Tag: best bowl games

Bowl Game Rankings. How Good Were All The Bowls From Worst To Best?

Bowl game rankings – how good were they? Ranked from the worst to the best, here’s our review of all the bowl games.

How good were all of the games in the 2022-2023 bowl season? Ranking all the bowl games from the worst to the best.

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You spent the time to watch them – or at least have them on in the background at work, holiday parties, and everywhere in between.

How good were the bowl games? Which ones were worth your while, which ones were instantly forgettable, and which bowls made the finish to the college football season great?

There’s one big one to go – and hopefully the College Football Playoff National Championship is the best of the bunch. Until that’s done …

Bowl Game Rankings 2022-2023

Bowl Rankings 2022-2023
Bowls of Sad | Instant Memory Dumped Bowls
Just Bowls | Very Good Bowls | Great Bowls
Classic Bowls No. 8 | No. 7 | No. 6 | No. 5 | No. 4
No. 3 | No. 2 | No. 1 | Bowl Scoreboard

Bowl Rankings: Bowls of Sad

These bowls made the world a lesser place and were an affront to all humanity.

43. TransPerfect Music City Bowl

Iowa 21, Kentucky 0
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 29
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 12, 2020: NA, 2019: 26
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 3, 2020: NA, 2019: 22

This was supposed to be awful with every key offensive player opting out, and wow did it overdeliver on that.

No, it doesn’t quite beat out the 2018 Cheez-It Bowl – TCU over Cal 10-7 in overtime – for the honor of being the ugliest sporting event or athletic contest in the history of competition, but it made a big push.

Iowa went 0-for-11 on third downs and 0-for-2 on fourth downs, and it won because of one decent drive and two pick-sixes. Kentucky amassed 185 yards of total offense and was 2-of-18 on third downs.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

42. Cheez-It Citrus Bowl

LSU 63, Purdue 7
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 6
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 15, 2020: 19, 2019: 12
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 12, 2020: 14, 2019: 16

The final score was 63-7 only because LSU didn’t want it to be 84-7. Even so, it was the biggest blowout in the history of the bowls … until Georgia took that title against TCU.

Both LSU and Purdue had massive issues with opt-outs and transfers, but Purdue had it far worse. It showed from the start, LSU came out roaring and sharp, and this was brutal in a hurry. The only saving grace was the production from the Tigers – they played great – but Purdue couldn’t do anything until late in the third quarter when the game was all but done.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

41. SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl

Oregon State 30, Florida 3
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 20
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 31, 2020: NA, 2019: 15
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 17, 2020: NA, 2019: 36 

There were players out there wearing Florida Gator uniforms, but that was about it for this looking like a big-time SEC school against a solid Pac-12 program having a strong year.

How bad was it? The Gators kicked a field goal in the final minute down 30-0 just to find something positive – the program is on a record-setting non-shutout streak. But give credit to an Oregon State team that came to play on both sides of the ball to make this a snoozer from the start.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

40. Wasabi Fenway Bowl

Louisville 24, Cincinnati 7 
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 34
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 41, 2020: NA, 2019: NA
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 36, 2020: NA, 2019: NA

This was every bit as meh as expected. Both teams put up a fight with great effort, but Cincinnati just didn’t have enough to do anything offensively, the two teams combined for six turnovers, and there was little drama.

Scott Satterfield left one team and was waiting in the wings to coach the other, major parts weren’t present, there were about 19 fans in the stands outside of friends and family, and the novelty of the game being played in a baseball stadium wore off quickly.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

39. Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl

Fresno State 29, Washington State 6
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 16
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 18, 2020: NA, 2019: NA
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 21, 2020: NA, 2019: NA

You know it’s an awful bowl when the guy it’s named after goes into the booth and can’t stop yapping about how boring it was. It didn’t help that this was going on about the same time as Indianapolis was in epic meltdown mode against the Vikings.

There was some redeeming value in Fresno State’s combination of QB Jake Haener and RB Jordan Mims going off against a Washington State defense missing a slew of key players, but there wasn’t much offense on the other side to make this competitive.
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
Classic Bowls No. 8 | No. 7 | No. 6 | No. 5 | No. 4
No. 3 | No. 2 | No. 1 | Bowl Scoreboard

NEXT: Bowl Rankings: Instant Memory Dumped Bowls

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 10, Page 11, Page 12, Page 13

College Football Bowl Games: Ranking All 41. How Good Is Your Bowl?

Ranking all 41 bowl games. How good is each bowl game going to be and how do they all rank from 1 to 41?

