If I Ran the Bowl Games Version 5

Alright it’s time for version 5 of this fabulous idea of mine.  Version 5?  My God.  Anyway, I have done this four times before: here, here, here, and finally here.  Does anyone listen?  I don’t think so.  They should.  Who are they?  Too many to count but there are a lot of them.

I’m going to do the same exercise this time around.  But I am going to change things up since I think the bowl season can be EVEN BETTER!  Normally I say don’t bother changing things if they are good but I am breaking that rule this one time.  First things first, we must eliminate a few bowl games.  Don’t get me wrong: bowl games can be good for local tourism and economy but the math surrounding that is always so shady so who knows what everyone is getting.  So the following bowls can cease to exist:

• First Responder Bowl
• Frisco Bowl
• Camellia Bowl
• Bahamas Bowl
• Gasparilla Bowl
• Idaho Potato Bowl

I kept the Cure Bowl this time around thanks to the charity aspect of it (or at least more of one than other bowls).  There are others that could have been included here but I figured to take too many bowl games out would a) be too crazy and people would balk at the suggestion and b) mean less football which is, for the most part, a bad thing.  And yes, I understand that less football is a bad thing but maybe you will understand my thinking a bit more when you realize a big part of this is to give as many games their own national spotlight as possible (or at least the second half of their games…when it counts).

No more pre-Christmas daytime weekday games.  I don’t understand how this happens.  Even with the Bahamas Bowl which I guess has to be played during the day.  Play it on a Saturday then.  How difficult is that?  No worries anymore with the Bahamas Bowl since in Bossmanland, this bowl no longer exists.

I am also moving a few more games off of ESPN.  ESPN will hate this naturally.  But it would be nice for Canadians and for Americans who don’t have cable.  I get that this will change in the future with watching games online but until that happens more than just with a few Facebook games from Stadium, I am going to keep things as is…so you can watch them on TV (or at least that network’s app).

Alright the bowl tie-ins are driving me nuts, especially with the Orange Bowl fiasco this season.  OK fiasco is maybe too harsh a word but it still was bad.  I mean a team that was almost out of the Top 25 getting into a New Year’s Six bowl?  Come on.  So now, Power Five conferences will get four bowl tie-ins, but the AAC and MWC get three, C-USA gets two, and the MAC and Sun Belt get one (their conference champion).  Then the at-large bucket gets all the rest of the teams.  It opens up the possibility for better matchups.   And just like last time, I am putting in the incentive to win a Group of Five conference championship: you get your shot against a Power Five team.  Automatic.  That is the one of the most important aspects of this exercise.  And what would happen is that if certain teams always won their conferences and always beat a Power Five in a bowl game you would have some Power Five conferences looking their way (as long as their isn’t a massive realignment shift caused by the Big XII or Pac-12 just ceasing to exist).

The other thing I have done is gone ahead and expanded the College Football Playoff…to five teams.  Yes, a slight change that I think is a big enough expansion to be honest.  And the game that will be the play-in game will not be in Dayton (as hilarious as that would be) but in the new stadium in Las Vegas.  So the Las Vegas Bowl now becomes a 4 vs. 5 game, meaning the Mountain West champ will have to go elsewhere which I will show in a bit.

Finally, to get into the New Year’s Six, you must be in the Top 20 to qualify.  So no Virginia in the Orange Bowl.

Qualification is now set at 7 wins.  All 7 win teams must be placed and only if we still need to fill bowl slots that we would use 6 win teams.

Just like last year, the final thing I would do is as follows: that 4-hour marathon crapfest show on ESPN would now truly become Selection Sunday.  The schedule would go as follows (if the show started at Noon):

• Noon-12:05 – Introduction of hosts and panel
• 12:05-12:30 – CFP Bowls filled and analysis
• 12:30-1:00 – NY6 bowls filled and analysis
• 1:00-2:00 – Tie-ins filled and analysis
• 2:00-3:30 – Selection time! Bowls are selected in random order of selection that morning (to give bowl committees time to pick their teams).  At-large selections shown every couple of minutes.  Analysis can follow every pick and at the end of this timeslot.
• 3:30-4:00 – Final analysis of bowl games

That would be a show I would watch.  It would be like CBS’s March Madness Selection Show except with a lot less Greg Gumbel and a lot more intrigue.  I’ve watched parts of the show the past couple of years and it’s awful.  Like seriously bad.  So make it better.

So here is what we would see after the tie-ins are done and other changes like dates and times have been completed (and yes this looks shitty because I am basically copying last year’s version and I don’t care because I’m being lazy right now):

December 28, 2019	8:00 PM	Fiesta Bowl	ESPN	CFP #2	CFP #3	Ohio State	Clemson
December 28, 2019	4:00 PM	Peach Bowl	ESPN	CFP #1	Las Vegas Bowl Winner	LSU	OU/UGA
December 21, 2019	8:00 PM	Las Vegas Bowl	ESPN	CFP #4	CFP #5	Oklahoma	Georgia
January 1, 2020	8:45 PM	Sugar Bowl	ESPN	SEC #1	Big XII #1	Florida	Baylor
January 1, 2020	5:00 PM	Rose Bowl	ESPN	Big Ten #1	Pac-12 #1	Wisconsin	Oregon
December 30, 2019	8:00 PM	Orange Bowl	ESPN	ACC #1	at-large	Auburn	Penn State
December 28, 2019	12:00 PM	Cotton Bowl	ESPN	CFP At-large	G-5 #1	Utah	Memphis
January 6, 2020	7:30 PM	Mobile Bowl	CBSSN	at-large	at-large
January 5, 2020	7:30 PM	Birmingham Bowl	ABC	at-large	AAC #2		Navy
January 4, 2020	11:30 AM	Armed Forces Bowl	ABC	Big XII #3	at-large	Iowa State
January 2, 2020	7:00 PM	Gator Bowl	ESPN	SEC #3	at-large	Tennessee
January 1, 2020	1:00 PM	Outback Bowl	ESPN	at-large	Big Ten #3		Iowa
January 1, 2020	11:30 AM	Citrus Bowl	ABC	SEC #2	Big Ten #2	Alabama	Michigan
December 31, 2019	7:30 PM	Alamo Bowl	FOX	Big XII #2	at-large	Oklahoma State
December 31, 2019	4:30 PM	Arizona Bowl	CBSSN	MWC #2	at-large	Air Force
December 31, 2019	3:00 PM	Liberty Bowl	ESPN	AAC #3	at-large	SMU
December 31, 2019	12:00 PM	Belk Bowl	ABC	at-large	ACC #2		Virginia
December 30, 2019	10:00 PM	Redbox Bowl	FS1	MWC #1	Pac-12 #4	Boise State	California
December 30, 2019	5:00 PM	Music City Bowl	ESPN	SEC #4	C-USA #1	Texas A&M	Florida Atlantic
December 30, 2019	2:00 PM	Sun Bowl	CBS	at-large	at-large
December 28, 2019	1:30 PM	Camping World Bowl	ABC	at-large	ACC #3		Virginia Tech
December 27, 2019	10:30 PM	Cheez-It Bowl	ESPN	at-large	Pac-12 #3		Arizona State
December 27, 2019	8:00 PM	Holiday Bowl	FOX	at-large	Pac-12 #2		USC
December 27, 2019	7:00 PM	Texas Bowl	ESPN	Big XII #4	Sun Belt #1	Texas	Appalachian State
December 27, 2019	3:30 PM	Pinstripe Bowl	ESPN	at-large	at-large
December 27, 2019	12:00 PM	Military Bowl	ESPN	ACC #4	AAC #1	Louisville	Cincinnati
December 26, 2019	8:00 PM	Quick Lane Bowl	ESPN	Big Ten #4	MAC #1	Minnesota	Miami-OH
December 26, 2019	4:00 PM	Independence Bowl	ESPN	C-USA #2	at-large	Louisiana Tech
December 24, 2019	8:00 PM	Hawaii Bowl	ESPN	MWC #3	at-large	Utah State
December 21, 2019	4:00 PM	Boca Raton Bowl	ESPN	at-large	at-large
December 21, 2019	2:30 PM	Cure Bowl	CBSSN	at-large	at-large
December 20, 2019	9:00 PM	New Mexico Bowl	ESPN	at-large	at-large
December 18, 2019	9:00 PM	New Orleans Bowl	ESPN	at-large	at-large

See?  With less bowl tie-ins, there is no way that a conference wouldn’t be able to fulfill them.  Then we won’t have issues like we have every damn year with those stupid tie-ins.

The College Football Playoff stays the same. The New Year’s Six does not!  Virginia is no longer in the New Year’s Six thanks to my only Top 20 teams allowed policy.  Also, I have added the Las Vegas Bowl as the play-in game (not to be played in Dayton).  After that, there are some wildly different changes:

• The G-5 conference champion process will set up the following:
  • Cincinnati (AAC runner-up because conference champ Memphis is in the NY6) goes to the Military Bowl to face Louisville (for the Keg of Nails!)
  • Boise State (MWC champ) plays California in the Redbox Bowl, not the Las Vegas Bowl where the Mountain West champ now goes because the LV Bowl is now the big play-in game for the CFP thanks to their brand new stadium
  • The Music City Bowl gets C-USA champ Florida Atlantic and they face Texas A&M
  • The Sun Belt champ (Appalachian State) faces off against Texas in the Texas Bowl.  And people will STILL complain that Texas and Texas A&M aren’t facing off in a bowl game.  Relax.
  • And finally, the MAC champ (Miami-OH).  They face Minnesota in the Quick Lane Bowl.
• No bowl matchups have changed yet and I kept Bama-Michigan.
• Will getting rid of most of the 6-6 teams make the bowl games better?  Some for sure.  Again, if you are going to show three bowl games at basically the same time then you are splitting the audience so unless there’s a remedy for that, this is probably the best we can do.

