Bowl season comes at you fast–it starts in less than a week. There are 39 FBS bowl games this year. My advice, always, is to watch every single one of them. The more college football, the better, and I always really enjoy learning about the cool stories that some of these smaller programs have. Whether it’s a first bowl appearance in decades (or ever), a coaching turnaround, a crazy walk-on story, or something else, even the smallest of bowls always have compelling backstories.
I get it, though. Time is precious. Sometimes we can’t watch all the college football that we want. So I’m going to rank all 39 bowls games, from the “will be fun to watch” to the “can’t-miss.” And, of course, since this is a Buckeyes site, extra priority will be given to games that matter more to Ohio State. There’s no particular science to these rankings. Sometimes a game’s backstory will matter more; other times I’ll focus more on how competitive or high-quality the game is likely to be.
39. FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl: Liberty vs Georgia Southern
Saturday, December 21st, 2:30 PM
We get a first-time bowl team, as the Liberty Flames began their football program very recently. And the entire purpose of this bowl is to raise money to cure cancer, so that’s pretty cool too. Once we get to the game, though, Georgia Southern is pretty clearly the better team. The Eagles beat Appalachian State this year, and Liberty lost to Rutgers. It’s college football and anything can happen, but if you have to miss a bowl game, it should probably be this one. (Especially considering the fact that the Cure Bowl is on at the same time as two much better bowl games.)
38. Quick Lane Bowl: Pittsburgh vs Eastern Michigan
Thursday, December 26th, 8:00 PM
This is, by far, the least-compelling bowl game involving a Power 5 team. Pitt has talent and played Penn State close, but it’s never really a fun team to watch. Chris Creighton has done an insanely good job getting Eastern Michigan to a bowl game in three out of four years now, and it’s honestly shocking that a bigger school looking to rebuild hasn’t snatched him up yet. Still, there is a talent disparity, and neither team is that compelling to watch. If Pitt is flat once again, especially on offense, we could get a close game. If that doesn’t happen, though, there’s no real reason to stay on this game.
37. Camellia Bowl: FIU vs Arkansas State
Saturday, December 21st, 5:30 PM
There is nothing too compelling about this bowl game. The teams are probably evenly-matched, and FIU did pull off an incredible upset of the Miami Hurricanes a few weeks ago. Other than that, though, I’m not sure what about this game inspires fans to tune in.
36. Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl: Buffalo vs Charlotte
Friday, December 20th, 2:00 PM
Aside from having a hilarious backstory for its sponsor and being the opening game of bowl season this year, it’s a little hard to be too excited about the Bahamas Bowl. The location is awesome for the students and a ton of fun, but the matchup leaves much to be desired. This is also Charlotte’s first-ever bowl game (the program only began in 2013), which is always cool to see, but Buffalo is much more talented. Make sure not to miss Buffalo’s defensive lineman LeDarius Mack (yes, Khalil Mack’s brother). And maybe we get a good game if Charlotte is inspired by its first bowl appearance and plays perfect football.
35. Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl: Utah State vs Kent State
Friday, December 20th, 7:30 PM
First of all, extra points to this game for having a hilarious sponsor. (Yes, that absolutely matters in bowl rankings. If you’re watching a game that’s not so compelling, it’s much more fun if you get to laugh every time ESPN’s commentators say the sponsor’s name.) Also, extra points for having an Ohio team. After that, though, it’s tough to look forward to this game. Utah State’s Jordan Love is going to want to end his college career on a high note, and the Aggies are a much better team than the Golden Flashes. Kent State is looking for its first-ever bowl win, which is always cool to see. Hopefully it gets it, but I wouldn’t hold out hope on it being a great game.
34. Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl: Georgia State vs Wyoming
Tuesday, December 31st, 4:30 PM
Fun fact: both of these teams beat SEC teams this year. Georgia State took down Tennessee and Wyoming beat Missouri back in Week 1. Other than that, though, there’s not much compelling about this game. Wyoming is the better team, and the Cowboys have the defense to stifle Georgia State and make this game near-unwatchable. Watch the Liberty Bowl on New Years’ Eve, and maybe check in on the end of this one if it’s close.
33. Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl: Tulane vs Southern Miss
Firday, January 4th, 3:00 PM
Not enough people have watched Tulane this season, which is a shame. The Green Wave are a good team and the program is heading in the right direction. Southern Miss, though, is limping into a bowl on a two-game losing streak, and it wasn’t very competitive in either game. Let’s hope it doesn’t make it three in a row.
32. Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Ohio vs Nevada
Friday, January 3rd, 3:30 PM
I’m a huge fan of Frank Solich. He always has a competitive MAC team and often finds some really good players. It’s very unfortunate that not enough of the country pays more attention to the Bobcats. But, other than this game being played on the blue turf (and often in snow), there’s not too much else to look forward to in this one.
31. New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Michigan State vs Wake Forest
Friday, December 27th, 3:20 PM
If you had the misfortune of watching Michigan State’s bowl game last year, you might be wondering why this game is ranked so high. Well, Michigan State is in the Big Ten, and the Pinstripe Bowl always had the added element of being played in an outdoor stadium in New York City in the winter. Combine that with Michigan State’s great defense and dysfunctional offense, and who knows what can happen.