Hard to believe that it's now Bowl Season, isn't it? We only have forty more FBS football games to go in the season. Thirty-nine bowl games plus the National Championship Game. Now, if you are like me, will you try hard as humanly possible to watch all of these remaining games, but alas it is indeed impossible to watch every minute of every bowl game. So here's what will hopefully be a handy guide on which ones you absolutely have to watch. Here is how I rank the thirty-nine bowl games, ranking them by entertainment value and how good the games will be, rather than just importance.
39. Texas Bowl - Baylor vs. Vanderbilt
This just seems like a weird matchup. This could also be a tough game to watch. These are a pair of 6-6 teams who have certainly had interesting seasons. Matt Rhule has done a good job getting Baylor out of that self-created black hole while Vanderbilt had to beat their rival Tennessee in the final week of the season to make the postseason. Even with those paths, this could be a very poor game to watch.
38. Camellia Bowl - Georgia Southern vs. Eastern Michigan
If you're in a picking pool, pick the Eagles in this one, you'll grab a win for sure. This seems like a very bland game, and in my personal opinion, not a competitive one either. I get a feeling Georgia Southern could blow this open quickly, and if it is indeed Georgia Southern who wins it, that'll be a ten-win season! How about that turnaround?
37. Cheez-It Bowl - California vs. TCU
These two teams had roller coaster season and neither were very good in putting points on the board. TCU was ranked 96th in scoring offense while Cal was 108th. This could be a very ugly game, which much of the season was for these two teams.
36. Gasparilla Bowl - Marshall vs. South Florida
Well there's no doubt the best part about this game is still the name. The Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl, may it live forever in all it's glory. As far as the game itself, USF was 7-0 and ranked in the top-25 before losing each of their last five games by 21 to Houston, 26 to Tulane, 12 to Cincinnati, 10 to Temple and 28 to UCF. Meanwhile, Marshall was solid again, winning eight games while averaging nearly 28 points per game.
35. Arizona Bowl - Arkansas State vs. Nevada
The poor Arizona Bowl. Once again the time slot is nowhere near ideal. This game will start one hour after the first New Year's Six game (Florida/Michigan), and will be in the fourth quarter while the first Playoff game begins. The game itself will be okay but not great. Arkansas State won eight games, but more was expected from the Justice Hansen-led offense. They take on Nevada who won seven games including four of their last five.
34. Pinstripe Bowl - Wisconsin vs. Miami
These two teams were colossal disappointments this year. Both started the season ranked very highly and now the two teams who met up in last year's Orange Bowl meetup in the Pinstripe Bowl. Hold up, let me say that again. The two teams who met up in last year's Orange Bowl meetup in the Pinstripe Bowl. If that doesn't describe the disappointment of this season, I'm not sure what exactly does.
33. Quick Lane Bowl - Georgia Tech vs. Minnesota
I'm going to guess there won't be many points here. The Minnesota offense and the triple-option offense of Georgia Tech seems like they'll create a 17-14 type game. If anything else, it'll be a fast moving game.
32. Sun Bowl - Pittsburgh vs. Stanford
For some people, I hate to bring this up. This game will have slightly more points than Pittsburgh's last trip to the Sun Bowl (a 3-0 loss to Oregon State in 2008), but not many more. Pittsburgh is great at running the ball, but horrific at trying to throw it. Meanwhile, Stanford was been surprisingly bad at running the ball, but has a much better passing game than most thought they would have. Over/Under is 52.5, take the under.
31. Cure Bowl - Tulane vs. Louisiana
This is an instate battle that probably would've been better in the New Orleans Bowl, but of course those two met in that game in 2013. That was also Tulane's last bowl game. Tulane is looking for their first bowl win since 2002. Louisiana, meanwhile, made it to the Sun Belt Championship Game where they lost to Appalachian State.
30. Famous Idaho Potato Bowl - BYU vs. Western Michigan
BYU started 3-1 win wins over Arizona and Wisconsin. So how did they end up 6-6? Western Michigan finished 7-5 in a season where they scored 33.2 points per game and allowed 33.3 points per game.
29. Belk Bowl - Virginia vs. South Carolina
How pumped up will Virginia be for this game coming off that heartbreaking loss to rivals Virginia Tech? Same question for South Carolina after a season that seen seven wins, but it still felt like a disappointment.
