FAVORITE TEAMS

SERVPRO FIRST RESPONDER BOWL 10:30AM PT/ 1:30PM ET [ESPN]

BOSTON COLLEGE (7-5) VS 25 BOISE STATE (10-3)

Boston College and Boise State meet for the second time since 2005. Boston College won the first meeting. BC’s coach Steve Addazio is 2-3 all-time in bowls while Boston College is 1-3 since he became their coach. The team overall is 1-6 in bowls since 2008 after winning the previous eight from 2000 to 2007. Boise State may be without a few players on their depth chart, including their starting safety Kekoa Nawahine for undisclosed reasons. Boise State is 12-6 all-time in bowl games and have plenty of experience on both sides. So, with Boise dealing with position depth issues and Boston College having a bad history in bowl games under Addazio, it’s 50-50, but Boise has a slight advantage because their run defense is key to shutting down Boston College, period.

MY PICK: BOISE STATE

QUICK LANE BOWL 215PM PT/ 515PM ET ESPN

MINNESOTA (6-6) VS GEORGIA TECH (7-5)

Minnesota and Georgia Tech meet for the first time. However, the Yellow Jackets play without their coach Paul Johnson after choosing to retire. After a slow start, they won six of their last eight games and finished second place in their Coastal division. Minnesota continues to go undefeated in non-conference play, but had a so-so conference season before getting a huge upset win at Wisconsin to make bowl-eligibility. Paul Johnson coaches his final game, and this could motivate Georgia Tech to play as hard as they can. Minnesota is 1-0 in the Quick Lane Bowl and won their last two bowls. Their victory over Wisconsin should motivate the young roster.

MY PICK: MINNESOTA

CHEEZ-IT BOWL 6PM PT/ 9PM ET ESPN

CALIFORNIA (7-5) VS TCU (6-6)

California and TCU meet for the first time. California goes bowling for the first time since 2015. They had a so-so season after starting 3-0. They did upset Washington and USC, however. TCU had a subpar season and failed to defeat a ranked team while allowing 40+ points against them. But they managed to survive their last two games against Baylor and Oklahoma State to make bowl-eligibility. Both teams come in with questions that needs answering on offense. But I’m giving the edge to TCU because of KaVontae (Turbo) Turpin and Jalen Reagor are the team’s game-changers and impact players. Their defense should handle California’s most questionable offense.

MY PICK: TCU