Yep, not kidding. This is it. I’m not going to do like four in a matter of six days or something ridiculous like that. I have a job and a life (sort of) outside of this blog. I also know things may change on the day of the draft (or more like opening day of the draft). Nothing I can do about that. Let the experts deal with it. Between ESPN and the NFL Network there has to be about 70 mock drafts ready to go in the half hour before the draft begins. So without further adieu, let’s get to l’ébauche finale:
First Round
1
Chicago
Caleb Williams, QB (USC)
2
Washington
Jayden Daniels, QB (LSU)
3
New England
Drake Maye, QB (North Carolina)
4
Arizona
Marvin Harrison Jr., WR (Ohio State)
5
LA Chargers
Malik Nabers, WR (LSU)
6
NY Giants
Dallas Turner, EDGE (Alabama)
7
Tennessee
Terrion Arnold, CB (Alabama)
8
Atlanta
J.J. McCarthy, QB (Michigan)
9
Chicago
Laiatu Latu, EDGE (UCLA)
10
NY Jets
Joe Alt, OT (Notre Dame)
11
Minnesota
Bo Nix, QB (Oregon)
12
Denver
Brock Bowers, TE (Georgia)
13
Las Vegas
Olu Fashanu, OT (Penn State)
14
New Orleans
Rome Odunze, WR (Washington)
15
Indianapolis
Quinyon Mitchell, CB (Toledo)
16
Seattle
Troy Fautanu, G (Washington)
17
Jacksonville
Taliese Fuaga, OT (Oregon State)
18
Cincinnati
J.C. Latham, OT (Alabama)
19
LA Rams
Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB (Alabama)
20
Pittsburgh
Byron Murphy II, DT (Texas)
21
Miami
Jer’Zhan Newton, DT (Illinois)
22
Philadelphia
Jared Verse, DE (Florida State)
23
Minnesota
Chop Robinson, EDGE (Penn State)
24
Dallas
Amarius Mims, OT (Georgia)
25
Green Bay
Cooper DeJean, S (Iowa)
26
Tampa Bay
Michael Penix Jr., QB (Washington)
27
Arizona
Darius Robinson, EDGE (Minnesota)
28
Buffalo
Brian Thomas Jr., WR (LSU)
29
Detroit
Jackson Powers-Johnson, G (Oregon)
30
Baltimore
Graham Barton, G (Duke)
31
San Francisco
Tyler Guyton, OT (Oklahoma)
32
Kansas City
Jordan Morgan, OT (Arizona)
Second Round
33
Carolina
Xavier Legette, WR (South Carolina)
34
New England
Kingsley Suamataia, OT (BYU)
35
Arizona
Nate Wiggins, CB (Clemson)
36
Washington
Zach Frazier, C (West Virginia)
37
LA Chargers
T.J. Tampa, CB (Iowa State)
38
Tennessee
Patrick Paul, OT (Houston)
39
Carolina
Ennis Rakestraw Jr., CB (Missouri)
40
Washington
Troy Franklin, WR (Oregon)
41
Green Bay
Chris Braswell, EDGE (Alabama)
42
Houston
Ruke Orhorhoro, DT (Clemson)
43
Atlanta
Ladd McConkey, WR (Georgia)
44
Las Vegas
Christian Haynes, G (UConn)
45
New Orleans
Marshawn Kneeland, EDGE (Western Michigan)
46
Indianapolis
Xavier Worthy, WR (Texas)
47
NY Giants
Cooper Beebe, G (Kansas State)
48
Jacksonville
Adonai Mitchell, WR (Texas)
49
Cincinnati
T’Vondre Sweat, DT (Texas)
50
Philadelphia
Kamari Lassiter, CB (Georgia)
51
Pittsburgh
Edgerrin Cooper, LB (Texas A&M)
52
LA Rams
Kamren Kinchens, S (Miami)
53
Philadelphia
Ricky Pearsall, WR (Florida)
54
Cleveland
Michael Hall Jr., DT (Ohio State)
55
Miami
Keon Coleman, WR (Florida State)
56
Dallas
Trey Benson, RB (Florida State)
57
Tampa Bay
Ja’Lynn Polk, WR (Washington)
58
Green Bay
Sedrick Van Pran, C (Georgia)
59
Houston
Cam Hart, CB (Notre Dame)
60
Buffalo
Kris Jenkins, DT (Michigan)
61
Detroit
Javon Bullard, CB (Georgia)
62
Baltimore
Roman Wilson, WR (Michigan)
63
San Francisco
Austin Booker, DE (Kansas)
64
Kansas City
Braden Fiske, DT (Florida State)
Third Round
65
Carolina
Cedric Gray, LB (North Carolina)
66
Arizona
Payton Wilson, LB (NC State)
67
Washington
Bralen Trice, EDGE (Washington)
68
New England
Jonathan Brooks, RB (Texas)
69
LA Chargers
Ja’Tavion Sanders, TE (Texas)
70
NY Giants
Caelan Carson, CB (Wake Forest)
71
Arizona
Leonard Taylor III, DT (Miami)
72
NY Jets
Tyler Nubin, S (Minnesota)
73
Detroit
Adisa Isaac, EDGE (Penn State)
74
Atlanta
Brandon Dorius, EDGE (Oregon)
75
Chicago
Christian Mahogany, G (Boston College)
76
Denver
DeWayne Carter, DT (Duke)
77
Las Vegas
Mike Sainristil, CB (Michigan)
78
Washington
Junior Colson, LB (Michigan)
79
Atlanta
Justin Egoigbe, DT (Alabama)
80
Cincinnati
Max Melton, CB (Rutgers)
81
Seattle
Tommy Eichenberg, LB (Ohio State)
82
Indianapolis
Calen Bullock, S (USC)
83
LA Rams
Spencer Rattler, QB (South Carolina)
84
Pittsburgh
Roger Rosengarten, OT (Washington)
85
Cleveland
Kiran Amedagije, OT (Yale)
86
Houston
Malachi Corley, WR (WKU)
87
Dallas
Jermaine Burton, WR (Alabama)
88
Green Bay
Blake Fisher, OT (Notre Dame)
89
Tampa Bay
Cole Bishop, S (Utah)
90
Arizona
Zak Zinter, G (Michigan)
91
Green Bay
Nehemiah Pritchett, CB (Auburn)
92
Tampa Bay
Javion Cohen, G (Miami)
93
Baltimore
Jaylen Wright, RB (Tennessee)
94
Kansas City
Blake Corum, RB (Michigan)
95
San Francisco
Elijah Jones, CB (Boston College)
96
Jacksonville
Kris Abrams-Draine, CB (Missouri)
97
Cincinnati
Johnny Wilson, WR (Florida State)
98
Pittsburgh
Jonah Ellliss, LB (Utah)
99
LA Rams
Jalyx Hunt, EDGE (Houston Christian)
100
Washington
Jalen McMillan, WR (Washington)
There are some strong opinions out there about this draft (like every draft) so let’s go through a few of them:
The Vikings are going to trade up. This is a likely option but I don’t put trades in my mock drafts because I think dreaming up the trade packages would be insane. Saying that, I wouldn’t be surprised if they traded up to #4 or #5 to get J.J. McCarthy.
The Cardinals are fielding a lot of trade offers. The top three picks are mostly set even though Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels seem to flip-flop in the second and third spots. The Cards are probably fielding a few offers but not as many as some might think. It will take a lot for them to trade down as they know they would get, arguably, the best overall player of the draft at a position they need.
The Giants might be the toughest to figure out in the Top 10. Absolutely. They have all sorts of needs so there are probably 10-12 players on their board that they could conceivably take. I still like Dallas Turner at that spot but Terrion Arnold, Laiatu Latu, Brock Bowers, Quinyon Marshall and, hell, even Bo Nix could be picked at #6 by the Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-Men (done in extreme Chris Berman voice).