28. Redbox Bowl - Michigan State vs. Oregon
This game probably would've been higher on this list if Justin Herbert decided to sit out, but instead, he's playing, which could lead to a blowout. Michigan State was dismal disappointment this year. They started the year with New Year's Six or even Playoff hopes, instead, they only won seven games and are probably ready to end this season.
27. Hawaii Bowl - Louisiana Tech vs. Hawaii
Well, at least this game is no longer on Christmas Eve. Hawaii scored and allowed a lot of points, while Louisiana Tech scored and allowed not many. Kind of an unpredictable game here.
26. Military Bowl - Virginia Tech vs. Cincinnati
Virginia Tech needed to win against both Virginia and Marshall to make a bowl game for the 26th year in a row. Now they're in the Military Bowl against Cincinnati who was a solid AAC team this year.
25. Holiday Bowl - Utah vs. Northwestern
Here are two teams that lost in their conference championship games. In that game, Utah scored just three points with a lot of backups. I would favor Northwestern by a good amount with Clayton Thorson at quarterback. So, someone please tell me what I'm missing. Utah is favored by a touchdown. How?
24. Citrus Bowl - Penn State vs. Kentucky
Kind of weird to rank a bowl game between two top-15 teams this low, but Kentucky ended the season with a lot of lows after competing for the SEC East. Penn State averaged 35 points per game and I can't see Kentucky keeping up Trace McSorley and the Penn State offense in this one.
23. Armed Forces Bowl - Army vs. Houston
Army's triple-option offense should reign supreme here. They averaged 303 rushing yards per game while Houston allowed 198 rushing yards per game. What makes this interesting is Houston's offense (46.4 points per game) taking on Army's defense (18.7 points allowed per game).
22. Frisco Bowl - San Diego State vs. Ohio
The Ohio Bobcats won four of their last five games while San Diego State lost four of their last five and was a major disappointment this year in the Mountain West. The most intriguing part of this matchup is the Ohio run game, ranked 8th in the country, against the 4th best rushing defense in San Diego State.
21. Music City Bowl - Auburn vs. Purdue
The most fun part about this game is watching the Auburn secondary attempting to stop, or at least slow down, Purdue fantastic freshman Rondale Moore. Auburn has been a massive disappointment, especially after they beat Washington in Week One. Purdue certainly had some high ups and low downs, but could end the season with seven games.
20. First Responder Bowl - Boise State vs. Boston College
Both teams ended the season poorly. Boston College lost their last three games after starting 7-2 while Boise State lost the Mountain West Championship Game at home to Fresno State. Who's going to be the team who wants to play more?
19. Outback Bowl - Mississippi State vs. Iowa
So, Iowa has been a team in the past to really lay eggs in bowl games against SEC teams. They'll take on Nick Fitzgerald and Mississippi State who was a very hard team to figure out this year. This could interesting, but I wouldn't bet on a lot of points. O/U is 44.5, I'll go under.
18. Independence Bowl - Temple vs. Duke
Here's a game that has a lot of potential to get wacky. Temple scored 35 points per game while Duke scored 28 a game, and neither defense was very good when they played strong oppositions. You can most certainly see this game being played in the 30s, maybe higher.
17. New Orleans Bowl - Appalachian State vs. Middle Tennessee
Pretty fascinating matchup here. Middle Tennessee scored nearly 30 points per game while Appalachian State only allowed 16 a game. But as always, App's offense doesn't get the attention it deserves. They've averaged 37 points a game which may just create a bit of a shootout. If it turns into a shootout, MTSU QB Brent Stockstill will be needed to make big plays against the Mountaineer defense.
16. Dollar General Bowl - Buffalo vs. Troy
Buffalo won ten games and was just short of making it eleven as they lost in the MAC Championship to Northern Illinois by one point. While Buffalo won ten, Troy won nine, and both teams did it with high scoring offenses with solid defenses too. Buffalo averaged 417 yards per game while Troy tallied up 385.
15. Gator Bowl - Texas A&M vs. NC State
Fun quarterback matchup here as Texas A&M's Kellen Mond takes on NC State's Ryan Finley in a game where NC State is very aware of their opponent Jimbo Fisher, who they had some success against when he was at Florida State.
14. Las Vegas Bowl - Fresno State vs. Arizona State
Fresno State had an amazing season as Jeff Tedford's terrific turnaround continued with an eleven win season and a Mountain West Championship. Fresno State QB Marcus McMaryion was amazing again, throwing for over 3,400 yards, 25 touchdowns and just three interceptions. Arizona State quarterback Manny Wilkins isn't bad either, and he anchored Arizona State's seven win season under first year head coach Herm Edwards. Good quarterback matchup and a good matchup overall.
