Was looking over the bowl line-up last night for a while. I have to admit this is my favorite time of the year (usually that is).
This is the time you actually get a small beather when recruiting slows, coaches leave the office and you can enjoy some college football. Although it would be much nicer if KU was in a warm place and I could use that as an excuse to be there.
But I have to be honest I was bummed out to study the match-ups. And then to talk to coaches at other schools and hear how most programs don't even want to go to a bowl. I know two schools who voted it down and their administration strongly encouraged them to play. So, they are playing but they don't want to and it has been a bad experience just staying around to practice because the players don't want to be there. And then that rubs off on the coaches.
For me, the list isn't nearly as long as in the past of good games. It is weird to see how many sub .500 teams made it. Then you realize if those teams had non-con games their win totals would probably increase by 3-4 games.
My son said the same thing. He said "a lot of these bowl games suck." I told him make the most of it and be glad we get to see some college football over the holidays. I will still watch because it's what I have done for 35 years of my life.
Here are the games I am most interested to see and will pay the most attention to:
OU vs Florida
UCF- BYU
Liberty-Coastal
Miami- Oklahoma State
Missouri- Iowa
Cincy- Georgia
Bama- Notre Dame
Clemson-Ohio State
Oregon- Iowa State
Auburn- Northwestern
(All times Eastern)
Mon. Dec. 21
Myrtle Beach Bowl (2:30 p.m., ESPN)
Appalachian State (8-3) vs. North Texas (4-5)
Tue. Dec. 22
Potato Bowl (3:30 p.m., ESPN)
Tulane (6-5) vs. Nevada (6-2)
Boca Raton Bowl (7 p.m., ESPN)
UCF (6-3) vs. No. 16 BYU (10-1)
Wed. Dec. 23
New Orleans Bowl (3 p.m., ESPN)
Louisiana Tech (5-4) vs. Georgia Southern (7-5)
Montgomery Bowl (7 p.m., ESPN)
Memphis (7-3) vs. Florida Atlantic (5-3)
Thu. Dec. 24
New Mexico Bowl (3:30 p.m., ESPN)
Hawaii (4-4) vs. Houston (3-4)
Fri. Dec. 25
Camellia Bowl (2:30 p.m., ESPN)
Marshall (7-2) vs. Buffalo (5-1)
Sat. Dec. 26
Cure Bowl (Noon, ESPN)
Liberty (9-1) vs. No. 12 Coastal Carolina (11-0)
Gasparilla Bowl (Noon, ABC)
UAB (6-3) vs. South Carolina (2-8)
First Responder Bowl (3:30 p.m. ABC)
Louisiana (9-1) vs. UTSA (7-4)
LendingTree Bowl (3:30 p.m., ESPN)
Western Kentucky (5-6) vs. Georgia State (5-4)
Tue. Dec. 29
Cheez-It Bowl (5:30 p.m., ESPN)
No. 18 Miami (8-2) vs. No. 21 Oklahoma State (7-3)
Alamo Bowl (9 p.m., ESPN)
No. 20 Texas (6-3) vs. Colorado (4-1)
Wed. Dec. 30
Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Noon, ESPN)
Wake Forest (4-4) vs. Wisconsin (3-3)
Music City Bowl (4 p.m., ESPN)
Missouri (5-5) vs. No. 15 Iowa (6-2)
Cotton Bowl (8 p.m., ESPN)
No. 6 Oklahoma (8-2) vs. No. 7 Florida (8-3)
Thu. Dec. 31
Armed Forces Bowl (Noon, ESPN)
Mississippi State (3-7) vs. No. 24 Tulsa (6-2)
Arizona Bowl (2 p.m., CBS)
Ball State (6-1) vs. No. 22 San Jose State (7-0)
Liberty Bowl (4 p.m., ESPN)
West Virginia (5-4) vs. Tennessee (3-7)
Texas Bowl (8 p.m., ESPN)
Arkansas (3-7) vs. TCU (6-4)
Fri. Jan. 1
Peach Bowl (Noon, ESPN)
No. 8 Cincinnati (9-0) vs. No. 9 Georgia (7-2)
Citrus Bowl (1 p.m., ABC)
Auburn (6-4) vs. No. 14 Northwestern (6-2)
Rose Bowl (4 p.m., ESPN)
No. 1 Alabama (11-0) vs. No. 4 Notre Dame (10-1)
Sugar Bowl (8 p.m., ESPN)
No. 2 Clemson (10-1) vs. No. 3 Ohio State (6-0)
Sat. Jan. 2
Gator Bowl (Noon, ESPN)
No. 23 NC State (8-3) vs. Kentucky (4-6)
Outback Bowl (Noon, ABC)
No. 11 Indiana (6-1) vs. Ole Miss (4-5)
Fiesta Bowl (4 p.m., ESPN)
No. 25 Oregon (4-2) vs. No. 10 Iowa State (8-3)
Orange Bowl (8 p.m., ESPN)
No. 5 Texas A&M (8-1) vs. No. 13 North Carolina (8-3)
Mon. Jan. 11
National championship game (8 p.m., ESPN)
Canceled bowl games
This is the time you actually get a small beather when recruiting slows, coaches leave the office and you can enjoy some college football. Although it would be much nicer if KU was in a warm place and I could use that as an excuse to be there.