So who’s left?  All those empty spots have to be filled.  There is a list of 27 teams remaining with at least seven wins remaining and, how about that, 27 spots remaining!  So no hurt feelings.  Now we start the random draw.  So I did this, at random, and this is what I came up with:

• Sun – BYU
• Holiday – Kansas State
• Birmingham – UAB
• Outback – Notre Dame
• Armed Forces – Indiana
• Boca Raton – UCF
• Mobile – Kentucky
• Pinstripe – Buffalo
• Gator – Washington
• Alamo – Hawaii
• Cure – Liberty
• Sun – San Diego State
• Cheez-It – Wyoming
• New Orleans – Louisiana
• Arizona – Arkansas State
• Mobile – Wake Forest
• Camping World – Temple
• New Mexico – Nevada
• Pinstripe – Pittsburgh
• Cure – Charlotte
• Hawaii – Georgia Southern
• Independence – Georgia State
• New Orleans – Southern Miss
• New Mexico – Western Kentucky
• Liberty – Marshall
• Boca Raton – Central Michigan
• Belk – Western Michigan

The Final Belk Bowl kind of got the shaft there.  That’s too bad but that’s the way the random draw goes.  So after these selections this is what the new bowl schedule will look like:

December 28, 2019	8:00 PM	Fiesta Bowl	ESPN	CFP #2	CFP #3	Ohio State	Clemson
December 28, 2019	4:00 PM	Peach Bowl	ESPN	CFP #1	Las Vegas Bowl Winner	LSU	OU/UGA
December 21, 2019	8:00 PM	Las Vegas Bowl	ESPN	CFP #4	CFP #5	Oklahoma	Georgia
January 1, 2020	8:45 PM	Sugar Bowl	ESPN	SEC #1	Big XII #1	Florida	Baylor
January 1, 2020	5:00 PM	Rose Bowl	ESPN	Big Ten #1	Pac-12 #1	Wisconsin	Oregon
December 30, 2019	8:00 PM	Orange Bowl	ESPN	ACC #1	at-large	Auburn	Penn State
December 28, 2019	12:00 PM	Cotton Bowl	ESPN	CFP At-large	G-5 #1	Utah	Memphis
January 6, 2020	7:30 PM	Mobile Bowl	CBSSN	at-large	at-large	Wake Forest	Kentucky
January 5, 2020	7:30 PM	Birmingham Bowl	ABC	at-large	AAC #2	UAB	Navy
January 4, 2020	11:30 AM	Armed Forces Bowl	ABC	Big XII #3	at-large	Iowa State	Indiana
January 2, 2020	7:00 PM	Gator Bowl	ESPN	SEC #3	at-large	Tennessee	Washington
January 1, 2020	1:00 PM	Outback Bowl	ESPN	at-large	Big Ten #3	Notre Dame	Iowa
January 1, 2020	11:30 AM	Citrus Bowl	ABC	SEC #2	Big Ten #2	Alabama	Michigan
December 31, 2019	7:30 PM	Alamo Bowl	FOX	Big XII #2	at-large	Oklahoma State	Hawaii
December 31, 2019	4:30 PM	Arizona Bowl	CBSSN	MWC #2	at-large	Air Force	Arkansas State
December 31, 2019	3:00 PM	Liberty Bowl	ESPN	AAC #3	at-large	SMU	Marshall
December 31, 2019	12:00 PM	Belk Bowl	ABC	at-large	ACC #2	Western Michigan	Virginia
December 30, 2019	10:00 PM	Redbox Bowl	FS1	MWC #1	Pac-12 #4	Boise State	California
December 30, 2019	5:00 PM	Music City Bowl	ESPN	SEC #4	C-USA #1	Texas A&M	Florida Atlantic
December 30, 2019	2:00 PM	Sun Bowl	CBS	at-large	at-large	BYU	San Diego State
December 28, 2019	1:30 PM	Camping World Bowl	ABC	at-large	ACC #3	Temple	Virginia Tech
December 27, 2019	10:30 PM	Cheez-It Bowl	ESPN	at-large	Pac-12 #3	Wyoming	Arizona State
December 27, 2019	8:00 PM	Holiday Bowl	FOX	at-large	Pac-12 #2	Kansas State	USC
December 27, 2019	7:00 PM	Texas Bowl	ESPN	Big XII #4	Sun Belt #1	Texas	Appalachian State
December 27, 2019	3:30 PM	Pinstripe Bowl	ESPN	at-large	at-large	Pittsburgh	Buffalo
December 27, 2019	12:00 PM	Military Bowl	ESPN	ACC #4	AAC #1	Louisville	Cincinnati
December 26, 2019	8:00 PM	Quick Lane Bowl	ESPN	Big Ten #4	MAC #1	Minnesota	Miami-OH
December 26, 2019	4:00 PM	Independence Bowl	ESPN	C-USA #2	at-large	Louisiana Tech	Georgia State
December 24, 2019	8:00 PM	Hawaii Bowl	ESPN	MWC #3	at-large	Utah State	Georgia Southern
December 21, 2019	4:00 PM	Boca Raton Bowl	ESPN	at-large	at-large	Central Michigan	UCF
December 21, 2019	2:30 PM	Cure Bowl	CBSSN	at-large	at-large	Charlotte	Liberty
December 20, 2019	9:00 PM	New Mexico Bowl	ESPN	at-large	at-large	Nevada	Western Kentucky
December 18, 2019	9:00 PM	New Orleans Bowl	ESPN	at-large	at-large	Southern Miss	Louisiana

A few games here that look a whole lot better and will be great for the media because it creates storylines like:

• The Cure Bowl getting Charlotte and Liberty, both in their first bowl games, should easily set a Cure Bowl attendance record.
• Pinstripe Bowl gets a massive boost with Pittsburgh and Buffalo going there, in my opinion.
• Virginia Tech still gets an old Big East foe as they face Temple in the Camping World Bowl.
• Gator Bowl getting a Pac-12 team?  Oh yeah!  Washington to face Tennessee there.

So there you go.  Is it better?  That’s debatable.  I think the thing is though it gives these bowls the national spotlight they deserve.  And for some programs, especially in the Group of Five, that is massive for them and could be a huge recruiting tool.  Alright, enjoy the rest of 2019 everyone!

This is it! – Week 17 NFL TV Schedule

It’s the final week of the regular season.  The NFL has done a much better job over the past couple of years of making the final week of the regular season as exciting as possible by bunching most of the important games in the late afternoon window.  No different this year.  Let’s go!

Sunday Early

Miami at New England	Cleveland, Burlington, Boston		Montreal, Atlantic	TSN1
LA Chargers at Kansas City	Seattle, Spokane, Minneapolis, Detroit		Vancouver, Alberta, Northern Ontario
NY Jets at Buffalo	Buffalo, Rochester		Kitchener, Toronto		Ottawa
New Orleans at Carolina
Chicago at Minnesota		Minneapolis
Atlanta at Tampa Bay
Green Bay at Detroit		All affiliates (except Minneapolis)	Saskatchewan, Winnipeg, Ottawa		All affiliates (except Ottawa)
Cleveland at Cincinnati

Sunday Late

 

Tennessee at Houston	Seattle, Spokane, Minneapolis, Detroit
Pittsburgh at Baltimore	Cleveland, Baltimore, Rochester, Burlington, Boston			TSN1, TSN4
Oakland at Denver
Indianapolis at Jacksonville
Philadelphia at NY Giants		Buffalo, Rochester, Burlington, Boston	Northern Ontario, Kitchener, Toronto, Montreal		Atlantic
Arizona at LA Rams
Washington at Dallas		Tacoma, Seattle, Spokane, Minneapolis, Detroit	Vancouver, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg, Ottawa

Sunday Primetime

San Francisco at Seattle

8:20, NBC, CTV Two, TSN1/3/4/5

Special Last Week of the Regular Season Notes on this Schedule

• Smart move to flex the Niners-Seahawks game to Sunday Night as this is a massive game.  Winner gets a first round bye and the loser has to go on the road in the Wild Card round.  Big stakes.
• The audiences are sure to be huge for this week.  My guess is network execs hope for some horrible weather as well to keep people inside and watch games.
• As it was last season, the early timeslot won’t get near the hype.  There are a couple of games that have some importance though so it’s not like it is devoid of anything worth watching.  Saying that, most people in Canada will get the Packers-Lions and Chargers-Chiefs games.  But it’s still spread out nicely so you can watch a few different games or do something else to prepare yourself for the late sked.
• As sad as it sounds, the NFC East will dominate the FOX showings in Canada in the late window.  CTV is also dominated by those two games as well.
• Three early games and three late games not being shown here.  Can’t see them all folks!  I would have liked TSN to have chosen a game not being seen elsewhere for the late game instead of the Steelers-Ravens game but it is what it is.  Expect bonus coverage for sure as long as you watch the game on FOX or CBS.  If you watch it on CTV or TSN they don’t show bonus coverage.  Not a fan of that but I guess them’s the rules.

So this is it.  The final playoff picture look of the season:

#1 – Baltimore (clinched home field advantage)	#1 – San Francisco (clinched playoff berth)
#2 – New England (clinched AFC East)	#2 – Green Bay (clinched NFC North)
#3 – Kansas City (clinched AFC West)	#3 – New Orleans (clinched NFC South)
#4 – Houston (clinched AFC South)	#4 – Philadelphia
Wild Cards:	Wild Cards:
#5 – Buffalo (clinched Wild Card spot)	#5 – Seattle (clinched Wild Card spot)
#6 – Tennessee	#6 – Minnesota (clinched Wild Card spot)

Oakland and Pittsburgh can still get into the playoffs in the AFC.  Dallas can do the same in the NFC but as of right now all three teams are on the outside looking in.  Every other team is eliminated.

Gonna go the same way I normally do on the ultimate week of the NFL regular season.  Every game with even the slightest of stakes gets highlighted here:

Miami at New England

• New England clinches a first round bye with a win OR a Kansas City loss

New Orleans at Carolina

• New Orleans clinches home field advantage with a win AND a Green Bay loss AND a San Francisco loss
• New Orleans clinches a first round bye with (a win AND a Green Bay loss) OR (a win AND a San Francisco loss) OR (a San Francisco loss AND a Green Bay win)

Green Bay at Detroit

• Green Bay clinches a first round bye with a win OR a New Orleans loss
• Green Bay clinches home field advantage with a win AND a San Francisco loss

Tennessee at Houston

• Tennessee clinches a playoff berth with a win OR (a Pittsburgh loss AND an Indianapolis loss)

Pittsburgh at Baltimore

• Pittsburgh clinches a playoff berth (with a win AND a Tennessee loss) OR (a Tennessee loss AND an Indianapolis win AND an Oakland loss) OR (a Tennessee loss AND an Indianapolis win AND a Minnesota win AND a Green Bay win AND a Kansas City win AND a Miami win)

Oakland at Denver

• Oakland clinches a playoff berth with a win AND a Pittsburgh loss AND a Tennessee loss AND an Indianapolis win AND one of Chicago, Detroit, LA Chargers or New England win

Philadelphia at NY Giants

• Philadelphia clinches the NFC East with a win OR a Dallas loss

Washington at Dallas

• Dallas clinches the NFC East with a win OR a Philadelphia loss

San Francisco at Seattle

• San Francisco clinches the NFC West,first round bye and home field advantage with a win
• Seattle clinches the NFC West with a win
• Seattle clinches a first round bye with a win AND a Green Bay loss
• Seattle clinches home field advantage with a win AND a Green Bay loss AND a New Orleans loss

I will be Twittering (is that a word?) it up on Sunday as social media goes insane with this kind of sporting happenings.

I have one more post for 2019 and it’s my What If I Ran the Bowls post.  That should come in the next day or two.  Have a great weekend and enjoy the games everyone!

