Four first-round playoff games, which will end with four good teams going home without a bowl game, had the potential to shake up the system. The good news for McGarity and other bowl organizers: Adding quality teams to power leagues — Oregon to the Big Ten, Texas to the SEC and SMU to the ACC — managed to ease much of the handwringing.

Geoff Schwartz is back with his best bets for the start of bowl season. Find out why he's backing Memphis to cover and why he likes Notre Dame's odds to win it all.

Thomas Casale is 26-8 on his college football bowl picks the last two seasons and just released his CFB bowl confidence picks