But I have to be honest I was bummed out to study the match-ups. And then to talk to coaches at other schools and hear how most programs don't even want to go to a bowl. I know two schools who voted it down and their administration strongly encouraged them to play. So, they are playing but they don't want to and it has been a bad experience just staying around to practice because the players don't want to be there. And then that rubs off on the coaches.
For me, the list isn't nearly as long as in the past of good games. It is weird to see how many sub .500 teams made it. Then you realize if those teams had non-con games their win totals would probably increase by 3-4 games.
My son said the same thing. He said "a lot of these bowl games suck." I told him make the most of it and be glad we get to see some college football over the holidays. I will still watch because it's what I have done for 35 years of my life.
Here are the games I am most interested to see and will pay the most attention to:
OU vs Florida
UCF- BYU
Liberty-Coastal
Miami- Oklahoma State
Missouri- Iowa
Cincy- Georgia
Bama- Notre Dame
Clemson-Ohio State
Oregon- Iowa State
Auburn- Northwestern
(All times Eastern)
Mon. Dec. 21
Myrtle Beach Bowl (2:30 p.m., ESPN)
Appalachian State (8-3) vs. North Texas (4-5)
Tue. Dec. 22
Potato Bowl (3:30 p.m., ESPN)
Tulane (6-5) vs. Nevada (6-2)
Boca Raton Bowl (7 p.m., ESPN)
UCF (6-3) vs. No. 16 BYU (10-1)
Wed. Dec. 23
New Orleans Bowl (3 p.m., ESPN)
Louisiana Tech (5-4) vs. Georgia Southern (7-5)
Montgomery Bowl (7 p.m., ESPN)
Memphis (7-3) vs. Florida Atlantic (5-3)
Thu. Dec. 24
New Mexico Bowl (3:30 p.m., ESPN)
Hawaii (4-4) vs. Houston (3-4)
Fri. Dec. 25
Camellia Bowl (2:30 p.m., ESPN)
Marshall (7-2) vs. Buffalo (5-1)
Sat. Dec. 26
Cure Bowl (Noon, ESPN)
Liberty (9-1) vs. No. 12 Coastal Carolina (11-0)
Gasparilla Bowl (Noon, ABC)
UAB (6-3) vs. South Carolina (2-8)
First Responder Bowl (3:30 p.m. ABC)
Louisiana (9-1) vs. UTSA (7-4)
LendingTree Bowl (3:30 p.m., ESPN)
Western Kentucky (5-6) vs. Georgia State (5-4)
Tue. Dec. 29
Cheez-It Bowl (5:30 p.m., ESPN)
No. 18 Miami (8-2) vs. No. 21 Oklahoma State (7-3)
Alamo Bowl (9 p.m., ESPN)
No. 20 Texas (6-3) vs. Colorado (4-1)
Wed. Dec. 30
Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Noon, ESPN)
Wake Forest (4-4) vs. Wisconsin (3-3)
Music City Bowl (4 p.m., ESPN)
Missouri (5-5) vs. No. 15 Iowa (6-2)
Cotton Bowl (8 p.m., ESPN)
No. 6 Oklahoma (8-2) vs. No. 7 Florida (8-3)
Thu. Dec. 31
Armed Forces Bowl (Noon, ESPN)
Mississippi State (3-7) vs. No. 24 Tulsa (6-2)
Arizona Bowl (2 p.m., CBS)
Ball State (6-1) vs. No. 22 San Jose State (7-0)
Liberty Bowl (4 p.m., ESPN)
West Virginia (5-4) vs. Tennessee (3-7)
Texas Bowl (8 p.m., ESPN)
Arkansas (3-7) vs. TCU (6-4)
Fri. Jan. 1
Peach Bowl (Noon, ESPN)
No. 8 Cincinnati (9-0) vs. No. 9 Georgia (7-2)
Citrus Bowl (1 p.m., ABC)
Auburn (6-4) vs. No. 14 Northwestern (6-2)
Rose Bowl (4 p.m., ESPN)
No. 1 Alabama (11-0) vs. No. 4 Notre Dame (10-1)
Sugar Bowl (8 p.m., ESPN)
No. 2 Clemson (10-1) vs. No. 3 Ohio State (6-0)
Sat. Jan. 2
Gator Bowl (Noon, ESPN)
No. 23 NC State (8-3) vs. Kentucky (4-6)
Outback Bowl (Noon, ABC)
No. 11 Indiana (6-1) vs. Ole Miss (4-5)
Fiesta Bowl (4 p.m., ESPN)
No. 25 Oregon (4-2) vs. No. 10 Iowa State (8-3)
Orange Bowl (8 p.m., ESPN)
No. 5 Texas A&M (8-1) vs. No. 13 North Carolina (8-3)
Mon. Jan. 11
National championship game (8 p.m., ESPN)
Canceled bowl games
- Bahamas Bowl
- Birmingham Bowl
- Fenway Bowl
- Frisco Bowl
- Guaranteed Rate Bowl
- Hawaii Bowl
- Holiday Bowl
- Independence Bowl
- Las Vegas Bowl
- Los Angeles Bowl
- Military Bowl
- Pinstripe Bowl
- Quick Lane Bowl
- Redbox Bowl
- Sun Bowl