The Man – Week 16 NFL TV Schedule

Drew Brees is very close to being this generation’s Dan Marino.  Lucky for him he has a Super Bowl ring whereas Marino has none.  But he has massive stats but is sometimes overlooked by more “successful” quarterbacks.  And by successful I mean Super Bowl wins (and wins in general).  Tom Brady and Peyton Manning get most of the play and I am fine with that.  I hope Brees wins the Super Bowl this year (if the Bills don’t win it) so that he can get his second ring and be in the conversation for greatest quarterback/player of all time.  I mean let’s be honest: the Saints are still in New Orleans partially because of the exploits of this man.  They could have been the San Antonio Saints instead.  Think of that.

Let’s get to the schedule.  No more Thursday Night Football, which now has a great schedule thanks to FOX.  Instead we have Saturday football, a late December NFL tradition.  Here we go!

Saturday

Houston at Tampa Bay	1:00, NFL Network, TSN1/4/5
Buffalo at New England	4:30, NFL Network, TSN1/4/5
LA Rams at San Francisco	8:15, NFL Network, TSN1/4/5

Sunday Early

Baltimore at Cleveland	All affiliates (except Detroit)		All affiliates
Cincinnati at Miami
Pittsburgh at NY Jets
Jacksonville at Atlanta
New Orleans at Tennessee		All affiliates (except Burlington)			All affiliates
Carolina at Indianapolis
NY Giants at Washington		Burlington		TSN1, TSN3, TSN4, TSN5

Sunday Late

Detroit at Denver	Detroit			TSN1, TSN3, TSN4, TSN5
Oakland at LA Chargers
Dallas at Philadelphia		Minneapolis, Detroit, Buffalo, Rochester, Burlington, Boston		Saskatchewan, Winnipeg, Northern Ontario, Kitchener, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal	Atlantic
Arizona at Seattle		Tacoma, Seattle, Spokane		Vancouver, Alberta

Sunday/Monday Primetime

Kansas City at Chicago	Sunday, 8:20, NBC, TSN1/3/4/5, CTV Two
Green Bay at Minnesota	Monday, 8:15, TSN1/4

Other things and points that probably aren’t related to Drew Brees

• FIVE games not available in Canada (other than on Sunday Ticket).  I guess there could have been interest in all of those games but with so many games, some have to be left behind.  Saying that they have loaded up on two early games and for good reason.  Just compare the Ravens-Browns and Saints-Titans games to the rest of them.  Yeesh.
• No cross-flex this week.  Which is good since people get bent out of shape over it.
• What did the poor people getting their FOX affiliate out of Burlington, Vermont do to deserve this?  They are the only ones to get the Giants-Redskins game.  Yuck.  So fucking brutal.
• Gee, I wonder what the big afternoon game is?  At least the west coast will get the Cardinals-Seahawks game for something different.  Honestly I am surprised this wasn’t flexed to Sunday night considering the stakes in this game.

We are getting very close to the end.  Only two weeks to go.  Here’s what the playoff picture looks like at this point:

#1 – Baltimore (clinched AFC North)	#1 – Seattle (clinched playoff berth)
#2 – New England (clinched playoff spot)	#2 – Green Bay (clinched playoff berth)
#3 – Kansas City (clinched AFC West)	#3 – New Orleans (clinched AFC South)
#4 – Houston	#4 – Dallas
Wild Cards:	Wild Cards:
#5 – Buffalo (clinched playoff berth)	#5 – San Francisco (clinched playoff berth)
#6 – Pittsburgh/Tennessee	#6 – Minnesota

And here is your list of eliminated teams in order of current worst to best:

• Cincinnati
• NY Giants
• Washington
• Miami
• Detroit
• Arizona
• Atlanta
• Jacksonville
• NY Jets
• LA Chargers
• Denver
• Carolina
• Indianapolis
• Tampa Bay
• Chicago

Cincinnati clinches the #1 pick in the draft with a loss to Miami.  If I’m Chase Young I seriously wonder if I declare for the draft or not.  My guess is the Bengals will take a quarterback anyway but still.  Now some clinching scenarios since that’s what most of us are watching for now anyway:

Home-field Advantage

• Baltimore clinches with a win OR (a Kansas City loss AND a New England loss)

First-round Bye

• Baltimore clinches with a win OR a Kansas City loss OR a New England loss
• New England clinches with a win AND a Kansas City loss

Division Title

• New England clinches with a win
• Houston clinches with a win OR a Tennessee loss
• Green Bay clinches with a win
• Dallas clinches with a win

Playoff Berth

• Houston clinches with a Pittsburgh loss
• Minnesota clinches with a win OR a LA Rams loss

Elimination

• Cleveland eliminated with a loss OR a Pittsburgh win
• Oakland eliminated with a loss AND a Pittsburgh win
• LA Rams eliminated with a loss OR a Minnesota win
• Philadelphia eliminated with a loss

Not nearly as many scenarios as there has been most years.  There is a huge divide between the playoff teams and the eliminated teams.  There are only five teams sitting outside playoff spots that are still alive to get in.  That’s it.  And there’s two weeks to go!

So just like last year I will not be doing bowl recaps.  I, like many others, is way too busy at holiday time.  Adding four or five more blog posts is a lot during this time of year.  At least I didn’t do what I thought I was going to do and not do any recaps at all (although I still think of it from time to time).

Alright so there you go.  A lot going on.  Bowl games start tomorrow afternoon (*angry face*) with the Bahamas Bowl and then a ton of football on Saturday, both college and pro.  Have a great weekend!

2019 Bowl Game Rankings and Predictions!

It’s almost Christmas.  Meaning it is bowl season!  And then college football is over.  This is sad.  Maybe this is the year I finally get ripped in the offseason.  Haha, I will believe it when I see it.

I’ve decided to stick with the College Football Broadcast Ranking System for the bowls this year.  It works well.  It separates the games that even the most casual of college football fans will watch from the ones that only the complete maniacs like myself would watch.  Let’s begin.

10 out of 10!  This is Saturday Night on ABC kind of games

Game of the week quality.  So the College Football Playoff and the best two New Year’s Six games land here.

Fiesta Bowl – Ohio State vs. Clemson (Dec. 28, 8:00, TSN3/TSN5) – Chase vs. Trevor.  Defense vs. Offense.  Which isn’t quite true since tOSU’s offense is spectacular and the Tigers’ defense is still Top 10.  But this really is the face-off that many want to see.  This should be a very close, very exciting game between two undefeated teams.  Now watch it be a blowout.  My pick: Clemson 40-33.

Peach Bowl – LSU vs. Oklahoma (Dec. 28, 4:00, TSN3/TSN5) – They should never have the semi-finals on New Year’s Eve again.  This day is perfect.  Even when the College Football Playoff expands they shouldn’t do that.  It also allows avoidance of many of the World Juniors games this year since the WJHC is in the Czech Republic (or is it called Czechia now?).  Both semi-finals are good games but this will be the lesser of the two.  Sorry Sooner fans.  My pick: LSU 44-24.

Rose Bowl – Wisconsin vs. Oregon (Jan. 1, 5:00, TSN1/TSN3/TSN4/TSN5) – I am glad this is getting quite a bit of hype.  These two teams are fun to watch for very different reasons.  And it’s the Rose Bowl…doesn’t it have to be a great game by default?  My pick: Oregon 32-24.

Cotton Bowl – Penn State vs. Memphis (Dec. 28, Noon, specialty pack) – It’s not the Rose and Sugar at the top of the New Year’s Six list this year.  This game is much more intriguing than the Sugar Bowl.  Memphis is in the NY6 for the first time and we will see the first game where they are Norvell-less.  It used to be these games were a no-win situation for the Power Five team but this is becoming less of an issue as the playoff gets older.  Also, it’s James Franklin and hearing James Franklin makes you want to run through a brick wall.  Very few guys can motivate like he can.  My pick: Penn State 42-27.

9 out of 10! This is the SEC on CBS quality…normally

Arguably the biggest game of the day but goes here because the SEC is never on ABC (at least as the home team).

Outback Bowl – Auburn vs. Minnesota (Jan. 1, 1:00, TSN2) – One team is the team that ended Bama’s chances at competing for another national championship.  The other team was very close to being this season’s Cinderella squad.  Row The Boat vs. The Gus Bus.  I am sad that this is going to be totally overshadowed by the Citrus Bowl starting at the exact same time.  Why didn’t they schedule this to start at Noon?  My pick: Minnesota 30-27.

Citrus Bowl – Alabama vs. Michigan (Jan. 1, 1:00, ABC) – This is the best non-New Year’s Six game (along with the Outback Bowl).  Not surprised the Wolverines are in this game.  But Alabama?  It is honestly a bit of a shock to the system to see the Tide in a game like this.  If they lose this game, could this be the worst season of the Saban era (other than his first in Tuscaloosa)?  My pick: Alabama 34-30.

Las Vegas Bowl – Washington vs. Boise State (Dec. 21, 7:30, ABC) – And yet again this is the best pre-Christmas bowl game.  And it is the much-ballyhooed Petersen Bowl.  Final game for ol’ Chris Petersen before he returns in a few years because he missed coaching.  I think the Huskies might keep this closer than many believe it will be as they will playing on a lot of emotion.  My pick: Boise State 20-17.

Sugar Bowl – Georgia vs. Baylor (Jan. 1, 8:45, TSN1/TSN3/TSN4/TSN5) – Normally this is the kind of game that would be the worst of the NY6 bunch.  Not so this season.  It should be a decent game and hey, it’s Baylor in a huge bowl game although I know that won’t sit well with some.  Well tough shit.  My pick: Georgia 26-16.

8 out of 10!  I’ll call this ESPN…on Saturday…or maybe Thursday night…but not always Saturday late night

Still really good games.  Must-see for college football fans at this point.

Alamo Bowl – Texas vs. Utah (Dec. 31, 7:30, specialty pack) – This could be higher but hear me out.  Texas was supposed to better than this and are limping into this bowl game.  Utah was on the precipice of going to the CFP and now aren’t even in the NY6.  So I can see one, or both, of these teams not really caring as much as they should that they are in this particular bowl game.  Also it’s the final college football game of 2019 and the time is not ideal for TV watchers.  My pick: Utah 20-13.

Holiday Bowl – Iowa vs. USC (Dec. 27, 8:00, FloSports) – First season where we can see all the bowl games…legally!  I know that FOX is trying to bolster FS1 by putting the better of their two bowl games on there but it still feels weird for this to be here.  But at least they won’t be talking as much about coaching controversies or, hopefully, players sitting out this bowl game so they can actually call the damn game.  And if it’s GUS and Joel then that’s even better.  My pick: USC 26-10.

Camping World Bowl – Iowa State vs. Notre Dame (Dec. 28, Noon, ABC) – Notre Dame probably doesn’t want to be here.  That’s too fucking bad though.  If you think this sucks, hire Charlie Weis and get back to me with how it goes.  Let’s hope the players, at least, are up for this one because the Clones definitely will be.  My pick: Iowa State 20-7.