If Brock Bowers isn’t picked Top 10 he will fall…FAR. I don’t think so. The Broncos, Colts, Bengals and Dolphins might all take a gander at the big man if he is still sitting in the back room after the tenth pick (which I think he will be).
Other than that there are questions that mostly don’t have answers at this point. Like will the Bills make a surprising leap up the draft now that Stefon Diggs has been dealt? Is Michael Penix Jr. poised to have the biggest leap up the draft boards in the past couple months? Will there be actual players involved in any of the trades over the next few days? It’s a crapshoot and not my expertise so I will steer clear of most of those questions (possibly, possibly and probably are my answers).
Reminder that the draft starts tonight at 8:00 and is emanating from Detroit. Moving the draft around has been fun so let’s see what it’s like in the Motor City. As per usual, ESPN and NFL Network will be doing the entire draft…all seven rounds. I have the ESPN draft pick is in ringtone on my phone but I am still debating which network to watch, at least for night one. I have leaned NFL Network in the past but I have done both over the past decade. It’s a game-time decision.
Finally, on the Twitter Machine (fuck you, Elon) I will be live-tweeting at least the first round and am hoping to do ALL SEVEN this year. Can I do it? Who the fuck knows. Around halfway through round five is where things usually go off the rails and I might struggle to keep going at that point. I mean I will but who knows if I will be posting tweets at that point or semi-conscious, staring at the bag of pretzels on my desk and wondering about important questions in life like “Would Nathan Peterman be successful in the CFL?”
Anyway, enjoy the draft, however much you watch of it.
The A stands for April. Or Awesome. Or Asshole. Whatever.
Mock draft time! And it’s three glorious rounds of (probably) incorrect picks. Lovin’ it! Let’s go!
First Round
1
Chicago
Caleb Williams, QB (USC)
2
Washington
Drake Maye, QB (North Carolina)
3
New England
Jayden Daniels, QB (LSU)
4
Arizona
Marvin Harrison Jr., WR (Ohio State)
5
LA Chargers
Quinyon Mitchell, CB (Toledo)
6
NY Giants
Dallas Turner, EDGE (Alabama)
7
Tennessee
Olu Fashanu, OT (Penn State)
8
Atlanta
Malik Nabers, WR (LSU)
9
Chicago
Rome Odunze, WR (Washington)
10
NY Jets
Joe Alt, OT (Notre Dame)
11
Minnesota
Laiatu Latu, DE (UCLA)
12
Denver
Terrion Arnold, CB (Alabama)
13
Las Vegas
Nate Wiggins, CB (Clemson)
14
New Orleans
Jared Verse, DE (Florida State)
15
Indianapolis
Brian Thomas Jr., WR (LSU)
16
Seattle
J.J. McCarthy, QB (LSU)
17
Jacksonville
Jackson Powers-Johnson, OG (Oregon)
18
Cincinnati
Brock Bowers, TE (Georgia)
19
LA Rams
Bo Nix, QB (Oregon)
20
Pittsburgh
Troy Fautanu, OG (Washington)
21
Miami
Cooper DeJean, S (Iowa)
22
Philadelphia
Adonai Mitchell, WR (Texas)
23
Minnesota
Chop Robinson, EDGE (Penn State)
24
Dallas
Taliese Fuaga, OT (Oregon State)
25
Green Bay
J.C. Latham, OT (Alabama)
26
Tampa Bay
Xavier Worthy, WR (Texas)
27
Arizona
Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB (Alabama)
28
Buffalo
Jer’Zhan Newton, DT (Illinois)
29
Detroit
Byron Murphy II, DT (Texas)
30
Baltimore
Kamari Lassiter, CB (Georgia)
31
San Francisco
Amarius Mims, OT (Georgia)
32
Kansas City
Tyler Guyton, OT (Oklahoma)
Second Round
33
Carolina
Zach Frazier, C (West Virginia)
34
New England
Jordan Morgan, OT (Arizona)
35
Arizona
Darius Robinson, EDGE (Minnesota)
36
Washington
Xavier Legette, WR (South Carolina)
37
LA Chargers
Michael Hall Jr., DT (Ohio State)
38
Tennessee
T.J. Tampa, CB (Iowa State)
39
Carolina
Keon Coleman, WR (Florida State)
40
Washington
Graham Barton, OG (Duke)
41
Green Bay
Tyler Nubin, S (Minnesota)
42
Houston
Chris Braswell, EDGE (Alabama)
43
Atlanta
Michael Penix Jr., QB (Washington)
44
Las Vegas
Kingsley Suamataia, OT (BYU)
45
New Orleans
Ladd McConkey, WR (Georgia)
46
Indianapolis
Kamren Kinchens, S (Miami)
47
NY Giants
Ennis Rakestraw Jr., CB (Missouri)
48
Jacksonville
Patrick Paul, OT (Houston)
49
Cincinnati
Troy Franklin, WR (Oregon)
50
Philadelphia
Edgerrin Cooper, LB (Texas A&M)
51
Pittsburgh
T’Vondre Sweat, DT (Texas)
52
LA Rams
Bralen Trice, EDGE (Washington)
53
Philadelphia
Marshawn Kneeland, EDGE (Western Michigan)
54
Cleveland
Ruke Orhorhoro, DT (Clemson)
55
Miami
Ja’Lynn Polk, WR (Washington)
56
Dallas
Trey Benson, RB (Florida State)
57
Tampa Bay
Adisa Isaac, EDGE (Penn State)
58
Green Bay
Cooper Beebe, OG (Kansas State)
59
Houston
Malachi Corley, WR (WKU)
60
Buffalo
Max Melton, CB (Rutgers)
61
Detroit
Christian Haynes, OG (UConn)
62
Baltimore
Roman Wilson, WR (Michigan)
63
San Francisco
Brandon Dorius, EDGE (Oregon)
64
Kansas City
Jalen McMillan, WR (Washington)
Third Round
65
Carolina
Cedric Gray, LB (North Carolina)
66
Arizona
Sedrick Van Pran, C (Georgia)
67
Washington
Payton Wilson, LB (NC State)
68
New England
Ricky Pearsall, WR (Florida)
69
LA Chargers
Ben Sinnott, TE (Kansas State)
70
NY Giants
Kris Jenkins, DT (Michigan)
71
Arizona
Leonard Taylor III, DT (Miami)
72
NY Jets
Devontez Walker, WR (North Carolina)
73
Detroit
Caelan Carson, CB (Wake Forest)
74
Atlanta
Cam Hart, CB (Notre Dame)
75
Chicago
Ja’Tavion Sanders, TE (Texas)
76
Denver
Javon Bullard, CB (Georgia)
77
Las Vegas
Jonathon Brooks, RB (Texas)
78
Washington
Austin Booker, DE (Kansas)
79
Atlanta
Braden Fiske, DT (Florida State)
80
Cincinnati
Kiran Amedagije, OT (Yale)
81
Seattle
Christian Mahogany, OG (Boston College)
82
Indianapolis
Mike Sainristil, CB (Michigan)
83
LA Rams
D.J. James, CB (Auburn)
84
Pittsburgh
Roger Rosengarten, OT (Washington)
85
Cleveland
Junior Colson, LB (Michigan)
86
Houston
Kris Abrams-Draine, CB (Missouri)
87
Dallas
Renardo Green, CB (Florida State)
88
Green Bay
Khyree Jackson, CB (Oregon)
89
Tampa Bay
Beau Brade, S (Maryland)
90
Arizona
Andru Phillips, CB (Kentucky)
91
Green Bay
Jalyx Hunt, EDGE (Houston Christian)
92
Tampa Bay
Dominick Puni, OG (Kansas)
93
Baltimore
McKinnley Jackson, DT (Texas A&M)
94
Kansas City
Braelon Allen, RB (Wisconsin)
95
San Francisco
Kalen King, CB (Penn State)
96
Jacksonville
Johnny Wilson, WR (Florida State)
97
Cincinnati
Josh Newton, CB (TCU)
98
Pittsburgh
Jeremiah Trotter Jr., LB (Clemson)
99
LA Rams
Calen Bullock, S (USC)
100
Washington
James Williams, S (Miami)
The top few picks seem set in stone. Maybe on in that specific order but those top four will, most likely, be the top four come draft night. As for some of the other picks, man there were some huge drops. Like Kris Jenkins. Only a few weeks ago, a fair amount of mocks had him in the first round. I don’t think he’s even being considered as a first rounder anymore. Almost the same with Byron Murphy II. I had him going fifth to the Chargers which may have been a bit high in retrospect. But for him to drop to almost completely out of the first round is an alarming drop. Sometimes it’s fairly easy to find out what has happened to lower a potential draftee’s stock and sometimes…well, sometimes who the hell knows. It just happens.
