It’s the second year of the College Football Playoff, and the entrants are set. This year didn’t provide nearly as much drama regarding the participants as last year, although one could certainly quibble about the seeding if one wanted. Not counting the national championship game, there are forty – count ‘em, forty – bowls this year! Everyone’s interested in the semi-finals in Dallas and Miami, of course, but what other games should you watch? It might depend on your mood. Let me help you out!
If you want a team that’s excited to go bowling, watch: the Cure Bowl on December 19. Georgia State will be making its first ever appearance in a bowl game, as the Panthers take on San Jose State in Orlando.
If you want to see a rivalry renewed, watch: the Las Vegas Bowl on December 19. BYU and Utah have played the “Holy War” 89 times, but haven’t played in the regular season in the last two years, and have never played each other outside the state of Utah.
If you want to watch a team play a de facto home game, watch: the New Mexico Bowl on December 19 (Arizona vs. New Mexico in the Lobos’ own University Stadium in Albuquerque), or the Military Bowl on December 28 (Pitt vs. Navy in Annapolis at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium). Arizona State won’t be playing on its home field in the Cactus Bowl against West Virginia on January 2, but it’ll be all of eleven miles away at Chase Field in Phoenix.
If you want a good early game Group of Five matchup, watch: the Boca Raton Bowl on December 22. Toledo and Temple were both ranked for much of the season, and the Owls are 24th in the last CFP standings. Temple will be going for its 11th win, something it has never done in a season; Toledo will be attempting to win 10 games in a year for the first time since 2001.
If you want a wide variety in offensive styles, watch: the GoDaddy Bowl on December 23, or the Armed Forces Bowl on December 29. In the GoDaddy Bowl, the leading rushing offense in the nation (Georgia Southern) takes on the third-leading passing offense (Bowling Green). As for the Armed Forces Bowl, California is fifth in the nation in passing offense, at 368.8 yards per game; Air Force is third in rushing offense, at 321.8 yards per game.
If you want beautiful weather, watch: either game on December 24. The Bahamas Bowl (Middle Tennessee vs. Western Michigan) or the Hawai’I Bowl (San Diego State vs. Cincinnati)…how can you go wrong?
If you want something that doesn’t make sense on the surface, watch: the Pinstripe Bowl on December 26. Indiana and Duke, two basketball schools, play football in a baseball stadium. No word yet on whether a soccer match will follow.
If you want to watch the last game of an all-time coaching great, watch: the Independence Bowl on December 26. Frank Beamer and Virginia Tech faces Tulsa in his final game as head coach of the Hokies. With 278 career wins, he’s 15th all-time in overall wins across NCAA divisions, and if he wins this game, he’ll tie Mack Brown for 9th overall in FBS wins with 238.
If you want to watch teams from the same conference play each other, watch: the Arizona Bowl on December 29. Nevada and Colorado State are both members of the Mountain West. The teams did not play each other during the regular season.
If your favorite TV channel is the Big Ten Network, watch: most any game on January 1. Four of the five games feature teams from the Big Ten (Outback – Northwestern, Citrus – Michigan, Fiesta – Ohio State, and Rose – Iowa).
If you want to see the best blue-blood matchup, watch: the Fiesta Bowl on January 1. Notre Dame is second all-time in victories, with 892; Ohio State is fifth, with 874.
Congratulations to pachyderm, who wins week 14 with 17 points in a tiebreaker over JagAL! One point behind were bamaken, Jeff4Bama, and BrittaniaTex, with 16 points.
Stay tuned for the season wrap-up and the announcement of the awards!