Liberty Bowl – Navy vs. Kansas State (Dec. 31, 3:45, specialty pack) – Navy is good again and Kansas State is also good again.  I hope Chris Klieman has taught his guys how to stop the run.  My pick: Navy 46-34.

7 out of 10! This is FOX territory.  You could move this up 1 if GUS JOHNSON! is calling the game

Most college football fans should watch these games but we are getting eerily close to the equivalent of a game where Rutgers is involved (despite the fact they are in a Power Five conference).

Orange Bowl – Virginia vs. Florida (Dec. 30, 8:00, TSN3) – This might be the worst New Year’s Six game ever.  No offense to the Cavaliers but they really don’t belong here.  This is the shitty part of bowl tie-ins.  Yeah you can figure out which teams are going where (for the most part) but then we get instances like this.  Now watch the Hoos mop the floor with the Gators and prove me wrong.  My pick: Florida 27-14.

Cheez-It Bowl – Air Force vs. Washington State (Dec. 27, 10:15, TSN1/TSN5) – The team that was one loss against Boise State away from being in the New Year’s Six conversation will face off against the Fighting Mike Leachs of the Palouse.  How Troy Calhoun did not get any Coach of the Year consideration is baffling to be honest.  Again, it’s another contrast of styles game so we shall see if the run or the pass reign supreme.  My pick: Air Force 54-41.

Boca Raton Bowl – SMU vs. Florida Atlantic (Dec. 21, 3:30, ABC) – The Boca Bowl gets the ABC treatment!  Nice!  I still don’t know if Lane Kiffin will be coaching in this one but it is starting to look less and less likely as the game approaches.  This also has SMU who is back, kinda, sorta.  Being an elite Group of Five team is better than being a basement Conference USA team though, right?  My pick: SMU 29-20.

Texas Bowl – Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma State (Dec. 27, 6:45, TSN1/TSN5) – Why wasn’t Texas put here?  This was their best chance since the Aggies left the Big XII and the bowl organizers fucked it up.  Either that or one of the programs are still little bitches and won’t allow this to happen.  Anyway, Canadian Chuba Hubbard could run wild in this one.  My pick: Oklahoma State 37-32.

6 out of 10.  We will put NBC here because they have to go somewhere.

Let’s be honest, NBC has very few games during a college football season.  Like seven of them.  But one or two are REALLY big games so on average, you have to put them above some other networks right?  Plus all the Notre Dame fanboys would have a shit fit if I put NBC any lower.

Gator Bowl – Tennessee vs. Indiana (Jan. 2, 7:00, specialty pack) – This was supposed to be a different SEC team.  I can’t even remember who it was but I know the Vols all of a sudden decided they wanted to be here rather than the Music City Bowl.  I don’t know why there were just allowed to switch or that a bowl game could have allowed that but here we are.  Anyway, I am interested at how much interest there is in the bowl games between New Year’s Day and the national championship, something that is back after a short hiatus.  My pick: Indiana 37-36 (2OT).

Belk Bowl – Kentucky vs. Virginia Tech (Dec. 31, Noon, TSN3) – The final Belk Bowl.  The best bowl Twitter account ever is done, for now, with sponsoring a bowl game.  Knowing our luck there will be some weird company that steps up to sponsor this one.  Or we get a hilarious one.  Maybe Skoal wants to sponsor a bowl game.  The Skoal Bandit Bowl.  I’m smiling just thinking about it.  My pick: Kentucky 24-17.

New Orleans Bowl – UAB vs. Appalachian State (Dec. 21, 9:00, TSN2) – I don’t get this tie-in.  Really you should have a Louisiana team here no matter what.  It’s a way to get a good crowd into the stadium since having less than half a stadium full is bad: in the Superdome it is so much worse.  As much as I like what UAB is doing, I can’t see the Mountaineers taking it easy on them after barely missing the Cotton Bowl bid.  My pick: Appalachian State 44-20.

Gasparilla Bowl – UCF vs. Marshall (Dec. 23, 2:30, TSN3/TSN5) – Weekday.  Afternoon.  Before Christmas.  What do I always say about these games?  My pick: UCF 46-30.

5 out of 10. Some hot ESPN2/ESPNU/SEC Network/ACC Network action right here!

These are the networks I really love to be honest with you.  They provide a shit-ton of football on the specialty pack and at least once a week you get a great game on it.  Well a great finish at least which is what we might have to hope for with this group of games.  Also, we add the ACC Network this year!

Sun Bowl – Arizona State vs. Florida State (Dec. 31, 2:00, CBS) – Florida State barely got into a bowl game and fired their head coach.  Arizona State did about as good as everyone thought they would and Herm Edwards has done great in Tempe.  Now the question is how many will actually show up for this game.  I put the over/under at 25,000 and that’s only because the Sun Devils are there.  My pick: Arizona State 36-17.

Birmingham Bowl – Boston College vs. Cincinnati (Jan. 2, 3:00, specialty pack) – Luckily for this bowl game, it has been usually a good game in the past.  Sucks that it is played in a dump like Legion Field but it could be worse.  They could be at the Trop.  Back to the game, the Bearcats should have no problem with the Eagles who finally fired Steve “The Dude” Addazio.  About three years to late for many BC fans.   My pick: Cincinnati 31-10.

Military Bowl – North Carolina vs. Temple (Dec. 27, Noon, TSN5) – Mack Brown in a bowl game in 2019.  This tells you how crazy college football can be.  The Tar Heels will have their work cut out for them as Temple is one of the most complete Group of Five teams around.  I kind of hope it’s snowing for this one as we don’t get near enough bad weather bowl games.  My pick: Temple 28-21.

Music City Bowl – Mississippi State vs. Louisville (Dec. 30, 4:00, TSN3) – The game Tennessee should have been in.  Then they switched with Kentucky but Kentucky had already played Louisville for the Governor’s Cup so they switched with Mississippi State.  So yeah I figured it out a few sections after I was struggling to remember.  Bowl Selection Alzheimers.  My pick: Mississippi State 37-23.

4 out of 10.  FOX Sports One goes here although some could argue it should be higher.

Now that we can technically get FS1 games up here, I can’t use that as an excuse to put this in the 4 spot.  FS1 is kind of all over the place so many times, ESPN2 has much better games but mostly ESPNU never has better games.  I may have to rethink this for next season.  For now, I don’t have time so here it is!

Pinstripe Bowl – Michigan State vs. Wake Forest (Dec. 27, 3:20, TSN1/TSN5) – Again, snow here would be fun.  Wake Forest should be heavily favoured here but instead we will get everyone overrating Sparty.  My wonder is if it will be Mark Dantonio’s last stand as MSU’s head coach.  My pick: Wake Forest 47-34.

Mobile Bowl – Miami-OH vs. Louisiana (Jan. 6, 7:30, specialty pack) – Louisiana has a great run the last two seasons.  If it isn’t for App State, the Ragin’ Cajuns are the best Sun Belt team around.  Anyway, they go up against Miami-OH.  The Cradle of Coaches probably won’t have a chance in this one and, to be honest, I can see many people taking a break before the natty by skipping this one.  My pick: Louisiana 50-23.

Bahamas Bowl – Buffalo vs. Charlotte (Dec. 20, 2:00, TSN2) – This could end up being a fantastic game.  Who knows?  And I barely care because I won’t be able to watch it live.  Oh well I guess it’s nice to see Charlotte in their first bowl ever and getting to go to the Bahamas.  My pick: Buffalo 37-29.

Hawaii Bowl – BYU vs. Hawaii (Dec. 24, 8:00, specialty pack) – This is on Christmas Eve again.  Where it belongs.  This is an interesting game since most of the recruits on the islands go to, I believe, either Hawaii or BYU (and BYU even has a school in Hawaii somewhere).  These two used to be conference foes but if it was BYU’s choice they never would be again because BYU is above the Mountain West/WAC in football I guess.  My pick: BYU 26-24.

3 out of 10. CBS Sports Network or Big Ten Network type games.  The whole “it’s about quantity, not quality” rule.

BTN, for some reason, gets one really good game all year and then a bunch of Rutgers games.  CBSSN just has so many games but it’s all Group of Five so they have to be ranked this low.  And now I can watch all these games which is really great, right?  I think I need my head examined.

First Responder Bowl – Western Michigan vs. Western Kentucky (Dec. 30, 12:30, specialty pack) – Hey maybe this game will actually be played this time around.  Saying that, it would be fucking hilarious if it was cancelled again.  If that happened I could see this bowl just being jettisoned since it’s obviously bad luck.  My pick: Western Kentucky 35-30 (if it doesn’t get cancelled).

New Mexico Bowl – San Diego State vs. Central Michigan (Dec. 21, 2:00, TSN2) – Jim McElwain did a fantastic job at Central Michigan this season.  Rocky Long has been doing amazing work at SDSU for years.  Top quality coaches here.  I just…I don’t know.  It feels like a game that’s just meh.  A game that would struggle to get out of ESPN3 territory during the regular season.  Nothing special.  And to answer your question, yes, I will watch it.  My pick: San Diego State 31-7.

Independence Bowl – Louisiana Tech vs. Miami (Dec. 26, 4:00, TSN5) – First game after Christmas.  And it’s Shreveport, everyone’s least favourite bowl destination.  This harkens back to like the 80s when no one really cared about things like this.  Anyway, it’s the perfect bowl game for a team like Miami that barely made it to the postseason.  And Louisiana Tech is almost at home for this one so hopefully the crowd is good.  My pick: Louisiana Tech 21-17.

Armed Forces Bowl – Southern Miss vs. Tulane (Jan. 4, 11:30 AM, specialty pack) – I still wait for the day where Willie Fritz is picked up by a higher profile school.  What he has done at Tulane is great.  They are no longer a laughing stock and an easy out.  Jay Hopson isn’t a slouch either.  I do like the fact this starts late morning on the Saturday of Wild Card weekend.  Morning college football!!!  My pick: Tulane 40-20.

2 out of 10. This is some Pac-12 Network dreck over here.

The Pac-12 Network is now easily the worst of the conference networks.  We don’t have a Big XII Network yet so once we get that in like 2031 we may finally get the definitive ranking.  Anyway, most games on this network are pretty bad, especially for a Power Five conference.  Yes, there are games that end up being great but the schedule is atrocious.

Redbox Bowl – Illinois vs. California (Dec. 30, 4:00, FOX) – It is a nice story to see Illinois in a bowl game for the first time in a few years.  They are in an odd spot since they aren’t considered the worst of the Power Five bunch (even though they are in the conversation) but they are mostly forgotten in college football these days which is sad.  Lovie Smith has finally done wonders in Champaign.  Really though, this bowl game is between two average programs who have a good chance to be home for next year’s bowl season.  My pick: Illinois 16-12.

Camellia Bowl – FIU vs. Arkansas State (Dec. 21, 5:30, TSN2) – Former Sun Belt foes (and I use that term really loosely) face off.  Good chance this will be overshadowed by other game on this day, the first Saturday of bowl season.  My pick: Arkansas State 36-33.

