Our best bets for the New Years Six college football bowl games

Louisville's last bowl appearance came in 2017 — a 31-27 loss to Mississippi State in the TaxSlayer Bowl.

This year, they get their shot at revenge. I think the Cardinals win this one outright, but if they don't, just keeping the margin as close as it was two years ago will be enough to cover the spread.

Illinois is a tough team to get a read on, but this season had a highlight win over No. 6 Wisconsin that was a huge boon for the team's future in terms of recruiting and confidence that they can compete with the best of the Big Ten.

After four years at the helm, head coach Lovie Smith has the Illini playing postseason football, and I think his players show up for him.

Virginia already played and won its biggest game of the year — a Thanksgiving weekend win over arch-rival Virginia Tech that was their first win in the series in 14 years. Meanwhile, this will essentially be a home game for Florida, who is 3-0 all-time in the Orange Bowl.

The Gators only two losses this year came against two of the top teams in the country — LSU and Georgia. Florida should be able to take care of business in this spot.

Virginia Tech has had a solid season. Aside from a frustrating loss to Boston College in the first week of the season and an unexpected blowout at the hands of Duke, the Hokies were nearly perfect, winning eight games and coming within a point of upsetting Notre Dame on the road.

Having lost their rivalry matchup against Virginia to close out the year, I think Virginia Tech will be looking to end the season on a high note rather than letting that disappointment linger through the offseason.

Herm Edwards led the Sun Devils through another successful season, with impressive wins over Oregon, California, and Michigan State. Despite a horrendous four-game skid in the middle of the year, Arizona State rallied to win their final two games of the season and become bowl eligible for the second year in a row.

The Sun Devils fell short in their game last year, but this year I think Edwards gets his first bowl victory as head coach.

When it comes to getting motivated for bowl games, it's easy to trust the military academies will have their players prepared and ready to play — preparation strikes me as an important part of being in the military.

Further, the Navy's triple-option offense is simply tiring for teams to defend, play after play. While players might be focused on never missing a read during a regular-season battle that will affect their final standing, you could forgive a Kansas State defensive end for a lapse or two of the mind in the Liberty Bowl.

I'll back the Midshipmen and have faith that they will be ready to go from the opening kickoff.

Wyoming is likely the stronger side in this game, and initially was my pick in this matchup, but seven points is a lot to cover as a favorite for a team that has only scored more than 23 points three times this season.

Georgia State is playing in just their third bowl game in school history, so there should still be enough excitement there to get them ready for kickoff.

I firmly believe that Utah is the better team in this matchup, but I can't bring myself to bet against Texas in the Alamo Bowl.

You wouldn't bet against Utah in the Utah Bowl, would you? Same logic.

My SEC bias might be showing, but I expect Auburn to roll over Minnesota in this game.

The Golden Gophers had a great run this season, with an upset win over Penn State serving as the high point to an impressive 10-2 campaign.

But Auburn is a different beast, who held LSU to just 23 points — 13 points less than their next worst offensive performance — to give the Tigers their biggest scare of the season en route to the title game.

Auburn has the goods.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban is in it to win national championships, not the Citrus Bowl. Some might think the Crimson Tide won't be ready with all they have in this game, possibly giving some young players the chance to get reps in against a high-level opponent in a big game.

Unfortunately for Michigan, Alabama's roster is three players deep at every position with five-star talent, so no matter who is on the field, they'll be likely to cause trouble.

Also, fair or not, I don't trust Jim Harbaugh to get his team up in big games.

Wisconsin hasn't been in the Rose Bowl since 2013 and hasn't won the Rose Bowl since 2000.

While the College Football Playoff has sapped the importance of some lower-tier bowl games, the Rose Bowl still matters to Big Ten and Pac 12 schools, and Wisconsin is no doubt eager to get back in the win column after losing their past three trips to Pasadena.

Just two years after his dismal 1-8 debut season, Baylor head coach Matt Rhule got his team within a play or two of making the College Football Playoff.

He's a great coach, and usually I like to back great coaches with extra time to prepare, but with so many NFL coaching vacancies set to be filled in the coming days, I have a feeling Rhule might be a bit distracted by his potential interviews for the big leagues.

Rhule's NFL future is by no means guaranteed, and there's a chance that his Baylor Bears play up for him regardless of what his future holds. But if Rhule has it going in the back of his head that the Carolina job is ready and waiting for him, the sting of a 33-7 Georgia lead in the first half just isn't going to hurt that bad.

• Read more:

Dabo Swinney offered a prophetic prediction to the Clemson safety who made the playoff-sealing interception

Ohio State receiver soared over a Clemson defender for one of the wildest catches of the season, but nobody knew if it should count

Twitter roasted the College Football Playoff officials after an awful missed pass interference call added insult to Oklahoma's injury

Oklahoma's desperate trick play backfired spectacularly in the College Football Playoff semifinal