2023 Bowl Game Rankings and Predictions for those Bowl Games!

We are a little over a week away from Christmas. You have your Bowl Season schedule and now you need some Bowl Game rankings and Bowl Game predictions from your friendly neighbourhood Bossman.

Time to go back to basics…I think? After introducing the Play-by-Play Announcer Scale last year we are heading back in time to the broadcasting network scale. An oldie but a goodie but since much has changed in the past few years, there are a couple of newbies and some networks that just don’t broadcast college football anymore. So let’s get right into this!

Now one thing that will change is this will be in tiers. 8 tiers like last year but with networks instead of announcers. Let’s fucking go!

The ABC Saturday Night Tier

Game of the Year type games right here. The games that matter. In this day and age that means the College Football Playoff and the New Year’s Six.

Rose Bowl – #1 Michigan vs. #4 Alabama (Jan. 1, 5:00, TSN3) – This will get a lot of viewers. I am starting to wonder if ESPN kind of helped with all the controversy to get even more people to watch. Let’s be honest: these two teams may be the two most hated college football teams in the land right now. And they are both just fine with that. Expect this to be a very close and very exciting game. My pick: Michigan 36 Alabama 31.

Sugar Bowl – #2 Washington vs. #3 Texas (Jan. 1, 8:45, TSN3) – They should have had the Rose and Sugar as the College Football Playoff semi-finals from the get-go. But it’s college football so they sometimes trip over themselves figuring things out. They still haven’t learned from having games on New Year’s Eve where the ratings, while still good, were probably much lower than they could have been. Normally one CFP semi-final is a fair amount worse than the other. This is the case this year and it has nothing to do with the Huskies or the Longhorns. At least it feels like both game will be really good because it’s rough to watch a CFP game get out of hand (see 2022 national championship). My pick: Washington 27 Texas 24.

Peach Bowl – #10 Penn State vs. #11 Ole Miss (Dec. 30, Noon, TSN5) – Two teams with head coaches that their fanbase doesn’t fully trust. I kind of get it but, because it’s college football, many go overboard. I mean who is going to State College or Oxford and doing a lot better than James Frankin or Lane Kiffin are? It would be a tough sell at Penn State to get a truly elite coach and even tougher at Ole Miss. Honestly, both coaches will probably be around through the end of next season so fans might as well focus on this game and stop talking about their next hypothetical coach. My pick: Penn State 21 Ole Miss 14.

Orange Bowl – #5 Florida State vs. #6 Georgia (Dec. 30, 4:00, TSN1/5) – This bowl has gone off the rails and it’s two weeks away. Now we have some Georgia lawmaker wanting to make the Orange Bowl another semi-final. So how the fuck is that going to work, Jethro? The winners get together for a hot game of rock, paper, scissors? Or maybe a three-way Cage of Death match up in Barrow, Alaska. Televised LIVE by ESPN AND NO ONE ELSE of course. What a fucking shitshow. I’m almost ready for the 2024 season to start so we can be done with this season. My pick: Georgia 35 Florida State 25.

Alamo Bowl – #12 Oklahoma vs. #14 Arizona (Dec. 28, 9:15, TSN3) – Well hey look at this. Not a CFP bowl and not an NY6 bowl! I say it almost every year but the Alamo Bowl, on paper, is one of, if not the very, best bowl games outside the major bowls. I wonder what will happen with the tie-ins with the Pac-12 being history. Either way, a great game to watch even if you end up exhausted at work the next day. My pick: Arizona 42 Oklahoma 39.

The SEC on CBS Tier

I’m shedding a tear right now looking at that logo. Long live the SEC on CBS. Things will never be the same again.

Cotton Bowl – #7 Ohio State vs. #9 Missouri (Dec. 29, 8:00, TSN2) – One team who was one win away from being in the College Football Playoff against one team who played way better than anyone expected. I can’t see this game being done before Midnight. Thankfully it’s Saturday the next day. We shall see if the absence of Kyle McCord really does affect the Buckeyes. I think it will. My pick: Missouri 34 Ohio State 20.

Armed Forces Bowl – James Madison vs. Air Force (Dec. 23, 3:30, ABC/TSN2) – The best pre-Christmas bowl game and of course it features America’s (Eastern) Team, the James Madison Dukes (America’s (Western) Team resides in Las Cruces as you already know). As for the Falcons, talk about a horrible slide to end their season. They were at the top of the Group of Five mountain going into November and by Selection Sunday were an afterthought. My pick: James Madison 31 Air Force 10.

Pop Tarts Bowl – #18 NC State vs. #25 Kansas State (Dec. 38, 5:45, TSN3) – This has to be the bowl game with the most questions. Nothing to do with the two teams involved who did very well this season but were one or two bad losses away from causing potential chaos. No, I’m talking about the edible Pop Tarts Bowl mascot. You read that right. Edible. Mascot. We don’t even know what flavour it is. Watch it be a really shitty flavour like blueberry or the disappointing chocolate fudge one or grass and dirt. Wait, there’s a pumpkin pie one? That one then. Ugh, just the thought of that makes my stomach churn. My pick: Kansas State 36 NC State 28.

Fiesta Bowl – #8 Oregon vs. #23 Liberty (Jan. 1, 1:00, TSN3) – The worst of the New Year’s Six games and it’s really not even close. That seems to be the take everyone has, partly because Oregon is one win over Washington from being in the playoff and partly because many hate Liberty because of the university itself. Ugh. Oh well, I’d love to say this could be close. I just don’t think it will be. My pick: Oregon 52 Liberty 28.

Citrus Bowl – #17 Iowa vs. #21 Tennessee (Jan. 1, 1:00, ABC/TSN+) – It must look weird to have an Iowa game here but hey, the Iowa defense was one of the best in the country. Sure they couldn’t score for the life of them but defense wins championships, right? It feels like football is trying to do away with that adage. Look, at least the over/under isn’t as ridiculous as the last few Hawkeye games this season (it’s 36.5 the last time I checked which is still low but I digress). My pick: Tennessee 21 Iowa 14.

The Big Noon Kickoff Tier

Really good games that are approaching the SEC on CBS level except when they end up showing Indiana or Nebraska playing a team like Ohio State. Then it’s not so fun and you fear for Gus and Joel’s sanity.

Holiday Bowl – #15 Louisville vs. USC (Dec. 27, 8:00, FOX) – Of course the BNK section has to have the only FOX bowl game. I’m just happy they don’t have a bowl game on FOX Sports One anymore. Sure I can watch it but many Canadians can’t and I am a man of the people. Anyway, GUS won’t get to call any Caleb Williams on-field action because he’s not playing. Between players opting out and players transferring before bowl games, Bowl Season is becoming, I hate to say, a bit of a mess. Hopefully someone fixes it. They won’t though. My pick: Louisville 36 USC 19.

Guaranteed Rate Bowl – Kansas vs. UNLV (Dec. 26, 9:00, TSN2) – UNLV has been better than advertised this season. Barry Odom has done an unbelievable job in Vegas. And you know my thoughts on Lance Leipold and the direction of the Jayhawk football program. Hell, the renovations are going to be so big that it may cause them to have to play at least one game at Arrowhead Stadium next season. That wouldn’t have happened with the 2010s Kansas Jayhawks. This may end up being one of the most fun games to watch. My pick: Kansas 31 UNLV 27.

Duke’s Mayo Bowl – North Carolina vs. West Virginia (Dec. 27, 5:30, TSN5) – I don’t usually like picking sides. But there is something intriguing about the idea of Mack Brown being buried in Duke’s Mayo. OK wait, buried was the wrong word. I didn’t mean… My pick: North Carolina 45 West Virginia 42.

Liberty Bowl – Memphis vs Iowa State (Dec. 29, 3:30, TSN2) – This could be a bit of a track meet game if the Tigers get rolling in front of their home crowd. What I’m saying is: take the over. My pick: Memphis 49 Iowa State 40.

Sun Bowl – #16 Notre Dame vs. #19 Oregon State (Dec. 29, 2:00, CBS) – At one point this was going to be THE non-CFP/non-NY6 bowl game. Then we have D.J. Uiagalelei transferring. Jonathan Smith is now head coach at Michigan State. Sam Hartman might not play for the Irish. From a game that looked like it would be loaded with points, it might not end up being that way now. My pick: Notre Dame 23 Oregon State 21.

The Notre Dame and/or B1G on NBC Tier

Notre Dame games still hold a lot of reverance for fans and the Big Ten will slowly make their mark, especially with Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge calling their games.

Arizona Bowl – Wyoming vs. Toledo (Dec. 30, 4:00, The CW) – Yes the C Fucking W. They may go down in the list of notable networks that have broadcast bowl games like Mizlou Network and the American Sports Network. This bowl is sponsored by Barstool Sports so many won’t watch it just for that. I do kind of get it since it’s like watching a game at one of those sportsbooks in Vegas with 10,000 screens and odds on everything and anything. But it could end up being a good game and I don’t want to miss that, right? My pick: Toledo 33 Wyoming 27.

Cure Bowl – Appalachian State vs. Miami-OH (Dec. 16, 3:30, ABC/TSN2) – Even though it’s on ABC it might be overshadowed by other bowl games. Which is too bad since we have the MAC champs and the Mountaineers that are back after missing Bowl Season last year (in one of the craziest seasons in Sun Belt history). Don’t sleep on this matchup despite the fact it could be a bit of a defensive slugfest. Like if you enjoy Iowa football this may be your type of game. My pick: Appalachian State 20 Miami-OH 18.

ReliaQuest Bowl – #13 LSU vs. Wisconsin (Jan. 1, Noon, TSN+/specialty pack) – The first football game of 2024 is also the first game on this list that is on TSN+ and the specialty packs. Also, if Heisman winner Jayden Daniels does decide to play, this shouldn’t be cloase at all. My pick: LSU 48 Wisconsin 13.

Music City Bowl – Auburn vs. Maryland (Dec. 30, 2:00, ABC/TSN+) – Auburn has been all over the place this year. The highs are always high playing in the SEC. The lows can be very low although a loss to New Mexico State doesn’t look as bad as some may think. This is the younger Tagovailoa’s final game at Maryland and I think he goes out with a bang against an inconsistent Tigers team. My pick: Maryland 49 Auburn 29.

Gator Bowl – #22 Clemson vs. Kentucky (Dec. 29, Noon, TSN2) – If the Tigers hadn’t had a hell of a November, this may have been an even matchup. But it won’t be. At least I doubt it. My pick: Clemson 41 Kentucky 15.

The Late Night ESPN Tier

Jesus Christ that looks horrible. Oh well, I don’t feel like finding another logo. Basically this tier is the ESPN game that’s not the SEC primetime ESPN game of the week. So it could be the Noon, 3:30 or late night affair. So still a pretty good game but a step below the rest.

Independence Bowl – Texas Tech vs. California (Dec. 16, 9:15, TSN+/specialty pack) – This feels like an odd pairing in Shreveport of all places. Maybe next season they can get the Sun Belt champ to play an SEC team here, like God (or the Bossman in various posts) intended. I’m going with the team that scratched and clawed their way to bowl eligibility and have a bit of momentum as they head to the ACC. My pick: California 41 Texas Tech 27.

LA Bowl – UCLA vs. Boise State (Dec. 16, 7:30, ABC/TSN2) – This is going up against the rest of opening day of Bowl Season plus a few NFL games plus a couple of lower-level playoff games. So, yeah this isn’t exactly high up on anyone’s list of appointment viewing I’m sure. Considering Gronk is involved, my interest has dwindled even farther. Maybe it will be close and keep my attention. I don’t think it will be though. My pick: Boise State 39 UCLA 26.

New Mexico Bowl – Fresno State vs. New Mexico State (Dec. 16, 5:45, TSN+/specialty pack) – Hey it’s America’s (Western) Team, the New Mexico State Aggies! They ended up giving Liberty quite the run for the Conference USA Championship. They get a head coach-less Bulldogs squad that had the inside track to the Mountain West Championship and blew it because of a loss to, well how about that, New Mexico. The script writes itself. My pick: New Mexico State 44 Fresno State 31.

Texas Bowl – Texas A&M vs. #20 Oklahoma State (Dec. 27, 9:00, TSN5) – Usually this game has been a fairly good one so at least we have that going for it. Problem is you have a team that might not have one of the best running backs in the nation for the game up against a team that just spent a shit-ton of money to get rid of their old coach. It will be close only because neither team will be able to pull away. My pick: Texas A&M 28 Oklahoma State 23.

Birmingham Bowl – Duke vs. Troy (Dec. 23, Noon, ABC/TSN2) – This was looking like a really even game and the kind of game I love to see during bowl season. Instead, Duke loses their quarterback and I have a feeling the Trojans will run away with this one. My pick: Troy 36 Duke 20.

The FS1/ESPN2/ESPNU/SEC Network/ACC Network Tier

If you’re a college football fan you are watching these games. If not, well………

Fenway Bowl – Boston College vs. SMU (Dec. 28, 11:00 AM, TSN3) – It’s late morning football in what should be chilly BAW-stun. This could be considered the Mustangs’ first ACC game as they join the conference next season. I believe they will show the Eagles why they were coveted by the conference. My pick: SMU 48 Boston College 21.

Gasparilla Bowl – Georgia Tech vs. UCF (Dec. 22, 6:30, TSN5) – I don’t get the start time but whatever. The Knights have to consider their first season in the Big XII a success as they go bowling. And Brent Key may have just started the Ramblin’ Wreck’s ascent back up the ACC standings. This should be another good one but I will go with the home cookin’. My pick: UCF 22 Georgia Tech 17.

Hawaii Bowl – Coastal Carolina vs. San Jose State (Dec. 24, 10:30, TSN+/specialty pack) – Coastal has had a great run recently so this season feels…a little blah by their now lofty standards. Much of that has to do with the rest of the conference catching up and, for some teams, passing them. I honestly have no real intuition about this game so I will pick the team that doesn’t have to travel clear across the entire country and then half the Pacific Ocean. My pick: San Jose State 45 Coastal Carolina 24.

New Orleans Bowl – Louisiana vs. Jacksonville State (Dec. 16, 2:15, TSN+/specialty pack) – The Ragin’ Cajuns are close to home where they have played in front of some good bowl game crowds at the Superdome. But the Gamecocks are playing in their first bowl game ever and are doing it with RichRod at the helm! No offense to Cajun fans but I have to go with my heart. My pick: Jacksonville State 36 Louisiana 28.

Military Bowl – Virginia Tech vs. Tulane (Dec. 27, 2:00, TSN5) – I am shocked at how well the Hokies did this season. And I was so close at getting my G-5 NY6 pick correct but the Green Wave fell in the American Conference Championship. I usually don’t feel good about teams whose coaches have left for (usually) greener pastures but I think this will be a very close and competitive game. My pick: Tulane 30 Virginia Tech 29.

The CW Tier

When it was announced The CW would be doing an ACC game most weeks, most laughed. I sure did. But holy shit, despite the average commentary, the sub-HD look and the overall lack of production values, they had a few games that hit it out of the park. So you can’t sleep on this station because you might miss a really good game!

Pinstripe Bowl – Rutgers vs. Miami (Dec. 28, 2:15, TSN3) – Ah, an old Big East showdown. Maybe years from now, when conferences hit 28 teams, some teams start to hate it and they break off into smaller conferences, like the Big East. Just a thought. I don’t trust Mario Cristobal to coach this team to a bowl victory as far as I can throw my car. My pick: Rutgers 34 Miami 19.

First Responder Bowl – Rice vs. Texas State (Dec. 26, 5:30, TSN2) – G.J. Kinne has done a fantastic job in San Marcos, coaching the team to its first bowl game ever. Rice did better than expected and could look even better next year in the AAC. This feels like the kind of game that should be on ESPNU that everyone will turn to because there’s the possibility of a fantastic finish. My pick: Texas State 45 Rice 39.

Las Vegas Bowl – Northwestern vs. Utah (Dec. 23, 7:30, ABC/TSN2) – Got to give the Wildcats kudos for a great season considering what things were looking like heading into it. But they are facing a Utah team that, if it weren’t for injuries, would have been in that super dogfight at the top of the Pac-12. I still think the Utes on most nights are safe pick and this is no exception. My pick: Utah 31 Northwestern 10.

Myrtle Beach Bowl – Georgia Southern vs. Ohio (Dec. 16, 11:00 AM, TSN+/specialty pack) – Ohio has Canadian quarterback Kurtis Rourke here so…wait…they don’t? Looks like Rourke entered the transfer portal and has already been picked up by Indiana of all the teams. So my Bobcats pick has to be changed to an Eagles pick since without Rourke I don’t think they have a shot here. My pick: Georgia Southern 32 Ohio 13.

Frisco Bowl – UTSA vs. Marshall (Dec. 19, 9:00, TSN3) – This is the same spot the Frisco Bowl was in last year. So yeah it’s not like they are getting amazing teams to come to Frisco (other than North Dakota State most seasons). At least it’s another Texas team here as the Roadrunners meep their way up the state to face the Thundering Herd. I see Frank Harris, in what his finally his final game, lighting it up one last time. My pick: UTSA 51 Marshall 27.

The Pac-12 Network Tier

They should have taken the two worst teams in football and had them play a “bowl game” on a weeknight at 11 Eastern on the Pac-12 Network. Just to show how little that conference network mattered. I don’t get it. You create a conference network and make it available to most people and people will watch. Hell, the Longhorn Network is still around and that thing is garbage. Yet, this network will die sometime in the late Spring (I assume) and pretty much no one will miss it because they COULDN’T FUCKING WATCH IT! Man. Anyway, this is the bottom tier. Still games I will watch but if you miss them it’s not the end of the world (at least watch the highlights though).

Famous Toastery Bowl – Old Dominion vs. WKU (Dec. 18, 2:30, TSN1/3) – This was supposed to be the Bahamas Bowl but because of renovations to their only stadium on the island capable of hosting this game, it had to be moved. Thus is the creation of the Famous Toastery Bowl. My hope is that the winning coach gets a whole whack of toast dumped on him. Or even French toast. Ugh that would be so sticky (especially if you include syrup which you should) but would be worth it for my entertainment. The game? It will probably be close only because these two are arguably the worst two teams to make bowl season. The closeness keeps it from the bottom. My pick: Old Dominion 23 WKU 20.

Camellia Bowl – Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois (Dec. 23, Noon, TSN+/specialty pack) – Despite the fact ASU has done better than I thought they would this season, their defense is still atrocious. They couldn’t stop a slight breeze. NIU loves to run the ball so despite the clock always moving this could see a lot of points. My pick: Northern Illinois 50 Arkansas State 38.

Idaho Potato Bowl – Utah State vs. Georgia State (Dec. 23, 3:30, TSN+/specialty pack) – Let’s follow one lowly bowl with another. Sometimes Boise gets a great matchup. This, I’m sure, does not qualify as one. GSU limped into the postseason on a 5-game losing streak. Make it six. My pick: Utah State 37 Georgia State 13.

Quick Lane Bowl – Minnesota vs. Bowling Green (Dec. 26, 2:00, TSN2) – Almost everything about this spot on the list is the same as last year. Same bowl. Bowling Green is in it. It’s on Boxing Day. Hell, it’s on a TSN station and only half-an-hour earlier than last year’s edition. Kind of creepy. I remember a time when the MAC champion would go here and face a fairly decent Big Ten team. I guess those days are gone. My pick: Minnesota 21 Bowling Green 14.