Cure Bowl – Liberty vs. Georgia Southern (Dec. 21, 2:30, CBS Sports Network) – The Cure Bowl is almost always near the bottom of the bowl rankings and this year is no different.  At least they don’t have crazy competition to get viewers but the network won’t help things here.  Even Liberty being in their first bowl game ever will be shit on because people just hate Liberty or they hate the man who doesn’t understand the concept of a burner phone, Hugh Freeze.  My pick: Liberty 31-24.

Quick Lane Bowl – Eastern Michigan vs. Pittsburgh (Dec. 26, 8:00, TSN5) – MAC vs. Big Ten would have been better.  ACC vs. Big Ten would have been better.  Big Ten here would have been better, period.  Thanks to stupid bowl tie-ins they didn’t have enough teams to get down to this bowl game.  Oh well, at least it’s on in primetime.  My pick: Pittsburgh 31-17.

1 out of 10.  Or zero.  Or negative numbers  Who really gives a shit here?  I sure don’t.

I will watch these if I can.  I am a working man after all.  I am an insane college football fan and even I can only take so much.  In April I will be regretting treating these bowl games like a pile of diarrhea.

Frisco Bowl – Utah State vs. Kent State (Dec. 20, 7:30, TSN2) – I like the way this bowl is set up.  Small-ish stadium.  Football-mad state.  The actual game though?  Meh.  It’s football and it’s on opening night so I will watch but it’s not high up on my list and they are lucky to have the audience to themselves.  My pick: Kent State 39-36.

Idaho Potato Bowl – Nevada vs. Ohio (Jan. 3, 3:30, TSN2) – I always find it interesting that they make the MAC go to bowl games like this.  And the Potato Bowl is always far down both conferences’ lists of where to send teams.  Let’s be honest here; it’s Boise.  Yes the blue turf is fun but other than it turning into a skating rink or them playing in a blizzard, this game, which is after New Year’s on a weekday in the afternoon, isn’t exactly must watch..  My pick: Ohio 47-31.

Arizona Bowl – Wyoming vs. Georgia State (Dec. 31, 4:30, CBS Sports Network) – The worst bowl game of the bunch.  CBS Sports Network seems to own this spot with this bowl or the Cure Bowl.  And to top it off, this game is around dinnertime on New Year’s Eve.  Geez talk about a shitty spot for a lower-tier bowl. My pick: Wyoming 37-27.

So there you go!  The bowl schedule and rankings are done.  So now you can enjoy the games!

And hey I am posting this before bowl season begins!  Nice change from last year and it means I am on the ball (for once).

Bowls, bowls, bowls, bowls, bowls, bowls, bowls, bowls, bowls, etc. (The Bowl Game TV Schedule)

 

Look at all those bowl games.  LOOK AT THEM!  Ok I get it.  Some of these bowl games have changed and many of the sponsors have as well.  I don’t care.  It’s a good pic that shows the absurdity and awesomeness of bowl season.  The bowl season could be better and I could help out since I have tried in the past to do so.  If someone is fine with giving me a boatload of money to make bowl season even better, I’m fine with accepting said money.  All in the name of college football (and making me rich).

TSN has their bowl game schedule up…kind of!  Everyone rejoice…sort of!  Will it change?  Probably.  I mean all it says at this point is TSN…doesn’t show us which TSN station although you can see what bowl games will be on a part of the TSN network.  But at least the first draft of it is up and that is good enough for me (until I get a bit miffed that they change something for no reason whatsoever).  Anyway, here’s the fairly long bowl schedule!

Friday December 20th

Bahamas Bowl: Buffalo vs. Charlotte

2:00 PM

Again, why does this happen?  WHY?  I guess it’s a little bit better since this game isn’t starting at Noon but at 2:00 but it’s still stupid.  They need to do a better job scheduling these games.  Since I will be working that day I will inevitably miss it so hopefully one team beats the other by like 40 so I don’t feel bad missing a good game.  So stupid.  Oh well, it’s Charlotte’s first bowl game ever so we know they will be jacked for it.

Frisco Bowl: Utah State vs. Kent State

7:30 PM

The Frisco Bowl seems to be the most balanced bowl in how it is stuctured.  Decent-sized stadium but not too good.  Primetime spot.  College football-mad area.  Mountain West tie-in.  The only thing missing is replacing the MAC with either Conference USA or the Big XII.  Also it is nice to see Kent State in a bowl game for the first time in a while.

Saturday December 21st

Celebration Bowl: Alcorn State vs. North Carolina A&T

Noon

The Celebration Bowl does not start the bowl season anymore.  It’s still the biggest game of the HBCU season, though, and if you like bands you can hear a lot of the bands during the broadcast.  Usually this bowl is quite a good game so don’t skip out on this early one because you might not know anyone from either of these two teams but there is a good chance at least one player here will be drafted in a few months’ time.

New Mexico Bowl: Central Michigan vs. San Diego State

2:00 PM

It’s opening Saturday for bowl games so I will watch this.  I know I will.  This is usually a fun bowl to watch in front of a possibly half-filled stadium.  This isn’t the sexiest of matchups but the intrigue on Jim McElwain will be on full display throughout this one.

Cure Bowl: Liberty vs. Georgia Southern

2:30 PM

A normally shitty bowl is a bit more important this season.  Liberty’s first bowl ever and they play one of the better Group of Five teams in Georgia Southern, the team that made it so Appalachian State is not in the Cotton Bowl.  A lot of passing vs. a lot of rushing.  Nice contrast of styles.

Boca Raton Bowl: SMU vs. Florida Atlantic

3:30 PM

The Owls are at home at this one.  I believe Lane Kiffin is coaching this one but I am not sure.  We have two of the better G5 teams here and it’s on ABC.  This is a great national showcase for these two programs (and might be a personal showcase for Sonny Dykes).

Camellia Bowl: FIU vs. Arkansas State

5:30 PM

Well this is football so I’ll watch it.  Butch Davis still doing a good job at FIU.  Blake Anderson, for everything he has gone through, this has to be a nice reward for him and his squad.  I wonder when either of these two guys will be poached for better jobs.

Las Vegas Bowl: #19 Boise State vs. Washington

7:30 PM

The Chris Petersen Bowl!  The coach’s final stand (for now) in college football will be this game as he coaches his current team against his former team.  The Huskies seriously underperformed this season whereas the Broncos were within a pubic hair of the Cotton Bowl spot.  But this means nothing in bowl season when crazy results can happen.  But yeah I would pick the Broncos here to win big.

New Orleans Bowl: #20 Appalachian State vs. UAB

9:00 PM

App State was one bad game from getting some serious New Year’s Six consideration…again.  One of the best Group of Five teams plays UAB, who is an amazing story in their own right.  I still believe G-5 conference champs should get their shot against Power Five teams though.  That’s how you sell tickets and grab viewers.

Tuesday December 23rd

Gasparilla Bowl: UCF vs. Marshall

2:30 PM

I’m still happy this game was moved from the shithole that is Tropicana Field to Raymond James Stadium.  Even with UCF there I can’t see a sellout or anything close.  Ugh it’s on in the afternoon?  Why?  This makes no sense.

Wednesday December 24th

Hawaii Bowl: Hawaii vs. BYU

8:00 PM

Back to Christmas Eve where this game belongs.  Gives me something to watch while I do the final Christmas preparations, especially stuffing the stocking stuffers into the stockings.  And for once, pretty much all my Christmas shopping is done already!  Oh yeah!

Saturday December 26th

Independence Bowl: Louisiana Tech vs. Miami

4:00 PM

I’m wondering if Miami would have preferred if Temple had kept Manny Diaz.  Then again, there still seems to be a talent issue at The U and it’s not always that they have a lack of it.  Remember, being idiots only works when you win or are a good player.  Otherwise that shit is annoying, right Tate Martell?  Anyway, they belong in the bowl outpost known as Shreveport in my opinion.  I am still surprised that no one has contacted Skip Holtz at a better program that needs a coach.

Quick Lane Bowl: Pittsburgh vs. Eastern Michigan

8:00 PM

This is technically a bowl game.  Watch it be super exciting and one of the better games of the year.  Only the second game on the specialty pack during bowl season as TSN has FINALLY stepped up to the plate with college football this season.  Took you guys long enough.

UPDATE: This game has been moved to TSN5.

Friday December 27th

Military Bowl: North Carolina vs. Temple

Noon

Mack Brown did a fantastic job in his first season back at Chapel Hill.  Same thing with Rod Carey in Philadelphia.  This could be a surprisingly good bowl game.​

Pinstripe Bowl: Michigan State vs. Wake Forest

3:20 PM

I think the Deacs should be a huge favourite here but I am sure Sparty will be overrated going into this one.  I don’t buy it and I wonder about Mark Dantonio’s future with the Spartans.​

Texas Bowl: #25 Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M

6:45 PM

Texas A&M should have basically a home advantage for this one despite the fact that this is still Big XII country and the Pokes will have a good turnout at this game.  This should be a sellout considering the teams involved which is something that honestly doesn’t happen for non-CFP, non-NY6 bowls before New Year’s.

Holiday Bowl: #22 USC vs. #16 Iowa

8:00 PM

Hey we actually can get this game this year!  And it’s one of the very few games that aren’t New Year’s Six games that have two ranked teams involved.  And now that Clay Helton is for sure coming back next season (and Kirk Ferentz has basically a lifetime contract), there should be no talk about the coaches right?  I assume most of the talk will be about where the media wants to put USC in next season’s pre-season rankings (don’t be surprised if it’s in the #7-#10 range).

Cheez-It Bowl: Air Force vs. Washington State

10:15 PM

The Cheez-It Bowl last year was hilariously bad.  This year is the ultimate match of contrasts.  Expect about 1,400 yards offense and take the over.

Saturday December 28th

Camping World Bowl: #15 Notre Dame vs. Iowa State

12:00 PM

Irish fans are pissed to be here.  I am sure the Irish themselves are as well.  Iowa State is always happy to make it to a bowl game even with the program doing quite well this decade.  I hope the Cyclones win by 40.

Cotton Bowl: #17 Memphis vs. #10 Penn State

12:00 PM

This should be a really good one.  Nice to see the Tigers in a NY6 bowl for the first time ever.  And look, I get all the people who are pissed off that the best Group of Five team gets into the New Year’s Six automatically but I like it.  Almost always they are good, competitive games.  Now as for automatically giving them a shot at the national championship…that’s a different story for a different day.

Peach Bowl: #4 Oklahoma vs. #1 LSU

4:00 PM

The winner vs. the runner-up, for the second year in a row in the semi-finals.  I’m talkin’ about the Heisman race as Joe Burrow beat out Jalen Hurts (who was somehow second over Chase Young which makes no sense to me but whatever) for the Heisman Trophy this year.  The Sooners missed out on three Heisman winners in a row but I am sure they would prefer a win here over the team most people are thinking will win the whole thing.  I sincerely hope this isn’t a dud because that would put a lot of pressure on the next game to carry the load.

