Outback Bowl: Mississippi State (8-4) vs. Iowa (8-4)
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 1 | Time: 12:00 p.m. ET | Channel: ESPN2
A meeting between the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Iowa Hawkeyes will pit two high-quality defenses against one another, but will also feature two offenses that have been incredibly hit-or-miss throughout the 2018 season. Thus, the Outback Bowl certainly appears to be quite up in the air as to how things could play out. At the end of the day, though, I see this one as a defense-first, low-scoring affair.
With that being the case, this game is going to swing the way of Mississippi State. The Bulldogs defense has proven to be able to slow down even some of the best offenses in the country and, with Nate Stanley being a bit all over the place and especially with Noah Fant skipping this game, that favors the SEC team in this matchup. Nick Fitzgerald won’t be great, but he’ll do enough with the help of his defense to win.
Prediction: Mississippi State 13, Iowa 10
VRBO Citrus Bowl: Kentucky (9-3) vs. Penn State (9-3)
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 1 | Time: 1:00 p.m. ET | Channel: ABC
The Kentucky Wildcats are quite predictable on the whole. They are limited on offense, essentially going as far as the legs of running back Benny Snell Jr. can take them. They want to control the clock with the run game and hold teams with their defense. Lucky for them, that matches up well with the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Citrus Bowl.
Trace McSorley and the Nittany Lions have high upside, but there are two big areas where they’re lacking. First, their offensive line can be troublesome at times, and their defense has been even more worrisome throughout the year. They’ve been far more susceptible to the run than the pass, too. So, even though they know (as everyone does) how Kentucky is going to try and play this one, I think the Wildcats are able to execute their gameplan and complete a remarkable season by grinding out their 10th win.
Prediction: Kentucky 20, Penn State 17