Monday Man Cave: Bowl Edition

It’s the final week of 2015. NFL season is in it’s final week and College Football Playoffs, take center stage on Thursday. Welcome to the Monday Morning ManCave. Before we put a bow tie on 2015, lets take a look at the week ahead in all things sports and pop culture.
Monday Night Football: Cincinnati Bengals vs Denver Broncos: In the season finale of Monday Night Football , we have a high stakes matchup between two playoff bound teams. This battle for AFC playoff seeding between the Denver Broncos and the Cincinnati Bengals will feature a quarterback duel with Brock Osweiler and A.J McCarron. These are the teams vying for a first-round bye. Denver needs this win more , because the red hot Chiefs are breathing down their necks , for the AFC West tittle. The Bengals can finish know lower then the 3rd seed but the Broncos can drop all the way towards the 6th seed. Last Monday of the year, last Monday of NFL football until September.
Thursday: Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl-#18 Houston Cougars vs #9 Florida State Seminoles -12pm: The Seminoles, who were in the Rose Bowl last year, will be a part of the New Year’s Six when they take on the Houston Cougars, winners of the American Athletic Conference, in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.It’s the first time the Cougars are in the Peach Bowl after a 12-win season, their second in program history. At No. 18 in the final College Football Playoff poll, Houston was the highest-ranked team in the Group of Five. It’s a down year for the Seminoles, but a good start towards building a championship culture in Houston.
Thursday- College Football Playoff semifinal game- Capital One Orange Bowl #4 Oklahoma Sooners vs #1 Clemson Tigers 4pm : Oklahoma and Clesmson will battle it out for a chance to be in the Championship game. The Clemson Tigers were 13-0 this season and beat North Carolina in the ACC Conference Championship Game by a score of 45-37.The Oklahoma Sooners were 11-1 this season and finished as Big 12 Conference Champions. This is the first semifinal of the 2015 College Football Playoff. Oklahoma had a very good season, with the exception of the loss to Texas where they clearly played their worst game of the season. Oklahoma finished the season on a 7 game win streak, where they scored at least 40 points in 6 of those games. Oklahoma’s offense looked very good this season, but it is tough to know just how good they are after playing in a very poor defensive conference. Oklahoma did have a good defensive year, allowing just over 20 points per game. Clemson is looking to stay undefeated after winning their first 13 games of the season. Clemson’s offense is also very strong, scoring at least 34 points in 9 of their games.

I expect Oklahoma’s D to step up and make key stops . Going with the Sooners 35-28 .
Thursday-College Football Playoff semifinal game- Goodyear Cotton Bowl #3 Michigan State Wolverines vs #2 Alabama Crimson Tide -8pm: After winning the Big Ten Football Championship Game in a 16-13 thriller over No. 4 Iowa, Michigan State earned the No. 3 seed of the College Football Playoff and will take on second-seeded Alabama in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, one of two CFP National Semifinal games.Alabama is coming to the Cotton Bowl looking to smash through Michigan State’s defense by giving the ball to Derrick Henry. Henry is the biggest offensive threat there is for Alabama, as the newly-minted Heisman Trophy winner has so far amassed 1,986 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns. Henry, however, isn’t the only Crimson Tide nightmare the Spartans will have to deal. There’s Alabama’s defense that has regularly put opposing offenses in a chokehold. It is ranked third in the nation in scoring defense with only 14.4 points allowed per game, 17th against the pass (184.2 yards), and first against the run (74.0). Look for the Tide to roll into the championship game 28-17 .
Friday January 1st Rose Bowl #6 Stanford Cardinals vs #5 Iowa Hawkeyes- 5pm: While this is not a playoff game, this is one that college football fans will want to see.Both of these teams have some key players who have not gotten the attention they rightfully deserve. Stanford is loaded with undervalued players , especially Quarterback Kevin Hogan and Heisman finalist ,Christian McCaffrey. The Hawkeyes were an excellent team all season, but they benefited from playing in the Big Ten West. It can be argued that they did not have any major tests until they faced Michigan State in the Big Ten title game. The Hawkeyes took it to the wire, but they couldn’t stop the Spartans at the end. I expect Standford to feel at home and beat Iowa 28-24.
NFL Week 17 final regular season week: Only a handful of games with big implications. Jets vs Bills is one of them. Rex Ryan ,would love to stick it to the organization that fired him, by derailing their playoff dreams in Buffalo. Vikings vs Packers on Sunday night ,is for the NFC North tittle. The winner will be the 3rd seed , loser will be the 5th or 6th seed. Houston Texans can win the AFC South with a win at home ,against the Jaguars.