl and they do have a solid defense ( although DC is now headed to OSU ). Key Stat? ND is 0-4 in BCS bowls and 0-3 in NY6 bowls since 1998. ZT says Irish break the streak!!! Irish 27 Cowboys 21
VRBO Citrus Bowl – Orlando, FL 12pm
Iowa Hawkeyes vs Kentucky Wildcats
Fun fact in this one? KY HC Mark Stoops will face his alma mater for the first time as Head Coach. All he has done in the bluegrass state is take this hoops school to a bowl for the last 6 years and a win gives KY only the 4th 10-win season in school history. ZT not smelling any opt-outs in this one. Hawkeyes have a solid defense but are as basic as a can of corn on offense. To make it worse, top RB Goodson has decided to sit this one out for the draft. Tight game but ZT calling it for the Cats. Wildcats 24 Hawkeyes 21
Rose Bowl by Capital One Pasadena, CA 4pm
Utah Utes vs. THE Ohio State Buckeyes
Buckeyes got some opt-outs ( WRs Olave and Wilson for sure ) but QB C J Stroud will still have options to work with. UTES will look for QB Cameron Rising to play close to the vest and utilize RBs Thomas and Pledger. Nothing else to say on this one…it’s The Rose Bowl!! Buckeyes 31 Utes 28
Allstate Sugar Bowl – NOLA 745pm
Baylor Bears vs. Ole Miss Rebel/Landsharks
Lots of Baptists in New Orleans on New Years………Good news is Baylor HC Dave Aranda can advise them of places to avoid from his years at LSU. Bears got a solid running attack and, yes, a defense that allows only 19.2 PPG!! That defense will have to stop Rebels QB Matt Corral ( yep, he is NOT opting out ) who is looking to raise his NFL stock and Kiffin will help him while pumping up his offensive recruiting efforts. So, Baylor runs and Rebels throw……ZT going with the air game in the Super Dome… Rebels 38 Bears 28
ZT will be at the Cotton Bowl/CFP in Dallas while Padre is still making BLTs at a tailgate at the Dukes Mayo Bowl…….will be back for the CFP final on Jan 10! Happy New Years to all!!!
PADRE PUT DOWN HIS MAYO and tossing in some prognostications!
Cotton Bowl – Bama 44 Cincy 16
Bama crushes Cincy’s dreams like I crushed that Chocolate Pie on Christmas Day. All that will be let will be tiny pieces of crust — I mean players—-scattered all over the plate — I mean field
Orange Bowl – Georgia 34 Michigan 13
As a Gator, I soooooo bad want to believe Michigan can do this. I even think they fight hard for a while. But the body blows start to tire them and Georgia pulls away in the 2nd half. Yet again forcing me to hope Alabama wins yet ANOTHER title. The universe likes to torture Florida fans…… NY Day prognostications coming after I eat some more pie….
Jan 1, 2022 Bowl Games from the Padre
Fiesta Bowl Notre Dame 26 Okie State 23
For the 1st time ( I am assuming ) in history, a coach literally left his team while still in the CFP/National Title hunt. Now he is dancing with recruits to callin’ Baton Rouge and speaking in some new version of a Cajun/Southern accent. Therefore, Okie State should cruise, right? I say NO! The Irish players bring it for their new coach who was born in 1986. I was already 7…..Now I am officially old.
Rose Bowl Utah 34 Ohio State 30
I believe that Ohio State is the better team, but I question their motivation. Utah badly wants this game! Therefore, I think Utah gets the big win. Ohio State regroups and gets ready for 2022 when they have to play teams like Toledo, Arkansas State, Rutgers, Indiana, Northwestern, etc., etc., etc. ** Ohio State actually opens with Notre Dame next season. However, I love poking the Nuts because they always say things like ” Oh, and Florida plays the mighty Vandy.” Angry Buck nuts are fun and predictable.
Sugar Bowl Ole Miss 33 Baylor 31
Question: What do Baylor fans and Ole Miss fans do when they make a NY6 bowl?
Answer: Nobody knows!!! This is a new phenomenon —like finding a new planet or Urban Meyer lasting longer than 6 seasons. In all seriousness, both teams have good coaches, and both teams more than deserve to be in New Orleans. I say the game could go either way, but my gut says Ole Miss pulls out a squeaker. Baylor misses a late go ahead FG.
NY Eve Update – ZT back from Cotton Bowl, a Bama win, a great dinner with family and time to toss one more prognostication…….
OK….NRG BOWL in HOUSTON on Tuesday Jan 4 – Really???
LSU Tigahs ( without Coach O ) vs. Kansas State Purple Power Cats
Simple for ZT….1) No Coach O 2) sat next to a dude at the Cotton Bowl ( whihc Bama won of course ) who went to K State on a golf scholarship. That’s all ZT needs to call this one! Purple Power Cats 28 Tigers ( can’t call them Tigahs without Coach O and assume that dork Brian Kelly will have a terrible dialect for them anyway ) 16
Pigskin Prognostications by the Piedmont Padre and Zimmern's Twin 