College Football Games To Watch: New Years Six Bowl Games

Bowl Season is here in College Football. But for many, Bowl Season starts with the New Year’s Six Bowl Games.

Everyone knows what January 1st means to the sport of College Football. That day is set aside for the College Football Playoff National Semifinals. Those will be previewed in another post. But there are four other games to preview that begin this weekend.

The matchups are set thanks to the final College Football Committee Playoff Rankings. There was some controversy surrounding those. However, if you look at the AP Top 25 Poll, those rankings would have been a little different. However, besides the controversy, the matchups for these Bowl Games are very interesting. As we have seen in years past, it all depends on who plays; that will determine the outcome of these games.

A couple of games stand out more than others, including Georgia vs. Florida St. in the Orange Bowl, Missouri vs. Ohio St in the Cotton Bowl, and Ole Miss vs. Penn St in the Peach Bowl.

Let’s Dive into the New Year’s Six Bowl Games to watch this weekend.

New Year’s Six Bowl Games Games To Watch

(6) Georgia vs. (5) Florida St. – Orange Bowl

This is the game everyone is talking about in New Year’s Six Bowl Games this weekend. But for all the wrong reasons. We know the controversy surrounding Florida St being left out of the College Football Playoff. We know that Florida State wants to leave the ACC because of what happened after they went 13-0 this season. Again, the quarterback play will be something to watch in this game. Look, we saw Florida St dominate LSU in the first game of the year. The Seminoles have a National Championship-level defense. However, Georgia is a good team as well.

Both coaches, Kirby Smart of Georgia and Mike Norvell of Florida St, want their players to play. Especially Norvell, who would like his Seminoles to go 14-0 on the season and potentially stir up the idea of a split National Champion again. There was talk of them boycotting, but that hurts the players. However, that did not stop more than 20 players from opting out of the game. So we will see if Florida State can match Georgia.

However, Georgia is going to want to have a better performance than they did against Alabama in the SEC Title Game. Especially Carson Beck. However, they will be without Brock Bowers, but the Bulldogs operated better without him in the lineup this year, spreading the bowl out more. This should be the best game of the weekend.

(9) Missouri vs. (7) Ohio St – Cotton Bowl

The Buckeyes have not played since Thanksgiving Weekend when they lost to Michigan, falling short of their National Championship expectations. However, the Buckeyes and head coach Ryan Day have to get ready for a very good Missouri team that has given teams a scare in recent years. Though the Tigers fell short, Missouri gave Georgia and LSU runs for their money. So Ohio State needs to be ready for this game.

Quarterback Kyle McCord is no longer with Ohio St, entering the transfer portal going to Syracuse. Devin Brown will be the starter in this game. He is more mobile than McCord and will have an opportunity to cement his role as the starter for next season with a good performance. Just because there are opt-outs, this is where players can make a name for themselves. Just look at what Marvin Harrison Jr did a couple of years ago in the Rose Bowl game for Ohio. By the way, Harrison Jr is still a question mark for this one. Meanwhile, TreVeyon Henderson and definitely its two backups, Miyan Williams and Chip Trayanum are out in this game.

The Tigers will have Brady Cook and the rest of the offense that can spread a full-strength Buckeyes defense. Remember, there are question marks about this defense after what Michigan did to them in the Big Ten Finale. Luther Burden III could have a field day for Missouri. But again, we have seen Ohio St not have players in the past and find a way to win. This should be a fun game.

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(11) Ole Miss vs. (10) Penn St – Peach Bowl

An interesting game is Ole Miss taking on Penn St. Both head coaches, Lane Kiffin for Ole Miss and James Franklin for Penn St, are looking to make a statement in a big game this year. Neither coach showed up in the biggest games of the season for the respective clubs. Both were way too conservative against their biggest rivals. With the SEC and BIG 10 on track to be the two conferences remaining in conference realignment, this will set the bragging rights for years to come.

We know there will be opt-outs in this game. Of course, it’s not as bad as some of the other games. So both teams should be at full strength. However, a couple of guys to keep an eye on are Jaxson Dart. With Dart in the lineup, the Rebels are averaging 25 yards per play. Dart struggled in the big games, though, for Ole Miss. Similar to his counterpart in this game, Drew Allar.

Allar failed to stretch the field for Penn State, but it was the defense for the Nittany Lions that propelled this game. Again, the playcalling did not help Allar, especially in the big games. Penn State will not have Manny Diaz and won’t have the full service of Andy Kotelnicki coming from Kansas. This will be a battle between the numbers and the line of scrimmage. This will come down to the final play.

(23) Liberty vs. (8) Oregon – Fiesta Bowl 

The Fiesta Bowl has been the site of many upsets in College Football. Of course, everyone remembers Boise State over Ohio State. Last year, a Group of Five schools, the American Athletic Champion Tulane, beat USC. This year, Liberty has a chance to upset Oregon. However, it will not be easy against a very highly skilled Ducks team that will look to close out the season with a win.

As it stands now, Ducks quarterback Bo Nix will play in this game. It will be the final game of his college career. He was up for the Heisman Trophy and fell short to Jayden Daniels. The Ducks have so many weapons on the outside that can spread Liberty out. Look, the Flames are playing with nothing to lose. Nobody expected them to be here at this point after an undefeated regular season.

Flames quarterback Kaidon Salter is expected to play in this game as well. Salter passed for more than 2,600 yards and ran for more than 1,100 while totaling 43 touchdowns in the undefeated season. They will have most of their roster; however, the Ducks’ defense is one of the best in the league. Even without running back Bucky Irving, wide receiver Troy Franklin, center Jackson Powers-Johnson, and cornerback Khyree Johnson, the Ducks should win this game.

That does it for the New Year’s Six Bowl Game Previews looking at the other games outside of the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl, which are a part of the National Semifinals.

Stay tuned for those previews this weekend.