Potential Draft Day Trades
OK so these would include trades coming up toward the draft as well, not just the ones on draft opening night. And no, I can’t see the Bears or the Commanders trading their picks so let’s start with the #3 pick.
New England (#3) – Chances of the Patriots trading this pick are slim but considering the haul that some teams have received for a top 3 pick in NFL history, the right package might come along to entice them to trade down. I have a feeling it would take at least two first-rounders, two second-rounders, and at least one other pick.
NY Giants (#6) – Probably the highest pick with true potential to be dealt is the Giants at #6. The Giants desperately need help on both lines but there are a few options available meaning they could trade down a few spots and still get one of the guys they covet. A first-round pick swap would have to happen and the team trading with the G-Men couldn’t be far below the #16 spot for this to work. Other picks would come the Giants way as well.
Tennessee (#7) – This becomes a possibility if the Patriots trade down. The reason is, one of Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels would be available and there are a few teams that would love to trade up to get one of the two. That includes the Falcons, Vikings, Broncos and Raiders. Knowing that, the Titans could get a larger pick haul than the Giants even though the pick would be later.
NY Jets (#10) – The Jets are hoping that Aaron Rodgers will be healthy this year. And to help with that, they want an offensive lineman desperately. The hope is that one of Olu Fashanu or Joe Alt fall to them. If neither of them are available, I would fully expect the Jets to shop the pick and they could drop a fair way if they wanted to.
The Vikings feel like the most likely pick to move up since, for some reason, many are saying they really want J.J. McCarthy. I think it would be crazy to trade up because I think McCarthy, at least at this point, would be available to the Vikings at #11. Maybe I’m wrong with that. They would most likely just trade picks but they have one bargaining chip that some teams might not be able to ignore: Justin Jefferson. If the Vikings can’t extend Double J, then they might include him in a trade to see what they could get. Arizona would be a trading partner if (and only if) this was a possibility.
In non-draft news, the UFL has commenced their season. Not exactly a ton of fans for a couple of these games but some wacky shit happened. Jake Bates hit a 64-yard field goal to help his Michigan Stags beat St. Louis. Funny enough, it was on the same uprights that Justin Tucker kicked his NFL-record 67-yarder to beat the Lions a couple years ago. Then you had San Antonio punter Brad Wing throwing a 40-yard touchdown pass on 4th and 11 to the team’s centre Alex Mollette. So at least it’s entertaining, you have to give it that. And it’s football. A tiny appetizer before the CFL, then college football, then NFL season starts. So embrace it. Or don’t. I don’t care. I realize March Madness was on this past weekend so I can see why people might not watch.
OK I will do one more mock draft closer to actual draft day (which starts April 25th). And even then, most of my picks will be wrong. At least I can take solace in the fact that I will have close to the same record as the so-called experts have.
The college schedule is coming into form. It’s kind of tough with the changes coming up this season so for good parts of the schedule I have nothing to compare it to. So we shall see how that goes when I start doing my most important game posts. Anyway, I hope you all had a great Easter long weekend and have a great first week of April.
Wait, WAIT! Look you’ve read some of my longer posts on here so don’t leave now. Honestly, this won’t be as long as some of the crazy-ass long posts I’ve done in the past. Plus, we can re-live some of Bowl Season’s greater moments together. Because let’s be honest: this wasn’t exactly the best Bowl Season ever. Not the worst mind you; but yeah, definitely not the best. So how about we just dive in and get started, OK?
Rose Bowl (Michigan 27 Alabama 20 (OT)) – This was one of the greatest College Football Playoff games of all-time. And funny enough, it still wasn’t exactly the cleanest game. Sloppy play by both teams made it so neither team could pull away. And in the end, the issue that caused Bama fits all game, poor snaps from center, came back to haunt them one final time. The low snap on 4th and Goal caused Jalen Milroe to panic and run up the middle to try and score. The play that was drawn up would have had a good chance of working if the snap had been perfect. Michigan finally erases so much CFP pain and will now have their chance at a national championship.
New Orleans Bowl (Jacksonville State 34 Louisiana 31 (OT)) – This feels like the validation of Jax State’s ascent to the FBS level. For some reason, some schools make it work and others (see UMass) can’t figure it out. The thing about this game is that it felt like the Gamecocks were throwing it away, literally. Three defensive touchdowns by the Cajuns kept them in the game. All it did though, is delay a backup kicker, who rarely played, kicking the game winning field goal for the Cocks. This is the perfect argument for why bowls do, and should in the future, exist.
Sugar Bowl (Washington 37 Texas 31) – The second of the two semi-final games was easily the worst…if you just watched the first 58 minutes or so of the game. Then the Huskies decided that maybe, juuuuuuuuuuuust maybe, they didn’t feel like going to the national championship after all. U-Dub was able to hold on when Texas almost seized that final chance and will now play for all the glory. Also, some people were actually introduced, truly, to Michael Penix Jr. for the first time. And I include people who report on college football as they were astounded by what he did despite the fact he did that in half the games this season.
Gator Bowl (Clemson 38 Kentucky 35) – Put your hand up if you thought Kentucky would be in one of the best bowl games of the year. Now put your hands down, you filthy liars. No one, not even Kentucky fans, thought that would be the case. That insane fourth quarter alone, with 42 points scored between the two teams, was enough to put this game in the upper echelon of this year’s Bowl Season.
Famous Toastery Bowl (WKU 38 Old Dominion 35 (OT)) – And the award for the most stupidly awesome bowl game of the year goes to this one. The Hilltoppers were down 21-0 just seven minutes in. I actually stopped watching for the next hour. I come back to see what’s going on and see the first touchdown of what would be the fourth-greatest comeback in bowl game history. How did it end? A blocked field goal in the fourth quarter, followed by another blocked field goal in overtime, leading to a walk-off field goal and then toast angels on the field. How can you not love college football?
Arizona Bowl (Wyoming 16 Toledo 15) – If you had said this bowl game would have been the one out of the two on at the same time to be the better bowl game I would have…well maybe not laughed but been intrigued by your logic. This game went up against the blowout that was the Orange Bowl so it was easy to tune into this game. This is the second straight year the Arizona Bowl has been a great game and Wyoming, this time, is on the better end of the score. A perfect end to Craig Bohl’s coaching career.
ReliaQuest Bowl (LSU 35 Wisconsin 31) – This ended up being a great battle, something that many thought wouldn’t be the case. The Badgers certainly showed up for this one after a lacklustre season. The Tigers didn’t even have the lead until their final touchdown with a little over three minutes to go. A good college football start to 2024.
