2014 NCAA College Football Bowl Breakdown

Last Updated: December 19th, 2014 by Chad A. Dawkins

The 2014 bowl season is upon us, we’ll take a quick look at the bowl matchups and odds, this breakdown will be updated periodically throughout the bowl season. Lines courtesy of JustBet, all times Eastern. Best of luck and Happy Holidays from all of us here at Bankroll Sports!

Saturday, December 20th

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl    

Nevada (-2, 63.5) vs. Louisiana-Lafayette 11 a.m. ESPN

The 7-5 Nevada Wolfpack take on the Louisiana Lafayette Ragin Cajuns in the New Orleans bowl to kick off the 2014-2015 bowl season. The Wolfpack come in with a 7-5 record winning 3 out of their last 5, while the Ragin Cajuns boast an 8-4 mark. Louisiana-Lafayette is undefeated in bowls with a 3-0 record in postseason play.

Gildan New Mexico Bowl     

UTEP vs. Utah State (-10, 44) 2:20 p.m. ESPN

The 9-4 Utah State Aggies make their fourth consecutive bowl appearance when they take on the UTEP Miners from University Stadium in Albuquerque, New Mexico. These Miners will be familiar to their surroundings however, picking up their first win of the season in this stadium over New Mexico.

Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl         

Colorado St. vs. #22 Utah (-2.5, 57.5) 3:30 p.m. ABC

The Utah Utes, one of the more physical teams in the PAC-12 will take on the Colorado State Rams in the Las Vegas Bowl. The Utes have quite a few impressive victories on their resume, and the Rams will be without head coach Jim McElwain, who bolted for Florida.

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl   

Western Michigan vs. Air Force (+2, 58) 5:45 p.m. ESPN

The 8-4 Western Michigan Broncos out of the MAC will look to finally get a bowl win against the triple option attack of Air Force, who have 10 bowl wins in their program’s history. The Broncos have been to five bowls in their history and have come up short in every appearance.

Raycom Media Camellia Bowl

Bowling Green vs. South Alabama (-2.5, 53.5) 9:15 p.m. ESPN

Bowling Green is coming off a loss to Northern Illinois in the MAC championship game. They’ll sure get a max effort from a South Alabama, who hasn’t made a postseason appearance since 2009.

Monday, December 22nd

Miami Beach Bowl

BYU vs. Memphis (-2, 56) 2 p.m. ESPN

The 8-4 BYU Cougars take on the 9-3 Memphis Tigers in the Miami Beach Bowl from Sun Life Stadium in Miami. The Cougars season was derailed after a season-ending injury to Taysom Hill, but rebounded nicely with a 4 game win streak to finish out the regular season. The Memphis Tigers improved greatly this season, and finished the season with 6 straight wins.

Tuesday, December 23rd     

Boca Raton Bowl

Marshall (-10, 67) vs. Northern Illinois 6 p.m. ESPN

The Conference USA champion Marshall Thundering Herd will take on the MAC Champion Northern Illinois

San Diego County CU Poinsettia Bowl

Navy (+2.5, 53.5) vs. San Diego State 9:30 p.m. ESPN

The San Diego State Aztecs will look to make it 7 straight wins over a service academy when they take on the Navy Midshipmen, who have won 4 out of their last 5.

 

Wednesday, December 24th

Popeyes Bahamas Bowl

Western Kentucky (-3, 67) vs. Central Michigan 12 p.m. ESPN

Western Kentucky became bowl eligible by winning the final 4 games down the stretch, including an upset win over Marshall. They’ll take on Central Michigan, who finished 4th in the MAC West.

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl

Rice (-2, 59.5) vs. Fresno State 8 p.m. ESPN

The Rice Owls closed the regular season on a sour note, being beat down by Louisiana Tech 76-31. They’ll take on Fresno State, who will look to do better than last years bowl performance, being beaten soundly by USC in the Las Vegas Bowl.

 

Friday, December 26th

Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl

Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech (-6, 58) 1 p.m. ESPN

Louisiana Tech is coming off a 26-23 loss to Marshall in the Conference USA game. They’ll take on Illinois, who got two big wins at the end of the season over Penn State and Northwestern to become bowl eligible.

Quick Lane Bowl      

Rutgers vs. North Carolina (-3, 67) 4:30 p.m. ESPN

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are in a bowl in their first year in the Big Ten. They’ll take on the North Carolina Tar Heels, who finished 3rd in the ACC Coastal division.