Boca Raton Bowl – Syracuse vs. USF (Dec. 21, 8:00, TSN+/specialty pack) – USF might get a boost from being so close to home. That is until their defense hits the field and they have to try to stop the pass which they couldn’t all season. Look, their game against Alabama was wild and fun to watch but Bama struggled to throw the ball all day. Syracuse won’t. My pick: Syracuse 45 USF 14.

68 Ventures Bowl – South Alabama vs. Eastern Michigan (Dec. 23, 7:00, TSN+/specialty pack) – Different name, same shitty bowl game. This is the second straight year the former LendingTree Bowl ends up in the bottom spot on my list. Even the Jag-you-ares playing in front of a home crowd isn’t enough to pull this out from the bottom rung of the ladder. I like EMU but this won’t be even remotely close. My pick: South Alabama 44 Eastern Michigan 9.

There you go! Bowl schedule, bowl rankings, bowl predictions: all complete. All there is now to do is watch the games.

As an add-on, there are some lower-level playoff games. Hell, let’s do another mini-schedule right here!

FCS Semi-Final: UAlbany at South Dakota State	Friday, 7:00
Division III Championship: Cortland vs. North Central (in Salem, VA)	Friday, 7:00
Celebration Bowl: Howard vs. Florida A&M (in Atlanta)	Saturday, Noon
Division II Championship: Harding vs. Colorado School of Mines (in McKinney, TX)	Saturday, 1:00
FCS Semi-Final: North Dakota State at Montana	Saturday, 4:30

All of these games are on TSN+ and the specialty pack except for the Celebration Bowl which goes to ABC.

It looks like other than one game, your boy Bossman can watch every game if he wishes. I most definitely will, thank you very much. And you too…enjoy the games. We’re almost ready to wrap up this season of college football season so get as much viewing in as you can.

You asked for it (I think). So here it is. The 2023 Bowl Game TV Schedule in HIGH DEFINITION!!!

Does anyone say that anymore? That something is in high definition (or the now-even cringier term, High Def)? Feels very 2008-ish.

TSN seems to always deliver during bowl season. It’s funny how they absolutely don’t deliver at all during the rest of the season but with TSN+ they now have their very own built-in excuse to not have many games on the main five stations. Now, as I say every year, the TSN portion of the schedule could change so keep coming back for any updates.

Let’s not waste any more time. Bowl schedule. NOW!

Saturday December 16th

Myrtle Beach Bowl: Georgia Southern vs. Ohio

11:00 AM

Thanks to issues with the Bahamas Bowl (that will be explained below if you don’t already know) Bowl Season begins on the eastern coast of South Carolina. This game pits two teams who were kind of forgotten in their conferences this season but quietly put together good seasons. Should be a good start to the college football postseason on the teal turf in Conway.

Celebration Bowl: Florida A&M vs. Howard

Noon

It feels like many times this game features one team that could have caused some damage in the FCS playoffs and one team that scraped their way into this game. This year’s edition is no different. Florida A&M ran roughshod through most of its opponents whereas Howard barely won the MEAC. And as it usually happens, the not-so-good team gives the really good a team a run for their money and sometimes ends up winning. So don’t necessarily think this will be a blowout.

New Orleans Bowl: Louisiana vs. Jacksonville State

2:15

Opening bowl day brings the return of RichRod to postseason competition. With the Cajuns already being there, this should at least have a raucous crowd and really, that’s a big part of the bowl experience. It’s great to see a bowl game with a great crowd as it just continues to prove that most of these bowl games mean something.

Cure Bowl: Appalachian State vs. Miami-OH

3:30

What used to be the worst bowl game matchup almost every season is now being shown on ABC on opening bowl day. Great turnaround for the Cure Bowl for sure. I think we need to have more bowl games set up like this: where a good portion of the money goes to some sort of charity or towards some type of research. I think this way we can decrease the amount of people who think there are too many bowl games. I mean there will always be some that will hate it. I see their point but it’s more football. Would you prefer to take 35 minutes to find something worth watching on Netflix or Amazon Prime or would you rather watch LIVE FOOTBALL? It really shouldn’t be a choice to be honest (at least if you read this blog).

New Mexico Bowl: Fresno State vs. New Mexico State

5:45

Time to watch America’s Team in this one. No, the Dallas Cowboys aren’t playing (and no, they aren’t America’s team and haven’t been since a year that started with a 1). The New Mexico State Aggies, coached by, arguably, the best coach in the land Jerry Kill, is now America’s Team. That’s unfortunate for the Fresno State Bulldogs who won’t have their head coach, Jeff Tedford, on the sideline. They have to face the Aggies in almost a quasi-home game for them. I want to say this won’t be close but the Bulldogs are pretty good so at the very least you should see a good game here. America’s Team. Now you know. And knowing’s half the battle…………………………………………GI JOE!!!!!!

LA Bowl: UCLA vs. Boise State

7:30

For once, the Broncos had to grind to get to a bowl game. 5-5 with their head coach being shitcanned and they somehow win the Mountain West Championship. But now with no potential Chip Kelly drama, this game loses a lot of spots in the rankings.

Independence Bowl: Texas Tech vs. California

9:15

Shreveport seems like an odd spot for two Power Five teams in their bowl game but that used to be the norm. Maybe the Independence Bowl should have been used in the new 12-team playoff somehow. I mean who says no, other than ESPN who would prefer to put every game in the biggest neutral site stadium they can find for MAXIMUM MONEY.

Monday December 18th

Famous Toastery Bowl: Old Dominion vs. WKU

2:30

This will most likely be my favourite one-off bowl ever. Because of renovations at Thomas Robinson Stadium, the Bahamas Bowl could not be played on the island since there are no other stadiums able to hold the game there. Charlotte got the call and this game will be played at the 49ers’ home field and with a new sponsor, Famous Toastery. I don’t think it’s even famous at all in that area of the country but I like their confidence. I pray that the winning coach gets buried in a mountain of toast.

Tuesday December 19th

Frisco Bowl: UTSA vs. Marshall

9:00

Frisco gets two postseason games: this one and then the FCS Championship. The FCS title game is there through at least next season but beyond that, who knows. The Frisco Bowl, on the other hand, is here to stay. At least we have two good Group of Five teams here and with UTSA not being too far away it may approach a sellout.

Thursday December 21st

Boca Raton Bowl: Syracuse vs. USF

8:00

Back to grinding for bowl-eligibility, here are two teams that epitomized that. Syracuse, who has completely re-done their coaching staff and USF, whose close game with Bama earlier on in the season made the College Football Playoff debate that much worse. Look it’s either this or the Saints and the Rams on Amazon Prime. You know what to choose.

Friday December 22nd

Gasparilla Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. UCF

6:30

Interesting start time for this game. I get that it’s only half-an-hour before games normally would start locally but why do that? Bizarre. This is probably the highest-profile matchup this bowl game has ever had and it should bring a good amount of fans with one team not too far from Tampa. Hey, at least’s it not at the Trop.

Saturday December 23rd

Birmingham Bowl: Duke vs. Troy

Noon

This should be a good game and it’s the kind of game I always talk about. A Group of Five conference champion getting their shot at a Power Five team. That’s part of what bowl season should be all about and I have said that often in the past. Will college football listen to me? No. And it’s their loss.

Camellia Bowl: Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois

Noon

Two teams that have got basically no coverage this season. I’m honestly surprised that no team looked at Butch Jones to be their new head coach. He’s brought ASU back from being horrible for both of Jones’ first two seasons (and Blake Anderson’s last in Jonesboro) to being respectable. I think the fact that the Sun Belt is so damn good now (in G-5 terms), this team gets overshadowed a lot.

Idaho Potato Bowl: Utah State vs. Georgia State

3:30

Again, two teams who were overshadowed by a bunch of better teams in their respective conferences. Plus it’s on the blue turf and that’s always a bit of fun, especially if it’s freezing cold (OK not so much for the players and fans but hilarious for us viewers at home).

Armed Forces Bowl: Air Force vs. James Madison

3:30

The Dukes in a bowl game! As it should be. And it shouldn’t have taken the lengths it did but luckily there weren’t enough 6-win teams to fill all the bowl slots. Air Force had a monumental collapse to end their season after being the Group of Five favourite to go to the New Year’s Six coming into November so momentum is not on their side.

68 Ventures Bowl: South Alabama vs. Eastern Michigan

7:00

Chris Creighton has done amazing things in Ypsilanti. He has made EMU relevant for really the first time ever. As for South Alabama, it looked like they would be the Sun Belt’s darling this year after an early win over Oklahoma State. The bottom fell out for this team and they barely made it to bowling. Massive contrast of seasons here.

Las Vegas Bowl: Northwestern vs. Utah

7:30

Northwestern and Utah aren’t exactly the fanbases I think of when I think of fans who could completely wreck hotel rooms and drink a bar dry…well, Utah maybe. Maybe that is by design. Have to give credit to a Northwestern team that should have been terrible and ended up doing quite well in the final Big Ten West season. And we will never know how good the Utes could have been with the injuries they had.

Hawaii Bowl: San Jose State vs. Coastal Carolina

10:30

It’s the annual Stocking Stuffer Bowl where many parents finally fill the stockings of their children so that when they wake up they will know Santa (or some other fat white dude) came down the chimney (or more like through a window because he’s fat) to give them presents because…we as parents didn’t give them enough? Is that how the story goes? Anyway, I will enjoy a nice scotch after all that stocking stuffer stuff is done and watch some great football during a bowl that should start at one minute before Midnight on Spectrum Sports so most of the college football world has to scramble to find it.

Tuesday December 26th

Quick Lane Bowl: Minnesota vs. Bowling Green

2:00

OK not exactly what I’ve always had in mind but still. It’s a G-5 team against a P-5 team. The P-5 team is in because they are smart. The G-5 team is in because the MAC, past the top three teams, was pretty bad this year. Advantage? The fans who get to watch college football on a weekday afternoon when you probably will be off work. Probably. For those who must work I hope you have a good PVR setup.

First Responder Bowl: Rice vs. Texas State

5:30

Hey remember when this bowl game was cancelled because of weather? What a shitshow that was. I’d be surprised if they ever let that happen again considering the fallout. When it comes to this year’s First Responder Bowl, you have to like what you see in Texas State. In a really good Sun Belt, they were able to go 7-5 and get to their first bowl game ever. Tulsa is going to rue the day they decided not to hire G.J. Kinne as their coach. Rice, I believe, lucked out due to a much-less powerful AAC. Not to say they didn’t play well but I believe the Sun Belt, top to bottom, is the best Group of Five conference.

Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Kansas vs. UNLV

9:00

This is why bowl games matter. UNLV is back in a bowl game for the first time in a decade thanks in large part to a guy who should have got more votes for Coach of the Year, Barry Odom. Speaking of guys who should have got Coach of the Year consideration, Lance Leipold has done wonders and the Jayhawks are doing everything they can to keep him in Lawrence. Big question for this game will be if Jalon Daniels will play after his somewhat mysterious back injury from earlier this year kept him out of action for most of the season.

Wednesday December 27th

Military Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Tulane

2:00

Maybe we will see some snow for this one. Not gonna lie: VaTech was WAY the fuck better than I thought they would be. They did a masterful job in an ACC that, below FSU and Louisville, wasn’t that great. They will face a Tulane squad that just lost Willie Fritz to Houston. I know some teams struggle when their coach leaves before a bowl game and I could see that happening here.

Duke’s Mayo Bowl: North Carolina vs. West Virginia

5:30

North Carolina with a big home advantage at the Mayo Bowl. In the end, though, that advantage means little. The game itself only means so much. No, what really matters, is who is going to get a big tub of mayo dumped on them, Mack Brown or Neal Brown? Either way, Duke’s Mayo is going to be down on Brown in this one………wait, that doesn’t sound right.

Holiday Bowl: #15 Louisville vs. USC

8:00

Caleb Williams has opted out of this one. No surprise there. But they could be playing a team that, despite being ranked 15th in the nation, hasn’t exactly lit it up lately. Let’s see if Louisville can actually play a decent game for the first time in weeks after shitting the bed against Kentucky and looking mediocre against Florida State.

Texas Bowl: Texas A&M vs. #20 Oklahoma State

9:00

Some classic Big XII action here. Cue the Big XII on FOX Sports Net music and get Joel Meyers back to call this one. The Aggies should be doubly pissed since the Pokes had a chance to knock those damn Longhorns off their perch and they couldn’t get it done. So now they have to watch Texas play in the College Football Playoff while the Aggies are in a decent bowl but one quite a ways down the pecking order.

Thursday December 28th

Fenway Bowl: Boston College vs. #24 SMU

11:00 AM

Morning football at Fenway. See, morning football is fine if it bleeds into the afternoon. None of this 9:30 in the morning horseshit. I guess this could be considered the Ponies’ first ACC test as these two teams will be roommates next year.

Pinstripe Bowl: Rutgers vs. Miami

2:15

I honestly think this will end up being a good game. I mean what’s not to like? OK there are probably a few things not to like, such as Mario Cristobal’s continued contract as head coach of the Miami football Hurricanes but I digress. It’s Rutgers football. In NYC. An old Big East matchup (I really wish the Big East was back…in football). I look forward to it, especially if there is some serious football weather that day.

Pop Tarts Bowl: #18 NC State vs. #25 Kansas State

5:45

OK so get this. The mascot for the new Pop Tarts Bowl is, of course, a Pop Tart. So far, so uninteresting. Then everything goes off the rails when we are told that this will be the first edible mascot ever and that the winning team gets to eat it. What? I mean, hey, it’s got me interested just to see what absurdity will unfold after what should be one of the better non-CFP/non-NY6 bowl games.

Alamo Bowl: #12 Oklahoma vs. #14 Arizona

9:15

Usually the Alamo Bowl gives us one of, if not the, best non-CFP/non-NY6 bowl matchups. This year is no exception. Oklahoma’s final ride in the Big XII before they head to the prosperous SEC. Jedd Fisch’s resurgent Arizona Wildcats who are looking to head to the Big XII next year with a lot of momentum. This feels like it will be a slobberknocker to quote good ol’ JR.

Friday December 29th

Gator Bowl: Kentucky vs. #22 Clemson

Noon

If Kentucky hadn’t beat Louisville I would have said this could end up being complete domination by the Tigers. It probably still will be but at least there feels like the Cats could have a fighting chance here.

Sun Bowl: #19 Oregon State vs. #16 Notre Dame

2:00

This game sold out in about an hour or so. And all because of a random draw. All the bowls left with ACC tie-ins wanted Notre Dame so I guess they did the whole coin toss thing they did in Friday Night Lights or a no holds barred cage fight or whatever the fuck they do to figure these things out. The Sun Bowl won out. So for the last time that they get a Pac-12 team, one of the oldest bowl games around got the one with one of the most rabid fanbases and then got them paired with Notre Dame, the team whose fans travel, arguably, the best. OK I changed my mind…this is the best non-CFP/non-NY6 matchup. I’m starting to feel like Bobby Heenan changing my pick all the time.

Liberty Bowl: Iowa State vs. Memphis

3:30

So Memphis is playing at home so this bowl game should have a great turnout. They will have to wait to get eyeballs on their game since the Sun Bowl will overlap the Liberty Bowl’s first half.

Cotton Bowl: #9 Missouri vs. #7 Ohio State

8:00

Quite the prove-it game for a team that some still don’t feel truly belong in the SEC. This is the type of big time bowl game that people expect the Buckeyes to be in but the Tigers, not so much. This will be a definite contrast of styles. Missouri’s run game with one of the best running backs in the country, Cody Schrader going up against the Ohio State passing attack led by Marvin Harrison Jr. The absence of Kyle McCord, as average as he could be at times, could play a role here.

Saturday December 30th

Peach Bowl: #11 Ole Miss vs. #10 Penn State

Noon

Interesting matchup. Fans were making a myriad of arguments as to why one of these teams shouldn’t be in the New Year’s Six. And then both make it and get paired up down in Atlanta. No matter how some fans feel, a potential Top 10 season should cut down on the hate for both teams’ head coaches. It won’t but it should.

Music City Bowl: Auburn vs. Maryland

2:00

Divisions in the Big Ten are going away. “Hooray” – Maryland. Washington, Oregon, USC and UCLA are joining the conference. “FUCK!” – Maryland. Hey Terps fans, look, it could be worse. You could be in the ACC, a conference that seems to be ready to join the Pac-12 in completely imploding.

Orange Bowl: #6 Georgia vs. #5 Florida State

4:00

My brief thoughts on the whole Florida State/College Football Playoff situation is this: The Committee have no plans for anything. Everything is a knee-jerk reaction. Want proof? They knew what they were heading towards. They were going to have to make a decision between a Jordan Travis-less Noles team and two of Texas, Georgia or Alabama, depending on the outcomes on conference championship weekend. So what did they do in the final CFP rankings before that weekend? Have FSU at #4. They could have moved Oregon ahead of them instead into the #4 spot but didn’t. It set everything up for the chaos that occurred during Selection Sunday. Deep down I don’t really care who made it but if The Committee were more transparent and thought about things for more than two minutes then the anger would have been reduced immensely. But no, they fucked up and now FSU fans have a right to be furious. Anyway, I hope this game is at least close because otherwise SEC fans and talking head morons like Paul Finebaum will never let anyone hear the end of it.

One note about this game: it will start on TSN1 at about 6:30. My guess is that it will be because of a World Juniors game being aired at the same time as the start of the Orange Bowl but who knows since the tournament is in Sweden.

Arizona Bowl: Wyoming vs. Toledo

4:00

Could this be an interesting game? Perhaps. Unfortunately, it will be overshadowed by two things: that this game is the first bowl game ever to appear on The CW and that it is sponsored by Barstool Sports. The game is also being called by Barstool personalities and seeing what it was like last year, they go overboard on certain things, especially the gambling aspect of college football. Not saying others don’t talk about it because they do but they beat you over the head with it all game. Oh well, you don’t have to watch if you don’t want to since the Orange Bowl is on at the exact same time (someone didn’t think this one through).

Monday January 1st

ReliaQuest Bowl: #13 LSU vs. Wisconsin

Noon

I have a feeling this game might not be that close. Wisconsin feels like a shell of Badger teams in the past. Then again, there have been crazier bowl results.

UPDATE: Looks like this bowl game is on TSN2 which is a bit surprising. This means no TSN+ and no specialty pack.

Fiesta Bowl: #8 Oregon vs. #23 Liberty

1:00

This could be an big-time shootout if Liberty can keep up. Nice to see Conference USA finally get into the New Year’s Six for the first time. All it took was for a program that many people do not like to jump up from the FCS and immediately become the conference favourite. Easy stuff. Look, I’m sure many players don’t care about what the leaders at Liberty are all about. Same as at BYU or Notre Dame or Baylor or any other university with a religious affiliation. They just want to play football. I think people forget that (or want to forget that).

UPDATE #2: This game will also appear on TSN 1, 4 and 5. It will start on TSN5 right at 1:00 and join in progress on the other three stations at about 3:30.

Citrus Bowl: #21 Tennessee vs. #17 Iowa

1:00

Thankfully Tennessee is in this game. Otherwise, this could smash the record that is repeatedly set by this year’s Iowa team for lowest over/under ever. Kirk Ferentz is desperately hoping for a 7-6 with a good ol’ Iowa touchdown (a field goal and two safeties).

