Bowl Rankings: How Good Were All 25 Bowl Games?

How good were the games in the 2020-2021 bowl season? Ranking all the bowl games from the worst to the best.

Bowl Rankings: Best Bowls of the Season

Bowl Rankings
Total Duds | Bowls: No More, No Less
Decent Bowls | Good BowlsBest Bowls

If you saw these bowl games, you’re living better, you’re loving better, you are better. These are why you watch bowl games.

4. Cheez-It Bowl

Oklahoma State 37, Miami 34
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 6
10 Things To Know from the Cheez-It Bowl

Lots of offense, a gutty comeback, and lots of big moments – it was all enough to overcome a slew of problems.

Oklahoma State got up to a 21-0 first quarter lead, and it looked like this would be yet another ugly 2020 bowl game.

Miami started to come back, star QB D’Eriq King suffered a knee injury, and it looked like this would be yet another ugly 2020 bowl game.

But Miami fought and clawed its way to within two late in the third, kept answering Cowboy scores, and was still alive with a touchdown with just over five minutes to play.

Oklahoma State got the win, but it was a struggle.


3. Capital One Orange Bowl

Texas A&M 41, North Carolina 27
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 4
5 Thoughts Reaction, Analysis: Orange Bowl

Ignore the final score – unless you’re an investor, in which case the 21 unanswered Texas A&M points and Orange Bowl record 24 points in the fourth quarter mattered. This was a much better, much more interesting game than the numbers.

Sam Howell and the North Carolina offense were missing their top running backs and best receiver, but it was a 27-20 Tar Heel lead with just over 10 minutes to play.

Both teams traded big shots, it was a spirited effort on both sides, and then after all of the body shots from the Texas A&M ground game, Devon Archane spring a 76-yard touchdown run to finally break the tie and turn the game around with under four minutes left.


2. Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl

Georgia 24, Cincinnati 21
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 7
5 Thoughts Reaction, Analysis: Peach Bowl

It would’ve been a little nicer if there weren’t the clock management issues at the end for both sides – especially Cincinnati – to take over the talking points, but it was a strong bowl game no matter what.

There’s no argument that Georgia was trying – there wasn’t the SEC malaise that the conference often gets accused of in non-playoff games. There’s no argument that Cincinnati was good – even if the loss didn’t help the cause of the Group of Five programs.

There’s no argument that this was a great finish, with Georgia coming back with 14 fourth quarter points and a walk-off 53-yard bomb of a field goal from Jack Podlesny for the win.


1. Cure Bowl

Liberty 37, Coastal Carolina 34 OT
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 1
10 Things To Know from the Cure Bowl

It was supposed to be the best game of the bowl season, and it turned out to be even better than hoped for.

It had a little of everything. There was a big comeback from Coastal Carolina. There was overtime. There was a big play on a blocked kick to win it for Liberty. There was a phenomenal performance by Flame QB Malik Willis. And …

There was an all-timer of a bowl controversy with Liberty trying not to get a touchdown from the one-yard line with the score tied in the final moments – wanting to run the clock and win on a field goal – and Coastal Carolina trying to get them to score, and a fumble that screwed it all up to force the OT.

There were turnovers, there was lots of offense, and there was a great game from these two terrific teams.

Bowl Rankings
Total Duds | Bowls: No More, No Less
Decent Bowls | Good Bowls

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