BITCOIN St. Petersburg Bowl

NC State vs. UCF (-2, 49) 8 p.m. ESPN

The NC State Wolfpack ended their season on a solid note dominating intrastate rival North Carolina 35-7. They’ll look to get a bowl win against Central Florida, who defeated East Carolina in the AAC Conference championship.

 

December 27th

Military Bowl

Virginia Tech vs. Cincinnati (-2.5, 51) 1 p.m. ESPN

The Virginia Tech Hokies out of the ACC take on the Cincinnati Bearcats out of the AAC. This will be the 22nd consecutive bowl appearance for the Hokies, who will have their hands full against a Bearcats squad that has won 7 straight games.

Hyundai Sun Bowl     

Duke vs. Arizona State (-7.5, 65) 2 p.m. CBS

In what could be one of the more intriguing matchups of the bowl season, the Duke Blue Devils take on the Arizona State Sun Devils. The Sun Devils were in the national championship hunt before falling to Oregon State. The Blue Devils have now been in consecutive bowl games for the first time in the schools history.

Duck Commander Independence Bowl    

Miami (Fl.) (-3.5, 61) vs. South Carolina 3:30 p.m. ABC

The Miami Hurricanes have gave fans a glimpse into what could be a promising future with freshman quarterback Brad Kaaya. The Gamecocks have had a disappionting season and will look to avoid the first losing season with Steve Spurrier at the helm.

New Era Pinstripe Bowl        

Boston College (-2.5, 40) vs. Penn State 4:30 p.m. ESPN

If you like tough hardnosed football, then you’re in for a treat when Boston College and Penn State lock horns in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl from Yankee Stadium. These two teams last met in 2004, with Eagles winning 21-7..

National University Holiday Bowl   

Nebraska vs. USC (-7.5, 62) 8 p.m. ESPN

The Nebraska Cornuhuskers will be without now former head coach Bo Pelini, who was fired after the regular season. They’ll take on a USC squad who was last seen getting demolished by UCLA, and will be looking to end the season on a positive note in Steve Sarkisian’s first year as head coach.

 

December 29 

AutoZone Liberty Bowl

West Virginia (-3.5, 67) vs. Texas A&M 2 p.m. ESPN

Two of the bigger surprises will meet in Nashville for the Autozone Liberty Bowl. The Mountaineers were a pleasant surprise at 7-5, while Texas A&M was a big disappointment finishing 7-5. West Virginia will be looking to cap off a nice bounceback season after going 4-8 in 2013.

Russell Athletic Bowl

Clemson vs. Oklahoma (-3.5, 52.5) 5:30 p.m. ESPN

The Clemson Tigers take on the Oklahoma Sooners in the Russell Athletic Bowl. The Sooners had asomewhat disappointing regular season ending with a loss to rival Oklahoma State. Clemson will be playing without the direction of offensive coordinator Chad Morris, who left for the SMU head coaching position.

AdvoCare Texas Bowl          

Texas vs. Arkansas (-6, 44.5) 9 p.m. ESPN

Texas will look to get their first bowl win for head coach Charlie Strong against an Arkansas team that played really strong down the stretch with wins over Ole Miss and LSU.

 

December 30  

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl

Notre Dame vs. LSU (-7.5, 52.5) 3 p.m.       ESPN

The Notre Dame fighting Irish struggled down the stretch losing their last 4 games. They’ll try to right the ship against a young LSU team that definitely improved throughout the year.

Belk Bowl

Louisville vs. Georgia (-7, 56.5) 6:30 p.m. ESPN

The Belk Bowl will be quite the intriguing matchup with Louisville’s defensive coordinator Todd Grantham going against his former team in Georgia. Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino isn’t the most popular guy in Georgia either.

Foster Farms Bowl

Maryland vs. Stanford (-14, 48) 10 p.m. ESPN

The Maryland Terrapins have had their fair share of struggles against physical teams. They’ll definitely be up against it when they take on Stanford, who will be playing in a non-BCS bowl for the first time in 4 seasons.

 

December 31

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl   

Ole Miss vs. TCU (-3, 56.5) 12:30 p.m. ESPN

The Ole Miss Rebels will take on the TCU Horned Frogs in a matchup of a top ranked defense against a top ranked offense. TCU might feel a little slighted after being pushed out of the national championship playoff and might be in an angry mood.