Rose Bowl: #1 Michigan vs. #4 Alabama

5:00

Did Nick Saban do one of his best coaching jobs ever with this group? Yes. Yes he did. Should Michigan be allowed in the College Football Playoff? I’m sure there are many (SEC fans) who think that Michigan should have their entire football program shut down because “Michigan cheated.” Not that I disagree that Michigan cheated because it sure felt like they did but I am under the assumption that at least half the Power Five schools cheat in some manner. It’s college football: it’s never been squeaky clean. Ever. To think it was…well, you’re just wrong.

UPDATE #3: This will appear on TSN1, 4 and 5 as well. There will be an update sometime in the next few days to determine which feed appears where.

UPDATE #6: The entire game will appear on TSN1, 4 and 5.

Sugar Bowl: #2 Washington vs. #3 Texas

8:45

Will I watch this entire game? Abso-fucking-lutely. Will I be a bit tired at work the next day? Maybe. I wonder if I should just book a vacation day. “Hey Bossman, doing anything fun on your vacation day?” “Well I’m definitely not recovering from watching the Sugar Bowl, that’s for sure.” Then they’d look at me like I have six heads.

UPDATE #4: Same update as the Rose Bowl.

UPDATE #7: The entire game will appear on TSN1, 4, and 5.

Monday January 9th

College Football Playoff National Championship

8:00

At this point, this game isn’t appearing on the TSN schedule. Neither are the New Year’s Day ones although that might come as early as tomorrow. If it’s the same as last year then those are three stations it will appear on. Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the special feeds goes to TSN+. Final game of the year (other than the wacky all-star games that are fun but not as exciting as the rest of the games). I will probably be wearing a frown when this game ends.

UPDATE #5: This game will also appear on TSN4. Determination of feed will probably happen closer to New Year’s Day.

Breakdown time!

• TSN only (regular channels) – 22 games
• TSN+ & specialty pack – 10 games
• ABC & TSN – 6 games
• ABC & TSN+ – 2 games
• FOX – 1 game
• CBS – 1 game
• The CW – 1 game

TSN is showing EVERY bowl game. Every. Single. One. With a caveat. We are starting to see the TSN+ effect. TSN+ will have 12 of the bowl games, either paired with airing on ABC or paired with appearing on the specialty pack. This is the future. Get ready for it. And also get ready for a day when at least the college football portion of the specialty pack goes away since I think that day is coming as well.

Next up are the bowl game rankings and the NFL schedule post for the upcoming week. I am still going back and forth on whether I will do another post on how I would fix the postseason. It’s a bit tougher now that they have gone to a 12-team playoff but with less conferences. Expect at least (AT LEAST) seven Big Ten/SEC teams in every playoff going forward unless something wacky happens. That would leave, at most, the G-5 champ and two each from the ACC and Big XII. Sounds about right (unfortunately for many schools). Anyway, I will make the decision at some point over the next week or so. Enjoy the rest of your week everyone and get ready for the bowl games in THREE DAYS!

Most Important Games of the 2023 College Football Season

Yeah I’m that fucking excited.

Spoiler alert: UConn does not appear on this list. If you were expecting them, I apologize for their absence.

Alright it’s time to start getting on the next season’s worth of college football posts and I always start with the most important games of the upcoming season. Remember last season when I did this post? I didn’t do three or four posts. I did one long-ass post. So guess what? No, we are not going back to three or four posts. It’s one massive post once again. I think it worked last year so I’m going back to the newer well rather than the older well that did me….well, over a bunch of years.

Now some might say “Bossman, it’s too early for this.” To them I say “Eat shit.” FBSchedules has their helmet schedules out and preview magazines are out. I’ve almost ready all of the Lindy’s one and I have the Athlon one ready to go right after. The Phil Steele magazine, the god damn granddaddy of them all, will be here in the next couple of weeks. So yeah I’m getting ready and yeah, it’s time to talk some college football.

Remember how this goes: I am listing the most important games that will shape the outcome of the entire college football season. Sure, Army-Navy is a huge game but unless either team is undefeated going into that one, the game means very little in the grand scheme of things, bowl-wise or other.

So boys and girls (maybe), how do we always start this post? That’s right, with the ranking of the weeks of the season. It is sponsored by the letter R and the number 0. Every year it is usually pretty close to the same. Week 2 is not all of a sudden going to be the biggest week of the college football season. It just never happens. So here are those rankings followed by some witty and potentially insightful banter (a reminder that the week is listed by the Saturday it corresponds to):

1. Week 11 – November 11
2. Week 13 – November 25
3. Week 10 – November 4
4. Week 4 – September 23
5. Week 8 – October 21
6. Week 7 – October 14
7. Week 12 – November 18
8. Week 6 – October 7
9. Week 5 – September 30
10. Week 9 – October 28
11. Week 3 – September 16
12. Week 2 – September 9
13. Week 1 – September 2

Sweet Jesus, Week 1 looks fucking awful. I mean it’s the first full week of the season so I will be all in but still…it’s like college football has taken several steps backwards from a few years ago when Week 1 was about the fifth or sixth-best week of the season and there were five or six HUGE games. This season, the opening week is highlighted by LSU/Florida State which is great. Then the quality falls off a massive cliff with the next biggest game being the annual Labour Day ACC clash, this time with Clemson and Duke. Woof. Three weeks in November, as per usual, are at the top with Week 11 being the top week this season. It was the same thing five years ago as the week is crammed with huge conference games. I don’t know if I can even call it SEC Sleepwalk/Sleepover/Shitbreak Week anymore as Week 12, the penultimate regular season week, is again near the middle of the rankings. Also, I don’t rate Week Zero. But it will be a ton of fun since it will be the first college football action in over 7 months. So yeah my eyeballs will be fucking glued to Navy/Notre Dame out in Dublin, Ireland, Hawaii/Vanderbilt and UMass/New Mexico State of course!

OK just like last year I will not be going week-to-week. I’m just listing the top games. The top 35 (up from 30) most important games of the college football season. I’ll do this list and then in late November we will all watch a team like Arkansas or Iowa or NC State play in a game that could send them well on their way to the College Football Playoff. It is what it is. Let’s get to the list! For this list, any confirmed broadcast info will be noted. Of course, nothing for TSN will be confirmed until like the night before any of these games because fuck you that’s why.

1. Ohio State at Michigan (Week 13, Noon, FOX, confirmed) – Chances are this is essentially for a spot in the College Football Playoff. Next year, this might be for a first-round bye in the CFP. How times change. Either way, this is unequivocally the biggest game of the season and the one where FOX sends basically everyone that works under the sports umbrella to work on the 83-hour BIG NUDE SATURDAY.
2. LSU at Alabama (Week 10, 8:00, CBS) – Alabama is pretty much the go-to pick for CBS’s lone primetime game of the season for the SEC and this year will be no different. This is the final SEC on CBS primetime game and should be a great one as these two teams are, once again, the pillars of the SEC West. The winner here is almost guaranteed (jury is still out on Ole Miss and TAMU) a spot in Atlanta to try and dethrone Georgia (probably).
3. Michigan at Penn State (Week 11, Noon, FOX, confirmed) – This game, like the first game on the list, could have national championship implications. It really is just a hair below the top two games on this list. FOX is hitting it out of the park with big games this season. I think the Big Ten might be just fine not being on ESPN/ABC going forward.
4. LSU at Florida State (Week 1, Sunday, 7:30, ABC, confirmed) – Two games in the top four for LSU means they will have a very tough road to get back to having some semblance of a shot at the College Football Playoff (or even the New Year’s Six). This seems like it could finally be the year that FSU returns to the top of the ACC mountain as Mike Norvell has his most talented team in Tallahassee. I love seeing ABC put a great game on the night before Labour Day. At least Week One can always rely on that.
5. Georgia at Tennessee (Week 12, 3:30, CBS) – If Joe Milton III continues to throw piss rockets like he did against Clemson in the Orange Bowl, this could ascend to Game of the Year territory. The Vols may have the best chance to beat the Dawgs with the game being at what should be a raucous Neyland Stadium. Not confirmed but I would be shocked if this isn’t CBS’s choice for the SEC on CBS this week.
6. Penn State at Ohio State (Week 8, Noon, FOX) – Man, GUS JOHNSON is getting a great set of games this season to call (if my predictions hold up). This is the final game on this list in the three-team Big Ten East Round Robin Tournament El Fantastico to determine which team (if not two) go to the CFP. I would say the Nittany Lions are pretty good underdogs here but they finally have a quarterback who looks like he can throw the ball downfield a bit so you never know. tOSU has question marks at QB so this could be quite the interesting matchup.
7. Florida State at Clemson (Week 4, 7:30, ABC/TSN2) – Could the Noles be the favourite here? It’s possible. Unlikely but I wouldn’t go much past a pickem for this one. With the Big Ten leaving ESPN/ABC, these primetime ABC slots open up a lot. And really, it is still the biggest timeslot of the week. This is the year the ACC has to hopefully grab as many of these as possible as next year…yeah, the SEC may end up with all of them.
8. Tennessee at Alabama (Week 8, 3:30, CBS) – Not going to lie: it is going to feel very weird when the SEC isn’t on CBS every Saturday afternoon. I guess that’s where a huge Big Ten game will go but I can’t see them getting most of the big games because FOX gets their pick of the litter most weeks. Going to be very interesting to watch going forward. Man, I thought figuring out this year’s schedule was difficult. Next year’s is going to seriously tough.
9. Ohio State at Notre Dame (Week 4, 7:30, NBC, confirmed) – The first non-conference affair on this list and it is a juicy one. Both teams should be undefeated coming into this one unless the Irish have an inexplicable loss like they had last season to Marshall or Stanford. If Touchdown Jesus pulls this one out, expect Sam Hartman to rocket up most Heisman lists.
10. Texas at Alabama (Week 2, 7:00, specialty pack) – This game is confirmed for ESPN but I have this funny feeling TSN won’t pick it up. Call it a CFL or US Open-based hunch. We shall see though. Let’s be clear: the Horns were fucking robbed of the win last year by the referees. This time they will have a chance to make up for that but it is not easy winning in Tuscaloosa. Ask almost every team that’s travelled there in the past decade-plus.
11. Utah at USC (Week 8, 7:30, ABC) – Hey, the Pac-12 has joined the party. This is the swansong season in the conference for the Trojans and they are hoping to win the conference championship in their final year. Winning games like these is a must for that to happen. This could be the game that either elevates Caleb Williams to college football history and only the second player to win two Heismans or destroy his chances at repeating.
12. Ohio State at Wisconsin (Week 9, 7:30, NBC) – Yeah I think NBC will get a couple good Big Ten games and this will be one of them it sounds like. Wisconsin has a new head coach and a new quarterback and a new offensive coordinator that won’t run the ball as much as Wisconsin is supposed to. Hmmm…that is going to feel very unAlvarez-like. At least the kids will get to jump around after the third quarter, testing the structure of Camp Randall like a bunch of engineers.
13. Washington at USC (Week 10, 3:30, specialty pack) – Again, I have this feeling that TSN will not show this game and that it will head to the specialty pack, much to the chagrin of regular Canadian cable subscribers (which I am not one of). It feels like either this game or the aforementioned Utes-Trojans game will be the game of the year in the conference and will decide at least one of the championship game participants (thanks to no divisions). It’s too bad FOX has their premiere game every week at Noon since this would be a great pick as their game of the week.
14. Ole Miss at Georgia (Week 11, 3:30, CBS) – Wouldn’t it be something if the Fighting Kiffins of Oxford upset UGA here? The entire college football world would be flipped upside down. And you know how I love upsets. We need another 2007!
15. Utah at Washington (Week 11, 3:30, TSN2) – Alright, the first game I predict will hit TSN that isn’t already on ABC. Kind of sad that TSN barely cares about their college football contract until bowl season when they suddenly show almost every bowl game despite also showing every World Juniors hockey game. Crazy. If Cam Rising is able to return for opening week then this could be a massive game. I am hoping for his sake (and for Utes fans’ sake) that is the case.
16. USC at Notre Dame (Week 7, 7:30, NBC, confirmed) – The traditional yearly matchup is back again and even with the Trojans moving to the Big Ten, this matchup will continue. By this point in the season, both of these teams should be in the Top 15 looking at a potential College Football Playoff berth. The loser here loses that and perhaps an NY6 spot.
17. Alabama at Texas A&M (Week 6, Noon, TSN3/TSN5) – OK I am sure you are looking at this and wondering if I suddenly developed brain damage. I truly believe that the Aggies will be a ton better than they were last season when they essentially bottomed out under Jimbo Fisher. Plus, the Aggies always play the Tide tough so they could throw a big-ass monkey wrench in the entire SEC West picture here with a win.
18. Notre Dame at Clemson (Week 10, 3:30, ABC) – OK so this is confirmed for ABC but the time is not confirmed. I am guessing it will be on in the afternoon with Kansas State-Texas being the ABC Primetime game. This could end up being switched if both the Irish and Tigers are undefeated going into this one. For once, Clemson isn’t the ACC favourite. It’s kind of refreshing. It will be interesting to see if Cade Klubnik, the next man up at quarterback, can lead the Tigers back to the promised land. I don’t see it but then again, I thought D.J. Uiagelelei was going to be the guy and he’s now out in the boonies of Oregon.
19. USC at Oregon (Week 11, 7:30, ABC) – Speaking of Oregon, the Trojans head there on Remembrance Day night (or I guess it’s Veterans Day down in the States). Yet another tough test for the Trojans. We all know what’s going to happen though. The best four or five Pac-12 teams will beat on each other and no team will get out unscathed so no team will go to the CFP yet again. That conference just loves to cannibalize itself.
20. Ole Miss at Alabama (Week 4, 3:30, CBS) – A bit of an early shit-test game for the Tide. A game that they should win but they may have trouble with because their opponent is so damn pesky and annoying. I mean it is Lane Kiffin’s boys so you expect the Ole Miss offense to chug along. Bet the over.
21. Oregon at Utah (Week 9, 7:30, ABC/TSN2) – Could the Utes fall back to the middle of the pack if they don’t have Cam Rising to start the season? Quite possibly. I mean seeing this game in the Top 25 games of the season means I clearly think Rising will be ready to play on opening night. If not, pray for the Utes since it could be a long season (comparatively…I mean they will still win 8 or 9 games regardless).
22. Washington at Oregon State (Week 12, 10:30, TSN2) – Hey remember when I mentioned D.J. Uiagelelei? Here’s where he ended up. The metropolis of Corvallis. The Beavs might actually have a contender if D.J. can do what he was supposed to do at Clemson. On the other side of the line, Michael Penix Jr. should be considered the Heisman favourite since I can’t see voters giving it to Caleb Williams again (unless he has an all-timer of a season).
23. Texas A&M at LSU (Week 13, 3:00, specialty pack) – I actually have this game on the SEC Network. Yeah it may sound weird but this has happened before. And that final week of the regular season is ridiculous for scheduling anyway. At least one of the conference networks ends up getting a beauty of a game. Now if this is somehow for the SEC West title then yeah, it won’t even sniff the SEC Network. But I feel it won’t be so it will end up there.
24. Oregon at Washington (Week 7, 8:00, FOX) – Last year’s game was crazy with the Huskies having a huge comeback win to keep their Pac-12 hopes alive and ruin Oregon’s. I wonder if Mario Cristobal wishes he was back in Eugene considering how piss poor his Miami Hurricanes did in his first season back with his alma mater.
25. Utah at Oregon State (Week 5, Friday, 9:00, FOX Sports One, confirmed) – And finally we get a game that, well, Canadians won’t get (unless you have IPTV or find some probably illegal stream). You know, for a stadium that’s been under construction and only holds 27,000, those games in Corvallis can sound VERY loud. Then again, when they start that chainsaw, that’s loud enough. You ever been near one of those? Sweet fucking Jesus they are loud with great ear protection so I can imagine what it’s like being within twenty feet of the thing.
26. LSU at Ole Miss (Week 5, Noon, TSN2) – A lot of people will feel like this is a game for second place in the SEC West but with Bama’s QB questions, this could hold a lot more importance than that. Not saying the division is a free-for-all but I have these two teams, Bama and even the Aggies having legitimate shots at winning the division so they can be pummeled by UGA in the SEC Championship.
27. Iowa at Penn State (Week 4, 7:30, CBS, confirmed) – The first game on this list that has the Big Ten on CBS (man that sounds weird). This is confirmed and I believe the Penn State Whiteout Game is also confirmed. To say it’s an intimidating sight for a visiting team would be an understatement.
28. South Carolina at Georgia (Week 3, 3:30, CBS, confirmed) – This may be the first game that feels like it might not be that close. Saying that, Shane Beamer has the Gamecocks playing great football and they have the enthusiasm and work ethic to give the Dawgs a very tough time. Problem is they are playing this game between the hedges and not at Williams-Brice. If UGA can’t win this by a bunch, the rest of the SEC East should take notice.
29. Oregon State at Oregon (Week 13, Friday, 8:30, FOX, confirmed) – This could be one of the biggest Civil War games ever. Oh wait, I can’t call it’s the Civil War, can I? Anyway, the winner of this game probably will have a good chance to be in the Pac-12 Championship.
30. Kansas State at Texas (Week 10, 8:30, FOX) – It took until the thirtieth game to get a Big XII conference game. Look, as much crap as the Pac-12 has taken over the Spring (and rightfully so), the Big XII might be at its weakest in a long time unless a few programs step up (Texas, Oklahoma, Baylor) or maintain what they did last season (Kansas State, TCU, Kansas). This conference should feel lucky that the Pac-12 is in such dire straits. The latest rumor has Colorado and Arizona headed to the Big XII and it wouldn’t surprise me but from a football standpoint…woof.
31. Texas A&M at Tennessee (Week 7, Noon, TSN3) – OK maybe I should have stopped at 30. No, no, I promised 35 for some strange reason and dammit I am going to pull through. I am actually looking forward to Texas A&M’s season for one reason…Bobby Fucking Petrino. At some point you know it will be a disaster in College Station. It is bound to happen. Until then though you have one of the best offensive minds in college football trying to push this Aggie team to the next level. Just tell him to steer clear of motorcycles and young female former athletes-turned-office staff.
32. Texas at TCU (Week 11, 7:00, FOX) – What a run the Horned Frogs had last year (if you don’t include the thrashing they took in the national championship game). They probably won’t be as good this season. To lose who they lost and somehow come back and do what they did would be almost impossible. Saying that, the Longhorns should not take this team lightly as they have struggled in the past with them even when TCU wasn’t that great. We should also definitely know by this point whether Quinn Ewers has completely taken that quarterback job or if Arch Manning’s time has arrived in Austin.
33. North Carolina at Clemson (Week 12, 7:30, ABC) – Look let’s not look past the Tar Heels. They have a Heisman candidate at quarterback in Drake Maye and sometimes that is enough to propel a team to an extra win or two, which is pretty much what UNC would need to get to the ACC Championship. Death Valley East is still Death Valley East and playing there at night is very difficult for opponents. But again, don’t look past the Heels and Mack Brown.
34. UCLA at USC (Week 12, 8:00, FOX) – Time once again for the Victory Bell and it is gonna feel weird. Final Victory Bell in the Pac-12. No DTR means possible trouble for the Bruins and if they can’t find a quarterback to lead them this season then this game has no right to be in the Top 35.
35. Clemson at South Carolina (Week 13, 7:00, TSN2) – My hope is that TSN does pick up the ball a bit for the final week of the season like they used to. It was 2019 when they were doing double digits’ worth of games for the final college football weekend. Now, we are lucky to get 4 or 5 which is crazy since there’s almost nothing to compete with it in the live sports arena. Anyway, it’s the Battle for the Palmetto State and it is usually a fun game that can get way too rough at times. Should be good. I hope.

