College football is officially back. I hope you are ready to wake up early, get the Bloody Mary bar set up, fire up the grill, and be welcomed in by the warm faces on College Gameday. Let’s not waste any time and dive straight into our New Year’s Six Bowl game and 2023 College Football Playoff predictions for what should be a very fun and exciting season.
College Football Semifinal Game Predictions
Rose Bowl – Pasadena, CA
Michigan vs Clemson: Michigan is the number two team in the country in my opinion so they will get the further bowl game as the second highest seed and will face the best team out of the ACC, the Clemson Tigers. Cade Klubnik needs to take a big step forward this season, but Dabo has re-upped his recruiting and the Tigers showed at the end of last season that they are back and serious. For Michigan, I love their running backs, I think J.J. McCarthy is a special quarterback for his age and the Wolverines have it all moving in the right direction.
Sugar Bowl – New Orleans, LA
Georgia vs USC: Georgia will end the year at number one and get the closer college football semi in New Orleans which will be packed with Dawg fans. Kirby Smart has built a potential dynasty and there has been no one in nearly two years to truly put up a fight against this team. For USC, Caleb Williams is special, and the Trojans hit the transfer portal hard. Lincoln Riley is no stranger to the CFP, but he is a stranger to winning it.
National Championship – NRG Stadium Houston, TX
Georgia vs Michigan: While I don’t see this being a game like what we saw a year ago when Georgia dismantled the poor TCU Horned Frogs, I think they win their third straight National Title.
New Year’s Six predictions
Cotton Bowl – AT&T Stadium Arlington, TX
Oklahoma vs Alabama: Call me crazy but in their final year in the Big 12, I think Oklahoma and Brent Venables will get back to the top and win the conference on their way out the door. I don’t think their performance is good enough for a CFP invite but it lands them in this game against Alabama who will always have a good season under Nick Saban but not good enough this year in a wildly tough SEC. The Crimson Tide will have to face LSU, Tennessee, Auburn, Texas A&M, and Texas this season and a slip up could be looming which is enough to eliminate them from CFP consideration.
Orange Bowl – Hard Rock Stadium Miami Gardens, FL
Florida State vs Ohio State: It’s about time that the Seminoles revert to their winning ways and back into a big-time bowl game. Jordan Travis is a stud and should get Heisman consideration this year and will lead FSU back to a NY6. For Ohio State, it is setting up to be a third straight year where they take a loss to a talented Michigan squad. I like Ryan Day, I like his recruiting, but I don’t like them in the CFP this season.
Fiesta Bowl – State Farm Stadium Glendale, AZ
Oregon vs UTSA: I love what Jeff Traylor has done at UTSA and he is one of the best recruiters in the entire state of Texas. I think he gets the Roadrunners into the Big Dance this year, but it won’t be easy when they see Dan Lanning’s Oregon Ducks in the game in Glendale. The Ducks have Bo Nix who is a prime Heisman candidate to me. The Pac 12 is really talented in its final year and while I think the Ducks will go on to have a great season, I’m just not sure it’s enough to outlast the likes of USC and Washington.
Peach Bowl – Mercedes Benz Stadium Atlanta, GA
Tennessee vs Washington: This is fully an at-large bowl game this season so let’s have some fun with it. Tennessee is one of my favorite teams in the SEC this season after what Josh Heupel did a season ago in proving that they have the chops to compete in the conference. Kalen DeBoer also cleaned up a really messy situation at Washington and has immediately put the Huskies back on the map. Tennessee is an easy draw in this game to get a bid after a well-played season and the Huskies will be the second-best team in the Pac 12 in my eyes.