Camellia Bowl (Northern Illinois 21 Arkansas State 19) – This falls under “It’s So Bad, It’s Good” territory. Not exactly the best of the best but the final portion of the game makes up for it with its sheer insanity. ASU went the entire length of the field to get within two, missed the two-point conversion, then recovered the onside kick! But it was flagged for offside in one of the biggest botched calls of the entire season which made Butch Jones go as red as a ripe tomato. Entertainment…that’s what we want from our bowl games, right?
Quick Lane Bowl (Minnesota 30 Bowling Green 24) – Minnesota threw for 26 yards and won this game. Hilarious. It helps that they could hand the ball off to Darius Taylor who went off for over 200 yards. Fun fact: the Gophers have now won seven consecutive bowl games. That has to be tops, no?
Pinstripe Bowl (Rutgers 31 Miami 24) – A good game at Yankee Stadium. Now I’m not huge on regular season games at baseball stadiums (as in they should be banned) but I am totally fine with them during bowl season. There was more scoring than many thought there would be but there was no stupidity from Mario Cristobal, which was also expected (by me).
Cure Bowl (Appalachian State 13 Miami-OH 9) – This game was played in atrocious weather. I fucking loved it. It was just a bunch of silly backyard-style football fun, if your backward was a swimming pool. At one point it felt like they were going for the bowl game fumbles record. Combined, the two teams ended up with 12. How either team got a kick off, I will never know.
Peach Bowl (Ole Miss 38 Penn State 25) – Most thought it would be a great matchup between the seriously up tempo Rebel offense against the Nittany Lions’ stout defense. It was not to be. The Fighting Kiffins shredded PSU and pulled away in the second half. So Lane is safe in the fans’ minds in Oxford. James Franklin…well I am sure there are many unhappy people in…(Un)Happy Valley.
Pop Tarts Bowl (Kansas State 28 NC State 19) – Let’s be honest here: all we wanted to see was what would happen at the end with the mascot. And it was fucking glorious. Whoever thought of this should get a MASSIVE bonus. Also, the game was pretty good with it being close nearly the entire way.
Alamo Bowl (Arizona 38 Oklahoma 24) – Man, the Wildcats are going to be a load in the Big XII next year. They went blow-for-blow with the Sooners and ended up leaving them in their dust thanks to causing six turnovers. Gotta hand it to Jedd Fisch: not many thought he would get the program to this point this fast. So is he the best coach out of the Bill Belichick coaching tree? Oh wait, Nick Saban did a few years under Belichick. So yeah Jedd you will always be second in this case.
Guaranteed Rate Bowl (Kansas 49 UNLV 36) – Speaking of teams who could be really good next year in the Big XII, the Jayhawks overcame being called for over 200 yards worth of penalties to almost put up a 50-burger. Jason Bean has been a god-send considering Jalon Daniels was injured most of the season. And he showed it in his final game throwing for six touchdowns. This was KU’s first bowl win in 15 years. Incredible. And don’t shortchange the Rebels who also had a pretty good game and great season.
LA Bowl (UCLA 35 Boise State 22) – Look, I think most were interested to see if Chip Kelly’s team would show up for what was basically a home game for them. And they sure did. The Bruins were able to stick with Boise until the second half and then pulled away for a relatively easy victory and a tiny bit of momentum going into the Big Ten next season.
Texas Bowl (Oklahoma State 31 Texas A&M 23) – Somehow, the Aggies, with all sorts of players not playing (for various reasons), came back from an 18-point halftime deficit to make things very interesting late. Also, Mike Gundy has won 10 games in a season EIGHT TIMES? Really? Wow. This guy should get more credit for what he’s done in Stillwater.
Armed Forces Bowl (Air Force 31 James Madison 21) – Some called it bad and I think it’s because the Dukes lost. Air Force showed why they were the Group of Five favourite heading into November. JMU tried to make a game of it but the Falcons’ run game was way too much for them. A perfectly good bowl.
Holiday Bowl (USC 42 Louisville 28) – Miller Moss took advantage of Caleb Williams opting out of this game by throwing for a Holiday Bowl record six touchdowns. I will be honest by saying that the amount of people online saying we have an early Heisman frontrunner irked me. This isn’t preseason hype: this is the end of the previous season hype. Ridiculous. Not saying he won’t be good but I wish some in college football media would pump the brakes sometimes since they sound like idiots every so often.
Gasparilla Bowl (Georgia Tech 30 UCF 17) – The slightly weird start time didn’t detract from a pretty good bowl game. Despite the loss and the 6-7 finish, you have to think the Knights thought this season was a success. Their first as a Power Five team and they showed they could compete. As for the Ramblin’ Wreck, well, I am sure they sent a postcard to Mario Cristobal for gifting them that win that essentially put them in this bowl game.
Birmingham Bowl (Duke 17 Troy 10) – I tend to rank closer games higher than offensive shootouts that end with one team winning by like 21. That’s just me. Very little is more exciting in college football than a chance for a team to tie or win a game late. Both teams had interim coaching staffs so we can use that as an excuse for this one although it feels like it’s happening more and more these days. Not a good trend.
Las Vegas Bowl (Northwestern 14 Utah 7) – A great ending for the Wildcats who wildly exceeded expectations this season. Utah just didn’t have the players to contend in this one. If you liked defense…well, you still might not have liked this one since it was more the offenses struggling than anything.
Liberty Bowl (Memphis 36 Iowa State 26) – There were some high hopes for this one. Iowa State was a better-than-advertised Big XII school and Memphis was at home. And it wasn’t a bad game but it felt like the Tigers were in control for most of it which kind of sucks the life out of a bowl game in the latter stages.
Hawaii Bowl (Coastal Carolina 24 San Jose State 14) – Pretty good game but drops a few notches because it wasn’t on Christmas Eve WHERE IT BELONGS.
Fenway Bowl (Boston College 23 SMU 14) – It was cold. It was wet. It was fun…for me to watch. Not for the players, coaches and fans, I’m sure. Well, at the time it was probably not too bad. I’ve played in games like that and it was fine until after the game. Then you feel like shit. You might feel less shitty if you win…but you still feel like crap. Anyway, this is a conference game next season! A-C-C! A-C-C! A-C-C! A-C-C!
Independence Bowl (Texas Tech 34 California 14) – After a full opening day of bowl games I was hoping this one would be good. Or fun. Or weird. It was none of the three. It was fine until about halfway through the second quarter and the Red Raiders rode away with it. Lack of drama drops this way down.
Military Bowl (Virginia Tech 41 Tulane 20) – This was a nasty weather game so you’d think I would rank it higher. There were a lot of fumbles and chaos so you’d think I would rank it higher. I don’t know what it was but this felt like not a very fun game to watch. I kind of stopped paying attention in the second half. I really didn’t think the Green Wave was in it nor did they care much to be there. And that can happen sometimes when your coach leaves for another school. Maybe that was the case here, I don’t know. Either way, it was meh.
Cotton Bowl (Missouri 14 Ohio State 3) – I was kind of hyped for this one, not gonna lie. I was thinking this would be quite the prove-it game for Mizzou and we would see if no Kyle McCord would be an issue for tOSU. I was right, for the most part, on both fronts, yet this game sucked. Luckily for the Buckeyes, their awesome defense kept them in it going into the fourth quarter but their offense was painful to watch. They should have found a student in the crowd to play quarterback since it would have been just as good.
Frisco Bowl (UTSA 35 Marshall 17) – Would this have been better if 14th-year senior Frank Harris had been able to play? It would have been a blowout rather than a relatively easy victory for the Roadrunners, that’s about it. Biggest take from this game? The starting quarterbacks were Cole Pennington for Marshall (Chad’s son) and Owen McCown for the Roadrunners (Josh’s son). I feel seriously fucking old.
