It’s bowl season, that strange portion of college football where the weather here in New York is completely at odds with the type of weather we’ll see over the Holidays during these exhibition games. If you were busy finishing your gift shopping you might have missed the first bowl games this past weekend. Those featured a Tom Herman-less Houston team getting blown out by San Diego State and Bob Davie winning his first ever bowl game (and the Lobos second since 1961) over a 7-loss UTSA squad.

That’s a strong whiff of bowl game mania, right there.

Of course there will be more bowls. Many more bowls for you to consume in the coming days. As per usual most of them are nondescript and rather dull. I’ve selected the best 7 non-playoff bowls (or should I say my favorite?) based on my two main criteria: 1) Programs looking to cap off a great year where a loss could spoil momentum into the off-season 2) Matchups between two good teams offering hope for an entertaining game.

Russell Athletic Bowl
12/28/16
#16 West Virginia

[+3] vs. Miami

The Mountaineers have flown under the radar all season long and probably with good reason–they are the lowest ranked F/+ Power 5 team (40th overall) that won at least 10 games prior to bowl season. Miami seems to be the inverse, the Hurricanes are a shocking 15th according to F/+ (only Auburn and LSU ranked higher among teams with 4 losses) but come into the post-season riding a 4-game winning streak.

Pick: Miami

West Virginia hasn’t felt for real this year and there’s a reason why they aren’t favored in this bowl game. Should they win it would equal their best record in 9 years. That kind of acclaim feels a little too big for Holgo’s britches right now. I think we’ll see Miami win, Kaaya comes back for his senior season, and the Canes head into 2017 as one of the favorites in the ACC.

Belk Bowl 
12/29/16
Arkansas [+7] vs. #22 Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech feels a lot like their ACC brethren Miami–sneaky high in F/+ with a strong finish to the season featuring taking Clemson to the limit in the league championship game. Arkansas is in a weird place. Bielema’s seat is getting a wee bit warm and they’re sizable underdogs. I can’t imagine anyone in Fayetteville is going to be all that pleased with a 7-6 season by the Razorbacks.

Pick: Arkansas

I’m splitting the difference–Miami is the ACC Coastal team that will grab the off-season headlines while Virginia Tech is humbled a little bit. In truth, I love this matchup for the Hokies. This feels like a weird game where Arkansas struggling run game (2,099 yards in 2016 for a ManBall team!) goes off and we’re witnesses to an absurd shootout that ends in overtime.

Alamo Bowl
12/29/16
#12 Oklahoma State [+3] vs. #10 Colorado

You can’t take 10 wins away from Colorado (that really happened!) but the Buffs have to be careful. Losing two straight to end this miraculous season will probably feel terrible. They also had to swallow their pride as Oregon broke the bank for their DC Jim Leavitt and he’s already moved to Eugene. Not a great situation for facing one of the country’s most underrated quarterbacks in Mason Rudolph.

Pick: Oklahoma State

This is what Mike Gundy does, folks. He’s going to stay in Stillwater forever and when we look back at his career it’ll be shocking how many times he won 10 games. I’m also betting on Mike MacIntyre sadly faltering so that he heads into next year as a less attractive candidate on Notre Dame’s radar.

Sun Bowl
12/30/16
#18 Stanford [-3.5] vs. North Carolina

The Tar Heels lost a ton of momentum down the stretch losing to Duke and NC State. By the time this game is played they won’t have defeated a Power 5 team in almost 2 months. Oh, and head coach Larry Fedora has been rumored to be highly interested in several previously open jobs. Stanford comes in quietly on fire winning their last 5 games by an average of nearly 20 points. It’s also the last ride of Christian McCaffrey and a win would give David Shaw double-digit victories in 5 out of his 6 seasons on the Farm.

Pick: Stanford

Quarterback Mitch Trubisky still hasn’t decided whether he’s leaving for the NFL or not. This could be his final audition for the pros and a chance to secure his spot as the first quarterback off the board. I like the way Stanford has been playing since stabilizing their offense and a flight that’s 2 hours shorter time in the air than the Heels. In the weirdness of El Paso I’ll favor Stanford being the more prepared and invested team.

Orange Bowl
12/30/16
#6 Michigan [-6.5] vs. #11 Florida State

This is one of those bowls that feels like it should be a huge game. But each team has to be terribly disappointed to be here. Michigan was in line for a playoff spot and lost 2 out of its last 3 games. Florida State was every bit the favored playoff team before the season but lost 3 out of 6 during the middle of the year and have been well out of the national championship race for weeks. This has all the makings of a hugely disappointing game with two bummed out teams.

Pick: Michigan

The Seminoles have played pretty well down the stretch (4 straight wins, their last 3 by an average of 29 points) and I like the odds of either Dalvin Cook having a splendid final college game or Deondre Francois kicking off his 2017 Heisman campaign. However, Jim Harbaugh is a maniac and won’t sleep through December in order to win this game. I’m sure the Wolverines will be much more motivated, and that should be the key edge.

Cotton Bowl
1/2/17
#15 Western Michigan [+7.5] vs. #8 Wisconsin

The Broncos have taken down a pair of Power 5 teams (Northwestern & Illinois) this year and enter this game with a chance to cap off one of the best MAC seasons in history, or alternately, allow a huge portion of the country to write their success off with a loss. Wisconsin has been here before, this is their 7th major bowl game in just over 20 years–not a bad appearance rate. Nonetheless, the Badgers are still seeking their first major bowl victory since 1999. We have a fascinating matchup of the #22 S&P+ offense (Western) up against the #5 S&P+ defense (Wisconsin).

Pick: Western Michigan

There’s a 63 spot difference in defensive S&P+ between these teams, always take the defense in big games! Except, we’re not factoring in the motivational powers of Row the Boat. Plus, the trio of Terrell/Davis/Franklin are among the best playmakers Wisconsin has seen all year. I don’t think Fleck can afford to lose this game with USC and Michigan State to start next season. I think this could be the most entertaining game of the bowl season.

Rose Bowl
1/2/17
#9 USC [-6.5] vs. #5 Penn State

A couple of traditional powers back at it again. Penn State is seeking their first major bowl win since 2005 and USC is seeking their first since 2008 when they defeated the Nittany Lions in this same bowl game. Mid-season it didn’t even seem possible either of these teams could be here and yet we’ve got ourselves a nice little bowl game–I’d say the best non-playoff Rose Bowl since 2010.

Pick: USC

Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley’s chuck it deep strategy has paid off handsomely over his last two games. He’s posted 760 passing yards on just 54 attempts with 8 touchdowns! It took a huge performance just to get past a very modest Wisconsin offense in the Big Ten Title Game. It’s really difficult to see this hot streak continuing plus Penn State will be facing the best in-form offense they’ve played all year.