13. New Mexico Bowl - North Texas vs. Utah State
The combined record of the Mean Green and the Aggies is 19-5. North Texas had a really good offense this year, averaging 36 points per game. Utah State, well their offense was kind of good too. They averaged 47 a game. O/U stands at 68 - the over looks tasty.
12. Bahamas Bowl - FIU vs. Toledo
Speaking of a game with two good offenses... here we have Florida International's offense that scored 35 points a game and Toledo's who scored 41 a game. The O/U here is 68.5 and the over here also looks tasty.
11. Peach Bowl - Michigan vs. Florida
Okay, full disclosure here. I will likely LOVE this game, but others will likely hate it. That's because of there will not be many points at all here. Michigan's defense was one of the best in the country, allowing just 17 points a game, while Florida's only surrendered 20 a game. This just sounds like a rough and tough, low scoring affair. Just for those that are curious, the O/U opens at 50.5.
10. Liberty Bowl - Missouri vs. Oklahoma State
Talk about a game that could easily see a bunch of points. Drew Lock normally feasts on these kind of defenses, while Oklahoma State scores points at will against pretty much everybody. On top of all of that, we've got an old conference rivalry being rekindled with these two former Big 12 foes.
9. Sugar Bowl - Georgia vs. Texas
Georgia was just that close from being back in the College Football Playoff. Now they on a Texas team who hopes to end the season with ten wins for the first time since 2009. I'll be interested to see what happens here with the Georgia offense versus the Texas defense and vice versa.
8. Boca Raton Bowl - UAB vs. Northern Illinois
This is a game between two conference champions. UAB from Conference USA and Northern Illinois from the MAC. Both teams have terrific run games, and Spencer Brown of UAB and Tre Harbison of Northern Illinois will both be used quite a bit.
7. Alamo Bowl - Washington State vs. Iowa State
As always, the Washington State offense put up big numbers behind gunslinger Gardner Minshew who threw for nearly 4,500 yards and had a touchdown to interception ratio of 36-9. Iowa State relies heavily on their run game with 1000-yard rusher David Montgomery. Expect bunches of points here.
6. Birmingham Bowl - Wake Forest vs. Memphis
Now this game right here could be the highest scoring game of them all. Memphis tailback Darrell Henderson only needs 91 yards to get to 2,000 on the season. The Tigers offense scored 44 points a game while Wake Forest's scored 33, and both defenses allowed over 30 a game. Oh yes, the points should be flowing.
5. Fiesta Bowl - UCF vs. LSU
If you would have given me this matchup before the UCF/Memphis game, I would've said LSU by 20-28 points. But we seen backup UCF quarterback DJ Mack impress big time in the passing and running game in the AAC Championship Game and that could definitely pose mighty problems for the defense of LSU. Let's see if UCF can once again finish off a perfect season with a New Year's Six Bowl win over an SEC team.
4. Rose Bowl - Ohio State vs. Washington
The swan song for Urban Meyer at Ohio State will be his first (and apparently his last) game at the Rose Bowl as Heisman finalist Dwayne Haskins takes on a very stiff Washington defense who kept Utah out of the endzone in the Pac 12 Championship Game.
3. Cotton Bowl - Notre Dame vs. Clemson
Two really, really good defenses are featured in the first College Football Playoff semifinal. It could very well be a fairly low scoring game, so who has the offense that can make the most plays? Well both has quarterbacks that make plays to very talented receivers.
2. Camping World Bowl - West Virginia vs. Syracuse
An old Big East rivalry gets rekindled between two teams that were terrific this year. Will Grier was amazing for West Virginia leading that high-flying offense to nearly a Big 12 Championship Game appearance. Syracuse had a fantastic season with head coach Dino Babers who has a shot for National Coach of the Year.
1. Orange Bowl - Alabama vs. Oklahoma
How many times have we said over the past handful of seasons "I really want to see Oklahoma's offense go up against Alabama's defense"? I know I've said it a lot. Now, we get to see it. We'll also, more than likely, see the top two Heisman finishers go up against each other for the first time since the Texas/USC Rose Bowl. Can Kyler Murray and Oklahoma score consistently against the Bama defense, and can their defense make enough stops against Tua Tagovailoa and the Tide's offense? Can't wait to find out.