How good are all the bowl games? How good are the matchups? We rank all 41 from the best-looking to the worst. How good is your bowl game?

College Football Bowl Games: Ranking Every Bowl, Pre-Bowls

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– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

We’re not getting an expanded College Football Playoff until the 2024 season – that’s going to supercharge this time of year – and now college football is in this strange sort of holding pattern.

The transfer portal is gutting some teams. Players are opting out of the bigger bowls to get ready for the NFL. Ohio State WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba isn’t able to go in the CFP semifinal against Georgia. Coaches are switching teams, injuries are an issue, and …

Reality has come to breakfast. The business of college football no longer jibes with the exhibition aspect to the end of the season.

Whatever.

We’re getting 41 bowl games – assuming some teams don’t opt out if they just don’t have the personnel – and that means at least half will be awful-to-meh, a  bunch will be fun, and there will be a few that pop up here and there that restore your faith in humanity.

Yes, you may quibble with the interest you might have in the various bowls – OF COURSE you’re watching Michigan vs TCU no matter what. This is all based on what the best games should potentially be.

And with that, here’s our ranking of how good these bowl games should be. The hope is that most of the ones on the bottom rise up and rock, all while knowing that a slew of the top-ranked bowls will fizzle badly.

Here’s how the bowls are categorized as we ask the question. How good is your bowl? (We’ll revisit at the end and rerank based on how good they actually were.)

– Deep Cuts (32-41) | It’s Football. You’ll Watch (25-32)
– Bowls. Just Bowls (17-24) | Restaurant Quality (9-16)
– Watch or Die (1-8) | Initial Thoughts, Picks on all 41

Bowl Game Rankings: Deep Cuts

Here’s the plan. It’s a bowl game so you have to at least turn it on. If it’s awful, get out and save yourself for later because they keep throwing the bowls at you. However, check back once in a while to make sure you’re not missing anything.

41. Camellia Bowl

Buffalo vs Georgia Southern
Tuesday, December 27, 2022
12:00, ESPN
Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, AL
Last Year: Georgia State 51, Ball State 20
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 24, 2020: 10, 2019: 29
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 27, 2020: 7, 2019: 17

It’s all about Buffalo. Georgia Southern has a big-time offense that’s going to push for 40 points. The Bulls have to prove they can keep up, and the first guess is no, they won’t be able to. That doesn’t mean this can’t be entertaining for a while, but it might mostly be a showcase for the Eagles and former UB QB Kyle Vantrease.

40. HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl

UAB vs Miami University
Friday, December 16, 2022
11:30 am, ESPN
Line: UAB -11.5, o/u: 43.5
Thomas Robinson Stadium, Nassau, Bahamas
Last Year: Middle Tennessee 31, Toledo 24
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 10, 2020: NA, 2019: 28
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 42, 2020: NA, 2019: 24

The Bahamas Bowl almost never goes according to plan. It’s right out of the gate, teams know in advance that they’re going to make travel plans, and in a crazy way it’s been in a pattern of great-awful-great-awful. Last year’s was great. It’s a toss-up, though, with the coaching change at UAB offsetting the talent level a bit.

39. LendingTree Bowl

Rice vs Southern Miss
Saturday, December 17, 2022
5:45, ESPN
Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, AL
Last Year: Liberty 56, Eastern Michigan 20
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 34, 2020: 23, 2019: 37
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 34, 2020: 23, 2019: 28

Okay, so Rice is here because it went to class – it was on top of the APR rankings so it was able to go bowling at 5-7. It’s going to be fired up to have an extra game, Southern Miss hasn’t been all that great over the last part of the season, and it should all combine for a hard-fought, tight bowl that should be more entertaining than it’ll get credit for.

38. Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl

Houston vs Louisiana  
Friday, December 23, 2022
3:00, ESPN
Independence Bowl, Shreveport, LA
Last Year: UAB 31, BYU 28
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 35, 2020: NA, 2019: 34
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 11, 2020: NA, 2019: 20

Houston will always play up or down to its competition, but it’ll bring the offense when it has to. There’s a problem, though – it might not have to crank up the attack against a Louisiana offense that hasn’t done much of anything against anyone good. This is a true focus bowl – it’s not going to be pretty if the Cougars care. However, it’s going to be a Ragin’ Cajun-friendly crowd.

37. RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl

Toledo vs Liberty
Tuesday, December 20, 2022
7:30, ESPN
FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, FL
Last Year: WKU 59, Appalachian State 38
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 2, 2020: 5, 2019: 16
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 15, 2020: 20, 2019: 23

Toledo might have won the MAC Championship, but it’s been AWFUL in bowl games over the last four years. Liberty was AWFUL over the late part of the season before Hugh Freeze finally took the Auburn gig. The talent is there on both sides to make this fun, but the Boca Raton has been just okay lately.

36. Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

Eastern Michigan vs San Jose State
Tuesday, December 20, 2022
3:30 ESPN
Albertsons Stadium, Boise, ID
Last Year: Wyoming 52, Kent State 38
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 13, 2020: 13, 2019: 31
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 14, 2020: 17, 2019: 31

It’s been a few years since we’ve had a good Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, but Eastern Michigan keeps every game close. It comes in on a bit of roll, and the chilly weather won’t be a problem. San Jose State is entertaining – QB Chevan Cordeiro is a baller who’s worth the watch.

35. Cricket Celebration Bowl

North Carolina Central vs Jackson State
Saturday, December 17, 2022
12:00, ABC
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
Last Year: South Carolina State 31, Jackson State 10
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: , 2020: , 2019:
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: , 2020: , 2019: 

The man is still there. Deion Sanders has made Colorado the coolest school going, but he’ll still be around to finish the job at Jackson State. North Carolina Central can play and isn’t going to be a pushover, but after last year’s blowout Celebration Bowl loss, Coach Prime’s team should put on a show.

34. Wasabi Fenway Bowl

Louisville vs Cincinnati
Saturday, December 17, 2022
11:00 am, ESPN
Fenway Park, Boston, MA
Last Year: Canceled
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 41, 2020: NA, 2019: NA
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 36, 2020: NA, 2019: NA

Neither team has its head coach with Scott Satterfield leaving from Louisville to Cincinnati, both programs are in a bit of a holding pattern, and with both teams looking to show off who’s still around for next year. Even so, this should be an entertaining dead-even game with the Cardinal defense a fun watch if it’s taking the ball away.

33. Frisco Bowl

Boise State vs North Texas
Saturday, December 17, 2022
9:15, ESPN
Toyota Stadium, Frisco, TX
Last Year: San Diego State 38, UTSA 24
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 37, 2020: NA, 2019: 32
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 22, 2020: NA, 2019: 8

Uh oh. North Texas fired head coach Seth Littrell even after getting to the Conference USA Championship. Boise State might be too good for this bowl, and if it brings the focus, it’s combination of running game and defense could make this ugly fast. Let’s put it this way – North Texas already played one Mountain West team and lost to UNLV 58-27.

– Deep Cuts (32-41) | It’s Football. You’ll Watch (25-32)
– Bowls. Just Bowls (17-24) | Restaurant Quality (9-16)
– Watch or Die (1-8) | Initial Thoughts, Picks on all 41

NEXT: Bowl Game Rankings: Bowls. Like You Have Anything Better To Do.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

Ranking the 10 most exciting 2022 bowl matchups

Bowl season has no shortage of must-see matchups.

The 2022 college football regular season stale has come to an end as we officially gear up for postseason play.

43 bowl games are set to take place from the Bahamas Bowl on Dec. 16 all the way to the CFP National Championship on Jan. 9.

The College Football Playoff semifinals will take place at the Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl this year, with the title game being held in Los Angeles.

All eyes will be on No. 1 Georgia as they take on No. 4 Ohio State and No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 3 TCU. Georgia looks to repeat as national champs while the other playoff squads try to dethrone the Bulldawgs.

Outside of the College Football Playoff semifinals features a great schedule of New Year’s Six games at the Rose Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl.

This bowl season has no shortage of must-see matchups. Here is a list of the 10 most exciting 2022 bowl games.

Bowl Rankings: How Good Were All The Bowl Games? 2021-2022

From the classics to the canceled, all the bowls from the 2021-2022 season ranked.

How good were the games in the 2021-2022 bowl season? Ranking all the bowl games from the worst to the best.

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The bowl season was fantastic – to a point.

Through all the opt-outs, and cancelations, and COVID concerns were a slew of shocking, wild, and all-time great games.

And there were more than a few stunning duds.

We still have one more game that’s kind of a big deal, but the College Football Playoff National Championship isn’t like a normal bowl game. Even so, that will get added at the end.

How good were all of the bowl games? Ranked worst to first …

Bowl Rankings: Cancel Culture

It wasn’t as bad as 2020-2021 when bowls were being canceled left and right, but these five couldn’t go and they didn’t reschedule.

