As the fall semester comes to an end, and as the close of 2015 draws nearer, we in the college world look forward to the transition from football season into basketball season. But, before we can shift gears, we must first honor those teams that have proven themselves consistently this season as the country's top football programs. To do this, I will be taking a look at the major college bowl matchups and predicting the winner of each contest to the best of my ability. This is, of course, under the caveat that I have never played football myself, but am just a life-long football fan, and have some interesting insights as to how this bowl season will play out.

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl: #18 Houston v. #9 Florida State

The AAC was a tremendously competitive conference this year. Nobody expected teams like Temple and Houston to finish as well as they did. That AAC Championship game was one of the most entertaining Conference Championship games I've watched in a long time, with both teams knowing that being the AAC Champs would secure them a spot in a top bowl game. Things didn't exactly fall into place for Florida State this season. In all honesty, they ended up about where I expected them to. Losing Winston to the NFL was going to be a big blow to the program, but Seminoles fans calmed down once they snatched up Notre Dame transfer Everett Golson. I have to say that I wasn't surprised by where they ended up this season because of their heavy reliance on Golson early on in the season. This was the guy I had watched at Notre Dame for the past few years. When he's great, he's great. When's he's having an off day, things fall apart. The only reason ND made it to the 2012 National Championship was because veteran backup Tommy Rees saved a few games early on in the season. But, I digress. Golson has already been outed as the starter at Florida State, and I doubt he'll play in the Peach Bowl.

Like many top teams, Florida State started the season off 6-0, then Georgia Tech pulled off a major upset in Atlanta. Flash forward two games, and State drops another game at #1 Clemson. This pretty much destroyed any chance of the Noles making the playoffs. On the flip side, Houston is a tough team. They even beat Navy, who at the time had only one loss late in the season. They either dominated their opponents, or barely got by. Well, except for that hiccup in Connecticut. That certainly wasn't expected. But, even if Houston had beaten UConn and gone undefeated, it's unlikely they would have ended up any higher in the postseason than where they are right now. So, all's well that ends well...except it hasn't ended yet.

Who Wins? #9 Florida State

Look, I know that a Houston upset would be the ultimate Cinderella story for the AAC, and I also understand that many people love an underdog. But, Houston doesn't have anything to show Florida State that they haven't already seen before, and it's to a lesser degree, to be completely honest. The key phrase for the AAC this year has been that teams like Houston, Temple and Memphis could compete with elite teams. They could compete, but they're not quite to the point of being able to beat a big team yet, not in a major bowl game, at least. I of all people hope that Houston makes me eat my words because, as I said before, everyone loves a good underdog story.

Allstate Sugar Bowl: #16 Oklahoma State v. #12 Ole Miss

What's better than starting off 6-0? Starting off 10-0. Heck, "starting off?" The season's nearly over at that point! The Cowboys were up in the power three of the Big 12 Conference, along with Baylor and the Big 12 Champions Oklahoma. Oklahoma State beat all of their opponents in a pretty assertive manner, but they played their fellow power teams back-to-back in the last two games of the season, at home of all places. So much for home field advantage. Baylor beat them by 10, and I won't bother bringing up that last game against Oklahoma. I'm sure it's too soon for Cowboys fans to be reminded of that defeat by the Sooners.

Ole Miss is our first three-loss team on this list. Rebels fans got excited when they beat Alabama early on in the season, but they lost periodically from there, first to Florida, then Memphis, then Arkansas. This, coupled with the fact that they didn't play many fantastic programs this year, is the reason they're here. It's just how their schedule worked out.

Who Wins? #16 Oklahoma State

Many people are giving this game to Ole Miss, but I would beg to differ. Sure, the Cowboys didn't have much momentum after those two back-to-back losses and after watching their playoff hopes fade away, but it's been a few weeks. Oklahoma State has had time to recover, and they've been given a place in the Sugar Bowl to prove themselves and propel them into next season. Plus, their starting QB is coming back. Not having their main QB under center really hurt them in those last two games, but he should be ready to go for the Sugar Bowl. Ole Miss- they're good, but not that good. Remember how I said AAC teams were able to compete with top teams, but not beat them? I was generalizing. Memphis beat Ole Miss earlier this season. Was it a fluke? Not with a final score of 37-24 it's wasn't. Win goes to Oklahoma State.

Rose Bowl: #6 Stanford v. #5 Iowa

This is going to be a game of smash-mouth football. Heavy defense and heavy running have fueled both of these teams to very successful seasons. With that said, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that neither team played a very tough schedule, but let me explain. The Northwestern game was a mistake for Stanford. The loss never should have happened, especially not at the beginning of the season. Oregon was too sporadic this year. They were not consistent, which probably had something to do with the reason Stanford lost that game. But, a big last-second win over Notre Dame, and a convincing Big 12 Championship game was enough to put Stanford where they consistently are, in the Rose Bowl.