Fiesta Bowl: #3 Clemson vs. #2 Ohio State

8:00 PM

The second of the two semi-finals should be a good one and, I believe, it’s the first time two undefeated teams have faced each other in the semi-finals.  So it should be, in theory, a good game.  Both teams are seriously deep on both sides of the ball and everyone shouldn’t sleep on Clemson since they are still the reigning, defending, undisputed college football champion until they get beaten.

Monday December 30th

First Responder Bowl: Western Kentucky vs. Western Michigan

12:30 PM

I wonder if this First Responder Bowl will be played this time.  If you remember last year’s edition, weather forced the cancellation of the game.  To me that sucks since many people spend a lot of money and time going to these games and for it to be outright cancelled is a huge slap in the face to the programs involved (which were Boston College and Boise State).  I would kind of laugh if it happened again though.

Redbox Bowl: California vs. Illinois

4:00 PM

Lovie Smith in a bowl game.  If you had told me that four months ago I would have laughed and/or wondered if you were drunk.

Music City Bowl: Mississippi State vs. Louisville

4:00 PM

Scott Satterfield did a great job at Louisville bringing the Cardinals back from the Petrino mess.  Mississippi State kind of did the opposite and were worse than many (including myself) thought.  They needed the craziest of mistakes in the Egg Bowl just to go bowling.  Now watch the Bulldogs boatrace the Cards.

Orange Bowl: #9 Florida vs. #24 Virginia

8:00 PM

Ugh.  OK I get that there are tie-ins but seriously?  People are jumping all over Memphis being in the New Year’s Six but this is much more egregious.  Nothing against the Hoos but they don’t belong here.  There are other teams that could have, and should have been selected to play here.  Like say….Utah.  Part of the evolution of college football should be about making these games make sense in terms of scheduling and that tie-ins don’t become the be-all-end-all here yet in lesser bowls they are sometimes fully ignored.  Hopefully when they do expand (which they will) the College Football Playoff, they look at this issue as well because it is a problem.

Tuesday December 31st

Belk Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Kentucky

Noon

The final Belk Bowl will be upon us.  Belk ends its sponsorship with this one and it was supposed to be Tennessee but I explained what happened in the final confirmed bowls post as to what happened (basically it was that the Vols acted like whiny little bitches and got their way).  I will miss the Belk Bowl Twitter account.  So fun and entertaining.

UPDATE #2: The Belk Bowl has been moved from TSN1 to TSN2.  It is still on ABC as well.

Sun Bowl: Florida State vs. Arizona State

2:00 PM

Look, even when ASU played the last time here the place was barely over half full.  What will it take for the Sun Bowl to get a Big XII team in here instead of an ACC team which absolutely makes no sense.  Either that or take it off CBS.  That will never happen so revert to my first point.

Liberty Bowl: #23 Navy vs. Kansas State

3:45 PM

Kansas State always seems to end up at bowls like this.  They never seem to get into like the Alamo Bowl or some other bowl that the Big XII has ties with.  They will have headaches with the most un-Big XII team there is (arguably) so hopefully they have learned how to stop the run or this could get ugly real fast.

UPDATE #3: Reader Troy’s worst fear has come to fruition (or at least the worst fear from this post) as TSN is not showing the Liberty Bowl.  Why?  Because showing the Tetris World Championship is more important.  I shit you not.

Arizona Bowl: Wyoming vs. Georgia State

4:30 PM

I mean guess it’s in its own time slot and not up against a CFP game.  So that’s a good thing.  But this is not must-see, especially being on New Year’s Eve.

Alamo Bowl: #11 Utah vs. Texas

7:30 PM

Two teams who probably really do not want to be in this bowl game and for very different reasons.  The Utes thought they’d still be in the NY6 but have been “relegated” to this game.  The Longhorns were supposed to be much better and have an outside shot at the NY6 and weren’t even close.  It also doesn’t help it won’t finish until 11 on New Year’s Eve night which, unless it’s a close game, will drive a ton of fans away.

Wednesday January 1st

Outback Bowl: #18 Minnesota vs. #12 Auburn

1:00 PM

This will be totally overshadowed by the other bowl game on at that same time.  Too bad for the Golden Gophers who had a great season.

UPDATE #4: This game is now on TSNs 1, 3 and 4 which starts the tripleheader on TSN with the Rose and Sugar.

Citrus Bowl: #14 Michigan vs. #13 Alabama

1:00 PM

This is the game with the two highest ranked teams not in the NY6 or CFP and not named Utah or Auburn.  And it will get the most attention to those games by a country mile.  Two teams who everyone thought would be in the College Football Playoff this season are here in Orlando.  I wonder if Bama gets pissed off and runs the Wolverines out of the building or if they really don’t show up acting like they don’t really care because it’s beneath them.  Both would be entertaining to be honest with you.

Rose Bowl: #6 Oregon vs. #8 Wisconsin

5:00 PM

Cue the Pac-12 disrespect.  We will get it in spades during this game.  Which sucks for the conference but they really do put it on themselves.  I get that the nine-game schedule is a good idea but they don’t have to do it.  And even with all the money pumped into some of these programs, they lose recruits by the fistful to teams east of them.  But the media doesn’t help.  Oregon could win this by 60 and still would be no higher than like #9 in next year’s preseason rankings.

Sugar Bowl: #5 Georgia vs. #7 Baylor

8:45 PM

Again I will be super exhausted going into work the day after but I don’t care.  This should be a really fun game that will end after midnight between two teams who had their destiny in their own hands and blew it back on conference championship weekend.

Thursday January 2nd

Birmingham Bowl: Boston College vs. #21 Cincinnati

3:00 PM

Thankfully the Birmingham Bowl always delivers since Legion Field is a shithole although I think they have done some work on it to make it better.  We are back to having lower-tier bowls after all the big bowls.  I like it.  Saying that, it’s on at 3 in the fucking afternoon so I guess I won’t be watching most of it.

Gator Bowl: Indiana vs. Tennessee

7:00 PM

Two teams that are better than many thought they would be.  And the Vols are here only because, as I said above, they whined and complained to be changed to here rather than the Music City Bowl.

Friday January 3rd

Idaho Potato Bowl: Ohio vs. Nevada

3:30 PM

Another game on during a weekday when I work in the afternoon.  Fuck.  Oh well, there’s only so much ESPN can do with these games.  Anyway, if I should be able to catch the second half and it should be hilarious because cold-weather bowl games are always fun to watch.

UPDATE #5: This has been moved from TSN2 to TSN1 and TSN3.  Either way, it’s in the afternoon on a weekday after New Year’s.  Why couldn’t have this been on at night again?

Saturday January 4th

Armed Forces Bowl: Southern Miss vs. Tulane

11:30 AM

Morning football!  This is to make sure this is fully done before even the NFL playoff pre-game show starts.  Smart move there.  Saying that I now wonder if it’s the ESPN/ABC game that this runs into.

Monday January 6th

Dollar General Bowl: Louisiana vs. Miami-OH

7:30 PM

One quite good Group of Five team and one average Group of Five team.  By this point I might be worn out but I will watch because this is when we start to realize the end is near.

Monday January 13th

College Football Playoff National Championship

8:00 PM

We’ve had some good and some not-so-good championship games.  Let’s hope this is the former.

The breakdown looks like so for us Canadians:

• TSN – 23 bowl games (with 1 simulcast from ABC)
• ABC – 6 bowl games
• CBS Sports Network – 2 bowl games
• FOX – 1 bowl game
• CBS – 1 bowl game
• FloSports – 1 bowl game
• specialty pack – 8 bowl games

23 games on TSN?  More than half.  That’s nice.  Now the schedule isn’t truly finalized after December 28th so that might change.  My thought is that we won’t get less games on TSN but that the channels I have chosen might not be the right ones.  I will make sure to update this when there are updates to be had so always check the post out for the latest.

Alright I have a lot of posts to do with my rankings and the NFL schedule and I am sure a few others.  So gear up for more Bossman’s Blog this week.  Have a great week everyone!

Another (regular) season has come and gone – Week 16 College Football TV Schedule

Look at that scene.  I would love to go there one day.  Just one Army-Navy Game.  It looks like it would be one of the most awesome experiences for a college football fan.  I will re-iterate something I had mentioned last year:

So this is the Saturday highlighted by two things: the Army-Navy Game and the Heisman Trophy presentation.  Army-Navy is fun to watch.  I love the game.  I would love to go see it live in person.  And until something happens where Navy is undefeated after an AAC Championship victory and then lose to Army, this should continue to occupy this schedule spot.  Why?  What else would we watch?

Is there a better way to put it?  It’s the only game on in town that day.  So might as well watch it.  Anyway, here’s the really short college football schedule for this week:

Friday

		US	Canada
FCS Quarter-final: Northern Iowa at James Madison	7:00 PM
FCS Quarter-final: Montana at Weber State	10:00 PM

Doubleheader?  Alright then, this is new.  If you just want football, here it is.

Saturday

		US	Canada
FCS Quarter-final: Illinois State at North Dakota State	Noon
Army vs. Navy (in Philadelphia)	3:00 PM

Normally, ESPN puts two FCS quarter-finals on ESPN3 and the other two are on ESPN/ESPN2.  This year we have it different since only one game goes to ESPN3.  That’s a nice change since more football is better than less.  And the ESPN3 game may show up on the specialty pack anyway since that has happened in the past.  And then of course there is Army-Navy which is the big game of the day.  Navy is back to being the favourite and may start a new long streak of victories over the men from West Point.

TSN is not showing the Heisman Trophy presentation which is not surprising.  Don’t worry though.  There is no intrigue this season.  Joe Burrow will win it.  There you go.  Sorry for spoiling it for you.  Anyway, I assume this will end up on TSN.ca so if you want to watch it, watch it there.

In the next week or so I will be putting up the full bowl TV schedule (or at least before December 20th).  Other than the World Juniors, TSN has a lot of spots for college football bowl games so many should show up there.  Operative word being “should.”  Whether that happens or not is a question I can’t answer.

Anyway, enjoy the few games that there are.  Have a great weekend!

Let’s be honest here – Week 15 NFL TV Schedule

For the first time in a long time, the Super Bowl race is really quite wide open.  No longer is it the Patriots and the two best NFC teams who are the only teams that have any chance at winning the whole thing.  I would say the following teams have legitimate shots at at least getting to the Super Bowl:

• Baltimore and San Francisco are both 11-2 and lead their respective conferences
• New England, Green Bay and New Orleans lead their division and are 10-3
• Seattle is the best Wild Card team in the NFC and is also 10-3
• Buffalo and Minnesota are also good Wild Card teams at 9-4

That’s eight teams right there and who knows what would happen if Pittsburgh, Tennessee, or the LA Rams run the table the rest of the way.  They would be 11-5 and have to be considered a tough out. This should lead to a great last three weeks of the season and playoffs this year with a lot up in the air still at this point.