T39. Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl

Central Michigan vs Boise State – Canceled
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 17
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2020: 26, 2019: 35

It’s not like you would’ve watched with two other bowls along with the College Football Playoff semifinal between Alabama and Cincinnati overlapping with this, but considering what Central Michigan did against Washington State in the Sun Bowl, this would’ve been fun.

T39. EasyPost Hawaii Bowl

Hawaii vs Memphis – Canceled
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 40
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2020: NA, 2019: 37

COVID, transfers, angst against the coach – it all came out as Hawaii wasn’t able to go. Memphis was left without a dance partner, but at least it got to be disappointed in paradise.

T39. Military Bowl presented by Peraton

East Carolina vs Boston College – Canceled 
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 21
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2020: NA, 2019: 33

The last three Boston College bowl games have been canceled. It’s the Spinal Tap drummer of bowl schools.

T39. San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl

NC State vs UCLA – Canceled
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 6
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2020: NA, 2019: 26

It was supposed to be one of the more interesting matchups of the bowl season – a showcase game for a great NC State team, and a breakthrough moment for UCLA – but the Bruins got hit with a COVID outbreak and couldn’t go, pulling out just hours before the game.

T39. Wasabi Fenway Bowl

Virginia vs SMU – Canceled
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 10
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2020: NA, 2019: NA

This one hurt. It was almost certain to have been among the wildest and craziest bowls of the bunch. There was no way this wasn’t going to be a funfest of offensive firepower and absolutely no defense whatsoever.

Bowl Rankings 2021-2022
Cancel Culture | “Too Many Bowls”
Just Bowls | “Bowl Games Matter” | Great Bowls
Classic Bowls No. 5 | No. 4 | No. 3 | No. 2 | No. 1

NEXT Bowl Rankings: “Too Many Bowls”

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 10

College Football Bowl Games: Ranking All 43. How Good Is Your Bowl?

How good are all the bowl games? How good are the matchups? We rank all 43 from the best-looking to the worst. How good is your bowl game?

How good are all the bowl games? How good are the matchups? We rank all 43 from the best-looking to the worst. How good is your bowl game?

College Football Bowl Games: Ranking Every Bowl, Pre-Bowls

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

There won’t be a ton of bowl games cancelled.

There won’t be a slew of loser teams getting in just to fill spots, and there aren’t teams tapping out after getting an invite.

After 2020, this should be a lot more fun. Sort of.

Now we have a new problem. Coaching changes.

So many teams have new coaches, lost assistants, transfers, opt-outs, and all because they can leave and it doesn’t really matter. College football is the one sport that plays its exhibition season at the end of the year …

And we LOVE it.

43 games – plus the national championship – mean 43 games to watch, 43 reasons to be distracted from your family, 43 investment opportunities, and 43 more moments of college football to enjoy.

Are there too many bowl games? Of course not. No one’s making you watch them – that’s what we’re here for.

Below are the bowl games you have to go out of your way to watch, and the ones you can skip if you have something better to do – like caroling, or needlepoint.

Here’s how the bowl are categorized as we ask the question. How good is your bowl? (We’ll revisit at the end and rerank based on how good they actually were.)

– Deep Cuts (Bowls 32-43)
– Nothing Better To Do (25-32)
– Bowls. Just Bowls (17-24)
– Restaurant Quality Bowls (9-16)
– Watch or Die (1-8)

Bowl Game Rankings: Deep Cuts

Here’s how you do these bowls. Start watching, and if you’re digging the groove, stay with it. If not, get out fast and save yourself for the bazillion other bowl games being thrown at you.

43. PUBG New Mexico Bowl

Saturday, December 18
ESPN, 2:15 pm
Dreamstyle Stadium, Albuquerque, NM
UTEP vs Fresno State 

Great for UTEP to be a part of the bowl world again, and great that it’s been able to have a strong season after so many years of pain and suffering. However, even without head coach Kalen DeBoer – who’s off to Washington – Fresno State should rip this game apart from the start if it comes in focused. And why? QB Jake Haener – who was originally going to leave for Washington – is back.

Line: Fresno State -11.5, o/u: 51
Last Year: Hawaii 28, Houston 14
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2020: 21, 2019: 36
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2020: 21, 2019: 37

42. Bahamas Bowl

Friday, December 17
ESPN, 12:00 pm
Thomas Robinson Stadium, Nassau, Bahamas
Middle Tennessee vs Toledo 

This actually might be a little bit of fun – it’s the fist game of the bowl season – but can Middle Tennessee hold up against a Toledo offense that should roll? Let’s put it this way – if the Blue Raiders do what they do and take the ball, this will be interesting. If they don’t, this could be rough.

