ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

Three more showdowns before the Granddaddy.

Emerald Bowl

California 33, Miami 24: Cal has a big advantage playing what amounts to a home game, while Miami is 3,500 miles and three time zones away from its tropical climate. But most important: This is a veteran Bears squad that should be able to handle a talented but young foe. Cal running back Jahvid Best could stake a claim as a leading 2009 Heisman Trophy candidate with a big game against a struggling Miami run defense.

Pacific Life Holiday Bowl

Oregon 40, Oklahoma State 38: Go back and forth on this one because the Cowboys high-powered offense is a little more balanced than the Ducks high-powered offense, but just get the feeling a faster, more physical Pac-10 foe will be a shock to the Cowboys system. Oregon will start fast, OSU will rally and then the Ducks will wear them down with a steady dose of LeGarrette Blount in the fourth quarter.

Brut Sun Bowl

Pittsburgh 27, Oregon State 24: The Beavers would be the pick if both the Rodgers brothers were healthy, but both running back Jacquizz and receiver/scatback James are out with shoulder injuries, meaning 50 percent of the offense won't be available. Plus, there's the question about how Oregon State will respond after the Civil War blowout loss to Oregon and the stunning end to its Rose Bowl run. The Beavers have won four straight and five of six bowl games, but a steady dose of LeSean McCoy and some offensive struggles will make the difference.

Here's a look at my predictions for the first three bowl games involving the Big 12.

Missouri 38, Northwestern 27 -- The Tigers have had to stew over their championship game loss for nearly a month, wondering why they ended up in San Antonio in a season that opened with BCS promise. I'm expecting Chase Daniel and Chase Coffman to step up for one more huge offensive game in their final games together. Jeremy Maclin could be leaving the program and offensive coordinator Dave Christensen will be leaving for the head coaching job at Wyoming. Even with a struggling defense, I think the Tigers can outscore Northwestern and finish off back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time in school history.

Kansas 45, Minnesota 20 -- Coach Mark Mangino has already made history by taking the Jayhawks to back-to-back bowl trips for the first time in school history. And this bowl game looks promising for them. The Jayhawks struggled in pass defense all season, but Minnesota couldn't move the ball late in the season in a late collapse that saw them lose its final four games. Coach Tim Brewster hired assistant coach Tim Davis to juice production in the Gophers' run offense that struggled all season. The guess here is that he hasn't had enough time to do that, especially against Kansas' underrated corps of linebackers. If Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing has protection, he should have a lot of fun against Minnesota's leaky secondary.

Oklahoma State 49, Oregon 47 -- Brace yourself for one of the best of the bowl games - particularly if you like high-octane offenses. Both teams scored at least 40 points six times during the season. Neither defense looks that imposing. It looks like a recipe for points and yards by the bunches. And that game could favor the Cowboys, because of their varied offensive weapons. Look for Zac Robinson to be more of a running threat -- like he was in the Oklahoma game -- and for Oklahoma State's advantage in special teams to be magnified with playmakers like Dez Bryant and Perrish Cox. But still, it won't be easy as the Cowboys will be playing this game without defensive coordinator Tim Beckman. He's gone to his new job as head coach at Toledo and it will be up to the rest of the defensive staff to pick up the slack against Oregon's potent offense keyed by head coaching designate Chip Kelly.

My record for championship week: 1-0 (100 percent)
My record for the season: 84-13 (86.6 percent)

It's time for our next round of bowl picks, which for the Big East means the Meineke Car Care Bowl on Saturday, the Papajohns.com Bowl on Monday and the Brut Sun Bowl on Wednesday. Away we go ...

North Carolina 23, West Virginia 16: Never bet against Pat White in a bowl game; he's 3-0 and nobody gave him or his team a shot at beating Georgia or Oklahoma. While the Tar Heels aren't nearly as imposing as those former BCS foes, they are the wrong kind of matchup for the Mountaineers: a fast, athletic defense that can choke off the option with special teams that can cause problems. West Virginia's offense really struggled in the last two weeks of the season against similarly tough defenses from Pittsburgh and South Florida. Despite White and Co.'s big-game experience, North Carolina will beat its third Big East team of the season before a pro-Heels crowd in Charlotte.

Rutgers 34, NC State 20: The two Team Turnarounds meet in Dixie in maybe the best bowl showdown ever between a 7-5 club and a 6-6 one. Both played extremely well down the stretch, and you could argue that the Wolfpack played a tougher slate in the final month than Rutgers did. But there's no doubting how dominant the Scarlet Knights have been, and of the two quarterbacks who did their own revolutions, I like the senior Mike Teel better than the freshman Russell Wilson. Teel and Kenny Britt go out in style in Birmingham.