First Responder Bowl (Texas State 45 Rice 21) – Not the greatest game to be honest as the Bobcats were in control for most of it. It was definitely helped, though, by the fans (especially the Texas State ones) who were jacked for this one. So jacked that they ran out of beer at the game. Five minutes into the third quarter. Yeah.
Idaho Potato Bowl (Georgia State 45 Utah State 22) – The Aggies looked pretty damn flat in this one. The Panthers, on the other hand, overcame their late-season collapse and get back to that early season form. Almost 650 yards of offense for GSU and they were way too much for USU. Even with the french fry bath, this was a bottom tier bowl game this season.
Myrtle Beach Bowl (Ohio 41 Georgia Southern 21) – A bit of a ho-hum affair kicked off Bowl Season this time around thanks to the Bahamas Bowl having to move to Charlotte. Ohio went up big and kept the lead the entire game. Nothing super interesting with this one.
Music City Bowl (Maryland 31 Auburn 13) – This game was over early and was done without Taulia Tagovailoa. So it was impressive. Just not interesting to watch after the first quarter.
New Mexico Bowl (Fresno State 37 New Mexico State 10) – I thought this would be a good game. I had high hopes for NMSU in this one. It was not to be. Fresno State cranked it up late and ran away with this one but even earlier on it didn’t really feel close as the Bulldogs showed the form that had them the favourite for about seven days to be the Group of Five representative in the New Year’s Six. Oh well.
Duke’s Mayo Bowl (West Virginia 30 North Carolina 10) – Props to West Virginia for completing a good season, much better than most thought would happen. Neal Brown got mayo dumped on him. And that’s about it. The game was forgettable.
Sun Bowl (Notre Dame 40 Oregon State 8) – Boy, for a game that was sold out quicker than I think any other Sun Bowl ever, this game was an absolute dud. Notre Dame’s backups beat the ever-loving shit out of Oregon State’s backups. Ugh.
Fiesta Bowl (Oregon 45 Liberty 6) – I think we’ve found our new BYU. No, I don’t mean weird religious institution (even though they are). I mean a team that’s probably too good (most of the time) for their conference but not really good enough to be in the Power Five (or maybe even a better conference). Didn’t help that Oregon came in looking pissed off and after the Flames took a 6-0 lead it was all Ducks. 45 unanswered points and Bo Nix left as a record-setting quarterback. This was a trainwreck, really.
Citrus Bowl (Tennessee 35 Iowa 0) – Geez, where do I begin with this one? This was one of the most Iowa games of the season which is saying something. The offense was awful. The Brian Ferentz Experience has come to an end and I am positive most in Iowa City are thankful for that. What made it worse was two other games on at the same time. So I watched almost none of the second half. And I don’t feel bad about that at all.
68 Ventures Bowl (South Alabama 59 Eastern Michigan 10) – I am starting to wonder why this bowl even exists. Even by ESPN Events standards, this is shit. I love more football but good God. The Jags just ran the Eagles off the field in another boring 68 Ventures Bowl which was called…like seven other things before this. This is perfect fodder for the Too Many Bowl Games crowd.
Boca Raton Bowl (USF 45 Syracuse 0) – This was one of the biggest beatdowns in bowl game history. Well at least I thought that until…I’ll get to that in a second. Anyway, I figured the Orange would show up. They did…technically. They were the opposition…technically. Other than that, USF, a middle-of-the-road American Conference team who played out of its mind for new coach Alex Golesh, beat the brakes off of Cuse. It was a pathetic performance, regardless of who was missing from the lineup. And speaking of players missing from the lineup…
Orange Bowl (Georgia 63 Florida State 3) – This picture encapsulates this game perfectly:
Mike Norvell looks like he wants to be anywhere other than where he was at that moment. This game is THE biggest win in bowl game history. So Georgia one-upped themselves. This game, and everything leading up to it, was a completely fucking mess of a shitshow and is a big part of what’s wrong with college football today. Florida State (and to a lesser extent, Georgia) being left out of the College Football Playoff, some even saying that FSU should boycott the game, some politician trying to force the CFP to put the Noles in (somehow), then all sorts of players opting out or transferring out (from both sides mind you). It all led to this travesty of a game. Even Kirby Smart, during the post-game press conference, told everyone “if this doesn’t show that there needs to be some change, then I don’t know what does.” I’m paraphrasing but he’s right on the money. When players can transfer, when coaches can leave a school to get hired somewhere else, what happens to a player’s NIL when they opt out of a bowl game…all this stuff needs to be dealt with. If it doesn’t, these bowl games will get less and less important. And this is after the playoff has already eroded the bowl system (a bit).
See? Not my longest post ever. So no complaining.
Well we’ve hit the end my friends. One last game. The national championship is tonight and, other than the weird all-star games with their weird rules, it’s the final college football game of the season. Cherish it. Even if it’s a blowout. Remember: the wait for the next season can be long and arduous. Enjoy the game everyone!
The bowl games have commenced. I did horrible with my first day picks. Haven’t done a whole lot better since then. But never mind that because it’s time for me the fix the postseason….well, the current version at least.
The current postseason setup is plagued with issues but the idea that players can hop into the transfer portal BEFORE the bowl games are over is absurd. Honestly, same with coaches. There are almost needs to be a moratorium on moves that starts the day after conference championship weekend ends and finishes the day after the national championship. Otherwise it becomes the quasi-shitshow we have now.
This is now the ninth time I have done this exercise. Nine. I am not linking the previous eight but they shouldn’t be too difficult to find. Like the fact that I am sure most of these posts were done sometime in December. Should make your search a bit easier.
We begin with the opening ceremonies, so to speak: the axing of bowl games. That’s right, some bowl games just cannot exist in my version of Bowl Season. ESPN Events can fuck off if they have a problem with this. So the following bowl games will cease to exist:
Myrtle Beach Bowl
Bahamas Bowl
Cure Bowl
68 Ventures Bowl
Frisco Bowl
Boca Raton Bowl
Gasparilla Bowl
Camellia Bowl
Arizona Bowl
I’m sure some will bristle at the Cure Bowl because it’s a charity endeavour. Want a solution? Make more bowls like this. Have a portion of ticket revenue go to a charity of their choice. See how easy that was? Do I have to come up with all the answers? It sure feels like it.
Also, with the restrictions I have on who qualifies for the bowl games in my scenario, these bowls had to go. I get it: less football usually sucks. But the idea is to give as many of these games a full national audience as much as possible. That’s the whole point. Some of these teams just don’t get these kinds of audiences and bowl season is their one shot to do so. So let’s give it to them!
Another thing: pre-Christmas daytime starts. Those are gone. They are stupid. So don’t do them. There’s no reason for them. I think the only game that had to be played during the day was the Bahamas Bowl and, well, go back and look at the list.
Let’s bring back more games on over-the-air networks. So I am planning, as per usual, to take games off of ESPN and disperse them to ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC. No I am not putting any on the CW although I was tempted to move the Hawaii Bowl to 11:59 PM and put it on Spectrum Sports and have a bowl season Hawaii Test.
The amount of bowl tie-ins drops for an obvious reason. I am looking forward with this so I figured I might as well not include the Pac-12 and put teams in the conferences they will be in next season. So there are plenty of at-large spots available. The other incentive I always use is back: each Group of Five champion gets to face a Power Five team in a bowl game. There is a bit of a change this year. With the Pac-12 no longer in this exercise, the Mountain West doesn’t have a partner in this, so to speak. So they aren’t slotted in for one of these games. Because of this, if the Mountain West champion is the top Group of Five team, they will just take their spot in the playoffs and that’s that. If they aren’t, then that team will replace the conference that did have the top Group of Five team in their bowl game. So, in essence, each G-5 champ still has their shot against a P-5 team, with a twist.