Line: Toledo -10.5, o/u: 52.5
Last Year: Canceled
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2020: NA, 2019: 28
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2020: NA, 2019: 24

41. Cricket Celebration Bowl

Saturday, December 18
ABC, 12:00 pm
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
South Carolina State vs Jackson State 

Everything about the game is always fun, but this year, Coach Prime’s team should roll at will. Jackson State brings a great defense and might not crank up the offense with a whole lot of chances, but if this goes the way the respective seasons went for both sides, you’ll be okay to move along after the halftime show.

Last Year: Canceled
Line: Jackson State -10.5, o/u: 42.5

40. EasyPost Hawaii Bowl

Friday, December 24
ESPN, 8:00 pm
Clarence TC Ching Complex, Honolulu, HI
Memphis vs Hawaii

It’s the only college game on Christmas Eve, and it might be something to have on in the background when other stuff is happening, but don’t expect a wild shootout. Hawaii will be a bit more grinding than we all might like, but on the plus side, neither defense can come up with a third down stop.

Line: Memphis -7, o/u: 59.5
Last Year: Canceled
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2020: NA, 2019: 36
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2020: NA, 2019: 37

39. Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl

Friday, December 31
CBS, 12:30 pm
Sun Bowl Stadium, El Paso, TX
Miami vs Washington State 

Give Miami credit for fighting through adversity all year, and now it has to do it again. There’s a shot that this follows form and is close like seemingly every other Hurricane game was over the second half of the year, but Washington State has its parts in place – including a settled coaching situation – and Miami is waiting for the Mario Cristobal era to get going.

Line: Miami -2.5, o/u: 59
Last Year: Canceled
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2020: NA, 2019: 19
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2020: NA, 2019: 21

38. Valero Alamo Bowl

Wednesday, December 29
ESPN, 9:15 pm
Alamodome, San Antonio, TX
Oklahoma vs Oregon 

This would’ve been one of the games of the year in college football if it happened in the regular season, and there but for a few twists and turns, thing might have been a College Football Playoff matchup.

But who’s left? Both head coaches are gone, key players are missing, and this matchup is Exhibit A of why bowl games sometimes feel like exhibitions. It might be an entertaining game, though, depending on who’s out there.

Okay, okay, so Bob Stoops coaching Oklahoma is going to be cool – but do you really watch a game because of a head coach? There’s a great chance this gets ugly one way or another.

Line: Oklahoma -4.5, o/u: 61.5
Last Year: Texas 55, Colorado 23
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2020: 17, 2019: 13
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2020: 18, 2019: 38

37. Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl

Tuesday, December 21
ESPN, 7:30 pm
Toyota Stadium, Frisco, TX
UTSA vs San Diego State 

This is going to be a good game, but it just won’t be all that interesting for the average fan because – at least until its last two games against Boise State and Utah State, with a slew of players out with covid in the latter – every San Diego State game feels like the final score is 2-1. If you like great defense and amazing punting, this is the game for you.

Line: UTSA -2.5, o/u: 49.5
Last Year: Canceled
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2020: NA, 2019: 32
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2020: NA, 2019: 8

36. Frisco Bowl Classic

Thursday, December 23
ESPN, 3:30 pm
Toyota Stadium, Frisco, TX
Miami University vs North Texas

This is a last-second made-up bowl so two more bowl eligible teams could get an extra game – and for ESPN to shoehorn in another bowl game with nothing happening on a Thursday December afternoon. Cool – more college football – but the matchup will be a tough sell. There’s a chance for enough offense to make this one-off bowl interesting, though, as a lead-in to the Florida-UCF Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla.

Line: Miami University -3, o/u: 54

Bowl Schedule | Bowl Confidence Picks
Expert Picks: CFP & NY6 | Dec 17-27 | Dec 28-Jan 4

35. Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl

Saturday, December 18
ABC, 3:30 pm
Independence Stadium, Shreveport, LA
UAB vs BYU 

Here’s the problem. BYU deserves to be in a New Year’s Six bowl. It knows it, and it’s going to play like it.