Alright on to the schedule which now includes the Thursday nighter!

Thursday

NY Jets at Baltimore

8:15, FOX, TSN1, CTV Two

Sunday Early

Houston at Tennessee	Buffalo, Rochester			TSN1, TSN3, TSN4	London, Toronto
Denver at Kansas City
Miami at NY Giants
New England at Cincinnati	Burlington, Boston		Montreal, Atlantic		Ottawa
Chicago at Green Bay		Minneapolis, Buffalo, Rochester, Burlington, Boston	Saskatchewan, Winnipeg, Northern Ontario, Kitchener, Toronto, Ottawa		Atlantic
Philadelphia at Washington
Seattle at Carolina		Tacoma, Seattle, Spokane	Vancouver, Alberta		Vancouver Island, Alberta
Tampa Bay at Detroit		Detroit

Sunday Late

Minnesota at LA Chargers	Seattle, Spokane, Minneapolis, Detroit			TSN1, TSN4
Atlanta at San Francisco		Tacoma, Seattle, Spokane	Vancouver, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg
LA Rams at Dallas		Minneapolis, Detroit, Buffalo, Rochester, Burlington, Boston	Northern Ontario, Kitchener, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal		Atlantic
Jacksonville at Oakland
Cleveland at Arizona	Cleveland

Sunday/Monday Primetime

Buffalo at Pittsburgh	Sunday, 8:30, NBC, TSN1/3/4/5, CTV Two
Indianapolis at New Orleans	Monday, 8:30, TSN1/3/4

Potentially Exciting Notes and Stuff

• So the Bills and Steelers got flexed to Sunday night.  The BILLS!  Oh yeah!  Circle the wagons baby!  This shows what NBC and the NFL think of the Bills, that they are good enough to be shown as the game of the week.  This is huge for the organization.  Problem is I know what has happened almost every time this franchise has been in the spotlight…they lose.  Crossing my fingers this isn’t the case.
• The cross-flex train hits again.  CBS gets the Vikings-Chargers game in the late window.  This is fine by FOX since they have the huge Rams-Cowboys game.  So now cross-flex is bleeding over from week to week.  I think they should just forget the whole conference affiliations with CBS and FOX but hey, what do I know?
• TSN using 1, 3 and 4 during Sunday afternoon/early evening.  I am guessing TSN5 is showing a Senators game and TSN2 has a can’t-miss episode of the 50 Top Bloopers of the Month.

Updated playoff picture time!

#1 – Baltimore (clinched playoff berth)	#1 – San Francisco
#2 – New England	#2 – Green Bay
#3 – Kansas City (AFC West champ)	#3 – New Orleans (NFC South champ)
#4 – Houston	#4 – Dallas
Wild Cards:	Wild Cards:
#5 – Buffalo	#5 – Seattle
#6 – Pittsburgh/Tennessee	#6 – Minnesota

A lot can happen over the next few weeks.  Let’s outline what the possibilities are for this week in the NFL:

Home-Field Advantage

• Baltimore clinches with a win AND a New England loss AND a Kansas City loss

First Round Bye

• Baltimore clinches with a win AND (a New England loss OR a Kansas City loss)

Division Title

• Baltimore clinches with a win OR a Pittsburgh loss

Playoff Berth

• Buffalo clinches with a win
• New England clinches with a win
• Green Bay clinches with a win AND a LA Rams loss
• San Francisco clinches with a win OR a LA Rams loss OR (a Green Bay loss AND a Minnesota loss)
• Seattle clinches with a win AND (a LA Rams loss OR a Green Bay loss OR a Minnesota loss)

The elimination list exploded last week.  Now the following teams are on it:

• Cincinnati
• NY Giants
• Miami
• Washington
• Arizona
• Detroit
• Jacksonville
• Atlanta
• NY Jets
• LA Chargers
• Carolina
• Tampa Bay

Twelve teams.  Getting close to half the league already and there are three games to go!  Five more teams could join this list by Monday night so there might be a lot less intrigue in the final week of the regular season than there has been in the recent past.

Alright enjoy all the games and enjoy the upcoming weekend!

Greg Gumbel would be rolling in his grave (if he was dead) – Conference Championship Week/CFP/NY6/Bowl Selection Recap of sorts

I only watched about an hour or so of that Bowl Selection Show and it was so fucking awful.  Greg Gumbel (and the March Madness Selection Show staff) could teach ESPN how to do a proper selection show.  Or ask me.  I have some ideas.

Like there were any surprises for the top four teams.  So why take like half an hour to tell everyone who they are?  And to put all the power on Zack the graphics guy is ridiculous.  If I was Zack I would change all the graphics and make it look like Rutgers, UMass, Akron and New Mexico State were in the tourney.

In the end it was always going to be a debate between LSU and Ohio State for the top spot:

• Clemson, despite being 13-0, had no shot at being #1.  Their schedule was atrocious and the ACC was a joke.  Not totally their fault but it is what it is.
• LSU had two massive wins, beating Alabama and then beating Georgia in easy fashion in the SEC Championship.  They have looked dominant pretty much all season and beat four teams who ended up in the Top 25 and five Top 10 teams at the time of the games.  An impressive resume if there ever was one.
• Ohio State also looked dominant and beat five Top 25 teams on their way to Big Ten Championship.  Problem is they did not have the marquee victories that LSU had.  While defeating Penn State and Wisconsin is damn good, it doesn’t compare to LSU’s victories.

The Committee picked LSU.  I agree completely.  Is LSU the best team in America?  I think some don’t think so and that’s fair.  I can get the argument.  But that’s why you play the games and that is why schedule comes into play.  And let’s be honest, this was tame compared to every previous year, thanks to to Georgia and Utah both losing.  It made The Committee’s job relatively easy.  Wait until they add more teams to the College Football Playoff.  Then it will get worse and the Selection Show will be eight hours long.

Now as for the conference championship games themselves…

• Clemson beat Virginia handily and it wasn’t even close.  By the time the game had started Clemson knew they were in anyway and they still boatraced the Hoos.
• Speaking of easy games, LSU had no problem with the Dawgs.  Not competitive at all and my guess is that it made it so many viewers switched over to the American Conference Championship.
• Ohio State beat Wisconsin in a game that was in doubt for quite a while.  Wisconsin had a good lead but then the Buckeyes turned on the jets and scored the last 27 points on route to the #2 spot in the College Football Playoff.
• The Big XII Championship ended up being a great game between Oklahoma and Baylor.  The Sooners won in overtime and yet again, this should have been the primetime game, not the ACC Championship.
• The Pac-12 Championship had a ton of stakes attached to it.  Utah win and they are pretty much in the CFP.  Instead they lose and didn’t look like they were in the game at all.  It also kept the Pac-12 out of the Top 4 yet again.
• The AAC Championship was a great game once again.  A back and forth affair that had the Cotton Bowl bid on the line (for the most part).  Memphis won at home and deserves their shot at a big game and they get that as they play Penn State in JerryWorld.
• The Conference USA Championship was over by early in the first quarter.  Florida Atlantic had no problem in Lane Kiffin’s final game in Boca Raton.  The Owls’ prize?  A trophy and a coach who is leaving.
• The MAC Championship was actually a pretty good game.  Miami-OH and Central Michigan duked it out in arguably the worst of the conference championships (on paper).  Again, it means nothing since there is no assigned bowl for the MAC champ.  That makes no sense to me but I don’t run the bowl games so what the hell do I know?
• Hawaii traveled to Boise to play the Broncos on the blue turf: a place that Boise State rarely loses.  And this was no different as Boise walked away with this one in relatively easy fashion.  I’m sure they were scoreboard watching to see how the AAC title game was going and praying that Cincinnati won.  In the end, the Bearcats lost and the Broncos won yet another trip to Las Vegas for bowl season.
• The Sun Belt Championship was a rematch of last year’s and just as not close.  Appalachian State needed to blow Louisiana out and hope for the best later on in the day and none of that happened so they get their spot in the New Orleans Bowl that I am sure the Ragin’ Cajuns would have loved.

I won’t get into the bowl bids too much here.  I will do my best to do a rankings and schedule before the bowls start in eleven days.  I outlined that there were some bowl tie-ins not followed.  Some of them were not followed because a conference couldn’t fill all their bowl slots.  Fair enough.  But some were just changed because…I honestly don’t know why they were changed.  So why the fuck have bowl tie-ins in the first place?  Follow my plan, which you can link at the top of this post, and this becomes much better and easier to follow.  Or don’t ask me and just continue with this bullshit.  Whatever.

No more college football until Friday night with an FCS playoff game.  Army-Navy is Saturday.  Enjoy your week everyone!

Final 2019 Bowl Games Confirmed

So here is the final list!

Fiesta Bowl	CFP Poll #2 vs. CFP Poll #3	Ohio State vs. Clemson
Peach Bowl	CFP Poll #1 vs. CFP Poll #4	LSU vs. Oklahoma

 

Sugar Bowl	SEC #1 vs. Big XII #1	Georgia vs. Baylor
Rose Bowl	Big Ten #1 vs. Pac-12 #1	Wisconsin vs. Oregon
Orange Bowl	ACC #1 vs. SEC #2/Big Ten #2/Notre Dame/G-5 #1	Virginia vs. Florida
Cotton Bowl	CFP At-Large vs. CFP At-Large/G-5 #1	Penn State vs. Memphis

 

Mobile Bowl	MAC vs. Sun Belt	Miami-OH vs. Louisiana
Armed Forces Bowl	Big Ten vs. MWC	Southern Miss vs. Tulane
Idaho Potato Bowl	MWC vs. MAC	Nevada vs. Ohio
Gator Bowl	SEC vs. Big Ten	Tennessee vs. Indiana
Birmingham Bowl	SEC/ACC vs. American/ACC	Boston College vs. Cincinnati
Outback Bowl	SEC vs. Big Ten	Auburn vs. Minnesota
Citrus Bowl	SEC vs. Big Ten	Alabama vs. Michigan
Alamo Bowl	Big XII vs. Pac-12	Texas vs. Utah
Arizona Bowl	MWC vs. Sun Belt	Wyoming vs. Georgia State
Liberty Bowl	SEC/American vs. Big XII/American	Navy vs. Kansas State
Sun Bowl	Pac-12 vs. ACC	Arizona State vs. Florida State
Belk Bowl	SEC vs. ACC	Kentucky vs. Virginia Tech
Redbox Bowl	Big Ten vs. Pac-12	Illinois vs. California
Music City Bowl	SEC vs. ACC	Mississippi State vs. Louisville
First Responder Bowl	Big XII vs. C-USA	Western Michigan vs. Western Kentucky
Camping World Bowl	Big XII vs. ACC	Iowa State vs. Notre Dame
Cheez-It Bowl	Big XII/MWC vs. Pac-12/MWC	Air Force vs. Washington State
Holiday Bowl	Big Ten vs. Pac-12	Iowa vs. USC
Texas Bowl	SEC vs. Big XII	Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma State
Pinstripe Bowl	Big Ten vs. ACC	Michigan State vs. Wake Forest
Military Bowl	ACC vs. American	North Carolina vs. Temple
Quick Lane Bowl	Big Ten/MAC vs. ACC/MAC	Eastern Michigan vs. Pittsburgh
Independence Bowl	SEC/C-USA vs. ACC/American	Louisiana Tech vs. Miami
Hawaii Bowl	BYU vs. American/MWC	BYU vs. Hawaii
Gasparilla Bowl	American/ACC vs. C-USA/ACC	UCF vs. Marshall
New Orleans Bowl	C-USA vs. Sun Belt	UAB vs. Appalachian State
Las Vegas Bowl	Pac-12 vs. MWC	Washington vs. Boise State
Camellia Bowl	MAC vs. Sun Belt	FIU vs. Arkansas State
Boca Raton Bowl	American vs. MAC	SMU vs. Florida Atlantic
Cure Bowl	American vs. Sun Belt	Liberty vs. Georgia Southern
New Mexico Bowl	MWC vs. C-USA	San Diego State vs. Central Michigan
Frisco Bowl	American vs. MAC/C-USA	Utah State vs. Kent State
Bahamas Bowl	MAC vs. C-USA	Buffalo vs. Charlotte