How do you qualify for the Bossman Bowl System? 7 wins. Those teams that qualify will be placed first and then, AND ONLY THEN, will any 6-win teams be put into bowl slots.
And finally let’s look at Selection Sunday: an abomination that I am sure ESPN is proud of but they shouldn’t be because it’s a fucking garbage show with their garbage takes. Complete crap. Let’s spice it up, shall we?
Noon-12:05 – Introduction of hosts and panel
12:05-12:30 – CFP byes announced with analysis
12:25-1:15 – First round playoff matchups announced with analysis
1:15-2:00 – Tie-ins filled with short analysis
2:00-3:30 – It’s selection time! The bowl games are selected in random order (draw would have been determined in the morning if not late the night before). At-large selections are shown every few minutes. Analysis follows every pick and new bowl game matchup is shown if both bowl slots are filled.
3:30-4:00 – Final analysis and thoughts
Much better. Hell, even do the live look-ins like they do at March Madness. They did it this year and there was some interesting reaction shots. Florida State’s was heartbreaking, Liberty’s was nice to see and Michigan’s was hilarious. Drama. ESPN is starting to get it but the stuff they manufacture is mostly crap. If it wasn’t for Booger McFarland squaring off with Joey Galloway that entire show would have been unwatchable.
Next year, we get the 12-team playoff. It took years but everyone realized four wasn’t the answer. Probably should have gone right to six or stayed at two. Oh well, hindsight is 20-20. The top four will be the conference champions so I have taken some leeway by taking the top ranked team in what the conferences will look like next year. The Group of Five gets their top team in and that team will usually end up being the #12 seed although there have been times where they wouldn’t have been like when Cincinnati made the 4-team playoff a few years back. So here is what the Top 12 would look like, with the upcoming criteria and teams in their new conferences:
Michigan (Big Ten champ)
Texas (SEC champ)
Florida State (ACC champ)
Arizona (Big XII champ)
Washington (Big Ten)
Alabama (SEC)
Georgia (SEC)
Ohio State (Big Ten)
Oregon (Big Ten)
Missouri (SEC)
Penn State (Big Ten)
Liberty (Conference USA)
See how much things change? Florida State AND Arizona get byes. Arizona. A team that didn’t even make the New Year’s Six this time around. It also means Ole Miss gets booted from a possible national championship spot. I’m already not liking the new system. I’m sure with the new conference alignment, we won’t see this kind of disparity from the Big Ten/SEC and the ACC/Big XII. But for this time around, this is what we’ve got.
Scheduling! It’s what I show on here. So this has to work or otherwise what have I learned the past decade? I am using this year’s dates but the setup will work in other years as well. The main thing is to use Saturdays as your playoff days. Or if that fails, New Year’s Day for one. This is how this will work. Here is what I see with this:
First Round Games – Saturday December 23rd (all times EST)
Missouri at Georgia (Noon, ESPN)
Penn State at Alabama (3:30, CBS)
Oregon at Ohio State (7:00, FOX)
Liberty at Washington (10:30, ESPN)
I’m sure Chris Petersen might be a bit miffed at the start time for the final game but using the entire Saturday is the right play here. No other bowl games will be on this day either so these four games will have full national attention until the NFL puts their games on this day because they couldn’t give two shits about anything else on TV.
Quarter-Finals – Saturday December 30th
Since college football wants to change so much then let’s change it. The New Year’s Day traditional games? That’s no more. Hey, college football started it, I’m just continuing with it. The top four teams would be slotted in to these bowl games at the start of Selection Sunday and The Committee would try their best (after eating copious amounts of Chinese food and drinking 290 coolers between the 13 of them) to put the teams in spots that are advantageous to them, not only in their location, but the home cities of the teams they may face.
Peach Bowl (Noon, FOX) – Michigan vs. Oregon/Ohio St. winner
Cotton Bowl (3:30, ABC) – Texas vs. Mizzou/UGA winner
Orange Bowl (7:00, NBC) – Florida State vs. Penn St./Bama winner
Fiesta Bowl (10:30, ESPN) – Arizona vs. Liberty/Washington winner
Again, the former Pac-12 teams seem stuck in the late night spot and this is fine by me and better damn well be fine with the powers that be.
Semi-Finals – Saturday January 6th
Again, stick to Saturdays.
Rose Bowl (5:00, ABC) – Peach Bowl winner vs. Fiesta Bowl winner
I get that it’s almost a guarantee a West Coast team would come out of the Fiesta Bowl but if Michigan or Ohio State gets in, their fans travel well and to go to the Rose Bowl? They will fill their side of the stands no problem.
CFP National Championship – Saturday January 13th
We move the national championship back six days. This may mess with the NFL playoffs but that’s something that can be figured out. Hell, move the game to the 20th for all I care. Just keep it on Saturday night. And it will be, starting at 8:00 on ESPN.
Now on to the next part of our show, the tie-in portion. There are now nine less bowls as you remember. Very little overlap. Things look good. Now the teams need to be filled in. This is what the rest of the bowls will look like after all the tie-ins are dealt with and they will be dealt with. Not having official tie-ins and never even bothering with them. That shit bugs me.
DATE
TIME
BOWL
TIE-IN #1
TIE-IN #2
January 1st
7:00
Gator
SEC
ACC
January 1st
3:30
Citrus
SEC
Big Ten
January 1st
Noon
ReliaQuest
SEC
Big Ten
December 29th
8:30
Alamo
Big XII
at-large
December 29th
5:00
Music City
SEC
Big Ten
December 29th
2:30
Sun
Big XII
at-large
December 29th
Noon
Pop Tarts
ACC
at-large
December 28th
8:45
Texas
Big XII
at-large
December 28th
5:30
Duke’s Mayo
ACC
at-large
December 28th
2:15
Pinstripe
Big Ten
ACC
December 28th
11:00 AM
Fenway
AAC
at-large
December 27th
8:00
Holiday
at-large
at-large
December 27th
4:30
First Responder
Big XII
C-USA
December 27th
1:00
Military
ACC
AAC
December 26th
9:00
Guaranteed Rate
at-large
at-large
December 26th
5:30
Liberty
SEC
Sun Belt
December 26th
2:00
Independence
Sun Belt
at-large
December 24th
10:30
Hawaii
MWC
at-large
December 22nd
8:30
Idaho Potato
MWC
MAC
December 20th
8:30
Armed Forces
AAC
at-large
December 19th
8:00
Birmingham
C-USA
at-large
December 16th
10:30
Las Vegas
at-large
at-large
December 16th
8:00
LA
at-large
at-large
December 16th
5:30
New Mexico
at-large
at-large
December 16th
2:15
New Orleans
Sun Belt
at-large
December 16th
11:00 AM
Quick Lane
Big Ten
MAC
Yeah that’s a lot of at-large bids. Good. This is what makes this way of doing things that much more interesting. OK, let’s fill in those tie-ins. Remember, all teams in their new conferences (I hope I am not so confused with this next year).
