While there are plenty of bowl games to be excited for, none will be greater than the Capital One Orange Bowl and the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, which would host this year’s College Football Playoff Semifinals.
College Football Semifinals
The Orange Bowl will feature this year’s No. 1 team, the Clemson Tigers taking on the No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners in an intriguing football bowl game.
The Tigers have arguably one of the best quarterbacks in the country in Heisman Trophy candidate Deshaun Watson. The Clemson quarterback has been solid all-yearlong with 3,512 yards passing and 30 touchdowns, while adding 887 yards rushing and 11 scores with his scrambling abilities.
But Oklahoma counters with their own Heisman Trophy hopeful in quarterback Baker Mayfield. While lacking the scrambling abilities of Watson, Mayfield cannot be short-changed on the field. He’s an excellent passer; he completed 68.6 percent of his passes for 3,389 yards and 35 touchdowns in the regular season. He also limited his miscues, throwing just five interceptions.
It’s going to be a shootout between Watson and Mayfield in the Orange Bowl. Meanwhile, the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide and the No. 3 Michigan State Spartans will grind it out in a battle of two top defenses in the other half of the CFP Semifinals at the Cotton Bowl.
Alabama has the country’s best running back in Derrick Henry leading its offense. Henry was a bulldozer with 1,986 yards rushing and 23 touchdowns in the regular season. He ran for three 200-yard games in his last five outings.
The Spartans don’t have a running back as intimidating as Henry, but they do have a strong-armed signal-caller in Connor Cook. Cook led the Spartans to the Big Ten Championship with his solid play, throwing for a conference-high 24 touchdowns in the regular season.
But getting past Alabama’s top-ranked passing defense will be a completely different challenge. Cook has the benefit of a few weeks of rest, though, which could mean that his injured shoulder may be completely operational come game time.
The Rest of the New Year’s Six Bowls
Wait. There’s more than New Year’s Eve’s CFP Semifinals this bowl season.
New Year’s Day showcases some of the most amazing football bowl games. No. 18 Houston takes on No. 9 Florida State on New Year’s Eve for the Peach Bowl; No. 6 Stanford takes on No. 5 Iowa in the prestigious Rose Bowl; and No. 16 Oklahoma State goes head-to-head against No. 12 Ole Miss in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
But nothing gets bigger than the No. 8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish going toe-to-toe against last year’s national champs, the No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes.
Playing as an independent team while battling injury concerns, Notre Dame managed to nab itself a solid bowl game to highlight their high-level of play.
The Irish’ opponents, the Ohio State Buckeyes, won’t be easy pickings though. They’re out for blood after missing out on a chance to defend their title. The Buckeyes are brimming with talent with quarterbacks J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones along with running back Ezekiel Elliott.
It’s going to be one heck of a bowl season for college football fans. Looking for company to watch these classic bowl games? Share this post on social media to inform your friends. Let them know that these games cannot be missed as these will surely start your New Year off with a bang.
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