Bowl predictions: The Athletic staff picks all 41 college football bowl games

Publish date: 2020-08-31

The second half of college football bowl season is underway, with the week after Christmas jam-packed all the way to New Year’s Day, with the College Football Playoff semifinals set to be played in the late afternoon on January 1.

There are 24 games between December 26 and January 1 plus the College Football Playoff national championship game on January 8.

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Pick ’em pools are commonplace during bowl season and we’re doing our own staff version here. Seven staff members at The Athletic made their straight up picks for all 41 bowl games.

There are seven unanimous picks: Jacksonville State over Louisiana in the New Orleans Bowl, Louisville to beat USC in the Holiday Bowl, SMU to top Boston College in the Fenway Bowl, LSU over Wisconsin in the ReliaQuest Bowl and Oregon to knock off Liberty in the Fiesta Bowl.

As for the College Football Playoff games, five of our seven pickers are going with Michigan to beat Alabama while four took Texas to beat Washington.

Picks standings through Dec. 28

WL

Scott Dochterman

17

11

Dan Santaromita

17

11

Jill Thaw

16

12

Audrey Snyder

15

13

Sam Khan Jr.

15

13

Austin Mock

14

14

Daniel Shirley

12

16

Gator Bowl

Kentucky vs. No. 22 Clemson

Sun Bowl

No. 19 Oregon State vs. No. 16 Notre Dame

Liberty Bowl

Memphis vs. Iowa State

Cotton Bowl

No. 9 Missouri vs. No. 7 Ohio State

Peach Bowl

No. 11 Ole Miss vs. No. 10 Penn State

Music City Bowl

Auburn vs. Maryland

Orange Bowl

No. 6 Georgia vs. No. 5 Florida State

Arizona Bowl

Toledo vs. Wyoming

ReliaQuest Bowl

Wisconsin vs. No. 13 LSU

Citrus Bowl

No. 21 Tennessee vs. No. 17 Iowa

Fiesta Bowl

No. 23 Liberty vs. No. 8 Oregon

Rose Bowl (CFP Semifinal)

No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Alabama

Sugar Bowl (CFP Semifinal)

No. 2 Washington vs. No. 3 Texas

Games played before Christmas

Myrtle Beach Bowl

Georgia Southern vs. Ohio

New Orleans Bowl

Jacksonville State vs. Louisiana

Cure Bowl

Miami (Ohio) vs. App State

New Mexico Bowl

New Mexico State vs. Fresno State

LA Bowl

UCLA vs. Boise State

Independence Bowl

Cal vs. Texas Tech

Famous Toastery Bowl

Western Kentucky vs. Old Dominion

Frisco Bowl

UTSA vs. Marshall

Boca Raton Bowl

Syracuse vs. USF

Gasparilla Bowl

UCF vs. Georgia Tech

Birmingham Bowl

Duke vs. Troy

Camellia Bowl

Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois

Armed Forces Bowl

James Madison vs. Air Force

Idaho Potato Bowl

Georgia State vs. Utah State

68 Ventures Bowl

South Alabama vs. Eastern Michigan

Las Vegas Bowl

Utah vs. Northwestern

Hawaii Bowl

Coastal Carolina vs. San Jose State

Quick Lane Bowl

Bowling Green vs. Minnesota

First Responder Bowl

Texas State vs. Rice

Guaranteed Rate Bowl

Kansas vs. UNLV

Military Bowl

Tulane vs. Virginia Tech

Duke’s Mayo Bowl

North Carolina vs. West Virginia

Holiday Bowl

USC vs. No. 15 Louisville

Texas Bowl

Texas A&M vs. No. 20 Oklahoma State

Fenway Bowl

Boston College vs. No. 24 SMU

Pinstripe Bowl

Miami vs. Rutgers

Pop-Tarts Bowl

No. 18 NC State vs. No. 25 Kansas State

Alamo Bowl

No. 14 Arizona vs. No. 12 Oklahoma

(Photo of Blake Corum: Justin Casterline / Getty Images)

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