DATE
TIME
NETWORK
BOWL
TEAM #1
TEAM #2
January 1st
7:00
CBS
Gator
Ole Miss
Louisville
January 1st
3:30
ABC
Citrus
Oklahoma
Iowa
January 1st
Noon
ABC
ReliaQuest
LSU
USC
December 29th
8:30
FOX
Alamo
Oklahoma State
at-large
December 29th
5:00
ESPN
Music City
Tennessee
UCLA
December 29th
2:30
CBS
Sun
Kansas State
at-large
December 29th
Noon
ESPN
Pop Tarts
NC State
at-large
December 28th
8:45
ESPN
Texas
Utah
at-large
December 28th
5:30
ESPN
Duke’s Mayo
Clemson
at-large
December 28th
2:15
ESPN
Pinstripe
Maryland
North Carolina
December 28th
11:00 AM
ESPN
Fenway
Tulane
at-large
December 27th
8:00
FOX
Holiday
at-large
at-large
December 27th
4:30
ESPN
First Responder
Kansas
Boise State
December 27th
1:00
ESPN
Military
Miami
SMU
December 26th
9:00
ESPN
Guaranteed Rate
at-large
at-large
December 26th
5:30
ESPN
Liberty
Kentucky
Troy
December 26th
2:00
ESPN
Independence
James Madison
at-large
December 24th
10:30
ESPN
Hawaii
UNLV
at-large
December 22nd
8:30
ESPN
Idaho Potato
Air Force
Toledo
December 20th
8:30
ESPN
Armed Forces
Memphis
at-large
December 19th
8:00
ESPN
Birmingham
New Mexico State
at-large
December 16th
10:30
ESPN
Las Vegas
at-large
at-large
December 16th
8:00
ABC
LA
at-large
at-large
December 16th
5:30
ESPN
New Mexico
at-large
at-large
December 16th
2:15
ESPN
New Orleans
Appalachian State
at-large
December 16th
11:00 AM
NBC
Quick Lane
Wisconsin
Miami-OH
It’s a bit confusing with the new Big Ten and SEC teams but we have to get used to it soon anyway. Might as well do it now.
The G-5 conference champions get the opportunities they deserve:
SMU (the AAC champ) goes to the Military Bowl to face Miami
Troy (Sun Belt champ) plays Kentucky in the Liberty Bowl, a step-up from the champ usually going to the New Orleans or Camellia Bowls
The Quick Lane Bowl gets MAC champ Miami-OH and they end up paired up with the Wisconsin Badgers.
Finally, with Liberty in the playoff, Boise State, the Mountain West champ, replaces them in the First Responder Bowl.
I think setting the qualification at 7 wins works well. There are 17 at-large teams remaining. This number includes Notre Dame. I don’t care about their current setup with the ACC bowl tie-ins. It’s dumb. They are an Independent. They can act like one. Same with Oregon State now. Interestingly, we have 21 at-large spots. So four more teams will get in. Four teams who had six wins during the season. Under my regime, the bowls can pick ANY six win team once the seven-win teams are all slotted. Makes things way more interesting and keeps many teams with their eyes glued to the television to see if they get in or not. So let’s start the random draw. I did this and it was random and this is how it turned out:
Duke’s Mayo – Notre Dame
Holiday – Oregon State
Pop Tarts – Coastal Carolina
Independence – West Virginia
Texas – Texas A&M
New Mexico – UTSA
Hawaii – Iowa State
Sun – Texas State
Las Vegas – Fresno State
Fenway – Duke
Alamo – Jacksonville State
LA – San Jose State
Armed Forces – Wyoming
Las Vegas – Northwestern
LA – Ohio
New Orleans – WKU
Holiday – Bowling Green
Man, the Guaranteed Rate Bowl got fucked here. Or did they? They get two selections from the six-win pool while the Birmingham and New Mexico Bowls get one each. Who will they choose?????
Birmingham – Auburn
Guaranteed Rate – Texas Tech
New Mexico – California
Guaranteed Rate – Virginia Tech
OK well at least the Guaranteed Rate Bowl gets two fanbases who will travel. So after the fun-time selection process, this is what the new bowl schedule will look like (other than the playoffs):
DATE
TIME
NETWORK
BOWL
TEAM #1
TEAM #2
January 1st
7:00
CBS
Gator
Ole Miss
Louisville
January 1st
3:30
ABC
Citrus
Oklahoma
Iowa
January 1st
Noon
ABC
ReliaQuest
LSU
USC
December 29th
8:30
FOX
Alamo
Oklahoma State
Jacksonville State
December 29th
5:00
ESPN
Music City
Tennessee
UCLA
December 29th
2:30
CBS
Sun
Kansas State
Texas State
December 29th
Noon
ESPN
Pop Tarts
NC State
Coastal Carolina
December 28th
8:45
ESPN
Texas
Utah
Texas A&M
December 28th
5:30
ESPN
Duke’s Mayo
Clemson
Notre Dame
December 28th
2:15
ESPN
Pinstripe
Maryland
North Carolina
December 28th
11:00 AM
ESPN
Fenway
Tulane
Duke
December 27th
8:00
FOX
Holiday
Oregon State
Bowling Green
December 27th
4:30
ESPN
First Responder
Kansas
Boise State
December 27th
1:00
ESPN
Military
Miami
SMU
December 26th
9:00
ESPN
Guaranteed Rate
Texas Tech
Virginia Tech
December 26th
5:30
ESPN
Liberty
Kentucky
Troy
December 26th
2:00
ESPN
Independence
James Madison
West Virginia
December 24th
10:30
ESPN
Hawaii
UNLV
Iowa State
December 22nd
8:30
ESPN
Idaho Potato
Air Force
Toledo
December 20th
8:30
ESPN
Armed Forces
Memphis
Wyoming
December 19th
8:00
ESPN
Birmingham
New Mexico State
Auburn
December 16th
10:30
ESPN
Las Vegas
Fresno State
Northwestern
December 16th
8:00
ABC
LA
San Jose State
Ohio
December 16th
5:30
ESPN
New Mexico
UTSA
California
December 16th
2:15
ESPN
New Orleans
Appalachian State
WKU
December 16th
11:00 AM
NBC
Quick Lane
Wisconsin
Miami-OH
A few notes here:
Auburn has to wonder why the college football Gods hate them. Another game with New Mexico State?
Taking Notre Dame out of the ACC group when it comes to tie-ins means they can now face an ACC team in a bowl game. ND-Clemson? Yes, please.
A few more P5 vs. G5 matches materialize because of the way the bowls are selected. James Madison gets to play West Virginia while RichRod’s Jacksonville State Gamecocks face off against Captain Mullet himself, Mike Gundy and his Oklahoma State squad.
OK look are all the matchups better here? No. That’s not really the point though. The point is to create interesting matchups that people might want to watch and to reward teams for their seasons. The hope here is that maybe a few more players will choose to play these games rather than opt out and get ready for the draft. I don’t blame them but it would be nice to see full rosters face off against each other. I think the bigger picutre has to be that the transfer portal shouldn’t open until after the bowl games are over but that’s a different conversation.
Alright, that was….well, fun may be a stretch but it was interesting to do as usual. I hope you enjoyed reading it and have a great weekend and a Merry Christmas!
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.
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!
Looks like the ACC finally got their shit together!
Virginia Tech will head to the Military Bowl to face off against Tulane.
Ok big surprise: Miami, who I had heard from multiple sources would be heading to the Sun Bowl, is actually going to play Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl.
This means Notre Dame will play Oregon State which will be one of the better Sun Bowl matchups in a long time.
North Carolina is WVU’s opponent in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. Mack Brown getting doused by a shit-ton of mayo? That would be hilarious.
Kentucky gets Clemson as their opponent in the Gator Bowl.
The Cardinals of Louisville will head west to San Diego to face USC.
And finally, NC State, the last team remaining, slots in as KSU’s opponent for the Pop Tarts Bowl.
UPDATE: I didn’t even realize that Duke and Georgia Tech switched bowl games. Duke now plays Troy in the Birmingham Bowl with GaTech heading to Tampa to play UCF in the Gasparilla Bowl. Why? Who the fuck knows. I guess the ACC took a nap earlier today and missed what happened so had to scramble to get things done while all the other conferences were mostly finished. Idiots.
That took longer than it should have (although I was out for over an hour so that’s partly my fault). I think they need to remove some of these tie-ins and make them complete at-larges. Or they can say it’s a Power Five at-large or a Group of Five at-large. Something. Anything. Because this isn’t working. But at least we now have a finalized schedule. Finally.
UNLV will face Kansas in what shapes up to be a very interesting Guaranteed Rate Bowl.