Pittsburgh 31, Oregon State 27: With Jacquizz Rodgers questionable for the game, Oregon State will have to find other ways to score. As bad as the Beavers' defense played in the season finale against Oregon, you have to wonder how they'll stop the Big East's top scoring team and LeSean McCoy. My guess is they won't. And if you're into the motivation aspect, Pitt is thrilled to be in El Paso, while Oregon State had its sights set on the Rose Bowl. The Panthers get their 10th win and set themselves up for a high 2009 preseason ranking.

Last week: 1-0

Season record: 47-23 (67 percent)

Posted by ESPN.com's Heather Dinich

So far I'm 1-0 in the postseason and the ACC is, too. According to my forecast, the ACC will be 6-2 heading into New Year's Day. Here is the second round of bowl predictions for the remaining ACC games before New Year's Day:

MEINEKE CAR CARE BOWL
North Carolina 28, West Virginia 24 -- More than 40,000 Tar Heel fans are expected to support UNC in Charlotte, and the Tar Heels will counter Pat White with Hakeem Nicks.

CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL
Florida State 31, Wisconsin 14 -- There are too many speedy athletes on the Seminoles' roster, and Mickey Andrews will have his defense ready to stop the Badgers' running game.

EMERALD BOWL
California 28, Miami 17 -- There were too many off-field distractions with Miami's suspensions, plus the fact they're playing about 3,000 miles away from Coral Gables.

PAPAJOHNS.COM BOWL
NC State 24, Rutgers 17 -- Russell Wilson is the more versatile quarterback in this game and the Wolfpack's defense has made significant improvement over the past few weeks.

ROADY'S HUMANITARIAN BOWL
Nevada 31, Maryland 10 -- This offense will be too much for the Terps' defense to handle, especially after recently losing their defensive coordinator. With the way the schedule worked out, Maryland had too many days where it wasn't practicing.

CHICK-FIL-A BOWL
Georgia Tech 28, LSU 24 -- The Yellow Jackets are on a roll, they're essentially playing at home and LSU has had issues at quarterback all season.

GAYLORD HOTELS MUSIC CITY BOWL
Boston College 14, Vanderbilt 10 -- Once again, it should be another defensive struggle, but the Eagles will need quarterback Dominique Davis to play better than he did in the ACC championship game.

My picks took a hard hit to start the bowl season, but they've been a lot better since. Hopefully, I can keep it going with Hawaii tonight. For those who missed or forgot about my Sheraton Hawaii Bowl pick, I've included it below.

SHERATON HAWAII: Hawaii 24, Notre Dame 21
Notre Dame has not won a road game against a quality team all year, which makes it hard to pick them to win on Hawaii's home field. Although this was the most favorable of all the matchups offered to Notre Dame this bowl season, Hawaii has gotten steadily better both on offense and defense as the season has progressed. The key to this game will be turnovers. Both teams have a lot of giveaways and a lot of takeaways. The game will be decided on defense since both offenses are good, but too erratic to be relied on.

MOTOR CITY: Central Michigan 38, Florida Atlantic 27
The Motor City Bowl should be an offensive display. These teams feature two quarterbacks that were among the most talked about in the preseason. Central Michigan's Dan LeFevour is a dual threat and will tuck and run when needed, and FAU's Rusty Smith struggled early in the season, but has come on the last half. Look for a lot of scoring in this one. The Central Michigan secondary is among the worst in the country and FAU defense gives up over 400 yards per game.

INDEPENDENCE BOWL: Northern Illinois 21, Louisiana Tech 17
This is probably the least attractive matchup of the bowl season, but it's still going to be a close game because these teams are similar. Both have quarterbacks that can make plays and both have defenses that come up in the clutch. Northern Illinois will rely heavily on defensive end Larry English and quarterback Chandler Harnish to carry it, and Louisiana Tech will need Ross Jenkins to have a great game. Like I said, this one will be one of the closer games of the season.

ROADY'S HUMANITARIAN: Nevada 28, Maryland 17
Maryland will have its hands full with the Nevada's running game, which ranks second in the country with 291.42 yards per game. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick is part of that rushing offense, averaging 92.92 yards per game. During the last half of the season his throwing game caught up and he started to become more of a dual threat. Maryland has been one of the most schizophrenic teams this season, so there's no telling how they'll play in Boise, a less than attractive destination for the Terps.

TEXAS: Western Michigan 35, Rice 31
This will be one of the more entertaining games of the bowl season because both of these offenses can put up some points. In fact, they have similar quarterbacks, similar tight ends and similar star receivers. The only difference is that Western Michigan has a proven defense. But that won't stop this game from being high scoring. Expect a lot of touchdown passes.

