Bowl Rankings: Very Good Bowls
The games were missing something to make them more relevant and bigger, but they had enough to be interesting. Maybe it was a nice finish, or maybe there was a great performance, but they were at least worth the watch.
24. Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl
Houston 23, Louisiana 16
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 38
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 35, 2020: NA, 2019: 34
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 11, 2020: NA, 2019: 20
Mediocre game, great finish. The strange part about this was its predictability if you know how 2022 Houston rolled. Underwhelm, but hang around … hang around … hang around … and then boom. When the team needed to show up, it got the drive it had to have – including a big throw on 1st and 30 – to get past the cold and a plucky Louisiana to put it away.
Let’s give it more love – the game was better than it probably should’ve been if the Cougars went full throttle from the start.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
23. Guaranteed Rate Bowl
Wisconsin 24, Oklahoma State 17
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 18
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 26, 2020: NA, 2019: 5
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 30, 2020: NA, 2019: 19
Considering the talent missing from both sides, this looked to be a forgettable late night bowl. It turned into a great game late.
It looked like Wisconsin was going to roll. Oklahoma State didn’t have any answers for the Badger ground game, there were too many desperation deep shots from the Cowboy attack, and then came the late rally.
Wisconsin managed to close, but helped by what happened last year in Oklahoma State’s phenomenal Fiesta Bowl comeback win over Notre Dame, this got very interesting very quickly in the fourth quarter.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
22. Frisco Bowl
Boise State 35, North Texas 32
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 33
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 37, 2020: NA, 2019: 32
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 22, 2020: NA, 2019: 8
This probably deserves more credit than it’s getting here. It was supposed to be a dud of a blowout – Boise State was a double-digit favorite – and it turned out to be entertaining.
It wasn’t quite as good as the close final score might indicate, but there was offense – Boise State was great on the ground and the North Texas offense kicked it in after halftime. It just never quite seemed like the Mean Green were going to get over the hump – they were always stuck on their side of the field – after pulling within three midway through the fourth.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
21. Union Home Gasparilla Bowl
Wake Forest 27, Missouri 17
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 12
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 23, 2020: NA, 2019: 30
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 20, 2020: NA, 2019: 30
It was more frustrating than anything else, but it was good. Wake Forest couldn’t quite pull away, and it had to rally and roll late to pull it off. Missouri clawed its way into the lead, but it couldn’t do anything over the last 20 minutes to get that one decent drive to tie it before the Demon Deacons put it away. The game will probably get lost in the glut, but it was – for lack of a better word – gripping.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
20. Quick Lane Bowl
New Mexico State 24, Bowling Green 19
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 28
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 30, 2020: 28, 2019: 39
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 28, 2020: NA, 2019: 9
Just when it seemed like this might be the biggest dog of a bowl over the first batch – Bowling Green couldn’t do anything after losing QB Matt McDonald early – it was Game On with a Ta’ron Keith kick-six for the Falcons, a wild fourth quarter, and chance after chance for the MAC side, and it wasn’t enough.
NMSU QB Diego Pavia couldn’t be stopped on third downs when he took off, the offense ground out the last six minutes, and Bowling Green couldn’t get one final stop. It wasn’t the best football, but it was entertaining.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
19. ReliaQuest Bowl
Mississippi State 19, Illinois 10
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 8
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 3, 2020: 8, 2019: 4
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 18, 2020: 11, 2019: 5
It was an exciting ending with Mississippi State getting a field goal in the final seconds to pull out an emotional win in the first game after the passing of head coach Mike Leach. The game itself was just okay, and the Bulldogs got a huge break with a questionable touchdown catch – and an even more questionable review – but it was intense.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
18. LendingTree Bowl
Southern Miss 38, Rice 24
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 39
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 34, 2020: 23, 2019: 37
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 34, 2020: 23, 2019: 28
Frank Gore Jr., Frank Gore Jr., Frank Gore Jr.
The game had three massive runs. Southern Miss got up 17-3 going into halftime, Rice roared back with 21 straight points for a 24-17 lead, and then Frank Gore Jr. got on a roll for the ages. He threw a touchdown pass, finished with 329 rushing yards, and closed with two touchdown runs closing things out with a 55-yard dash as part of a USM run of 21 unanswered points over the last 19 minutes. It was a fun watch, and when it came to Gore Jr., historic.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
– 100 Best Players of the Bowl Season
17. RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl
Toledo 21, Liberty 19
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 37
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 2, 2020: 5, 2019: 16
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 15, 2020: 20, 2019: 23
It was hardly anything beautiful considering the game was played in paradise, but the rain and mud fit the style of play.
Liberty got tough early, Toledo took over and pounded away, and even though there weren’t a lot of offensive fireworks and the game was a mucked up grind – mostly from Toledo – it still came down to a failed Liberty two-point conversion try in the final minutes. Even after that there was drama, but Toledo’s O line was able to take over in the end and seal the win.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
16. Duke’s Mayo Bowl
Maryland 16, NC State 12
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 16
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 20, 2020: 24, 2019: 22
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 24, 2020: 9, 2019: 4
The hard part was getting past what this could’ve been.
If Maryland had all of its receiving parts, and if NC State’s QB Devin Leary was still healthy – and, also, not off to Kentucky – this probably would’ve been one of the season’s great firefights. Instead it was a battle of field goals with just one touchdown.
It might not have been a wild thrill ride, but it was close throughout, both teams had several chances, and NC State had one final shot to win it but got picked off. No one had more than a four point lead the whole way.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
15. New Mexico Bowl
BYU 24, SMU 23
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 24
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 43, 2020: ,21 2019: 36
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 19, 2020: NA, 2019: 24
Considering most of the dud bowls on this list were because of a missing star player or five, give BYU credit for finding a way to get this done. Stylistically there wasn’t much pretty about this.
BYU QB Jaren Hall was out with an ankle injury, and fill-in Sol-Jay Maiava-Peters – who ran well – didn’t complete a pass in the second half. Even so, BYU’s defense held on … got a big pick six to take the lead … and held on. As ragged as it was for the first 50ish minutes, it brought a thrilling finish with SMU coming up short on a two-point conversion with eight seconds to play.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
14. Easyport Hawaii Bowl
Middle Tennessee 25, San Diego State 23
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 31
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 40, 2020: NA, 2019: 36
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: T40, 2020: NA, 2019: 37
It was different, but it stood out. There was a lot to like about a game that saw the winning side come up with -66 rushing yards and with the kickers taking center stage. Start with the optics of playing in 81-degree Hawaii when most of the continental United States was in a deep freeze.
No, it wasn’t stylistically great, but the defenses were able to come up with a slew of big plays – sacks and tackles for loss for SDSU and takeaways for Middle Tennessee – and the fourth quarter was loaded with drama.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
Bowl Rankings 2022-2023
Bowls of Sad | Instant Memory Dumped Bowls
Just Bowls | Very Good Bowls | Great Bowls
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