Birmingham Bowl: South Florida vs. South Carolina – Dec. 29, 2 p.m. ET
There are a number of teams outside of the Power 5 conferences that have a gripe about getting no respect in their bowl games, but the South Florida Bulls might have the best claim in that regard. While their coaching situation is in-flux as Willie Taggert leaves and Charlie Strong enters, their 10-2 season is worthy of far more than a matchup with a 6-6 South Carolina Gamecocks team.
Will Muschamp looks like he has a bright future in Columbia with the Gamecocks, especially with true freshman Jake Bentley ending the season on a high-note at quarterback. Yet, the young South Carolina players are no match for a veteran South Florida team, especially with a stud like running back Marlon Mack in the fold. This should be all Bulls in the Birmingham Bowl.
Prediction: South Florida: 37, South Carolina: 20
Belk Bowl: Arkansas vs. Virginia Tech – Dec. 29, 5:30 p.m. ET
Coming out of the ACC Championship game, you might be wondering if the Virginia Tech Hokies are any good. While they aren’t on the level of the Clemson Tigers (clearly), this is still a high-quality football team that first-year Hokies head coach Justin Fuente has going. They’ll certainly be put to the test, though, against an Arkansas Razorbacks team that is hungry to avenge a poor finish to their regular season.
You can talk about a fun quarterback matchup between Arkansas’ Austin Allen and Virginia Tech’s Jerod Evans all you want. But in the end, this game is going to come down to which defense is capable of causing problems against talented offensive units. For my money, that will be Virginia Tech, largely because the Razorbacks have been blown out by lesser offense than the Hokies’ this season already.
Prediction: Arkansas: 29, Virginia Tech: 41