Wisconsin has their opponent for the ReliaQuest Bowl. They will play the Tigers of LSU (said in Greg Gumbel voice).
It is official: Boston College will play pretty much at home in the Fenway Bowl against SMU.
Texas Tech and California have been selected to play in the Independence Bowl, one of the very few bowls I have had set for over a week now.
Texas A&M, not surprisingly, will take on Oklahoma State in the Texas Bowl in a matchup of former Big XII teams.
UTSA and Marshall are going to Frisco (site of the FCS Championship) for the Frisco Bowl.
Georgia Tech will be heading down Birmingham to face off against the Troy Trojans in the Birmingham Bowl which never seems to have a long-term sponsor.
A tiny bit of a surprise as Auburn goes to the Music City Bowl to face Maryland.
A bunch of teams have slotted in without opponents which would all be from the ACC. Oregon State goes to the Sun, Kansas State to the Pop Tarts, West Virginia to the Duke’s Mayo and Kentucky to the Gator. I get there was chaos earlier but what the hell is happening at ACC head offices?
Alright, I will be back with one more post with the FINAL bowl schedule…if the ACC can get their act together.
If I had waited like two minutes I would have seen that Iowa State will be Memphis’ opponent in (and at) the Liberty Bowl.
Oklahoma State gets a bid to the Texas Bowl and will probably play Texas A&M.
The greatest season in Texas State history means their first bowl game ever. They will face fellow state of Texas school, Rice, in the First Responder Bowl.
Northwestern will be going to Vegas after a surprisingly good season. Their opponent? Utah, a team who somehow did quite well despite the rash of injuries they incurred.
Toledo, after losing the MAC Championship, is going to the Arizona Bowl. Their opponent will be Wyoming, who played in this bowl game the previous year. Also, this bowl game will now be on The CW!!!
Wisconsin has been selected to go to the ReliaQuest Bowl to play an SEC team.
Conference championship losers App State and, a bit shockingly, Miami-OH have been confirmed for the Cure Bowl.
South Alabama and Eastern Michigan will be opponents at the 68 Ventures Bowl which is essentially a home game for the Jaguars.
Bowl tie-in? What bowl tie-in? UCF will face off against Duke in the Gasparilla Bowl.
Cuse gets USF at the Boca Bowl.
Bowling Green will have a chance against a Big Ten team as they will take on Minnesota at Ford Field in the Quick Lane Bowl.
Georgia Southern and Ohio will kick off Bowl Season in the Myrtle Beach Bowl.
Still more bowl announcements to come as the ACC is scrambling to fill bowl slots.
No surprise that UCLA will play at home (kind of) against Boise State in the LA Bowl sponsored by…ugh….Gronk.
In another “Fuck Tie-Ins” bowl matchup, the Famous Toastery (nee Bahamas) Bowl will have WKU face ODU.
The Alamo Bowl picks Oklahoma and Arizona. Should be, arugably, the best non-CFP/non-NY6 bowl game this season (at least on paper).
Kind of surprised that Tennessee is going to the Citrus Bowl over LSU. They will face Iowa which seemed to be heading there all along.
Northern Illinois will head to the Camellia Bowl to face Arkansas State.
James Madison will play their first ever bowl game in Fort Worth as they go to the Armed Forces Bowl to play Air Force in a double fuck the tie-ins setup.
Tulane is slotted into the Military Bowl.
Not surprisingly, SMU heads to BAW-stun and will probably play BC in the Fenway Bowl (although BC hasn’t been officially announced yet).
The American Conference does not have a Liberty Bowl tie-in. Who cares because Memphis plays there normally so they will stay at home during bowl season.
Still more bowl announcements to come during the next hour.
I should have stuck with my guns when I had Liberty going to the desert to face Oregon. Gotta trust my gut more.
Two Big Ten-SEC matchups in the Peach and Cotton Bowls. Expect the majority of the teams in the expanded playoff to be Big Ten or SEC teams. I’d be shocked if, going forward, they have less than seven teams in any playoff.
Let’s see if Florida State plays pissed off or just doesn’t care. Although, I guess you could say the same for the Dawgs who dropped from #1 to #6, unprecedented in the CFP four-team playoff era.
Citrus Bowl
SEC vs. Big Ten
LSU vs. Iowa
ReliaQuest Bowl
SEC vs. Big Ten
Auburn vs. Northwestern
Arizona Bowl
MWC vs. MAC
Air Force vs. Bowling Green
Music City Bowl
SEC vs. Big Ten
Tennessee vs. Wisconsin
Liberty Bowl
SEC vs. Big XII
Minnesota vs. Kansas State
Sun Bowl
ACC vs. Pac-12
Miami vs. Oregon State
Gator Bowl
SEC vs. ACC
Kentucky vs. NC State
Alamo Bowl
Big XII vs. Pac-12
Oklahoma vs. Arizona
Pop Tarts Bowl
ACC vs. Big XII
Louisville vs. Oklahoma State
Pinstripe Bowl
Big Ten vs. ACC
Rutgers vs. Georgia Tech
Fenway Bowl
2 of ACC/AAC/C-USA
Boston College vs. SMU
Texas Bowl
SEC vs. Big XII
Texas A&M vs. Iowa State
Holiday Bowl
ACC vs. Pac-12
Clemson vs. Utah
Duke’s Mayo Bowl
SEC vs. ACC
Notre Dame vs. North Carolina
Military Bowl
ACC vs. AAC
Virginia Tech vs. Tulane
Guaranteed Rate Bowl
2 of Big Ten/Big XII/MWC
UNLV vs. West Virginia
First Responder Bowl
2 of ACC/Big XII/AAC/Sun Belt/C-USA
Syracuse vs. Georgia Southern
Quick Lane Bowl
Big Ten vs. MAC
Duke vs. Toledo
Hawaii Bowl
AAC vs. MWC
Coastal Carolina vs. San Jose State
Las Vegas Bowl
Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Maryland vs. USC
68 Ventures Bowl
2 of Sun Belt/C-USA/MAC
Troy vs. Ohio
Idaho Potato Bowl
2 of MWC/MAC/Sun Belt
Utah State vs. Georgia State
Armed Forces Bowl
Big XII vs. C-USA
Kansas vs. WKU
Birmingham Bowl
2 of SEC/ACC/AAC/C-USA
James Madison vs. Memphis
Camellia Bowl
2 of Sun Belt/C-USA/MAC
Old Dominion vs. Eastern Michigan
Gasparilla Bowl
2 of SEC/ACC/AAC/C-USA
South Alabama vs. USF
Boca Raton Bowl
2 of AAC/Sun Belt/C-USA/MAC
Marshall vs. UTSA
Frisco Bowl
2 of AAC/Sun Belt/C-USA/MAC
Texas State vs. Wyoming
Famous Toastery Bowl
MAC vs. C-USA
Arkansas State vs. UCF
Independence Bowl
Big XII vs. Pac-12
Texas Tech vs. California
LA Bowl
Pac-12 vs. MWC
UCLA vs. Boise State
New Mexico Bowl
2 of Group of Five
Fresno State vs. New Mexico State
Cure Bowl
2 of AAC/Sun Belt/C-USA/MAC
Rice vs. Northern Illinois
New Orleans Bowl
Sun Belt vs. C-USA
Louisiana vs. Jacksonville State
Myrtle Beach Bowl
2 of AAC/Sun Belt/C-USA/MAC
Appalachian State vs. Miami-OH
The Idaho Potato Bowl has gone ahead and announced that it will be USU-GSU playing in freezing Boise.
New Mexico State will play close to home as they take on Fresno State in arch-rival New Mexico’s stadium in Albuquerque.
Get ready for an avalanche of bowl announcements over the next 90 minutes.
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