Picking Every Bowl: Peach Bowl, Michigan State vs Pittsburgh

Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl
December 30
Michigan State (10-2) vs. Pittsburgh (11-2), Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, 7 p.m., ESPN
Michigan State -3 – O/U 57.5

These opt-outs are getting a bit ridiculous. In days of yore, players stayed with their teams throughout the bowl season. The “me first” mentality wasn’t even a thing, as players knew that their preparation for the NFL draft could wait one more game. In this game, both teams are losing huge components of their offense to the opt-out tsunami, as Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett and Michigan State running back Kenneth Walker III will both sit out the Peach Bowl. Neither team will be able to fully replace the missing production, but it’s Pittsburgh that will be harder hit. It will be nice to see senior Nick Patti finally get his day in the spotlight for Pittsburgh, but asking him to fill the shoes of a Heisman finalist is too much to ask. The same is true for Jordon Simmons of Michigan State, who will have to step in for the nation’s top running back. But it’s always easier to replace running production than to swap in a new field general. Patti may be amazing, but it’s hard to see him doing a Pickett impression on such a big stage. This will be close throughout, but the missing pieces for Pittsburgh will be too much for them to overcome late in the game.
Prediction: Michigan State 28-24
Result: Michigan State 31-21

Record:
Bowl season: SU – 17-10; ATS – 14-13-0; O/U – 12-15-0
Overall: SU – 609-191; ATS – 381-333-6; O/U – 343-365-12

About Douglas Blaine

Capnpen is a writer who was a newspaper and magazine journalist in a previous life. A college journalism major, he now works as an English teacher, but gets his writing fix by blogging about a variety of topics, including politics, religion, movies and television. When he's not working or blogging, Capnpen spends time with his family, plays a little golf (badly) and loves to learn about virtually anything.

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