A few notes on the finalized bowls:

• Toledo did end up being the only team to be bowl-eligible but not playing in a bowl this season.  Sucks for the Rockets.
• Liberty will play in their first bowl ever this season and it will be the Cure Bowl against Georgia Southern.
• The Chris Petersen Bowl will be in Las Vegas as Petersen’s final game as coach of the Huskies will be against his old team, Boise State.
• Who gets the “terrible” spot in Shreveport?  It’s the Miami Hurricanes.  Well deserved.
• Texas A&M does not get the Longhorns in the Texas Bowl but will instead get old Big XII running mate, Oklahoma State and Mike Gundy’s fantastic hair.
• Notre Dame gets the ACC spot in the Camping World Bowl and will get Iowa State there.
• Many thought it would be Texas vs. USC in the Alamo Bowl.  Instead of USC, it’s Utah, who gets a much-deserved big non-NY6 bowl spot.
• Finally, Mississippi State was locked in the Belk Bowl with Tennessee going to the Music City Bowl.  Late in the day, the Vols decided they preferred the Gator over the Music City so they were switched with Kentucky.  Kentucky had already played Louisville so was moved to the Belk and Mississippi State replaced them.  Got that?  Ugh.
• Finally, bowl tie-ins that weren’t met include:
  • Utah State taking the American spot in the Frisco Bowl
  • Central Michigan taking the C-USA spot in the New Mexico Bowl
  • Liberty taking the American spot in the Cure Bowl
  • Western Michigan taking the Big XII spot in the First Responder Bowl
  • Southern Miss taking the Big Ten spot and Tulane taking the MWC spot in the Armed Forces Bowl

So there you go.  All ready for bowl season!  Bowl schedule and analysis will be coming soon as bowl season starts in six days!

 

Updated 2019 Bowl Projections at December 8th 3:30 PM EST

Alright the teams in bold are locked into those bowls (as far as I know):

Fiesta Bowl	CFP Poll #2 vs. CFP Poll #3	Ohio State vs. Clemson
Peach Bowl	CFP Poll #1 vs. CFP Poll #4	LSU vs. Oklahoma

 

Sugar Bowl	SEC #1 vs. Big XII #1	Georgia vs. Baylor
Rose Bowl	Big Ten #1 vs. Pac-12 #1	Wisconsin vs. Oregon
Orange Bowl	ACC #1 vs. SEC #2/Big Ten #2/Notre Dame/G-5 #1	Virginia vs. Florida
Cotton Bowl	CFP At-Large vs. CFP At-Large/G-5 #1	Penn State vs. Memphis

 

Mobile Bowl	MAC vs. Sun Belt	Miami-OH vs. Louisiana
Armed Forces Bowl	Big Ten vs. MWC	Western Michigan vs. Air Force
Idaho Potato Bowl	MWC vs. MAC	Utah State vs. Central Michigan
Gator Bowl	SEC vs. Big Ten	Tennessee vs. Illinois
Birmingham Bowl	SEC/ACC vs. American/ACC	North Carolina vs. Cincinnati
Outback Bowl	SEC vs. Big Ten	Auburn vs. Minnesota
Citrus Bowl	SEC vs. Big Ten	Alabama vs. Michigan
Alamo Bowl	Big XII vs. Pac-12	Texas vs. Utah
Arizona Bowl	MWC vs. Sun Belt	San Diego State vs. Georgia State
Liberty Bowl	SEC/American vs. Big XII/American	Liberty* vs. Kansas State
Sun Bowl	Pac-12 vs. ACC	California vs. Notre Dame
Belk Bowl	SEC vs. ACC	Mississippi State vs. Virginia Tech
Redbox Bowl	Big Ten vs. Pac-12	Indiana vs. Washington
Music City Bowl	SEC vs. ACC	Kentucky vs. Louisville
First Responder Bowl	Big XII vs. C-USA	Oklahoma State vs. Florida Atlantic
Camping World Bowl	Big XII vs. ACC	Iowa State vs. Pittsburgh
Cheez-It Bowl	Big XII/MWC vs. Pac-12/MWC	Nevada vs. Washington State
Holiday Bowl	Big Ten vs. Pac-12	Iowa vs. USC
Texas Bowl	SEC vs. Big XII	Texas A&M vs. Southern Miss*
Pinstripe Bowl	Big Ten vs. ACC	Michigan State vs. Wake Forest
Military Bowl	ACC vs. American	Boston College vs. Navy
Quick Lane Bowl	Big Ten/MAC vs. ACC/MAC	Eastern Michigan vs. Miami
Independence Bowl	SEC/C-USA vs. ACC/American	Western Kentucky vs. Florida State
Hawaii Bowl	BYU vs. American/MWC	BYU vs. Hawaii
Gasparilla Bowl	American/ACC vs. C-USA/ACC	UCF vs. Marshall
New Orleans Bowl	C-USA vs. Sun Belt	UAB vs. Appalachian State
Las Vegas Bowl	Pac-12 vs. MWC	Arizona State vs. Boise State
Camellia Bowl	MAC vs. Sun Belt	FIU vs. Arkansas State
Boca Raton Bowl	American vs. MAC	SMU vs. Ohio
Cure Bowl	American vs. Sun Belt	Temple vs. Georgia Southern
New Mexico Bowl	MWC vs. C-USA	Wyoming vs. Louisiana Tech
Frisco Bowl	American vs. MAC/C-USA	Tulane vs. Kent State
Bahamas Bowl	MAC vs. C-USA	Buffalo vs. Charlotte

I will be back with a final update later tonight.

Updated 2019 Bowl Projections after College Football Playoff selections

The Top 4 have been selected (there is no shocked look on my face).

Fiesta Bowl	CFP Poll #2 vs. CFP Poll #3	Ohio State vs. Clemson
Peach Bowl	CFP Poll #1 vs. CFP Poll #4	LSU vs. Oklahoma

• No changes since my post last night.  To me this is no surprise but many in the media are shocked that the Buckeyes fell to #2.

Sugar Bowl	SEC #1 vs. Big XII #1	Georgia vs. Baylor
Rose Bowl	Big Ten #1 vs. Pac-12 #1	Wisconsin vs. Oregon
Orange Bowl	ACC #1 vs. SEC #2/Big Ten #2/Notre Dame/G-5 #1	Virginia vs. Florida
Cotton Bowl	CFP At-Large vs. CFP At-Large/G-5 #1	Penn State vs. Memphis

• Wondering who will get the Rose Bowl spot and then the Cotton Bowl spot.  Utah might still be in play here.

Mobile Bowl	MAC vs. Sun Belt	Miami-OH vs. Louisiana
Armed Forces Bowl	Big Ten vs. MWC	FIU* vs. Air Force
Idaho Potato Bowl	MWC vs. MAC	Utah State vs. Central Michigan
Gator Bowl	SEC vs. Big Ten	Auburn vs. Iowa
Birmingham Bowl	SEC/ACC vs. American/ACC	North Carolina vs. Cincinnati
Outback Bowl	SEC vs. Big Ten	Tennessee vs. Minnesota
Citrus Bowl	SEC vs. Big Ten	Alabama vs. Michigan
Alamo Bowl	Big XII vs. Pac-12	Texas vs. USC
Arizona Bowl	MWC vs. Sun Belt	San Diego State vs. Arkansas State
Liberty Bowl	SEC/American vs. Big XII/American	Liberty* vs. Kansas State
Sun Bowl	Pac-12 vs. ACC	Utah vs. Notre Dame
Belk Bowl	SEC vs. ACC	Mississippi State vs. Virginia Tech
Redbox Bowl	Big Ten vs. Pac-12	Indiana vs. Washington
Music City Bowl	SEC vs. ACC	Kentucky vs. Louisville
First Responder Bowl	Big XII vs. C-USA	Oklahoma State vs. Florida Atlantic
Camping World Bowl	Big XII vs. ACC	Iowa State vs. Pittsburgh
Cheez-It Bowl	Big XII/MWC vs. Pac-12/MWC	Nevada vs. Washington State
Holiday Bowl	Big Ten vs. Pac-12	Illinois vs. California
Texas Bowl	SEC vs. Big XII	Texas A&M vs. Southern Miss*
Pinstripe Bowl	Big Ten vs. ACC	Michigan State vs. Boston College
Military Bowl	ACC vs. American	Wake Forest vs. Navy
Quick Lane Bowl	Big Ten/MAC vs. ACC/MAC	Eastern Michigan vs. Miami
Independence Bowl	SEC/C-USA vs. ACC/American	Western Kentucky vs. Florida State
Hawaii Bowl	BYU vs. American/MWC	BYU vs. Hawaii
Gasparilla Bowl	American/ACC vs. C-USA/ACC	UCF vs. UAB
New Orleans Bowl	C-USA vs. Sun Belt	Louisiana Tech vs. Appalachian State
Las Vegas Bowl	Pac-12 vs. MWC	Arizona State vs. Boise State
Camellia Bowl	MAC vs. Sun Belt	Western Michigan vs. Georgia Southern
Boca Raton Bowl	American vs. MAC	Temple vs. Ohio
Cure Bowl	American vs. Sun Belt	SMU vs. Georgia State
New Mexico Bowl	MWC vs. C-USA	Wyoming vs. Marshall
Frisco Bowl	American vs. MAC/C-USA	Tulane vs. Kent State
Bahamas Bowl	MAC vs. C-USA	Buffalo vs. Charlotte

• Rumour has it that Virginia Tech will face Mississippi State in the final Belk Bowl.

I will be back in a few hours with a lot more updates.