College Football Watching Guide: Bowl Games Part 1
The postseason, decoded.
Welcome to the aftermath, everyone.
The season’s over, but there’s still a few trophies to be given out. Bowl season is always pure, near-unadulterated fun, as teams compete for glory and prestige. It’s a chance to see fantastical matchups between the season’s best squads and players. My lovely wife and I will both be watching, as will our families, in this wonderful holiday season.
Before the most exalted, top-25 matchups kick off, though, there’s plenty of great football. But with forty-three (!!!) bowl games stretched across a busy time of year, what should you watch?
Let me help you out. Below are the best bowl games from the first two weeks of play. Next week, I’ll be back to break down everything from December 28 until the College Football Championship.
SATURDAY DECEMBER 16
Cure Bowl
Miami (Ohio) at Appalachian State
3:30pm/2:30pm (ABC)
Don’t be fooled by the records. The Redhawks are the underdogs here. They mostly rely on the run, fueled by dual-threat QB Aveon Smith. All year, they’ve won games on the strength of a stingy defense that will be tested here. Joey Aguilar fronts a balanced offensive attack for the Mountaineers. App State has trouble with the run. Watch out for that.
LA Bowl presented by Gronk
UCLA at Boise State
7:30pm/6:30pm (ABC)
You’re not seeing things. Rob Gronkowski hosts this celebrity-focused bowl, and de facto home team (though away team on paper) UCLA hopes to ride that advantage to a victory. Dante Moore needs to bounce his offense back from a bad season-ending loss to Cal. Thankfully, the second-best rushing defense in the nation belongs to the Bruins. They’ll need it against the Broncos, who run a ball-control-based attack that features tailback Ashton Jeanty.
FRIDAY DECEMBER 22
Gasparilla Bowl
Georgia Tech at UCF
6:30pm/5:30pm (ESPN)
Two intriguing six-win squads meet here in sunny Tampa. Haynes King commands a Yellow Jacket offense that still puts the run first despite its veteran captain. The biggest flaw Georgia Tech will have to contend with is its abysmal run defense, which will be tested by the Knights. John Rhys Plumlee will scramble when needed, and RJ Harvey knocked over opposing lines all year.
SATURDAY DECEMBER 23
Birmingham Bowl
Troy at Duke
12:00pm/11:00am (ABC)
The Trojans, now Sun Belt Champions, meet a Power 5 opponent and hope to show what they can do. Last game Kimani Vidal racked up five scores on the ground, and if Troy can repeat that performance, their defense can handle the other side of things. The Blue Devils started the season well but fell off a bit, and they lost their head coach recently. Grayson Loftis spreads things around. His favorite target through the air’s been Jordan Moore recently. But Jordan Waters anchors things on the ground, and the offense will need to function well to shore up some defensive foibles.
TUESDAY DECEMBER 26
Quick Lane Bowl
Bowling Green at Minnesota
2:00pm/1:00pm (ESPN)
The Falcons made it to a bowl. So did Minnesota, even though they only have five wins, and this matchup should be a slog. Neither offense here does anything very well. Both Bowling Green and their erstwhile opponents, the Golden Gophers, hold the ball and play defense. And the Falcons do that better than Minnesota on every front: running, passing, preventing scores. This game will likely be close and messy, but could produce some incredible moments, as defense-first games do.
Guaranteed Rate Bowl
Kansas at UNLV
9:00pm/8:00pm (ESPN)
If you were starved for points earlier today, this game should sate your hunger. The Jayhawks’ veteran gunslinger Jason Bean distributes the ball well enough, but Devin Neal roaring out of the backfield overwhelms opposing fronts. Kansas shows weakness on defense, but has a surprisingly robust secondary. That should help against the Rebels, but not overmuch, as Vincent Davis Jr. provides the main thrust of their offense on the run. UNLV’s defense isn’t much to speak of, so like I said, POINTS.
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 27
Duke’s Mayo Bowl
North Carolina at West Virginia
5:30pm/4:30pm (ESPN)
Mack Brown’s squad were a dark-horse favorite to win the ACC this year, but they’re stuck playing in a game where the winning coach gets a tub of mayonnaise dumped on them. Hooray. Thankfully, Drake Maye is still the excellent ball distributor he looked to be at the beginning of the year. The fault is on the Tar Heels’ defense, which doesn’t stop anything. The Mountaineers hold the ball and run the ball, plain and simple. Jahiem White is a bulldozer given the right opposing line to exploit. Expect a hard-fought, fun game.
Holiday Bowl
Louisville at USC
8:00pm/7:00pm (FOX)
Tempted to start singing “Holiday Bowl” to the tune of “Holiday Road” by Fleetwood Mac right now, but I’ll refrain. The Cardinals lost a sloppy ACC championship game to the Seminoles, and were relegated to this matchup against the Trojans. Jack Plummer commands a usually formidable, balanced attack. Jawhar Jordan runs for gobs of yards. USC is horrifically unprepared on defense, bad on every front. Their only hope is to overpower an intense Louisville defense with Caleb Williams, if he actually decides to play.
Texas Bowl
Texas A&M at Oklahoma State
9:00pm/8:00pm (ESPN)
The Aggies face the Big 12 runner-up in this under-the-radar excellent matchup. After a rocky season where multiple folks ended up under center, Jaylen Henderson now heads up the Texas A&M offense, and he’s got tons of weapons should he choose to use them. Especially since the Cowboys have absolutely no defense. At all. They’ve gotten where they are by outscoring other teams, with veteran Alan Bowman distributing the ball. They’d better hope that works one last time.