Finished! Top 35 games of the season. I am sure there will be some that end up not coming close to being as important as I thought. That’s the nature of the game. Can’t always be right with these things. I will have another blog post shortly highlighting some other good (and perhaps not-so-good) games this season coming up shortly. 62 days left until Week Zero! Sure it’s not the best college football you will see all season but it will be college football so yeah I’m gonna fucking watch it all if I can! Have a great week, everyone!

I’m not the only one hoping for chaos (and the Week 11 College Football TV Schedule)

Let’s be honest: many of us want chaos in our college football. It makes things exciting, no? Not saying we haven’t seen a bit of it already. Alabama has lost two times already. TWO! Clemson got absolutely waxed by Notre Dame. Texas A&M is fucking terrible!

But we want more. We are insatiable for chaos. And why? We know The Committee will do Committee things and rank teams in an odd way and then try to justify it. I’m sure if Ohio State lost they would drop maybe three spots because it feels like The Committee wants them in the College Football Playoff. I get they have to look at a whole season of work but it’s the same shit every year. I still think the first rankings should be no earlier than before the final regular season week but I know that will never happen. If it did, what would ESPN talk about?

OK enough of that. It’s time for this week’s schedule and the continuation of FOOTBALL EVERY DAY!

Tuesday

		US	Canada
Eastern Michigan at Akron	7:00 PM
Ohio at Miami-OH	7:30 PM
Ball State at Toledo	8:00 PM

More Tuesday night MACtion! Toledo can essentially clinch the MAC West if they can beat the Cardinals here.

UPDATE: As per reader Gordo, it looks like the Ball State-Toledo game isn’t on the specialty pack.

Wednesday

		US	Canada
Kent State at Bowling Green	7:00 PM
Buffalo at Central Michigan	7:00 PM
Northern Illinois at Western Michigan	7:00 PM

Still MACtion but maybe not as MACtiony as the previous night’s MACtion.

UPDATE #2: Ugh, both ESPN games aren’t appearing on the specialty pack. Not a good start to MACtion this week for specialty pack subscribers.

Thursday

		US	Canada
Tulsa at Memphis	7:30 PM
Georgia Southern at Louisiana	7:30 PM

Woof. Well it’s technically college football so I will watch.

Friday

		US	Canada
East Carolina at Cincinnati	8:00 PM
Fresno State at UNLV	10:30 PM

Cincinnati has a fairly meaningful game here if they want to keep in the American Conference/Cotton Bowl hunt. And, interestingly enough, the late game also could be big as both Fresno State and UNLV still have division title aspirations. Yes, UNLV.

Oh, you may have noticed I have not included FOX Sports One listings here. I decided to stop that practice since, really, unless you have a specific setup you can’t get the games here. Doesn’t help that I missed listing the late night FS1 game last week so I am already getting into the habit of forgetting them in these posts.

UPDATE #3: Good lord this is ridiculous. On the TSN website it still shows ECU-Cincy. Every other guide I am looking at, it says that TSN2 will now be showing, get this, Women’s Aussie Rules football. I don’t get it. I just don’t get it. Anyway, it looks like it is appearing on the specialty pack instead so at least it’s probably been moved there (unless the specialty packs fuck that up as well). Stupid TSN. Thanks to readers Gordo and Mike pointing out that they couldn’t see the game on their guide.

Saturday Early

		US	Canada
#20 Notre Dame vs. Navy (in Baltimore)	Noon
Pittsburgh at Virginia	Noon
Rutgers at Michigan State	Noon
Missouri at #5 Tennessee	Noon
#19 Liberty at UConn	Noon
#7 LSU at Arkansas	Noon
Purdue at #21 Illinois	Noon
SMU at USF	Noon
Indiana at #2 Ohio State	Noon
Vanderbilt at Kentucky	Noon

One of UConn’s final two chances at bowl eligibility comes here. Unfortunately, it’s against a ranked Liberty team. This may still end up being one of the best games CBS Sports Network has had all year. As for the main network, it’s their doubleheader that includes a Noon game. It means they only get the fourth choice of games out of the SEC for the early affair. Can’t give whoever the #2 guy at CBS is a good game!

Notre Dame may still have an outside shot at the New Year’s Six. It would take a lot of chaos but we know how The Committee feels about them so they win their last three and win them big (a tall order for sure) they could sneak in. That has to start in this neutral-site affair against the Middies.

So normally I peruse ESPN to get rankings for the teams for the posts. Normally this isn’t an issue but late in the season it becomes one. According to the schedule currently on the site, it lists Tennessee at #1. We know that isn’t the case but they use the College Football Playoff rankings rather than the AP poll once it comes out. And the CFP poll doesn’t get revealed until Tuesday night, after the week of games starts. So I will be using the AP poll for the rest of the regular season. So if you see the rankings here don’t jive with what they look like on Saturday, there’s your answer.

UPDATE #4: TSN has switched from LSU-Arkansas to Purdue-Illinois. Why? Because fuck you, that’s why.

Saturday Afternoon

		US	Canada
Nebraska at #3 Michigan	3:30 PM
Boston College at #17 NC State	3:30 PM
Northwestern at Minnesota	3:30 PM
#10 Alabama at #11 Ole Miss	3:30 PM
New Mexico at Air Force	3:30 PM
Louisville at #12 Clemson	3:30 PM
#22 UCF at #16 Tulane	3:30 PM
Iowa State at Oklahoma State	3:30 PM
Maryland at #14 Penn State	3:30 PM
Army at Troy	3:30 PM
Arizona State at Washington State	3:30 PM
South Carolina at Florida	4:00 PM

There was a time when TSN really started ramping up the amount of games they would show around this time of the year. Not so. Sure, they have a quadrupleheader on TSN2 but that’s it. Nothing else. I just think they have contracts with way too many sports that college football gets lost in the shuffle.

Anyway, this could be a huge week for Bama haters because if they lose this one to Ole Miss it would be catastrophic. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Tulane is on ESPN2 during the regular season in a big matchup for the first time in…well I’m sure it’s a long time. Win and they take a stranglehold of one spot in the AAC Championship.

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
Wyoming at Colorado State	7:00 PM
#1 Georgia at Mississippi State	7:00 PM
#24 Washington at #6 Oregon	7:00 PM
#4 TCU at #18 Texas	7:30 PM
#15 North Carolina at Wake Forest	7:30 PM
Southern Miss at Coastal Carolina	7:30 PM
Texas A&M at Auburn	7:30 PM
#25 Florida State at Syracuse	8:00 PM

TCU and Oregon aren’t just playing for themselves but could be playing for their conference’s CFP hopes as well, especially in the case of TCU since past them, there really isn’t a contender at all. UGA needs to avoid a letdown after that huge win over Tennessee so their pass defense better be ready for Will Rogers to throw the ball about 80 times. Finally, surprising UNC can pretty much punch their ticket to Charlotte and a date with Clemson if they can win in Winston-Salem.

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
California at Oregon State	9:00 PM
Boise State at Nevada	10:30 PM
Stanford at #13 Utah	10:30 PM
Arizona at #9 UCLA	10:30 PM

FOX QUADRUPLEHEADER ALERT! For the second time this season we get a FOX quadruplehader of college football. Love that FOX is upping their game this season. Two important Pac-12 games, one important Mountain West game and a game involving California. There you go.

Big Games O’ The Week

Alabama at Ole Miss (3:30, CBS) – This is an SEC West elimination match. Tell someone that two months ago and they’d laugh in your face. Bama might be in panic mode as another loss probably leaves them out of the NY6 which would be massive. Both teams are chasing LSU but need some help from the Tigers in the form of the Tigers shitting the bed at some point down the stretch.

TCU at Texas (7:30, ABC) – I mentioned this above but the Big XII’s CFP chances really do ride on TCU winning this game (and winning out, really). If the Longhorns win this, and they are talented enough to do so, you can kiss the conference’s chances goodbye.

North Carolina at Wake Forest (7:30, specialty pack) – One of the stories that seems to be ignored this season is what Mack Brown and the Tar Heels are doing. 8-1, in complete control of the ACC Coastal, and with a good shot at the New Year’s Six if they win their last three regular season games. No one is talking about them! A win here and they basically clinch the division. Wake is just playing for a better bowl game now.

UCF at Tulane (3:30, specialty pack) – The Green Wave on the other hand are not being ignored. Many pushed for College Gameday to go to New Orleans (which I think would have been a good idea). All the other two-loss teams in the Group of Five are watching this game closely this weekend (that being Cincinnati, UTSA, San Jose State, Troy and South Alabama) along with one-loss Coastal Carolina. A Tulane loss here brings those teams back into the fold to have at least a sliver of hope to go to the Cotton Bowl. If Tulane wins and goes to 9-1 it’s pretty much game over for most of those teams (unless they lay an egg in their final two games). For the Knights, a win here may actually put them in the driver’s seat for the Group of Five NY6 spot. A lot at stake. Yeah, I think they should have sent Gameday to Nawlins.

Washington at Oregon (7:00, FOX) – In all the hoopla surrounding the Battle for Los Angeles between Pac-12 turncoats UCLA and USC, some have forgotten that the Ducks are right there with those two teams. Win out and they have a legitimate shot at the College Football Playoff. They cannot sleep on the Huskies though. They’ve been better than advertised and Kalen Deboer just wins everywhere he goes. Could be a low-key great game.

Maryland at Penn State (3:30, FOX) – The Terps are finally playing as well as their recruiting classes said they would. Mike Locksley is finally making things work in the DMV. Saying that, these are the kinds of games Maryland has to win and has never been able to do since joining the Big Ten. A statement win is needed. And what a statement it would be since the Nittany Lions have a relatively good chance at a New Year’s Six bowl if they can run the table the rest of the way.

Psycho Game of the Week

SMU at USF (Noon, specialty pack) – First of all, I will not call this the Sickos Game of the Week. Do I enjoy the Sickos Committee Twitter account? Absolutely. But Sickos content is their thing. I won’t steal it. Besides, I think it makes just as much sense to call you a psycho for watching this abomination. USF just fired Jeff Scott, though, so they should come out and give the Mustangs all sorts of problems. Seriously this is an easy one to avoid.

Hubba Bubba Blowout of the Week

Missouri at Tennessee (Noon, CBS) – I am not making the same mistake I did last week. I picked Ohio State to mop the floor with Northwestern and they barely beat the Wildcats. Sure, there was bad weather but come on, the Buckeyes played like shit. So even though I think they will beat Indiana to a pulp, I am going with another Noon game. I think the Vols are going to come into this game angry and wanting to prove a point. Poor Mizzou is going to take this one on the chin.

The Degenerate Portion of Our Show

Look, are these picks of the same quality as The Committee’s rankings for the College Football Playoff? Eh, it’s debatable.

• Miami-OH (+2.5) over Ohio (and the outright win!)
• Kent State (-2.5) over Bowling Green
• Liberty (-14.5) over UConn
• Rutgers (+10) over Michigan State (RU will cover the spread but won’t win)
• Virginia Tech (+9.5) over Duke (Duke will win, however)
• Kentucky (-18) over Vanderbilt
• Army (+9) over Troy (The Black Knights cover but don’t win)
• Air Force (-22) over New Mexico
• Clemson (-7) over Louisville
• Ole Miss (+11.5) over Alabama (Bama will win outright)
• Wyoming (-8.5) over Colorado State
• Wake Forest (-3.5) over North Carolina
• Stanford (+24) over Utah (Utes will win relatively easily)

There you go! I will keep a watch on potential specialty pack changes but I don’t foresee any. It gets a bit difficult having to do the schedule so early but I make due…I think. Have a great rest of the week everyone and enjoy the games!

Injuries, Injuries, Injuries…and the Week 7 College Football TV Schedule

It happens every year. Some of the best college players get injured and teams have to go without them for a game up to an entire season. Here’s a short list of just some of the players who have gone down to injury so far this season:

• Bryce Young (Alabama) – Injured his shoulder this past Saturday and is questionable for the most important game of the year so far (vs. Tennessee).
• Zach Calzada (Auburn) – A shoulder injury against Missouri has knocked Calzada out for the rest of the season.
• Charlie Brewer (Liberty) – Had issues with his thumb in their opener against Southern Miss and has had surgery to repair it. Could be back in a couple weeks.
• Cade McNamara (Michigan) – A leg injury could have McNamara out for the season.
• Chris Autman-Bell (Minnesota) – All that is known is that he had a lower-body injury that he sustained in the Gophers’ victory over Colorado that will sideline him for the rest of the season.
• Tyler Buchner (Notre Dame) – The man who was supposed to start for the Irish has been knocked out for the season with a joint sprain in his shoulder.
• Cedric Tillman (Tennessee) – The Vols wide receiver might return before the end of October if his ankle is strong enough.

Hell it’s got to the point that injuries are being reported that the players are denying. There was a report that Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels would be out for the season with a shoulder injury: a report that Daniels thought was interesting and news to him. He’s still doubtful for the Jayhawks’ next game but he is disputing that he would be done for the season.

Also, there are some teams that are suffering because of the sheer amount of injuries. Want to know why Wisconsin might not be as good as had been advertised? Currently they have seventeen players out with injuries. Seventeen. Good god.

Part of the point of all this is to say football is a contact sport. Players will get hurt. So for the powers that be to essentially want to add games to the schedule makes the season more of a war of attrition than anything. Until North Dakota State started their run of FCS championships, that’s what the FCS playoffs was. The healthiest team won and they were almost never the best (or second-best or third-best or fourth-best, etc.) team going in. And we know what college football media can be like. They will be all over the injury angle if, say, the top three teams in an expanded College Football Playoff don’t win it all because of injuries to important players. It’ll happen. You just watch.

OK that was enough of a rant. Time for what you came here for. Some hot college football schedule action. Or more like slightly warm since the weather has started to change.

Wednesday

		US	Canada
Louisiana at Marshall	7:30 PM

Hey, we have our first instance of Fun Belt football this season! I figured both of these teams would be better than they have been so far. Marshall is trying to make a name for itself in its first season in the Sun Belt, whereas Louisiana is trying their hardest to get back to the Sun Belt Championship for a fourth consecutive time.

Thursday

		US	Canada
Temple at UCF	7:00 PM
Baylor at West Virginia	7:00 PM

Neither of these games should be close; however, we know what Thursday Night Football has been like so far this season so pick your poison.

Friday

		US	Canada
Brown at Princeton	7:00 PM
Navy at SMU	7:30 PM
UTSA at FIU	8:00 PM

Woof. This is….technically a schedule with three football games on it. Hopefully one of them is close.

Saturday Early

		US	Canada
Iowa State at #22 Texas	Noon
Minnesota at #24 Illinois	Noon
Colgate at Army	Noon
Auburn at #9 Ole Miss	Noon
#19 Kansas at Oklahoma	Noon
Old Dominion at Coastal Carolina	Noon
#10 Penn State at #5 Michigan	Noon

Alright now this is what I’m talking about. If there was a ever a need for a college football-style RedZone channel, this would be the week for it. The sheer amount of good-to-great games this week is staggering. And it starts here with PSU-Michigan in a massive Big Ten East game. Kansas gets to prove that they really are for real this season against an average Sooners team. And how about Coastal Carolina? It may be the first of a bunch of national games for them if they keep winning.

Saturday Afternoon

		US	Canada
California at Colorado	2:00 PM
#8 Oklahoma State at #13 TCU	3:30 PM
#15 NC State at #18 Syracuse	3:30 PM
#3 Alabama at #6 Tennessee	3:30 PM
Ohio at Western Michigan	3:30 PM
Arkansas at BYU	3:30 PM
Maryland at Indiana	3:30 PM
Vanderbilt at #1 Georgia	3:30 PM
Tulane at USF	4:00 PM
Wisconsin at Michigan State	4:00 PM
Arizona at Washington	5:30 PM

Great early schedule is followed by an even better afternoon schedule, if you can believe it. I guess you could say the highlight is Bama-UT but you also have the Pokes and Horned Frogs as well. Undefeated teams falling everywhere by force! The fact that NC State-Syracuse is on the ACC Network has made no one bat an eye. Normally, people would be a bit outraged by this. But there’s nothing you can do about it. That’s how good this schedule is in this timeslot. Oh and Vandy-UGA might be essentially over by 4:15 if you are a sadist.

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
Utah State at Colorado State	7:00 PM
LSU at Florida	7:00 PM
ULM at South Alabama	7:00 PM
#4 Clemson at Florida State	7:30 PM
Nebraska at Purdue	7:30 PM
Memphis at East Carolina	7:30 PM
Stanford at Notre Dame	7:30 PM
#16 Mississippi State at #22 Kentucky	7:30 PM
North Carolina at Duke	8:00 PM
#7 USC at #20 Utah	8:00 PM

And then we have yet another huge game. The Trojans get a huge test heading to Utah. Win this and they might be headed for a Victory Bell showdown with UCLA that has CFP implications. Maybe Florida State can prove something against Clemson and upset the ACC apple cart while doing it.

One game I am looking forward to is the battle for first place in the Big Ten West between…Nebraska and Purdue? Yep! Oh my. Oh and who thought putting Stanford and Notre Dame in primetime was a good idea?

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
Washington State at Oregon State	9:00 PM
Air Force at UNLV	10:30 PM

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd the week ends with a thud. I guess there’s always a Hawaii Test if you feel the need to stay up extremely late.

Big Games O’ The Week

Alabama at Tennessee (3:30, CBS) – So many games could be the Game of the Week but I went with this one mostly because the Vols are really good and if Bryce Young doesn’t end up playing, this is ripe for a huge upset. If you had said at the start of the season that there was even a possibility of an undefeated Georgia having to beat an undefeated Tennessee to win the SEC East I would have laughed. Well, who’s laughing now? Uh…not me, I guess. Bama doesn’t want to lose because it brings all the teams that are essentially eliminated in the SEC West back into play along with Ole Miss who is nipping at their heels. Huge stakes.

Penn State at Michigan (Noon, FOX) – Let’s call it 1B to Bama-Tennessee’s 1A. Or more like 1E because it is a bit down the list from that game. Luckily it’s in the Big Noon Saturday spot…or more like Big Blue Saturday. Seriously, what is FOX’s deal with Michigan? They in love or something? Anyway, winner faces Ohio State for the Big Ten East title. Loser, though, is still not out of the race for, well, anything really.

Oklahoma State at TCU (3:30, ABC/TSN2) – I am praying for people who have to rely on their PVR this weekend. Decisions, decisions. Who would have thought there would be three games between undefeated teams this week. Nobody. Especially this game. Realistically, this could end up being a Big XII Championship preview if things shake out right for both teams. Either way, big New Year’s Six implications with this one.

