Bowl Picks: Staff predictions for each game, the College Football Playoff

SI.com college football writers make picks for every bowl and the College Football Playoff.

There are a lot of bowl games. Between the College Football Playoff, the other New Year’s Six games and every other postseason matchup, 40 bowls will be played over the next month. Three teams that finished the regular season 5-7 (Minnesota, Nebraska and San Jose State) will participate in bowls, because there weren’t enough teams with records of 6-6 or better. The playoff semifinals are the most intriguing games on tap, but there are plenty of other interesting matchups.

Who will come out on top in what figures to be a high-scoring thriller between TCU and Oregon in the Alamo Bowl? Can Houston test Florida State in the Peach Bowl? Can one of the Big 12’s best teams (Baylor) hold off the ACC Coastal champion (North Carolina) in the Russell Athletic Bowl? A group of SI.com college football writers—Andy Staples, Pete Thamel, Thayer Evans, Zac Ellis, Colin Becht, Lindsay Schnell, Brian Hamilton and Ben Glicksman—offers its predictions for those contests and more.

• Full college football bowl schedule

• Way-too-early look at 2016 Heisman race

• SI.com's 2015 All-America team

	Staples	Thamel	Evans	Ellis	Becht	Schnell	Hamilton	Glicksman
Clemson vs. Oklahoma (Orange Bowl)
Alabama vs. Michigan St. (Cotton Bowl)

	Staples	Thamel	Evans	Ellis	Becht	Schnell	Hamilton	Glicksman
Houston vs. Florida St. (Peach Bowl)
Notre Dame vs. Ohio St. (Fiesta Bowl)
Stanford vs. Iowa (Rose Bowl)
Oklahoma St. vs. Ole Miss (Sugar Bowl)

	Staples	Thamel	Evans	Ellis	Becht	Schnell	Hamilton	Glicksman
San Jose St. vs. Georgia St. (Cure Bowl)
Arizona vs. New Mexico (New Mexico Bowl)
BYU vs. Utah (Las Vegas Bowl)
Ohio vs. App. St. (Camellia Bowl)
Ark. St. vs. La. Tech (New Orleans Bowl)
USF vs. Western Ky. (Miami Beach Bowl)
Akron vs. Utah State (Idaho Potato Bowl)
Temple vs. Toledo (Boca Raton Bowl)
Boise St. vs. NIU (Poinsettia Bowl)
BGSU vs. Ga. Southern (GoDaddy Bowl)
MTSU vs. W. Michigan (Bahamas Bowl)
Cincinnati vs. SDSU (Hawaii Bowl)
Marshall vs. UConn (St. Petersburg Bowl)
Miami vs. Wash. St. (Sun Bowl)
Wash. vs. USM (Heart of Dallas Bowl)
Duke vs. Indiana (Pinstripe Bowl)
Va. Tech vs. Tulsa (Independence Bowl)
Nebraska vs. UCLA (Foster Farms Bowl)
Pittsburgh vs. Navy (Military Bowl)
Central Mich. vs. Minn. (Quick Lane Bowl)
Air Force vs. Cal (Armed Forces Bowl)
UNC vs. Baylor (Russell Athletic Bowl)
Colo. St. vs. Nevada (Arizona Bowl)
Texas Tech vs. LSU (Texas Bowl)
Memphis vs. Auburn (Birmingham Bowl)
NC State vs. Miss. St. (Belk Bowl)
Louisville vs. Tex. A&M (Music City Bowl)
Wisconsin vs. USC (Holiday Bowl)
Northwestern vs. Tenn. (Outback Bowl)
Michigan vs. Florida (Citrus Bowl)
Georgia vs. Penn St. (TaxSlayer Bowl)
Kansas St. vs. Arkansas (Liberty Bowl)
TCU vs. Oregon (Alamo Bowl)
WVU vs. Arizona St. (Cactus Bowl)