New Year's Day is the best day of the year in college football. Well, it's technically the only day of the year as far as early 2015 in concerned, but you get what we mean.
After ringing in the New Year, football fans can relax on their couch with not one, but five excellent match-ups, including both semifinals of the inaugural FBS playoff.
Here's our picks for who wins, and who goes home disappointed, on New Year's Day.
Outback Bowl: Auburn (19) vs. Wisconsin (18)
This is going to be a battle between two teams that know the meaning of ground-and-pound. The Badgers and Tigers are 4th and 12th in the nation in rushing yards per game, respectively. Expect Auburn to load their front-7 in the hopes of keeping Heisman finalist Melvin Gordon at bay. This game will come down to whichever's quarterback will make a big play. In that situation, I trust Auburn's Nick Marshall far more than the Badgers' inconsistent junior Joel Stave. [PREDICTION: Auburn 31, Wisconsin 24]
Cotton Bowl: Baylor (5) vs. Michigan State (8)
The Bears believe that they were unceremoniously shutout of the playoff's final four, and they're going to let the whole world know about it. Michigan State just lost Pat Narduzzi, widely considered the best defensive coordinator in college football, to a head coaching job at Pitt. Without Narduzzi on the sidelines, the Bears could put up points in a hurry -- they're first in the entire nation with an average of nearly 49 per game. A strong performance from quarterback Bryce Petty could vault the Baylor QB into the first round of the NFL draft. [Prediction: Baylor 42, Michigan State 28]
Citrus Bowl: Missouri (16) vs. Minnesota (25)
The Golden Golphers have been one of the most pleasant surprises in football in 2014, but their feel-good story ends in Orlando. Missouri is too fast and too physical on defense. [PREDICTION: Missouri 23, Minnesota 17]
Rose Bowl: Florida State (3) vs. Oregon (2)
Every week we call the Seminoles frauds, and every week they find a way to eek out a win against lesser competition. Oregon does not qualify as lesser competition. Scouts from all 32 NFL teams will be watching the headlining quarterback match-up between Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, as both are expected to go in the top 5 of April's draft. When in doubt, go with the guy who has three interceptions on the season, not 17. [PREDICTION: Oregon 37, FSU 24]
Sugar Bowl: Alabama (1) vs. Ohio State (4)
The Buckeyes were late additions to the playoff bracket, using a 59-0 beatdown of Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game to leap-frog TCU and Baylor. Urban Meyer and Nick Saban go way back, having previously battled in the SEC when Meyer led the Florida Gators. OSU is talented and Meyer one of the game's best coaches. They'll keep this close and maybe even lead for a good portion of this contest, but Bama is just too talented and too disciplined to let this slip away, especially in a New Orleans arena that'll basically be a home field away from home for them. [PREDICTION: Alabama 23, Ohio State 21]
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