USC at Utah (8:00, FOX) – For the first time in quite a while, USC is in a game that truly matters. The Utes are used to these kinds of games now and the MUSS is no joke for visiting teams. The Trojans can continue to drive a final stake in the Pac-12 heart with a win here. Poor Conference of Champions.

NC State at Syracuse (3:30, specialty pack) – The Wolfpack’s only loss is to Clemson and the Orange have made it through the first part of their schedule unscathed. The winner here still has a shot at usurping Clemson at the top of the ACC Atlantic, especially Syracuse. I don’t know if either team is ready for College Football Playoff conversation but it will be there for the winner.

Mississippi State at Kentucky (7:30, specialty pack) – The Wildcats have stumbled a bit since their hot start while MSU is soaring under Mike Leach as Will Rogers throws the ball like fifty times a game. At some point Rogers’ arm will fall clean off but until then, Leach will ride him as the captain of the offense. If the Bulldogs can win this one, is a New Year’s Six spot in their future? They will be in the conversation for sure.

Minnesota at Illinois (Noon, Big Ten Network) – The Illini in the Games of the Week list? Wow, this year has been crazy but this might be over the top. A win here and Bert’s Boys would be the odds-on favourite to win the Big Ten West and get absolutely slaughtered by whoever wins the Big Ten East. Fun times. I can’t wait for divisions to be abolished for good.

Clemson at Florida State (7:30, ABC/TSN2) – Holy crap we’re still going with this. So many good games. Now, to be honest, this might not be as good as the rest on this list but if the Noles decide to show up and cause problems, you never know. This could cause the greatest earthquake in the rankings if FSU pulls off the upset.

Psycho Game of the Week

California at Colorado (2:00, Pac-12 Network) – Good lord, why would you torture yourself with this? I mean with this game you have to put forth more effort to even watch it. This is definitely for psychos.

Hubba Bubba Blowout of the Week

UTSA at FIU (Friday, 8:00, CBS Sports Network) – Most would put Vandy-Georgia in this spot but may I present to you this affair. UTSA is a good Group of Five team. FIU, despite winning two games this season, is not a good team. At all. The Roadrunners will make the Golden Panthers look like then Wile E. Coyotes in this one.

Fun-Time Stats of the Week

• Nick Saban is 15-0 vs. Tennessee.
• Mack Brown has won 11 straight Victory Bells over Duke during his two stints at North Carolina.
• Oklahoma has won 17 straight games over Kansas but has failed to cover the spread in three of the last four meetings.

The Degenerate Portion of Our Show

Oh god I picked Oklahoma last week to win. OK let’s just get going on this week’s picks. I can’t believe I did that.

• Baylor (-3.5) over West Virginia
• Coastal Carolina (-12) over Old Dominion
• Michigan (-7) over Penn State
• Ole Miss (-14.5) over Auburn
• Maryland (-11.5) over Indiana
• BYU (+1.5) over Arkansas (and the outright victory)
• Michigan State (+7.5) over Wisconsin (and the upset!)
• Washington (-14) over Arizona
• ULM (+17) over South Alabama (but the Jaguars will win a close one)
• Kentucky (+4) over Mississippi State (and the win!)
• Nebraska (+14) over Purdue (but the Boilermakers will win the game)
• North Carolina (-7) over Duke
• UNLV (+10) over Air Force (the Falcons will grind this one out but it won’t be easy)

We are finally into true mid-week college football! And this is shaping up to be a monster week, one that could shape the rest of the season. Enjoy the games everyone!

Power Five….Power Four? Power THREE?

Really, who knows what we are looking at in the next few years. For sure, the two conferences on the left are the major players. I would be very shocked if neither conference went to 18 teams by 2025. As for the other three conferences, it’s a big game of conference chicken right now. I would say the Big XII has the slight upper hand at this point but that could change in an instant. So if you love realignment, ho boy, you must have a raging hard-on right now (and will for the next few years).

OK enough of that disgusting talk. Let’s get to the meat of this post. The Power Five conference predictions. All of them. Don’t lie, you liked all the Group of Five conference (and Independent) predictions in the last post, DIDN’T YOU? So one more time, I will cram as much information down your gullet I possibly can without choking you to death with college football information. Let’s begin.

Let’s start with the….well I can’t call them the undisputed king of conferences anymore because the Big Ten is making a big charge at them. Saying that, I can still call them #1…for now. Here are the predicted SEC standings followed by some grits and chitlins and other weird Southern “delicacies.”

		Conference		Overall
	East	W	L	W	L
	Georgia	8	0	12	0
	Tennessee	5	3	9	3
	Florida	5	3	8	4
	Kentucky	3	5	7	5
	South Carolina	3	5	6	6
	Missouri	1	7	4	8
	Vanderbilt	0	8	2	10
	West
	Alabama	8	0	12	0
	Texas A&M	7	1	11	1
	Ole Miss	4	4	8	4
	Arkansas	4	4	7	5
	Auburn	3	5	7	5
	LSU	3	5	7	5
	Mississippi State	2	6	6	6

Chitlins…GROSS!

• Who the fuck figured out to eat the large intestine of a hog?
• Yep, two undefeated teams coming from the SEC.  Bama and UGA don’t play each other during the regular season.  UGA has a relatively easy schedule (in an SEC sense).  Yes they have Oregon in a neutral-site game to start the season but they avoid the Tide, Aggies and Ole Miss out of the West.  Lucky Dawgs!
• As for the Fighting Nick Sabans, damn near everyone has them running the table, at least during the regular season, and I am going right along with that prediction.  Other than their matchup against TAMU (at home) and Ole Miss in Oxford, I can’t foresee any close games all season.
• As for the Aggies and their weird traditions (just watch a Midnight Yell practice…it’s fucking bizarre), I see them ending up one game short of getting to the SEC Championship.  Also one game short of the College Football Playoff.  Critics of Jimbo Fisher will find a way to make this sound like a failure of a season if they do comfortably make it to the New Year’s Six.
• As per usual, the SEC West is an absolute minefield.  The worst team is Mississippi State and they wouldn’t be last in any other conference…not by a long shot.  Unfortunately, Bama’s continued dominance and TAMU and Ole Miss not falling at all will mean the rest of the teams are playing for fourth.
• The Tennessee Volunteers are my Drinking The Kool-Aid pick of the year.  I’m buying that they will be improved enough to be on the precipice of a double-digit win season.  I can see them beating Pitt and South Carolina on the road and being perfect at home.  Now watch them go 5-7 and make me look like a dummy.
• Conference Championship prediction: Alabama 38 Georgia 30.  Closer than last year’s win by the Tide but still not enough for UGA.

When are they going to change the name of this conference? Just call it the BIG Conference now or something like that. Big Ten. For a conference with sixteen schools. Schools. Educational institutions. And they can’t count. Glorious. Anyway, here are the predictions followed by some BTN After Dark comments:

		Conference		Overall
	East	W	L	W	L
	Ohio State	8	1	11	1
	Michigan	8	1	11	1
	Michigan State	6	3	9	3
	Penn State	6	3	8	4
	Maryland	4	5	7	5
	Indiana	1	8	3	9
	Rutgers	1	8	3	9
	West
	Wisconsin	6	3	9	3
	Minnesota	6	3	9	3
	Purdue	6	3	9	3
	Nebraska	5	4	8	4
	Iowa	5	4	8	4
	Northwestern	1	8	4	8
	Illinois	0	9	3	9

BTN After Dark Comments

• I am so looking forward to Rutgers travelling clear across the country to face UCLA on Big Ten Network starting at 10:30 at night.
• Can The Fighting Ann Arbor Khaki Warriors repeat as Big Ten champs?  To be honest, I don’t think they will even repeat as Big Ten East champs.  It will come down to their big matchup with tOSU two days after American Thanksgiving.  This one is in Columbus so I am giving the nod to the Buckeyes here which will be huge when it comes to what The Committee has to look at.
• You know, considering how good the Terps’ recruiting has been lately, do you think they kind of wish, money aside, that they were back in the ACC?  Not saying they could beat Clemson but man, they would look like a really good team there.
• The Big Ten West is going to be ridiculous.  I just have this feeling.  Five teams within one game of each other.  Yes, even Nebraska is in there.  In the end, Wisconsin will win some sort of game of Spin The Bottle, except using an ear of corn, and end up getting to the Big Ten Championship where they can scare the Buckeyes for a quarter-and-a-half.
• Conference Championship prediction: Ohio State 32 Wisconsin 10.  As I said in the previous point, this will be close well into the second quarter and then the Buckeyes will decide enough’s enough and do away with Wisky on their way to the CFP.

I think that right there tells you all you need to know about what’s going on with the rest of the Power Five. The ACC, at this point, might as well chill since their contract with ESPN lasts for more than another decade and any change would require a hell of a lot more money to leave than what USC and UCLA will have to deal with.

Now, there are rumblings that ESPN is stepping in and trying to broker an ACC/Pac-12 merger of sorts but I can’t see that happening to be perfectly honest with you. As long as the Big Ten or SEC doesn’t decide to poach any of their members (which is still a possibility), they should be fine for the time being. Alright, let’s get to the predictions, followed by a bong hit or five:

		Conference		Overall
	Atlantic	W	L	W	L
	Clemson	8	0	11	1
	NC State	7	1	11	1
	Florida State	5	3	8	4
	Louisville	5	3	7	5
	Wake Forest	4	4	8	4
	Boston College	3	5	6	6
	Syracuse	1	7	3	9
	Coastal
	Miami	6	2	9	3
	Pittsburgh	6	2	9	3
	Virginia Tech	4	4	6	6
	North Carolina	4	4	6	6
	Virginia	2	6	5	7
	Georgia Tech	1	7	2	10
	Duke	0	8	2	10

Hey Dude

• I’ve honestly thought of going to one of those cannabis shops to see what’s there.  It’s basically punishable by death here (in this condo area) to have anything weed-related so I’d have to be super sneaky about it.
• Hey, is Clemson back on top?  Sure looks like it although NC State is going to give them a serious run for their money.  Both teams look like they are a tier above the rest (sorry Miami and Pitt) and their game on October 1st will probably be for the division title.  High stakes for sure.
• Coastal Chaos is…not back.  Speaking of the Canes and Panthers, they are also a step above all the other teams in that division.  They will battle it out in another important ACC game on American Thanksgiving weekend which might just decide who gets their shit pushed in by the Tigers or Wolfpack.
• I don’t consider this a Kool-Aid pick.  Florida State will be better.  No stupid upset losses to FCS schools.  Just the slow ascent back to, potentially, the top of the ACC.  Same goes for Louisville (without the FCS issue).
• I did have Wake also in the ACC title hunt but the news that Sam Hartman will be out for at least a bit is a massive worry in Winston-Salem.  He steers the ship and without him, sorry Deacs fans, the offense just doesn’t go like it normally does.
• Remember last year when I had North Carolina bullying their way into the College Football Playoff?  Yeah, not falling for that this time, Mack.
• Conference Championship prediction: Clemson 47 Miami 14.  Yeah this won’t be close.

OK now we get to the first of the quasi-feuding brothers (sisters? cousins?). The Big XII is adding four teams next season and is pushing hard to get the rest of the Pac-12 teams to join them. It’s almost a certainty Oregon and Washington would rather drop football than join this conference but the rest of the schools remaining could very well be up for grabs, especially the two Arizona schools and the Mountain region schools. Until the next shoe drops, though, it’s another year of the Big XII with X schools. Here are my predictions followed by musings from a pissed off Count Von Count:

		Conference		Overall
		W	L	W	L
	Baylor	8	1	10	2
	Oklahoma	8	1	10	2
	Texas	7	2	9	3
	Oklahoma State	7	2	9	3
	TCU	4	5	6	6
	Iowa State	4	5	6	6
	Kansas State	3	6	6	6
	West Virginia	2	7	4	8
	Texas Tech	2	7	3	9
	Kansas	0	9	2	10

ZERO!  ZERO FUCKS GIVEN!  AH AH AH!

• Funny that if things stay as they are, the Big XII will actually get back to twelve teams so at least one conference understands preschool math.
• The bottom of the Big XII looks to be the same.  Kansas at the bottom.  Texas Tech not far from them.  And it always feels like one of West Virginia, Kansas State or TCU ending up in eighth.  Will this change with the newcomers?  I’m gonna say no.
• Not quite their swan song in the conference but I see the Sooners, despite all the defections, getting back to the Big XII Championship.  They are just too deep a team to not contend for, at the very least, a NY6 spot.  I expect Baylor to continue to do well under Dave Aranda and join OU at JerryWorld.
• Conference Championship prediction: Baylor 25 Oklahoma 23.  Yeah I am predicting the Bears to finish the Big XII Championship State of Oklahoma sweep by beating the Sooners in a very close game.

I remember doing a post eight years ago on my Pac-12 predictions. Here is what I said in that post:

The Pac-12 has become the de facto second best conference in the land and it’s by a long shot as well.

Wow. I mean eight years is a long time but the fall off the cliff of the Pac-12 started not long after this post. It has been a near-disastrous eight years for the Conference of Champions in football and with USC and UCLA leaving for the Big Ten things are looking even worse for the soon-to-be Pac-10.

Look, let’s just get to the predictions before I make Bill Walton cry:

		Conference		Overall
	North	W	L	W	L
	Oregon	9	0	11	1
	Oregon State	4	5	7	5
	Washington	4	5	6	6
	California	3	6	5	7
	Washington State	3	6	5	7
	Stanford	3	6	4	8
	South
	Utah	8	1	10	2
	UCLA	7	2	10	2
	USC	6	3	9	3
	Arizona State	4	5	6	6
	Arizona	2	7	3	9
	Colorado	1	8	1	11

Bill Walton’s Tears

• Hey remember I had U of A being terrible last year and I was right?  Well, this year I am doubling down with the Colorado Buffaloes.  I have a feeling Karl Dorrell is going to be taking a lot of ibuprofen this season.  And may start drinking if he doesn’t already do so.
• I see a lot of experts saying USC is going to win the Pac-12 South.  They will be better, there’s no doubt about it.  But win the division after going 4-8 last year?  Let’s pump the brakes a bit.  I think Lincoln Riley is still a season away from really pushing USC to the heights they were at during the Pete Carroll era.
• So who will win the South Division?  I think Utah repeats as South Division champions but it will be UCLA that will give them the toughest time.  The Bruins should be really good…like New Year’s Six good.  Now watch them go 4-8 and Chip Kelly get fired.
• As for the North Division, Oregon should clinch by Thanksgiving…our Thanksgiving.  There is no one close to them.
• Conference Championship prediction: Utah 32 Oregon 20.  Closer than last year but this time the Utes will destroy the Ducks’ dreams of the CFP.

There you go!  All conference standings predictions complete!  Next up I will put it all together and tell you who I think will win the whole thing.  Have a great week everyone!

2021 Bowl Game Rankings and Predictions!

It is the holiday season which always coincides with Bowl Season!  This is our last chance to watch college football during the 2021 season and what a season it has been.  Honestly I don’t want it to end but all good things must come to an end.  That’s the rule (from what I’ve been told).

After last year’s complete shitshow of a bowl season, I am going back to the College Football Broadcasting Ranking System.  It works as it shows what games everyone can enjoy and what games only complete lunatics like myself will enjoy.  Strap in and let’s get going!

10 out of 10!  Put these games on ABC in primetime!

This is game of the year stuff right here.  So, as per usual, both College Football Playoff games and the top two New Year’s Six games show up here.

Orange Bowl – Michigan vs. Georgia (Dec. 31, 7:30, TSN3/TSN5) – Two amazing defenses.  Aidan Hutchinson on one side, one of the most historically amazing defenses (bar the SEC Championship) on the other side.  Not saying this will automatically be a defensive affair but don’t expect a Big XII-style shootout.  I would say this is easily the most anticipated bowl game of the season.  This should be a great competitive game which will finish very close to the time the clock strikes midnight on 2021.  My pick: Georgia 24-20.

Cotton Bowl – Alabama vs. Cincinnati (Dec. 31, 3:30, TSN3/TSN5) – Ugh, semi-finals on New Year’s Eve.  Not that I’m huge into going out on NYE anymore.  It’s not that I’m too old, it’s more that I don’t see the point in paying three times the amount for everything to go out drinking when it’s possibly freezing out and yeah I’m sounding old.  Anyway, there are two ways this could go and I sure hope it’s the one where the Bearcats keep it close.  Fingers crossed.  My pick: Alabama 43-34.

Peach Bowl – Michigan State vs. Pittsburgh (Dec. 30, 7:00, TSN3/TSN5) – This is a VERY intriguing matchup.  Two different ways these teams generate offense: Kenny Pickett and the pass vs. Kenneth Walker III and the run.  The Peach Bowl seems to always come up with a great game and this should be no exception.  My pick: Michigan State 37-32.

Rose Bowl – Ohio State vs. Utah (Jan. 1, 5:00, TSN1/TSN3/TSN4/TSN5) – The biggest thing here is whether the Utes can handle the pressure of the first Rose Bowl in team history.  The Kyle Whittingham rumours will be flowing throughout the game I’m sure.  Honestly, this is huge for the Pac-12 as a whole as they have been the runt of the Power Five litter for a while now and need a favourable outcome.  I just don’t think it will happen here.  My pick: Ohio State 37-24.

9 out of 10! I would even go so far as to say some of these could approach SEC on CBS in PRIMETIME!

This is going to change a couple years from now but during daylight hours, nothing beats the SEC on CBS.

Sugar Bowl – Ole Miss vs. Baylor (Jan. 1, 8:45, TSN1/TSN3/TSN4/TSN5) – Not quite the worst of the NY6 bunch meaning it will still probably be an amazing game.  These two squads have a lot to be proud of this season and will want to keep that momentum going into what could be a national championship contending season in 2022.  It’s going to be another amazing offense vs. tough defense game so we will see who breaks first.  Get your popcorn ready.  My pick: Ole Miss 39-30.

Fiesta Bowl – Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma State (Jan. 1, 1:00, TSN3/TSN5) – One team has a new head coach after theirs bolted for LSU.  The other team was so close to crashing the CFP party (possibly at Cincinnati’s expense).  Touchdown Jesus vs. The Mullet.  This will totally overshadow the other bowl game on at the exact same time.  ESPN just doesn’t understand nor do I think they care.  My pick: Notre Dame 34-20.

Alamo Bowl – Oklahoma vs. Oregon (Dec. 29, 9:15, specialty pack) – The best non-NY6 bowl and it’s also the Interim Coach Bowl.  It’s the return of Bob Stoops to coach the Sooners.  I think they need to get Mike Bellotti to coach the Ducks to make things even.  Both teams disappointed this season so they are playing for some pride here.  Oklahoma has to be the favourite here with Kayvon Thibodaux deciding to skip the bowl and declare for the NFL Draft.  My pick: Oklahoma 35-29.

Frisco Bowl – San Diego State vs. UTSA (Dec. 21, 7:30, TSN1) – The best pre-Christmas bowl game is surprisingly in Frisco.  Two teams who probably deserved better bowl destinations face off in a big Group of Five battle.  This should be a close one and we shall see if the Roadrunners are for real or not.  My pick: UTSA 36-33.

8 out of 10! This is FOX territory.  Definitely a BIG NOON SATURDAY kind of game!

You will never see Kansas in these games, just like they are never on Big Noon Saturday.  Can you even imagine GUS JOHNSON calling a Kansas game?

