Independent Team Bowl Grades
Independent Bowl Grade: A-
Independents Straight Up: 3-2
Independents Against The Spread: 5-0
How could this have realistically have gone any better? Notre Dame exorcised the demons of last year’s bowl collapse with a strong win over South Carolina, BYU slipped by TCU, and New Mexico State became one of the nice stories of the 2022 season with its win over Bowling Green. UConn was at least competitive with Marshall, and it’s a minor miracle that Liberty just showed up against Toledo – and kept it close late – but overall the independents had some fun.
BYU Bowl Grade: A-
New Mexico Bowl
Prediction: SMU 35, BYU 30
Line: SMU -4, o/u: 64
Final Score: BYU 24, SMU 23
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
They got the job done. The offense was a problem without QB Jaren Hall, but BYU was able to gut-check its way to a lead and then hung on for dear life at the end. It shouldn’t have come down to a missed two-point conversion – the D couldn’t get off the field on a long, tough march – but after all the problems and issues, and with just 256 yards of total offense, it was a bowl victory. Take this one and run.
Liberty Bowl Grade: B
RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl
Prediction: Liberty 30, Toledo 26
Line: Toledo -3.5, o/u: 51
Final Score: Toledo 21, Liberty 19
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
It was a tough beat for the Liberty football. The last part of the campaign was a disaster, Hugh Freeze was busy picking out the curtains for his office at Auburn, and Toledo was coming into this as the MAC champion. It was supposed to be close. Liberty was solid defensively after getting up 7-0, but everything collapsed until the final ten minutes. Give the team credit for fighting and making it close – too close for some – but it was a disappointing end to a bizarre season.
New Mexico State Bowl Grade: A
Quick Lane Bowl
Prediction: Bowling Green 34, New Mexico State 30
Line: Bowling Green -3.5, o/u: 48.5
Final Score: New Mexico State 24, New Mexico State 19
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
The Aggies had to hang on late as Bowling Green roared back after being down 14-0 at halftime, but they came up with a gut-check performance to get by. They might not have had all the talent in the world, but the defense held the Falcons to under 300 yards of total offense, and banged up QB Diego Pavia was able to grind and grind some more to keep the ball for over 38 minutes. It was a bowl win for New Mexico State. These things matter.
Notre Dame Bowl Grade: B
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl
Prediction: Notre Dame 27, South Carolina 23
Line: Notre Dame -3.5, o/u: 50.5
Final Score: Notre Dame 45, South Carolina 38
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
That was a whole lot more entertaining than it should’ve been. Notre Dame – particularly QB Tyler Buchner – was able to keep both teams in it, but he came up big when needed. Give the Irish credit for battling through a 21-7 first quarter deficit and for the clutch final scoring drive to break the 38-38 tie, but this was hardly a smooth ride considering how much the offense marched up and down the field. Marcus Freeman will be more than happy to take the win no matter what.
UConn Bowl Grade: B-
Myrtle Beach Bowl
Prediction: Marshall 30, UConn 16
Line: Marshall -12.5, o/u: 41
Final Score: Marshall 28, UConn 14
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
UConn was in a bowl game. It’s all gravy after that. The team was overmatched and was supposed to get rolled, and it was for a half. But things started to click in the third quarter, the team showed some good fight and hard running, and … it wasn’t enough. It was a loss, but it was a competitive one.
2022-2023 Team, Conference Bowl Grades
ACC | American | Big Ten | Big 12 | C-USA | Ind
MAC | Mountain West | Pac-12 | SEC | Sun Belt
Top 100 Bowl Players | Ranking all the Bowl Games
Final Rankings: CFN 1-131 | CFN Season | AP | Coaches
Top 150 National Champions of All-Time