B/R Expert's Bold Predictions for 2023 College Football Bowl Season
Over the course of 17 glorious days, college football will meander through the 2023 bowl season.
Twelve of those dates on the calendar will feature a game—a grand 41 in total—between teams from the Football Bowl Subdivision. Some, of course, are more impactful than the others. The stakes can vary dramatically in comparison to the College Football Playoff.
Bold predictions, however, are not limited to national semifinals.
You want the Alamo Bowl? We got it. Florida State's controversial spot in the Orange Bowl? You're in the right place.
Bleacher Report's cast of college football writers—David Kenyon, Adam Kramer, Morgan Moriarty, Joel Reuter and Brad Shepard—each submitted a fearless prediction for a postseason surprise.
Throughout the past two months, Washington had a nerve-testing habit of playing close games. In all likelihood, that trend will continue against a very talented Texas roster in the Sugar Bowl.
Michael Penix Jr. finished second in Heisman Trophy voting, but his efficiency slipped in mid-October and beyond.
After tallying 10.7 yards per pass attempt in the first half of the campaign, that average fell to 8.0 during the last seven games. Penix also tossed six of his nine interceptions in the latter stretch. It's only sensible to believe that a stingy Texas defense will limit his effectiveness.
This is the bounce-back moment for Penix, though.
Yet it happens in a loss.
Washington's defense made enormous plays in wins against Oregon, Arizona State, Utah and Oregon State, among others. The unit, even while flawed, has been a resilient group. The problem is that the Huskies have endured some truly bad performances, and UT coach Steve Sarkisian having a full month to prepare is a concerning reality.
Penix throws for at least 350 yards and three touchdowns, but Texas simply outscores the Dawgs in a thrilling semifinal.
The "Texas is back" jokes are essentially dead, although a championship run could propel the Longhorns into an entirely different future.
As strange as it might have sounded five months ago, it really doesn't feel that odd now. Texas is favored to beat Washington, and the Longhorns will get it done in the semifinal. From there, Texas will then get a crack at Alabama—a team it has already beat—or Michigan, which hasn't exactly dazzled on the offensive side of late.
Given how well Sarkisian's team has played down the stretch, these both feel like favorable matchups. And the fact that Sark has essentially a month to script and scout all potential future opponents makes an enormous difference.
Long on the wrong end of many jokes, Texas is poised to bring a title back to Austin. While Alabama and Michigan are likely to be very popular picks, the Longhorns find a way to get it done.
It's pretty remarkable that Georgia looked unbeatable all year until Nick Saban and Alabama turned the Dawgs' season completely on its head. The Tide ended Georgia's win streak of 27 games and left the Dawgs out of the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2020.
In the Orange Bowl, though, UGA gets a Florida State team that will be understandably angry. The selection committee left out an undefeated Power Five conference champion for the first time ever in the four-team format's history, citing the absence of star quarterback Jordan Travis.
To me, it's even more impressive that the Noles finished the season undefeated as ACC champions even down to their third-string quarterback, but I digress.
Nothing is confirmed just yet, but my expectation is there will be numerous opt-outs for Georgia with how much NFL talent Kirby Smart produces each year. Florida State will be without wide receiver Johnny Wilson and might have a few other guys sit.
Still, I think this FSU coaching staff will be fired up to send a message in this one and won't be afraid to run up the score. Sure, it's aggressive to pick against a 14-point favorite, but I think Tate Rodemaker back under center for FSU will help a ton, too. Give me Florida State in front of a big, supportive crowd.
First things first: Despite initial, vague comments from Oklahoma coach Brent Venables on the potential availability of Dillon Gabriel for the matchup with Arizona, there's just no way he's going to take the field in the Alamo Bowl after revealing he's transferring to Oregon.
The betting line quickly shifted in Arizona's favor following that announcement, but don't count out the Sooners. They're turning to one of the nation's most promising young quarterbacks.
True freshman Jackson Arnold was a 5-star recruit and the No. 10 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class. He served as a rarely used QB2 during the regular season, completing 18-of-24 pass attempts for 202 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions. Arnold added 78 rushing yards and one touchdown.
However, he faced plenty of high-level competition during his prep career in Texas. Arnold threw for more than 7,000 yards with 67 touchdowns and just eight interceptions while going 28-3 in two seasons as a starter.
Expect him to be poised beyond his years while making his first career start, and when the dust settles on the Alamo Bowl, Sooners fans will be done mourning the loss of Gabriel and instead excited for what's to come as the team readies for next year's move to the SEC.
The Alabama slander was rampant—and for good reason. The CFP selection committee has always gone the way of the "most deserving" teams rather than the four best, and it's an absolute farce that Florida State got left out.
Here's the thing, though: Alabama is the better of the two teams, and even after a slow start to the season, the Crimson Tide may be the best in the country right now.
A lot has been made of the Wolverines' reaction when the Tide were mentioned as their opponent instead of the Seminoles, and rightfully so.
Bleacher Report @BleacherReportMichigan's reaction to Alabama being selected at No. 4
They wanted FSU ��
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Jim Harbaugh has a very good team—there's a reason Michigan is ranked first in the nation—but the Wolverines really only played two good opponents all year. They haven't played a team as talented as Bama.
The past two years, Michigan has been the buzzworthy team coming out of a regular-season finale win over Ohio State. Both times, the Wolverines failed to get it done in the semifinal.
Given that JJ McCarthy hasn't thrown for more than 150 yards in any of his last four games and his team mustered 213 yards against Iowa, they aren't exactly striking much offensive fear in opponents. A one-dimensional team won't beat Bama.
Michigan has an early exit for the third year in a row.