Gator Bowl – Texas A&M vs. Wake Forest (Dec. 31, 11:00 AM, specialty pack) – Not quite the Alamo Bowl but still a great bowl game.  If it’s anything like their last meeting, this will be a barnburner.  Now watch one team completely blow out the other.  My pick: Texas A&M 49-40.

Cheez-It Bowl – Iowa State vs. Clemson (Dec. 29, 5:45, specialty pack) – The team who was still the favourite to win the ACC and disappointed big time takes on the team who was expected to at least challenge for a spot in the Big XII Championship.  It will be interesting to see how Dabo Swinney deals with both coordinators leaving in the last couple weeks.  I think it’s the loss of Brent Venables that will be bigger here as the Cyclones can pile on the points.  My pick: Iowa State 33-13.

Holiday Bowl – NC State vs. UCLA (Dec. 28, 8:00, FOX) – The only bowl on FOX this year so we know we will get GUS JOHNSON on the call.  Nice!  I wonder if Chip Kelly will even be the Bruins head coach by the time we hit gameday.  Now with Clemson being knocked down a peg, NC State seems like an ideal candidate to rise up the ranks so they are looking to get some momentum going into 2022.  My pick: NC State 32-31.

Citrus Bowl – Kentucky vs. Iowa (Jan. 1, 1:00, ABC) – I wonder why Mark Stoops didn’t get more looks from teams looking for a new head coach.  He has a chance to put another ten-win season on the board for the Wildcats.  They will have to try and figure out the stingy defense of Iowa in this one.  Take the under.  My pick: Kentucky 17-13.

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

Casual fans may skip these but college football fans will consider these still must-see bowl games.

Outback Bowl – Arkansas vs. Penn State (Jan. 1, Noon, specialty pack) – This is an interesting spot.  Penn State was supposed to be better but had some injuries and some bad luck.  Arkansas had a great season and was in the Top 25 for a while.  It would be easy to say the Nittany Lions don’t care about this bowl game but I’m sure they do.  James Franklin won’t let them not care.  My pick: Arkansas 27-12.

Music City Bowl – Tennessee vs. Purdue (Dec. 30, 3:00, TSN3) – This could be a dark horse contender for bowl game of the season.  It’s buried on New Year’s Eve Eve so it might be overlooked but you should not overlook it.  If David Bell plays this would have gone up a section but no one knows if he will so I have to hedge my bets.  My pick: Purdue 44-41.

Boca Raton Bowl – Appalachian State vs. Western Kentucky (Dec. 18, 11:00 AM, TSN4) – I’m sure WKU is going to try to throw for a thousand yards in this one.  App State will reply with a good rushing attack going up against a horrible Hilltoppers run defense.  If you like offense, this is one of the games for you.  My pick: Appalachian State 41-35.

LA Bowl – Oregon State vs. Utah State (Dec. 18, 7:30, ABC) – Jimmy Kimmel sponsors this bowl.  I used to watch Kimmel back in the day.  His talk show?  Not so much.  I still don’t get why they didn’t get UCLA here but I’m done trying to figure that out.  My pick: Oregon State 24-23.

Las Vegas Bowl – Wisconsin vs. Arizona State (Dec. 30, 10:30, specialty pack) – Jesus Christ, I hope the city gets all the beer they can get for this one.  Expect a lot of ground game from the Badgers, relatively uninspired football from the Sun Devils (even though it has somehow worked most of the season) and the smell of Coors and puke in the stands.  My pick: Wisconsin 35-25.

6 out of 10.  Even when Toledo plays Notre Dame, it somehow becomes exciting.

NBC is all about quality over quantity.  OK I lied.  NBC is about Notre Dame.  Saying that, even in a down year, a lot of people watch Notre Dame football so they have to be in the upper half of these rankings.

Independence Bowl – UAB vs. BYU (Dec. 18, 3:30, ABC/TSN3) – This is a terrible tie-in for the Cougs.  They should have got something better but that’s the life of a non-Notre Dame Independent team.  Anyway, they get their shot to finish as a Top 10 team against a rather tough UAB team that shouldn’t be overlooked.  Honestly, I see BYU taking out a lot of their frustrations on the Blazers.  My pick: BYU 52-14.

Birmingham Bowl – Auburn vs. Houston (Dec. 28, Noon, specialty pack) – Now this is how you get a sellout.  Auburn’s fans will pack UAB’s new stadium so it will feel like a home crowd for the Tigers.  It could be tough sledding against a really good Cougars team led by Marcus Jones, one of the best return men ever.  My pick: Houston 28-27.

New Orleans Bowl – Louisiana vs. Marshall (Dec. 18, 9:15, specialty pack) – The Ragin Cajuns are back at the Superdome.  Should be loud and at least half full.  My pick: Louisiana 41-36.

Cure Bowl – Coastal Carolina vs. Northern Illinois (Dec. 17, 6:00, TSN2) – The best quarterback in college football history (if you go by QB Rating) will lead the Chants into Orlando to face the MAC Champs.  This game could be done in a little over two hours as both teams love to run the ball.  My pick: Coastal Carolina 26-13.

5 out of 10. ESPN2 and FS1 get good games every so often.

I’d say that happens at least a few times for each of these channels during the college football year.  I mean it sucks that Canadians don’t get FOX Sports One but it is what it is.

First Responder Bowl – Air Force vs. Louisville (Dec. 28, 3:15, specialty pack) – Louisville barely got to bowl eligibility and struggled quite often during the season.  Air Force, of course, ran the ball a ton and looked good all year.  Unless Malik Cunningham puts the Cards on his shoulders, this game might not be too close.  My pick: Air Force 29-14.

Sun Bowl – Miami vs. Washington State (Dec. 31, 12:30, CBS) – Both teams will have new coaches next season.  So who knows where either of these teams are at going into a bowl game that possibly neither team wants to be in.  My pick: Miami 24-18.

Fenway Bowl – Virginia vs. SMU (Dec. 29, 11:00 AM, specialty pack) – My curiosity is all about how this game looks at Fenway Park.  I would love to see a quarterback rifle a ball too high and it just caroms off the Green Monster.  You want people to be interested in a game like this?  Have the wall be in play.  I would definitely watch that.  My pick: Virginia 20-17.

Liberty Bowl – Mississippi State vs. Texas Tech (Dec. 28, 6:45, specialty pack) – The Mike Leach Bowl!  The Air Raid up against a team that struggles to stop the pass.  This feels like a blowout.  My pick: Mississippi State 44-19.

4 out of 10.  ESPNU, SEC Network, ACC Network, Big Ten Network…take your pick.

I call these the unsung heroes of college football broadcasting.  They give you a ton of games and you’re assured of at least one of them every week being a really good one.  Maybe the Big XII will wake up now and realize a conference network is a good thing.

Gasparilla Bowl – UCF vs. Florida (Dec. 23, 7:00, specialty pack) – This has already sold out.  Is it safe to say UCF should be heavily favoured here?  Well they aren’t; however, any time a team loses their head coach before a bowl game it’s a red flag.  Couple that with the fact that I’m sure the Gators feel like they are slumming it in this bowl game leads me to believe this won’t be that close.  My pick: UCF 40-28.

Quick Lane Bowl – Nevada vs. Western Michigan (Dec. 27, 11:00 AM, TSN5) – Expect a lot of points in this one.  This is probably the final game for Carson Strong so he will be flinging the ball all over the field.  WMU upset Pitt and scored a boatload of points in conference play.  It will be a nice thing to watch while you finish your brunch/begin eating lunch/wake up.  My pick: Nevada 41-31.

Arizona Bowl – Boise State vs. Central Michigan (Dec. 31, 2:00, Barstool Sports) – So let me get this straight: this game gets a New Year’s Eve timeslot and will partially go up against the Cotton Bowl and is on the Barstool Sports website which not many people are signed up for.  Who fucking thought this was a good idea?  My pick: Boise State 42-24.

Guaranteed Rate Bowl – Minnesota vs. West Virginia (Dec. 28, 10:15, TSN1/TSN5) – Both of these teams come into this game on a roll.  So at least both teams want to be here.  It is the ghost of the old Cheez-It Bowl so hopefully it doesn’t devolve into a TCU-Cal 10-7 type of affair.  My pick: Minnesota 32-18.

3 out of 10. CBS Sports Network type games.  You’ll head here if it’s close.

CBSSN gets a ton of games every season.  Usually four games every Saturday and a bunch of weekday games sprinkled throughout the season.  So you’re bound to get a gem in there somewhere but quite often the quality of these games is rather low.

Texas Bowl – LSU vs. Kansas State (Jan. 4, 9:00, TSN5) – This is the only bowl game on between New Year’s Day and the national championship.  Saying that, it’s not exactly the greatest matchup.  If Ed Orgeron had decided to coach instead of heading off to Destin to get a piece of ass, this might be a lot more interesting.  My pick: Kansas State 40-23.

New Mexico Bowl – Fresno State vs. UTEP (Dec. 18, 2:15, TSN4) – Kalen DeBoer, gone.  Jake Haener, also gone.  So the Bulldogs are going to be a bit shorthanded for this one.  As for the Miners, they are limping into this game after a seriously hot start to their season (which almost led to College Gameday heading there).  This feels like a game that is just technically a game and nothing more.  This would have been on Stadium at best during the season.  My pick: Fresno State 23-3.

Military Bowl – Boston College vs. East Carolina (Dec. 27, 2:30, TSN5) – If ECU has another good season in 2022, expect Mike Houston to get a lot of looks.  What he has done in Greenville is nothing short of remarkable.  And they are a very dangerous underdog here against the Eagles.  BC started hot but like a few other teams are crawling into the postseason.  This feels ripe for a mini-upset.  My pick: East Carolina 34-14.

Armed Forces Bowl – Army vs. Missouri (Dec. 22, 8:00, TSN1) – This could be the worst matchup of bowl season.  Army runs the ball.  A lot.  Mizzou has one of the worst rushing defenses in the nation.  This won’t be pretty.  My pick: Army 42-9.

2 out of 10. Stupid Pac-12 Network.

Maybe with new commissioner George Kliavkoff things will get better.  It can’t get any worse.  Larry Scott really dropped the ball with this for years.  Anyway, we have now firmly got into insane-o territory.

Duke’s Mayo Bowl – South Carolina vs. North Carolina (Dec. 30, 11:30 AM, TSN3) – Carolina Bragging Rights Game…sort of.  Look I’m just interested to see if either coach has the sack to be doused in Duke’s Mayo if their team wins.  My pick: North Carolina 23-20 (meaning Mack Brown would get that mayo bath).

LendingTree Bowl – Liberty vs. Eastern Michigan (Dec. 18, 5:45, specialty pack) – For those who feel this is pointless to watch, let me make a case for at least tuning in for a bit.  Malik Willis is competing to be the top quarterback taken in the NFL Draft.  This game would be the national spotlight he sorely needs to move up the rankings.  Other than that, not much to see here.  My pick: Liberty 26-19.

Pinstripe Bowl – Maryland vs. Virginia Tech (Dec. 29, 2:15, TSN3/TSN5) – It is a heartwarming story to see the Terps back in a bowl game for the first time since 2016 (and looking for their first bowl victory since 2010).  Lucky for them they had a 4-0 start since they struggled the rest of the way and needed to beat mighty Rutgers to go here.  Justin Fuente was fired as the Hokies did not live up to expectations again.  Sounds like a broken record.  The only hopes this game has for being watchable is it being close near the end or if there is some ridiculous FOOTBAW WEATHER.  My pick: Maryland 20-17.

Bahamas Bowl – Middle Tennessee vs. Toledo (Dec. 17, Noon, TSN3/TSN5) – This shouldn’t be a very close game at all.  The first bowl game of the season should be played under sunny skies in the Caribbean and with the Blue Raiders getting boatraced by the Rockets.  My pick: Toledo 51-24.

1 out of 10.  Who watches these games?  Guys like me.

Let’s be honest: very few are watching these games.  The Too Many Bowl Games crowd uses these as examples of why there are, well, too many bowl games.  You won’t be saying that in March when there’s no football to watch at all.

Idaho Potato Bowl – Wyoming vs. Kent State (Dec. 21, 3:30, TSN1) – Again, why does the MAC have a tie-in here?  At least this makes sense for the Mountain West.  And I’m going to be honest: I am over the blue turf in Boise.  It is fine if it’s nasty weather or super cold but otherwise it kind of looks like shit and these gimmicky fields became old a few years ago.  My pick: Wyoming 46-31.

Myrtle Beach Bowl – Tulsa vs. Old Dominion (Dec. 20, 2:30, TSN1) – Speaking of off-colour turf.  The only thing I hope for is that Tulsa plays a normal Tulsa game, meaning it will be very close.  Otherwise it’s two completely average teams and with it being on a weekday afternoon before Christmas, you may not be missing much.  My pick: Tulsa 42-39.

Camellia Bowl – Georgia State vs. Ball State (Dec. 25, 2:30, TSN2) – College football on Christmas Day.  Will I watch this?  Yeah some of it but it might end up being background noise at best.  I guess it’s a better timeslot than the same time on a weekday before Christmas (sounds familiar) but still not great. My pick: Georgia State 28-24.

Hawaii Bowl – Memphis vs. Hawaii (Dec. 24, 8:00, TSN2) – This is a good distraction on Christmas Eve while I finish wrapping any final presents that arrived late from Amazon or gift cards I forgot to get weeks earlier.  This might not be the most aesthetically pleasing bowl game since it will be played in a high school stadium.  The reason for this is that Aloha Stadium is so structurally unsound it makes Legion Field look like a fortress.  My pick: Hawaii 36-29.

0 out of 10.  Nothing.  Nada.  Zilch.  Brutal.

A made-up game.  That’s all you need to know here.

Frisco Football Classic – North Texas vs. Miami-OH (Dec. 23, 3:30, specialty pack) – As I said, this bowl was just created so all bowl-eligible teams (plus Hawaii who was 6-7 on the season) could play in a bowl game.  I don’t know what to say except that you might be insane if you watch this.  Which means I am probably insane.  My pick: North Texas 21-10.

Bowl schedule and bowl predictions complete!  Now you have info you need (I think) to do pools, either straight up or confidence-style.

I hope you all enjoy the bowl games, all 42 of them…well 43 if you include the national championship.

So….many……BOWL GAMES!!!!! The Bowl Game TV Schedule

Let’s look at this graphic.  I think it’s like four or five years old.  How many of these bowls don’t exist anymore?  Well, let’s take a look.  The Russell Athletic Bowl, Cactus Bowl, St. Petersburg Bowl, Miami Beach Bowl, Poinsettia Bowl and Heart of Dallas Bowl all don’t exist, at least under those names.  I’m not even going to start on the sponsors.  There have been some absurd bowl sponsors but I am sincerely hoping they get even more absurd.  Like why not bring back the International Bowl in Toronto but call it the Timbit Bowl sponsored by Tim Hortons?  Or get Pornhub to sponsor a bowl game.  The possibilities are endless.

So supposedly TSN has at least part of their bowl schedule up.  I can see a link but it links to a previous year’s bowl schedule.  Hopefully it’s fixed and once it does, I can make sure the schedule is proper on this post.  I would try and predict it but considering what they are doing on the first three days of bowl season, I don’t know what’s going on there.  And with the World Juniors coming soon…yeah I’ll try my best but I will let you know when it’s all set.

So after last year where Bowl Season was an absolute shitshow, we are back to some normality.  Now let’s hope none of these bowls get cancelled for any reason.  Let’s get going with the even longer bowl schedule!

Friday December 17th

Bahamas Bowl: Middle Tennessee vs. Toledo

Noon

This may be the one case where I think it’s OK to have a game on a weekday before Christmas.  I know there are logistical hurdles with this game so there’s a lot to do and also I am sure the stadium there wouldn’t be able to do a night game.  So I give this bowl game a pass.  Oh well, if this is like Bahamas Bowls of the past this should be good.

Cure Bowl: Coastal Carolina vs. Northern Illinois

6:00 PM

This bowl got some good Group of Five teams for once in its short history.  The Chants are still a team people love and the Huskies won the MAC.  It’s the passing acumen of Grayson McCall vs. the stingy defense of NIU.  Nice contrast of styles.  This is also only one of two bowl games on ESPN2 this season.  Why not give it to CBS if that’s the case?

Saturday December 18th

Boca Raton Bowl: Appalachian State vs. Western Kentucky

11:00 AM

Morning football.  We will see a lot of this for the first time ever as ESPN restructures how their bowl schedule shapes up.  And what a way to wake up than with a game where we could see 100 combined points.  This is a national showcase for Bailey Zappe as he is rocketing up draft boards around the NFL.

Celebration Bowl: Jackson State vs. South Carolina State

Noon

The only FCS bowl around as the rest of the teams play in the FCS Playoffs.  If you really like the college bands that HBCU schools have then this is the game for you.  Also, you will see one of the best HBCU teams in recent memory.  I still await the time when Deion Sanders gets a legit offer to coach at the FBS level.  It could come around this time considering the sheer amount of openings still around.

New Mexico Bowl: Fresno State vs. UTEP

2:15 PM

I know I am going to watch this.  Yes there are other games on at the same time but I am such a channel flipper that I end up watching games that probably don’t warrant watching.  Like I’ve watched at least an hour’s worth of UMass football this season.  What the fuck is wrong with me?  Anyway, two teams who were once WAC teams face off in this one.  I wonder if this will get close to a sell-out considering UTEP doesn’t exactly go to a lot of bowls and Albuquerque isn’t too far from El Paso.

UPDATE #4: With the Raiders-Browns game being postponed, this game will also be on TSN5.

Independence Bowl: #13 BYU vs. UAB

3:30 PM

I’m wondering how much BYU fans can’t wait to be in the Big XII.  This right here shows that being a college football Independent really only works if you’re Notre Dame.  People can crow about their good schedule and all that crap.  But your reward for almost getting into the New Year’s Six is to be in fucking Shreveport before Christmas?  The bowl system is broken and this is a perfect example.  Also, the Cougs are only favoured by 7?  I just don’t get this.

UPDATE #3: With the Raiders-Browns game being postponed, this game will also be on TSN1.

LendingTree Bowl: Liberty vs. Eastern Michigan

5:45 PM

Two relatively average Group of Five teams.  As I’ve said earlier, I watch games like this.  I am hoping it is a close one to keep my attention.

LA Bowl: Oregon State vs. Utah State

7:30 PM

So let met get this straight.  It’s the first ever Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl.  And instead of having UCLA there to hopefully pack a good portion of the stadium, they get Oregon State.  This is completely stupid.  This isn’t even about getting the best bowl matchup, as they love to say.  UCLA against USU would be just as good as the matchup we see here.  And this is on ABC to boot.  Dumb.

New Orleans Bowl: #23 Louisiana vs. Marshall

9:00 PM

Finally, the Ragin Cajuns ascended to the top of the Sun Belt mountain.  Their reward was to stay near home to play at the Superdome.  This should sell quite a few tickets.  They go up against a really good Marshall offense in this one to finish the first big day of bowl season (no offense to the previous day but come on).