BELL HELICOPTER ARMED FORCES: Houston 38, Air Force 21
This is a rematch of a game earlier this season that was played in a hurricane in Dallas. That limited Houston's ability to run its offense the way it wanted and Air Force capitalized with its ground game. This time weather won't be a factor, but revenge might. Houston really came on in the latter half of the season and was a win away from playing in the C-USA title game. Air Force is still one of the best rushing offenses in the country and that was something Houston didn't handle well in the first meeting.

Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

It's what you've been waiting for, my first two picks of the bowl season. I was 73-23 during the regular season (.760), and yes, I did get Florida's 31-20 win over Alabama right in the SEC Championship Game. My score was pretty close, too. I picked Florida to win 34-24. That said, I don't see any no-brainers in the eight bowl games involving SEC teams. I'd take a 5-3 record right now and go to the house. We'll start with Boston College vs. Vanderbilt in the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl and Georgia Tech vs. LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, both games being played on Dec. 31. My picks for the other six bowl games involving SEC teams will come out on Dec. 31:

Georgia Tech 31, LSU 27: What happened to the LSU defense from a year ago? The Tigers couldn't stop anybody when it counted this season. They struggled more against the pass than the run, and run is pretty much all the Yellow Jackets do. It's a chance for LSU freshman quarterback Jordan Jefferson to gain some momentum heading into next season. Georgia Tech ought to have home-field advantage unless its fans get caught in Atlanta traffic. Of course, there's always MARTA. In the final analysis, it's been a while since LSU genuinely looked like a solid football team. There was the second half in the road win at South Carolina on Oct. 18, and there were stretches to be proud of in the overtime loss to Alabama on Nov. 8. The Tigers played in stretches this season, and that won't be good enough to beat a confident Georgia Tech team that's playing its best football.

Boston College 21, Vanderbilt 14: First, a public service announcement. No matter what happens in this game or despite the fact that Vanderbilt limped into a bowl game after losing six of its last seven games, it's still been a marvelous coaching job by Bobby Johnson and his staff to get the Commodores to this point. This is a team that lost its entire offensive line and virtually its entire front seven on defense last year. Now that we've given the Commodores their props, they haven't given anybody much reason the last two months to think that they're going to all of a sudden have an offensive awakening against a Boston College team that's been pretty salty on defense all season. The Eagles' forte is stopping the run and forcing turnovers, and we've seen what the Commodores look like on offense when they're forced to pass.

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

It's time to forecast the first three Big Ten bowl games. I finished the regular season with a record of 71-17 (80.7 test), but the bowls provide a much tougher challenge.

CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL -- Wisconsin 27, Florida State 25

This would constitute an upset, given Florida State's purported edge in speed and the game's Seminole-friendly location (Orlando, Fla.). Wisconsin will have its hands full trying to contain dominant pass rusher Everette Brown, star safety Myron Rolle and the Seminoles defense, and the Badgers' offensive line needs to play its best game of the season. But I liked the way Wisconsin's offense played down the stretch behind quarterback Dustin Sherer, and running backs P.J. Hill and John Clay could wear down Florida State. It certainly could go the other way, but I'm not sold on Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder. The Badgers' secondary can make plays, and Ponder commits a key turnover that lifts Wisconsin to a much needed win.

VALERO ALAMO BOWL -- Missouri 38, Northwestern 27

Northwestern ended the season playing its best football and continued to make major strides on defense. But this just isn't a good matchup for the Wildcats, who haven't faced an offense resembling the high-powered unit led by Chase Daniel, Jeremy Maclin and Chase Coffman. Now there is a legitimate question about Missouri's mind-set. How motivated will the Tigers be after a fairly disappointing regular season? Northwestern will be prepared and if the Wildcats have the mental edge, they could pull off a significant upset. Senior quarterback C.J. Bacher has one final chance to recapture the form he showed midway through the 2007 season, when he racked up 990 passing yards in a two-week stretch against Michigan State and Minnesota. Missouri's secondary is a joke, but Bacher won't be able to avoid interceptions. The Wildcats come up short despite the return of running back Tyrell Sutton.

INSIGHT BOWL -- Kansas 41, Minnesota 24

Teams certainly can make progess during bowl preparation, but Minnesota will have to take a major leap forward after dropping its final four regular-season games. Wide receiver Eric Decker returns to the mix after knee surgery and will provide a nice boost, but Minnesota won't be able to mask its problems against a more experienced Kansas team. It'll be interesting to see how the offensive line responds to new coach Tim Davis, but Minnesota's inability to run the ball and its over-reliance on quarterback Adam Decker make it tough to see the Gophers keeping up with the Jayhawks. Minnesota's upset hopes hinge on a defense that led the Big Ten in takeaways (30). If a Gophers secondary filled with playmakers causes Todd Reesing to make mistakes, Minnesota should hang around in this one.