Vizio Fiesta Bowl      

Boise State vs. Arizona (-3, 68) 4 p.m. ESPN

The Boise State will look to continue their success in the Fiesta Bowl, where they are 2-0 all time. They’ll take on the Arizona Wildcats, who are coming off a loss to Oregon in the PAC-12 championship.

Capital One Orange Bowl    

Mississippi State (-7.5, 61.5) vs. Georgia Tech 8 p.m. ESPN

The Mississippi State Bulldogs certainly have had a lot of success this season being ranked in the top 5 for a better part of the season. They’ll take on the triple-option attack of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, who took Florida State to the limit in the ACC championship game.

 

January 1

Outback Bowl

Wisconsin vs. Auburn (-7, 63.5) 12 p.m. ESPN2

Two of the top rushing attacks will take the field in the Outback Bowl when Melvin Gordon and the Wisconsin Badgers take on Nick Marshall and the Auburn Tigers. Wisconsin will most certainly want to bounce back after being pummeled by Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game.

Goodyear Cotton Bowl         

Michigan State vs. Baylor (-2.5, 71.5) 12:30 p.m. ESPN

The Michigan State Spartans will look to slow down the Baylor Bears in the Cotton Bowl from Dallas, Texas. Baylor will look to improve on last years bowl performance, an upset loss to Central Florida.

Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl      

Minnesota vs. Missouri (-5, 47.5) 1 p.m. ABC

The Minnesota Golden Gophers out of the Big Ten take on the Missouri Tigers out of the SEC in a mathcup of two of the more surprising success stories this season.

Rose Bowl Game      

Oregon (-9, 58.5) vs. Florida State 5 p.m. ESPN

The first National Championship Semifinal will feature the defending national champion Florida State Seminoles taking on the PAC-12 champion Oregon Ducks. It will feature the last 2 Heisman Trohy winners Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota.

Allstate Sugar Bowl

Alabama (-9, 58.5) vs. Ohio State 8:30 p.m. ESPN

The second national championship semifinal will pit two old rivals in Nick Saban and Urban Meyer as the Alabama Crimson Tide take on the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Crimson Tide have been the #1 team in the nation since their win over Mississippi State. Ohio State leaped into the national championship playoff picture with their dominant win over Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship.

 

January 2

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl

Pittsburgh (-3, 53.5) vs. Houston 12:00 p.m. ESPN

The Pitt Panthers will be without head coach paul Chryst who left for Wisconsin and Houston will be without their head coach Tony Levine, who was fired at the end of the season.

TaxSlayer Bowl       

Iowa vs. Tennessee (-3.5, 51.5) 3:20 p.m. ESPN

The Tennessee Volunteers showed signs of promise towards the end of the season and will look to get their first bowl win since 2007 against Iowa. Iowa closed the regular season on a sour note losing at home to Nebraska.

Valero Alamo Bowl   

Kansas State vs. UCLA (-1.5, 59) 6:45 p.m. ESPN

Kansas State was a surprise this season in the Big 12 while UCLA was one of the bigger disappointments after being talked about being a potential title contender.

Cactus Bowl

Oklahoma St. vs. Washington (-5.5, 56.5) 10:15 p.m. ESPN

The Oklahoma State Cowboys have had a down year but ended the regular season on a positive note with a win over Oklahoma. They’ll take on the Washington Huskies, who will be playing in their first bowl under head coach Chris Peterson.

 

January 3th   

Birmingham Bowl

Florida (-6.5, 56) vs. East Carolina 1 p.m. ESPN2

East Carolina was ranked in the top 25 for a better part of the season before falling to Temple and Cincinnati. They’ll take on Florida, who will be without the now former head coach Will Muschamp, who was fired and is now the defensive coordinator at Auburn.

 

January 4th   

Go Daddy Bowl

Toledo (-4, 67) vs. Arkansas State 9:00 p.m. ESPN

The Toledo Rockets out of the MAC will take on The Arkansas State Red Wolves out of the Sun Belt in the Go Daddy Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. The scoreboard operator might be busy as both teams are averaging almost 500 yards of total offense per game.

January 12th 

College Football Championship Game

Teams TBD 8:30 p.m. ESPN

 

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Posted in College Football - Last Updated on Friday, December 19th, 2014 @ 9:40 pm (EST)
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