Fiesta Bowl: Notre Dame vs Oklahoma State 1/1/22 College Football Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Oklahoma State Cowboys square off Saturday afternoon in the college football Fiesta Bowl from State Farm Stadium in Glendale.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys come into the bowl game on behalf of the Big 12 after going 11-1 in the regular season but falling short in the Big 12 title game at the hands of Baylor. Spencer Sanders has thrown for 2,468 yards, 16 touchdowns and 12 interceptions on 61.5% passing while Jaylen Warren leads the Cowboys on the ground with 1,134 rushing yards and 11 TDs this season. Tay Martin leads the Cowboys with 70 catches for 942 receiving yards and 7 TDs while Brennan Presley has 482 receiving yards and 5 scores as well. On defense, Malcolm Rodriguez has a team-high 118 total tackles while Collin Oliver has a team-high 11.5 sacks, Brock Martin has 7 sacks and Devin Harper has 6 sacks this season. Kolby Harvell-Peel also has a team-high 3 interceptions as well this season.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will enter the bowl game after finishing the regular season at 11-1 as well. Jack Coan has thrown for 2,641 yards, 20 TDs and 6 interceptions on 67.8% passing while Kyren Williams has 1,002 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns to lead Notre Dame on the ground. Kevin Austin Jr. has 42 catches for a team-high 783 yards and 6 TDs while Michael Mayer has a team-high 64 grabs for 768 receiving yards and 6 TDs as well. Avery Davis and the aforementioned Williams each have 300+ receiving yards and Braden Lenzy has 290 receiving yards as well for Notre Dame this season. On defense, JD Bertrand leads the Irish with 93 total tackles while Isaiah Foskey has a team-high 10 sacks. Kyle Hamilton and DJ Brown each have 3 interceptions as well this season.

Oklahoma State is 5-0 ATS in their last 5 bowl games and 16-5 ATS in their last 21 non-conference games while the under is 3-0-1 in their last 4 games following an ATS loss. Notre Dame is 7-0 ATS in their last 7 games overall and 7-2 ATS in their last 9 neutral site games while the under is 4-0 in their last 4 bowl games.

I get why the Irish would be favored here, but this is an Irish program that’s gone through a bit of turnover and an overhaul with the departure of Brian Kelly. Sure, coach Marcus Freeman has a report with the players but it’s still a new voice and a new style with so little time to prep for the bowl game. Oklahoma State’s got a ton of continuity from the team that killed the spread this season and I think the Cowboys do it one more time. Give me Oklahoma State and the points here.