College Football Picks

The South Florida Bulls head to the islands with a couple of missing pieces on defense. Two starting cornerbacks, Michael Dansby and DJ Harvey, hit the transfer portal, with Harvey already landing at USC. However, San Jose State starting WR Nick Nash has elected to opt out. He was good for 104 receptions, 1,382 yards and 16 touchdowns, so his missing from the lineup is a giant absence for the Spartans. The good news for the Spartans is that QB Walker Eget is going to be under center. He finished the season in tremendous fashion after replacing QB Emmett Brown midway through the campaign. Still, without Nash, the Spartans are going to have trouble scoring points.

The Bulls of USF have played without QB Byrum Brown since Week 5, as he contends with a lower-body injury. However, the offense has QB Bryce Archie, and he threw for 1,679 yards and 9 touchdowns, while running for 2 more. RB Kelley Joiner is in the lineup, too, going for 766 yards and 11 scores. This is a Bulls team that can run the football and roll up some big-time points. The Spartans allow 156.3 yards per game on the ground, so that could be the difference maker in this bowl game.

South Florida vs San Jose State prediction: South Florida +3.5 (-110) at time of publishing. Playable to +3.

The bowl season starts to pick up on the day after Christmas, and we are looking to the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix for a Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs Kansas State Wildcats prediction. This line has been moving around quite a bit as we get more information about who is playing and who is opting out, but at the time of this writing, Kansas State is favored by about a touchdown. If this were a regular season game with everyone available and playing as normal, this game would be a slam dunk K-State pick for me. The Wildcats are a run-heavy team, and Rutgers can’t stop the run at all. I would also trust the K-State defense to bottle up the Knights, but given the changing dynamics of the postseason, I actually prefer the Scarlet Knights in this one. My pick is Rutgers +6.5.

Let’s start with opt-outs. Most importantly, DJ Giddens is out for Kansas State. The workhorse running back is sitting this one out to prepare for the NFL draft (as is CB Jacob Parrish). No other RB on this roster has seen meaningful carries, and it is hard to overstate the hit the Wildcats take on offense without Giddens. For Rutgers, there are guys we aren’t sure of, chief among them running back Kyle Monangai. We’ll have to see what happens there. Then we have the issue of form—Rutgers closed the season winning 3 of their last 4, while Kansas State fell apart – losing 3 of their last 4. Rutgers comes in feeling hopeful about the future, while Kansas State can’t help but lament what might have been – which also brings us to motivation. Rutgers is happy to be here after losing their first 4 conference games and being left for dead. Kansas State thought they could win the Big 12 before collapsing late. Without Giddens and without much motivation for being here, I don’t like this spot for Kansas State. Give me the State University of New Jersey to at least cover in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.

Rutgers vs Kansas State Prediction: Rutgers +6.5 (-110) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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One of the better plays on Friday should be the Holiday Bowl in San Diego. My Syracuse Orange vs Washington State Cougars prediction is Syracuse -16, in a game that I expect to be totally lopsided. Syracuse is underrated in the first place, and they were a dangerous team in the ACC this season. They had some weird moments—like the time they threw more touchdown passes to Pitt than to their own team—but this team could score with anybody. Kyle McCord led the nation in passing with over 4300 yards, or 360 yards per game. I would be backing the Orange in this game regardless, but Washington State is decimated to the point that I am surprised they didn’t withdraw from the game. Give me Syracuse in this one.

So what’s up with Wazzou? Their head coach left for Wake Forest, and the OC left for Oklahoma. They will also be without their DC, their QB coach, or their RB coach. And you can just imagine how many of their players jumped in the portal as well. They have 10 starters who will be out for the bowl game, and that includes their starting QB (among many, many others), who will join his OC at OU. In short, the Cougars are decimated, while the Orange come in at what might as well be full strength. This game shouldn’t be a contest at all. My pick in this game is for Syracuse to roll, and I would take it at practically any number.

Syracuse vs Washington State Prediction: Syracuse -16 (-110) available at the time of publishing. Playable to -20.5.