Now to Iowa. They have a remarkable team, but that doesn't mean that their schedule wasn't light. Look back at their schedule before the Big 10 Championship and name their toughest opponent. Indiana? Wisconsin? Minnesota? Iowa got away with not playing Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State in the regular season this year. Had they played any of those teams, they would have likely lost. (A Michigan win is debatable here.) The point is that the Big 10 West is weak, so I think we've had a skewed view of just how good Iowa really is this year.

Who Wins? #6 Stanford

They've done it before, and they'll do it again. The most important aspect in college football is consistency, and to be consistently dominant. Iowa is not that consistent of a program, so based upon both teams' past records, and also factoring in Iowa's less-than-stellar schedule, the nod goes to the Cardinal.

Battlefrog Fiesta Bowl: #8 Notre Dame v. #7 Ohio State

First of all, "Battlefrog?" Weird name.

Notre Dame played one of the toughest schedules this year with only two two-point losses against #1 Clemson and #6 Stanford. Notre Dame was only six points (two field goals, or one touchdown) away from another 12-0 season, and a spot in the playoff. That being said, I think it was in ND's best interest to have lost those games because this Irish team is not ready for the big dance. Want proof? 2012 National Championship, anybody? That game separated good from great, and it still hurts to this day. Considering that Notre Dame has been playing multiple second and third stringers, it's a wonder they finished 10-2.

Ohio State didn't really play anybody until the end of the season when they played Sparty and Michigan back to back. If you want to talk about strength of schedule, ND gets the nod here. Just compare them and get back with me. Both of these teams nearly went undefeated, and had they both done it, they'd both be meeting in the playoffs. But, they're meeting here with three losses between them, all of them by three of fewer points, no less.

Who Wins? #7 Ohio State

It hurts me to say it, but I was not thrilled to see that my Irish were going to play Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. Truth is, we're not prepared for it. Give us Houston or Florida State in the Peach Bowl and we'll win, but don't give us Ohio State. That's not a knock against ND, it's just that the Alabama beating is still fresh in our minds. That game really showed the Irish what it takes to compete in this day and age. Notre Dame's on the right track, but they're not there yet, especially not with all the injuries they've had this year. And consistency has been a problem for the Irish. Some years they win at least nine games, the next year they have four or five losses. What gave Alabama the advantage in the National Championship game several years ago was Nick Saban. He's the best coach in the country, and Urban Myer is a close second. Give ND a few years and they can pull it off, but not this year (knock on wood.)

The College Football Playoff: #4 Oklahoma v. #1 Clemson, #3 Michigan State v. #2 Alabama, Winner v. Winner for Nat. Title

Here's the end of the line. The top four teams competing for the national title, (it's not a perfect playoff, but it's better than what we had before.) All of these teams won their respective conferences, and only Clemson remains undefeated. Without delving too much into each possible match-up, let me give you a run down of who will win each semifinal, and who will win it all.

#1 Clemson beats #4 Oklahoma. Sorry Sooners fans, but I've got to give the nod to the Tigers here. This is for a couple of reasons.

First, what was that game against mediocre Texas? Second, I think these are pretty evenly matched teams. Third, the reason I give Clemson the nod is because they've managed to escape by the skin of their teeth in their toughest games this year. They barely escaped Notre Dame, and there was a hurricane off the coast of South Carolina at the time. They barely beat Florida State, but rivalry games can usually go either way. They almost lost the ACC Championship to North Carolina, and probably should have given that botched offsides call. The point is that Clemson is playing Houdini. It will probably be a close game, but Clemson will slip away yet again.

#2 Alabama beats #3 Michigan State

As much as I would love to see Sparty pull off a win against the Tide, it simply is not going to happen. Need I recall the 2012 National Championship again? I know that was against Notre Dame, but the same principle underlies this game. The only coach who can compete with Nick Saban in the postseason is his rival Urban Myer, and Myer's team got kicked out and replaced by Michigan State late in the season. But, just because Sparty can beat OSU, and OSU can beat Bama, doesn't mean that Sparty can beat Bama. Nick Saban will expose every weakness Dantoni's team has. Godspeed Spartans, you'll need it.

Who Wins It All? : #2 Alabama

I would be very surprised if this isn't the end result. Saban has consistently proven himself as the best coach in college football, and without Urban Myer in the mix to disrupt his feng shui, the Tide will likely Roll over anybody who stands between them and another national title. Clemson can't escape because they'll be beaten by the first half, and the other teams just don't have enough talent. SEC and Bama haters unite! You're going to have a long off-season to complain about how much you hate them both.

Of course, this is all just my speculation. After all, I am only a waterboy (and not even that!).