Monday December 20th

Myrtle Beach Bowl: Tulsa vs. Old Dominion

2:30 PM

So they have this game on in the middle of the day, five days before Christmas.  I get that Monday Night Football is on at night.  So if that’s the case, don’t put a fucking bowl game on that day.  There are ways around this and ESPN just doesn’t seem to understand that they can do that.  They control the broadcasts for over 90% of the bowl games.  Figure it out!  On top of that, Coastal isn’t in this game so they may not even sell out the small stadium near Myrtle Beach.  Ugh.

UPDATE #5: This game has been moved to TSN2 with the NFL game now being on TSN1.

Tuesday December 21st

Idaho Potato Bowl: Wyoming vs. Kent State

3:30 PM

Why don’t they put this game on late and have the Frisco Bowl on in early spot?  Do I have to do everything around here?  Hopefully it’s a good Footbaw Weather game and we witness some crazy shenanigans because otherwise many of you will only be able to see the second half at most.

Frisco Bowl: #24 San Diego State vs. UTSA

7:30 PM

This could be the first bowl game that comes close to must-see territory.  And it gets a primetime spot which is good.  Both teams are two of the better Group of Five teams this season with UTSA coming within one destruction at the hands of North Texas from being undefeated this season and SDSU looking great all year except for getting boatraced by Utah State in the Mountain West Championship.

UPDATE #8: This game has been moved to TSN3 because of the WFT-Eagles game being put on TSN1.

Wednesday December 22nd

Armed Forces Bowl: Army vs. Missouri

8:00 PM

The Armed Forces Bowl with Army.  Makes sense.  Mizzou being here?  Sure I guess although I am surprised they didn’t get a team from the state of Texas to play here against the Black Knights.

Thursday December 23rd

Frisco Football Classic: North Texas vs. Miami-OH

3:30 PM

So ESPN created a bowl game so that all bowl-eligible teams (plus Hawaii who had six wins but also seven losses) to play in bowl games this season.  That is very nice of them.  That’s why we get this game, the (not-so) awesomely named Frisco Football Classic.  This one-off game (we think) will pit two teams who are positively average.  And (this sounds like a broken record….Google what a record is, kids) this game is on in the afternoon on a weekday before Christmas.  Not ideal.​

UPDATE #11: This is now airing on TSN1 and TSN3.

Gasparilla Bowl: UCF vs. Florida

7:00 PM

I wonder if this game will sell out Raymond James Stadium.  You have to think there’s a great opportunity here.  See, this is the best of what bowl games can provide.  Two teams that really never play each other and aren’t too far from each other facing off in a national spotlight game.  UCF really could close the door on any debate for state supremacy with a win here.

UPDATE #12: This is now airing on TSN2.

UPDATE: This game is a sellout.

Friday December 24th

Hawaii Bowl: Hawaii vs. Memphis

8:00 PM

The Christmas Eve tradition continues!  I love having this on while I finish last minute wrapping and stocking stuffer stuffing.  Not going to lie to you all…I just got my Christmas tree up.  Yeah I’m crawling slowly into Christmas season unlike others who have 15,000 lights on outside and have bought the 146 presents that are already sitting under the tree.

UPDATE #13: Due to COVID (and other things), Hawaii has pulled out of the Hawaii Bowl meaning this game is cancelled.  Now what the hell am I going to do while I put the finishing touches on Christmas wrapping?

Saturday December 25th

Camellia Bowl: Georgia State vs. Ball State

2:30 PM

Football on Christmas Day.  Will this compete with the NBA and their traditional Christmas Day games?  Probably not, but it’s football so I will watch.  And if it’s close, even better.  Means I won’t change the channel.  My remote control would be happy.

Monday December 27th

Quick Lane Bowl: Nevada vs. Western Michigan

11:00 AM

This is one of those games that the Too Many Bowls crowd would point to and say “Hey…there’s too many bowls.”  I honestly don’t care because, as I have said often, it’s football so I will watch it.  We’ll see how I feel about the sheer amount of morning starts during bowl season.  I can see it getting old fast but who knows.

Military Bowl: Boston College vs. East Carolina

2:30 PM

Mike Houston has done a fantastic job down in Greenville with the Pirates.  I don’t think anyone, including ECU fans, thought this team would be bowling this season.  Instead, they have a chance to close out their season with eight wins if they can beat a very inconsistent BC squad.​

UPDATE #14: This game has been cancelled because of major COVID issues with the BC football team.

Tuesday December 28th

Birmingham Bowl: Auburn vs. #20 Houston

Noon

Good to see this game has moved to UAB’s new Protective Stadium.  Gets it out of Legion Field which always looked like it was about to collapse during a game.  This also gets quite the good matchup.  This is the kind of game I would get more of during bowl season: P5 vs. G5.

First Responder Bowl: Air Force vs. Louisville

3:15 PM

I still remember back to the 2018 version of this game between Boston College and Boise State.  If you remember, the weather was so bad in the area that they had to completely cancel the game.  I am honestly shocked they did that since I figured they would do anything to get a bowl game completed.  I guessed wrong.  Anyway, Air Force will run a lot (spoiler alert) so let’s see if the Cards’ defense can stop the Falcons attack and keep this close.

Liberty Bowl: Mississippi State vs. Texas Tech

6:45 PM

The Mike Leach Bowl!  Mike Leach’s current team, the Bulldogs, face a team he used to coach and left on less-than-nice terms, the Red Raiders.  If it was totally up to Leach, the game would end up 77-76 with about 1400 yards passing between the two teams.

Holiday Bowl: #18 NC State vs. UCLA

8:00 PM

FOX is now down to one bowl game, this one.  At least it ended up a pretty good matchup in what could be Chip Kelly’s final game as Bruins head coach.  I assume that soon enough, Wolfpack fans will be back to wanting to fire Dave Doeren but it won’t happen after this game…unless they lose by like 30.

UPDATE #19: 19 updates.  Sweet Jesus.  Hey, stop me if you’ve heard this before.  Another bowl game cancelled.  UCLA basically has almost no defensive line to play tonight (among issues with some of the other units) thanks to COVID so this game is being cancelled.  This means FOX will not broadcast a bowl game this season.

Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Minnesota vs. West Virginia

10:15 PM

The former Cheez-It Bowl (the current Cheez-It Bowl is actually the old Camping World Bowl…yeah it’s confusing) isn’t exactly a sexy matchup.  I think we can be assured, though, that we won’t see the TCU-Cal debacle from a few years back.  At least I hope not since that was awful football.

Wednesday December 29th

Fenway Bowl: Virginia vs. SMU

11:00 AM

I am curious as to the setup of the field for this one.  I would laugh if it was like the games at Wrigley where there is no room between the end line and the ivy of the outfield wall.  Imagine a receiver catching a ball, taking two steps and crashing into the Green Monster?

UPDATE #15: I guess I have to wait another year to see how this will look since this game has been cancelled due to, you guessed it, Frank Stallone COVID.

Pinstripe Bowl: Maryland vs. Virginia Tech

2:15 PM

This should be a very close game between these two teams.  Nice to see the Terps back in a bowl game as Mike Locksley has FINALLY had a good season at the helm…of any team.  He was terrible as coach at New Mexico and wasn’t looking a whole lot better in College Park but has finally figured it out.  The Hokies will be in a showcase game for new coach Brent Pry as any returning players will try their best to show why they should get a lot of playing time next year on a team that clearly has fallen to the middle of the pack in the ACC.​

Cheez-It Bowl: #19 Clemson vs. Iowa State

5:45 PM

Does it feel like Clemson should be the 19th-ranked team in college football?  They weren’t even that good this season.  Despite the fact they are no longer the standard bearer in the ACC, this feels like a good spot to land because, honestly, they should have gone to a place like Shreveport to play.  Hey, just checked the spread and I think I’m justified in how I’m thinking.  Cyclones are favoured by 1 and not ranked.  And Clemson lost both coordinators to head coaching positions elsewhere.  Now watch the Tigers win by 50.

Alamo Bowl: #16 Oklahoma vs. #14 Oregon

9:15 PM

Best non-CFP, non-NY6 bowl?  You could make the case here.  The Sooners come in actually with a head coach as Mario Cristobal left the Ducks for Miami not too long ago.  I don’t think Brent Venables is coaching this game although it would be funny if the Sooners defense is playing like shit and he just decides to show up and coach the rest of the way out of disgust.

UPDATE #2: As soon as I post this, I learn that Dan Lanning will be the next head coach at Oregon.

Thursday December 30th

Duke’s Mayo Bowl: South Carolina vs. North Carolina

11:30 AM

This bowl has so much at stake.  OK it has two things at stake.  One, this is the battle for Carolina Supremacy.  OK more like teams with Carolina in their name Supremacy.  OK fine, North vs. South (excluding NC State).  The other is that the person who runs the Duke’s Mayo Bowl said he would donate $10,000 to the winning coach’s charity of choice if he is willing to have a Gatorade cooler full of Duke’s Mayo dumped on him after the win.  This is what we’ve all wanted.  This must happen.  And please let it be Mack Brown.

Music City Bowl: Tennessee vs. Purdue

3:00 PM

Another bowl game that was smart to get at least one close team to play in it.  Having the Vols play in Nashville pretty much guarantees a sellout.  And with Purdue, it looks like we will see a good, relatively close game.  It’s probably a good thing that college football fans aren’t like certain sets of soccer fans since seeing tens of thousands of people clad in bright orange tearing a stadium apart, attacking the other fans and taking on police officers would be a terrifying site (especially when the band plays Rocky Top and the Vol fans continue their attacks while singing).

Peach Bowl: #10 Michigan State vs. #12 Pittsburgh

7:00 PM

Alright, we finally have got to the first New Year’s Six bowl game.  The Pat Narduzzi Bowl.  If you had either of these two teams in a New Year’s Six bowl at the start of the season, then head to Vegas or buy a lottery ticket because you totally defeated the odds.  Two of the best college football players of the season will be on display in this one: Kenny Pickett and Kenneth Walker III.  I kind of wish the Heisman voting was done after bowl games because these showcases would be good for some of these players who are just outside the #1 spot and could use a great showing in front of a national audience to propel them to the top.

Las Vegas Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Arizona State

10:30 PM

Are the bars and casinos in Vegas ready for this one?  Forget the game: the Badger fans (and to a lesser extent, Sun Devil fans) will wipe out the beer economy in this city if they are allowed to.  The amount of puke in the streets and near the hotels (not to mention at the stadium) will be enormous.  It’s gonna stink.  I don’t know how good the game will be but the amount of fights in the stands has an over/under of 7.5.

Friday December 31st

Gator Bowl: #25 Texas A&M Rutgers vs. #17 Wake Forest

11:00 AM

One of the other candidates for non-NY6 bowl game of the season.  Somehow, Dave Clawson wasn’t hired by another team.  Texas A&M lost their defensive coordinator, Mike Elko, to Duke so this could be a bad day for the Aggie defense against Sam Hartman, who should have received more Heisman consideration if you ask me.

UPDATE #9: Texas A&M has major COVID issues inside the football program and will not have enough players ready for this game so they have pulled out.  As of right now, Rutgers, Texas & Illinois seem to be up next using APR calculations.  There is also the possibility that Marshall or Utah State, both teams already played in bowls this season, could be selected if a 5-7 team doesn’t accept.

UPDATE #10: Rutgers (RUTGERS!) will replace Texas A&M in the Gator Bowl.  Oh my.

Sun Bowl: Miami Central Michigan vs. Washington State

12:30 PM

I will say it for what feels like the twentieth year in a row: this is where I hate the way bowls do tie-ins.  The ACC does not belong in the Sun Bowl.  Either put in the Big XII (which is what I would prefer) or do a Mountain West tie-in.  You will struggle to fill half the stadium when an ACC team is there.  And not having UTEP there makes this even worse since that would at least get 30,000 fans or so inside the stadium and create a great atmosphere for the game.

UPDATE #16: Miami has pulled out of the Sun Bowl due to not wanting to go to El Paso COVID protocols.  I will keep you updated on if another team, maybe one that has already had a bowl game cancelled, will step up to play Wazzu.

UPDATE #18: Due to the Arizona Bowl being cancelled, Central Michigan is free to play in another bowl and has been invited to play in El Paso.  I think it’s only like a four hour drive and now the Chips get a shit-ton more money to play in the postseason.  Good work guys!

Arizona Bowl: Boise State vs. Central Michigan

2:00 PM

So….how can you even watch this game?  I guess you have to go to the Barstool Sports website?  How many people will watch this game, with the Cotton Bowl starting 90 minutes later, on New Year’s Eve, on a website that quite a few college football fans wouldn’t go to at gunpoint?  This may work like 5 years or so from now but in 2021, this still doesn’t fly.

UPDATE #17: Well, Barstool will have to wait another year to broadcast their first bowl game.  Boise State have way too many COVID issues to bring a team to Tucson so the bowl game has been cancelled.

Cotton Bowl: #1 Alabama vs. #4 Cincinnati

3:30 PM

OK we have got to the semi-final games.  This looks like it could go one of two ways.  The first way, and the one most people think it will go, is Bama absolutely annihilating the Bearcats and the game being essentially over by halftime.  The other way is that Cincy keeps this game very close going into the fourth quarter and social media goes apeshit at the potential for one of the biggest upsets in college football history.  I am praying for the latter.

Orange Bowl: #2 Michigan vs. #3 Georgia

7:30 PM

This is obviously the more exciting of the two semi-final matchups.  And it’s in primetime on New Year’s Eve?  I get sick of the Rose (and to a lesser extent, the Sugar) Bowl getting such preferential treatment when it comes to restructuring the playoff and Bowl Season.  Not saying they have to move off of New Year’s Day if they absolutely don’t need to but those two bowls sticking to those times makes it impossible in a situation like this to have the College Football Playoff semi-finals on anything other than New Year’s Eve.  It’s ridiculous and needs to be part of the conversation when they expand the playoff (which they will).  Anyway, this is going to very interesting as other than the SEC Championship, UGA’s defense was one of the best in recent memory.  Meanwhile, Michigan used the run better than almost any team in the nation and no team was really able to stop them, just maybe trip them up a bit.  I believe this is basically a pick’em.

Saturday January 1st

Outback Bowl: #21 Arkansas vs. Penn State

Noon

Good for this game that it starts an hour earlier than the two games coming up next.  Otherwise it would probably get very few viewers.

Citrus Bowl: #22 Kentucky vs. #15 Iowa

1:00 PM

Final candidate for best non-New Year’s Six bowl game and it is on at an awful time.  I get that it gets crowded on New Year’s Day but overlapping with another game, a better game, is a recipe for disaster.  And frankly, it’s unfair for the Wildcats and Hawkeyes who both had great seasons.  Both teams will be looking to finish their seasons on a high note and go into the next season ranked in the preseason poll.

Fiesta Bowl: #5 Notre Dame vs. #9 Oklahoma State

1:00 PM

Now this should be interesting.  Will the Irish feel slighted about not getting into the CFP or will they run through a brick wall for new coach Marcus Freeman?  They are going to need everyone on point in this one going up against the OSU Fighting Mullets.  One day, we will get the glory of Mike Gundy in the College Football Playoff.  Maybe next year.

UPDATE #6: The Fiesta Bowl will also be on TSN5 around the start of the fourth quarter after the Outback Bowl is over.

Rose Bowl: #6 Ohio State vs. #11 Utah

5:00 PM

The Utes are in the Rose Bowl for the first time.  This is huge for the program and proves the Pac-12 made the right call bringing them in (Colorado is still up in the air).  They face a good Ohio State team who might be playing angry since they might feel they have been “relegated” to the Rose Bowl.  The question going into this one (and during the game) will be what Kyle Whittingham decides to do after this one is over since there is a rumour out there that he might retire after the Rose Bowl, win or lose.

Sugar Bowl: #8 Ole Miss vs. #7 Baylor

8:45 PM

Dave Aranda has done a masterful job in Waco.  As has Lane Kiffin in Oxford.  This feels like a matchup of completely opposite head coaches, at least in terms of personality.

UPDATE #7: The Sugar Bowl will also be on TSN4 at around 11:00.  I don’t get why they just HAVE to show Sportscentre after the Clippers-Nets game but obviously they do.

Tuesday January 4th

Texas Bowl: LSU vs. Kansas State

9:00 PM

Interesting that the Texas Bowl didn’t get a team from Texas to play in it.  Saying that, they got two fanbases that travel very well so it would be surprising if this wasn’t at least close to a sellout.  By this point, I will probably be bowled out but I will still watch because I know what’s coming shortly after this.

UPDATE #14: This is not being shown on a TSN channel.

Monday January 10th

College Football Playoff National Championship

8:00 PM

The final game of the season (other than the weird All-Star games).  Cherish it…even if it’s not good.

OK at this point this is what the breakdown looks like for Canadians with cable packages:

• TSN – 26 bowl games (with 2 simulcast from ABC)
• ABC – 4 bowl games
• FOX – 1 bowl game
• CBS – 1 bowl game
• Barstool Sports – 1 bowl game
• specialty pack – 12 bowl games

OK now I am officially confused (if this works out the way I think it will).  26 bowl games being shown on TSN?  The schedule is only finalized through Christmas Day but there are 16 games up until then definitely scheduled on TSN.  So after a season where TSN had very little coverage of college football at all (it felt like they had gone back about a decade), they push forward by showing more than 50% of the bowl games.  Crazy.  We will see how the World Juniors affects this but I have a feeling it’s pretty close to the true number.

Alright, that was a seriously long post.  But it was needed as the postseason begins now…at least at the FBS level.  Have a great rest of the weekend everyone!

Week 1 College Football Recap – Can we call this the greatest Week 1 ever?

“AH don’t think so” – what Mack Brown probably said.

Honestly, I do not have a dog in this hunt.  I don’t have a favourite team that I only root for and the rest of the teams can eat shit.  I just love watching college football.  Saying all that, I had selected (not too long ago and you know that since you are a faithful reader) North Carolina to go to the College Football Playoff.  I had the Tar Heels overcoming Clemson in the ACC Championship to get in.  I was dead serious about it.  So of course their O-line goes and plays like shit and Mack looked hungover most of the night and the Heels lost to a game Virginia Tech team.  The Hokies played well…on defense.  But the Heels were supposed to win this one relatively easily and they laid an egg.  I’ve had this happen before.  Years ago I picked Michigan State to get to the CFP and they were horrible all season.  Another year I picked LSU and Wisconsin upset them in Lambeau of all places to start the season.  It happens.  UNC may still get to the playoff.  Run the table and they are probably there but man it looks bad (not to mention the Sam Howell-for-Heisman takes getting a creamy dump all over them).

Enough of the bad (and it’s not even really that bad).  Let’s look at the fact that college football is back!  It feels like a real season after last year’s COVID-stained debacle.  And I have to ask the question: is this the greatest Week 1 in college football history?  Let’s recap and put the pieces together.

• The game of the week was a war of attrition.  It was a slugfest from the opening bell and both Georgia and Clemson weren’t going to give an inch.  The defenses were on point all night.  The only touchdown was a pick six by UGA.  Both quarterbacks, D.J. Uiagalelei and J.T. Daniels, struggled as the defense pressured them all game.  In the end, the Dawg defense held out and look like a serious national title contender.  Not saying Clemson is done, especially after North Carolina’s loss the night before, but it’s a rough start and the offense does not look in sync at all.  It was, in the end, a close game with two contenders and a lot of fun to watch.
• How about those Washington Huskies?  Woof.  The 20th ranked possible Pac-12 favourites lost to Montana.  Montana.  And the score was 13-7.  Are you fucking kidding me?  The hype over the first game back at Husky Stadium was palpable and the team goes out and shits the bed.  An unreal start for poor Jimmy Lake who will have to turn things around fast or he will be on a most-unexpected hot seat soon enough.
• But hey, it’s not like Oregon played awesome.  They could not put Fresno State away.  The Bulldogs are obviously better than I (and many others) thought they were but the Ducks are considered the team that could bring the Pac-12 back to the CFP dance.  Instead, they looked mediocre for most of the game and pulled the game out at the end.  Not good either.  Pac-12 North struggling to start the year.  Don’t even get me started on Stanford and Washington State.
• Wisconsin and Penn State, for three quarters, was a gongshow.  Neither team seemed to want to win.  The kickers didn’t want to help matters either.  Wisconsin was inside the PSU 10, three separate times and came away with no points.  The Nittany Lions were hardly better on offense.  It felt like a classic Big Ten three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust matchup.  PSU’s defense held up and it was again, at least for the fourth quarter, a really fun game to watch that came down to the wire.  And honestly, it was nice to see Jump Around at Camp Randall once again.  Almost brought tears to my eyes.
• How about them Jayhawks?  OK look it was only South Dakota and they barely squeaked out a win.  But at least they weren’t like five other FBS teams who fell to FCS squads, including Vanderbilt getting pasted by East Tennessee State and Colorado State getting hammered by South Dakota State’s potent offense.  Also, you can say, for now, that Lance Leipold is undefeated in Lawrence.  Good times.
• Yes, Alabama beat Miami up pretty good.  Not that that was unexpected.  The way they did it, combined with the way other top teams handled their opening contests says something that was a bit unexpected, though.  That Bama is still heads above the field until we see otherwise.  Bryce Young looked great in his first start.  The rest of the Tide offense did their thing and the defense was all over D’Eriq King and the Canes all day.  Even the turnover chain didn’t feel great for Canes fans after a turnover was overturned and they had to put the chain back in the box.  Nothing went right for The U yesterday.
• Hey, maybe Chip Kelly has finally figured it out in Westwood.  UCLA looked damn good in their upset victory of LSU and should hit the rankings this week.  Maybe, just maybe, the Bruins could sneak through and win the Pac-12 South.  Wouldn’t that be a coup for this program.
• I am hereby starting a petition.  All Duke’s Mayo Bowls/Classics/Kickoffs/Whatevers need to finish with the following: the winning coach getting a big bucket of mayo dumped on them.  It is only fitting and would provide some excitement.  This also means we will see Bret Bielema beg to be in every Duke’s Mayo game from here until he stops coaching.
• At one point it looked like the Gus Bus had gone off the rails already in Orlando.  Then UCF came back and pulled out the victory over Boise State in a huge Group of Five opener.  Now Gus Malzahn is hailed as a great coach and maybe the guy who will bring the Knights back to glory.  This guy’s blood pressure either goes up and down every few minutes or is so stationary that it’s statistically impossible since I don’t know how one man can go through the roller-coaster stuff he’s gone through as a coach.
• I honestly wondered if Tulane would get blown out by Oklahoma.  Man, was I ever wrong.  The Green Wave, who couldn’t host the game in New Orleans due to the effects of Hurricane Ida, made things VERY difficult for the Sooners.  After recovering an onside kick late, they had a chance to win the game and couldn’t get it done.  What it did do is two things though: show us that Tulane might be a darkhorse contender in the American conference and that the Sooners defense is brutal which seems to be the same story every year.  This team will never win a national championship if they can’t shore up that side of the ball.
• The Labour Day ACC game was pretty bad…well for one team it was.  I mean Ole Miss played really well but Louisville is awful.  I don’t think Scott Satterfield is long for coaching in the ACC.  Is Bobby Petrino available?
• Who picked Iowa to win the Big Ten West?  That’s right, this guy….I’m pointing at myself.  The Hawkeyes looked like the northern version of Alabama as they beat the tar out of Indiana.  Sure the Hoosiers may have been a tad overrated going into this season but this was a joke from the word go.  Maybe Iowa can now get some national respect going forward this season (until they lose a game to a team they should have easily beat).
• Finally, the Sunday night game was an unreal one.  Jack Coan proved that Brian Kelly was right in having faith in him as their new starting quarterback.  And Florida State?  Well, they may finally be looking like the Florida State we all know for the first time truly since the Jameis Winston days.  Also a great tribute to Bobby Bowden at halftime and it’s always great to see the Doak rockin’ like it was in the 90s.  And how can I forget McKenzie Milton.  What a return from a guy who wasn’t even supposed to be walking ever again after that brutal leg injury almost three years ago.  Almost brought the Noles to victory in his comeback when he came in late in the game.  And let’s not talk about Brian Kelly’s callback to John McKay of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the postgame interview.

So let’s go back to the question I posed earlier.  Is this the greatest Week 1 in college football history?  I’m not sure.  We have to be careful here.  After not having a big start to last season, this felt amazing.  And yes there were quite a few important games right out of the gate and also a fair share of upsets and FCS wins over FBS teams.  But is it the very best?  I’ll say it’s one of the best.  Definitely the best since I started this blog almost a decade ago.  And a great start to the season where many are hoping that we don’t get into any kind of COVID madness.  We are still slowly getting back to normality (and have a ways to go) and some cannot afford a step back in any situation.

I will not do a Top 25 after Week 1.  This is what I’ve been doing.  I wish college football waited a while but they won’t.

Now I can hopefully get back into the swing of things.  We can get back to the normal college football schedule/NFL schedule/college football recap/rinse and repeat deal that seems to work.  The world is getting back to normal, including in my little portion of the globe.

I sincerely hope you had fun watching the games during Week 1.  I know I did.  I kind of needed it in a way.  Sounds weird to some that I need that but I did especially with my life (along with many other lives) being so topsy-turvy for about a year-and-a-half now.  Enjoy the rest of your week.

Four? Eight? Twelve? Sixteen?

I’m sure some would love to go to 24 teams like FCS.  Honestly?  Fuck that.  But expansion is coming and we know it.  Could be here as early as the 2023 season so the graphic above will only make sense for this season and possibly next and that’s it, that’s all.  The new era of college football truly begins (regardless of what happens in realignment).

But for now we stick with the way things are meaning it’s bowl projection time!  I can now take all I’ve done over the past few weeks and wrap it up in a nice, neat, little package.  OK maybe neat is too strong a word.  I’m sure it will be somewhat messy.  And you won’t agree with all the choices.  Oh well, it is what it is.

Let’s get right to it and start with the College Football Playoff matchups.  If you read all the conference preview posts (every single one, right?) you have a good idea who’s here.  Remember, the rankings I have here are the rankings I believe these teams will be going into the bowl season.  Most of the time I have hit pretty well on these picks although I have had some real stinkers like picking Michigan State when they went 3-9.  So yeah it’s not all good for ol’ Bossman:

December 31st	Orange Bowl	#2 Alabama	#3 Ohio State
December 31st	Cotton Bowl	#1 Oklahoma	#4 North Carolina

First of all, ugh.  New Year’s Eve semi-final games.  I’m sure most will hate this.  Bama was an easy pick as everyone would have them #1 for the season but with one loss they would get in at #2.  Most have Oklahoma as well and I have them running the table to this point so makes sense to have them #1.  Ohio State should outlast their Big Ten foes and with only one loss as well they should easily slot in to #3 and a huge matchup with the Tide out in Miami.  And at #4….not Clemson!  This is probably the Tar Heels’ best shot at winning the ACC.  Clemson has a new quarterback and UNC has a Heisman hopeful in Sam Howell.  Despite the Tigers running the table and heading into the conference championships at #1, their loss would do enough to harm them and move them down the rankings.  Plus it would look really shitty on The Committee if they kept Clemson above Mack Brown’s boys after a conference title game loss.  North Carolina should be #5 going into the ACC Championship and I think The Committee will do the right thing after a Heels win.  Yes, Clemson fans will scream bloody murder but to no avail.  It’s about time they learn how to lose (somewhat) again after so many years at the top.

Now we get the New Year’s Six with three of those four games actually on New Year’s Day (why couldn’t the other one have been on New Year’s Eve?):

January 1st	Sugar Bowl	#11 Texas A&M	#9 Iowa State
January 1st	Rose Bowl	#14 Wisconsin	#8 USC
January 1st	Fiesta Bowl	#6 Notre Dame	#10 Washington
December 30th	Peach Bowl	#5 Clemson	#7 Cincinnati

Cue the debates.  As is usually the case, the top 11 ranked teams will head to the CFP or NY6.  Georgia will not get in after, once again, losing the SEC Championship to Alabama.  I see Georgia falling to #12, just below the Aggies, who will sneak into the New Year’s Six, still probably seething from Texas coming to the SEC.  Cincinnati actually won’t be the undefeated Group of Five team this season.  Coastal Carolina will be but the Bearcats’ schedule is quite difficult whereas the Chanticleers’ schedule, not so much.  Therefore, it’s an easy choice for Cincy to be well in the Top 10 and heading to Atlanta.  Notre Dame has, yet again, a brutal schedule but will navigate enough of it to be clearly a Top 10 team and have their shot out in the desert to win a New Year’s Six bowl game.  Iowa State finishes at #9 and could end up with their best finish ever (again) with a win over the Aggies in New Orleans.  USC and Washington will both get in probably no matter the result of the Pac-12 Championship.

And then we have the Big Ten runner-up, the 14th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers.  The Big Ten is contractually obligated to send a team to the Rose Bowl unless the Rose is a College Football Playoff semi-final.  The Badgers luck out with Iowa and Georgia losing in their respective conference championships as Wisky sits at home and watches.  Let’s be honest: this isn’t all that bad.  Better than having a team that’s ranked like #20 getting into a prestigious bowl game because of stupid bowl tie-ins.  That issue goes away for the most part with the 12-team playoff but then a different problem comes up.  You think being #13 or #14 and missing out on the New Year’s Six rankles the fans?   Wait until the #13 team misses out on the CFP.  Their fans will be livid for sure.  Good times.

Now for the rest of my predicted bowl matchups:

January 4th	Texas Bowl	#12 Georgia	Iowa
January 1st	Citrus Bowl	#19 Florida	#16 Penn State
January 1st	Outback Bowl	Auburn	Indiana
December 31st	Sun Bowl	Virginia Tech	#22 Utah
December 31st	Gator Bowl	#24 Ole Miss	#17 Miami
December 30th	Las Vegas Bowl	#25 Northwestern	#15 Oregon
December 30th	Arizona Bowl	Boise State	Ball State
December 30th	Redbox Bowl	Nebraska	#20 Arizona State
December 30th	Music City Bowl	#18 LSU	Michigan
December 30th	Duke’s Mayo Bowl	Kentucky	Wake Forest
December 29th	Alamo Bowl	#21 Texas	UCLA
December 29th	Cheez-It Bowl	#23 TCU	Boston College
December 29th	Pinstripe Bowl	Minnesota	Pittsburgh
December 29th	Fenway Bowl	UTSA	Memphis
December 28th	Guaranteed Rate Bowl	Tennessee	Oklahoma State
December 28th	Holiday Bowl	NC State	California
December 28th	Liberty Bowl	Missouri	West Virginia
December 28th	First Responder Bowl	Houston	Liberty
December 28th	Birmingham Bowl	Arkansas	UCF
December 27th	Military Bowl	Florida State	Eastern Michigan
December 27th	Quick Lane Bowl	Rice	Ohio
December 25th	Camellia Bowl	Louisiana	Buffalo
December 24th	Hawaii Bowl	Tulsa	Hawaii
December 23rd	Union Home Mortgage Bowl	Mississippi State	SMU
December 22nd	Armed Forces Bowl	Army	Baylor
December 21st	Frisco Bowl	Air Force	Texas State
December 21st	Idaho Potato Bowl	San Jose State	Toledo
December 20th	Myrtle Beach Bowl	Western Michigan	#13 Coastal Carolina
December 18th	New Orleans Bowl	Appalachian State	Florida Atlantic
December 18th	LA Bowl	Stanford	Nevada
December 18th	LendingTree Bowl	Kansas State	Central Michigan
December 18th	Independence Bowl	BYU	UAB
December 18th	New Mexico Bowl	Wyoming	Louisiana Tech
December 18th	Boca Raton Bowl	San Diego State	Southern Miss
December 17th	Cure Bowl	New Mexico	FIU
December 17th	Bahamas Bowl	Marshall	Kent State

Fenway Bowl!  LA Bowl!!! And they added the Myrtle Beach Bowl last year.  And now with the new 12-team playoff on the horizon there may be downsizing.  Hilarious.  At least Canadians can see most of the bowl games as per usual.  Well, as long as the specialty packs cooperate.  Here’s some notes on the wacky fun-time bowl season predictions:

• I have three games predicted between ranked teams: Florida-Penn State in the Citrus, Ole Miss-Miami in the Gator, & Northwestern-Oregon in the Las Vegas.  Really good games that you honestly would rarely get to see.  This is really what bowl season always used to be about (at least on the field).
• I’m not even bothering with showing you which tie-ins couldn’t be satisfied or which bowls have teams with 5-7 records (there are a few).  Trying to decipher how bowl season will shape up is difficult as is going into December.  Imagine how difficult (or near impossble) it is to do now.  Showing you all that info doesn’t matter much to be honest.
• Some of the better matchups include:
  • the three ranked-on-ranked matchups mentioned above
  • Auburn-Indy in the Outback Bowl
  • Georgia-Iowa in the Texas Bowl
  • BYU-UAB in the Independence Bowl
  • Louisiana-Buffalo in the Camellia Bowl
  • Texas-UCLA in the Alamo Bowl
  • Virginia Tech-Utah in the Sun Bowl
• Now, the naming rights to the Arizona Bowl has gone to Barstool Sports.  Interesting and not totally surprising.  What is surprising is that it won’t air on regular television as far as I know.  It will, as of this point, air on Barstool Sports’ website (which you would need to pay to see the game I believe).  That’s the weird part and I wonder what kind of viewership they will get.  Then again it is the Arizona Bowl so it’s not like they were getting a ton of viewers to begin with having it air on CBS Sports Network in the past.

The College Football Playoff semi-final games should actually both be good for once.  Bama-tOSU should be a classic with the Tide pulling out the win.  The other one should also be relatively close but the Sooners will finally get their semi-final win and their first berth in the national championship in the playoff era.  But the winning streak will end in the national championship as I have Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide winning their second straight championship and their third in five seasons.

Next up is the post where I actually make some pretty good predictions: the Coaching Hot Seat Report.  After that is a post I always do horrifically bad at for some reason, the Heisman Predictions.  After that I might as well do some NFL predictions which are also historically kinda bad.  We are 26 days away from the start of the college football season but at least now we have some actual football on the horizon to get us in the football watching mood…not that I usually need that but watching live football is gonna feel great after over six months of none.  And soon enough I will have a schedule up for Week Zero.  Will be interesting to see what ends up going to the specialty pack and if the specialty pack even starts that day.  Wouldn’t surprise me if they didn’t.  Why?  Because fuck you that’s why.  Enjoy your Civic Holiday if you are actually celebrating it (by being civic-minded I guess).

Is it time for the Return of the Mack?

No, not THAT Return of the Mack (although that is honestly one of my all-time favourite songs).

Mack Brown has already done amazing things in his second stint in Chapel Hill.  But he has one more hill to climb, at least when it comes to the ACC.  And man is it ever a huge hill.  An escarpment.  Maybe even consider it a small mountain.

Clemson is never ready to relinquish their crown, the same crown they’ve had for years now since Florida State decided it didn’t want to be good at football for a while.  Almost like they said “You know what?  We’ve won so much for over two decades.  Let’s give another team a chance.”  And now Clemson is the same way.  When will they fall from their perch?  Who the hell knows.  Dabo Swinney is not known for sharing the ACC sandbox.

OK let’s get right to the predictions followed by some sweet, smoky Carolina BBQ thoughts:

		Conference		Overall
	Atlantic	W	L	W	L
	Clemson	8	0	12	0
	Boston College	5	3	9	3
	Wake Forest	5	3	9	3
	Florida State	4	4	6	6
	NC State	3	5	6	6
	Louisville	2	6	3	9
	Syracuse	1	7	3	9
	Coastal
	North Carolina	8	0	11	1
	Miami	6	2	9	3
	Virginia Tech	6	2	8	4
	Pittsburgh	4	4	8	4
	Virginia	2	6	4	8
	Georgia Tech	1	7	3	9
	Duke	0	8	3	9

Sweet & Smoky Carolina BBQ Thoughts

• I always love watching the ongoing battle between different parts of the U.S. claiming they have the best barbecue.  Honestly, barbecue has got close to the spot where pizza occupies: very rarely is it so bad you can’t eat it.  Most barbecue is probably very good.  Unfortunately it’s not like we have very many barbecue spots up here or any sort of barbecue tradition.
• Clemson is still the best team in the conference, despite their loss of Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne.  D.J. Uiagalelei (I always wonder where the n sound comes in) looked great against Notre Dame last year so there shouldn’t be a huge drop-off but there will be some.  The defense will pick up the slack and be the backbone of the team that will fairly easily walk to the Atlantic Division title.
• The Coastal might not have Coastal Chaos this season.  I know, I know, hard to believe.  But UNC is pulling slightly away from the field, especially with one of the Heisman favourites, Sam Howell, at QB.  Miami is good but need a full, healthy season from D’Eriq King or there’s no chance they will push for the division crown.  Expect a bounceback season from Virginia Tech which could give Justin Fuente an extension as the fans in Blacksburg are getting a little antsy based on the past few years on the field for the Hokies.
• Florida State truly starts their climb this year.  I absolutely believe it.  This is Mike Norvell’s chance to put his stamp on the program.  If he can’t at least get this program to a bowl game this year, I think his days are numbered in Tallahassee.
• It’s going to be quite the battle…for the basement of the ACC.  I have five teams all within one game of each other at the bottom (in terms of overall record).  Georgia Tech, Duke, UVA, Louisville and Syracuse all have a claim to being the worst team in the conference.  If I had to choose, I would go with Syracuse.  I fear that time’s almost up for Dino Babers in western New York.  He had one great season but other than that the train went off the rails there and things aren’t looking a whole lot better for the near future either, forget this season.
• The bloom has also come off the rose for Scott Satterfield.  Cards fans sure turned on him quick and I can’t see him turning it around right away.  If Bobby Petrino is available, I’m sure the Louisville brass would look at him and this is not a joke.
• I predict nine bowl teams from the ACC.  And if bowls have to dip into the 5-7 pool of teams, don’t look at this conference…there won’t be any.
• Oh baby, ready for the bombshell?  OK here it is.  I have the Tar Heels beating Clemson to wrest the ACC title from the Tigers.  Yeah, there.  I said it.  OK more like I typed it.  I have this feeling hardly anyone, outside of most Tar Heel fans, think this could happen.  I believe in the Mack and believe in the Heels this year.  Now watch them lose six games and I look like a fucking idiot.

That’s it for the ACC.  Three conferences in.  Next up will be the teams with no conference to call home, the Independents.  Have a great Sunday everyone!  Remember, we are a mere 41 days away from the start of the college football season!  Soon enough we will be down to single digits.