Here’s the other problem – the Independence Bowls have been next-level awful over the last several years. The last four have been blowouts, and seven of the last nine were decided by double-digits. Hopefully UAB surprises, but …

Line: BYU -7, o/u: 54.5
Last Year: Canceled
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2020: NA, 2019: 34
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2020: NA, 2019: 20

34. LendingTree Bowl

Saturday, December 18
ESPN, 5:45 pm
Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, AL
Liberty vs Eastern Michigan 

This should be higher if Liberty is a bit more entertaining. A total dud over the final few weeks of the season, it struggled to score even with several good veterans on offense. On the plus side, Eastern Michigan has an offense and usually plays tight games, but if Liberty finds its groove early, uh oh.

Line: Liberty -9, o/u: 58.5
Last Year: Georgia State 39, WKU 21
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2020: 23, 2019: 37
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2020: 23, 2019: 28

33. Mercari Texas Bowl

Tuesday, January 4
ESPN, Time 9:00 pm
NRG Stadium, Houston, TX
Kansas State vs LSU 

LSU is waiting for the Brian Kelly era to get going, a slew of NFL bound players either tapped out at some point during the season, transferred away, or will likely be opting out, and … the team will play really, really hard for interim head man Brad Davis.

There’s a chance this could be an interesting game, but if Kansas State is playing at its highest level and LSU just doesn’t have the parts – or vice versa – this could go south quickly. No matter what, though, it’s the next-to-last college football game of the year, so you’ll watch.

Line: Kansas State -1, o/u: 47
Last Year: Canceled
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2020: NA, 2019: 14
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2020: NA, 2019: 14

How Good Is Your Bowl?   
– Nothing Better To Do (25-32)
– Bowls. Just Bowls (17-24)
– Restaurant Quality Bowls (9-16)
– Watch or Die (1-8)

NEXT: Bowl Game Rankings: Bowls. Like You Have Anything Better To Do.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

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.

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

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This was a miserable bowl season, but there were different levels of pain and suffering.

Out of the 25 bowl games played – with one big one still to go – 16 of them were double-digit blowouts, most of the close games were ugly-bad, and there wasn’t any classic that hasn’t already been memory dumped by anyone outside of the winning fan base.

But it was a bowl season – the fact that we got as many games as we did is incredible.

There’s still one little game to go with this turning into a ranking of the 26 best bowl games after Monday night.

Here’s how good the bowl games were this season.

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

Bowl Rankings: Total Duds

These weren’t just the worst games of this bowl season. These made people question the world and their reason for living in it. None of them were 2018 Cheez-It Bowl-level awful, but …

25. Offerpad Arizona Bowl

Ball State 34, San Jose State 13
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 11
– 10 Thoughts on the Arizona Bowl

This one wasn’t fair.

Ball State will more than happily take the first bowl win in the program’s history, but San Jose State was walloped by COVID issues announced just before the game, the Mountain West champ was a shadow of its regular season self, and it got ugly immediately.

Ball State got up 27-0 in the first quarter starting with a pick-six, and were up 34-0 in the third before the Spartans finally got on the board with a kickoff return for a touchdown.

24. R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

Georgia Southern 38, Louisiana Tech 3
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 22
– 10 Things To Know from the New Orleans Bowl

Would Shai Werts play or not?

The Georgia Southern quarterback played through a shoulder problem, he was awesome, and this game was a disaster. The Eagles took a 21-0 first half lead, only allowed one measly Louisiana Tech field goal, and totally dominated.

Louisiana Tech was -4 in turnover margin, never had the ball, and generated 232 yards of total offense whether it needed them or not.

Werts? 71 rushing yards and three touchdowns, and 7-of-12 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown for the option attack.

23. The Rose Bowl Game Presented by Capital One

Alabama 31, Notre Dame 14
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 9
– 5 Thoughts Reaction, Analysis: Rose Bowl

Start with the Rose Bowl being played in Arlington instead of Pasadena, and it goes downhill from there.

No one thought Notre Dame had a prayer, the game was supposed to be a light scrimmage, and that’s exactly what happened. It was 7-0 Crimson Tide five minutes in, and that was about it.

There was the slightest fraction of a moment in the second quarter when it looked like this might be interesting after a 15-play Irish touchdown drive to make it 14-7, but that only seemed to make Alabama mad.

DeVonta Smith caught a 34-yard touchdown pass just over two minutes later, and that was that.

22. LendingTree Bowl

Georgia State 39, WKU 21
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 23
– 10 Things To Know from the LendingTree Bowl

WKU was up 7-0 on a strong first quarter drive, the defense was doing okay, and …

Ugh.

Georgia State rolled for 27 straight points on three second quarter touchdown passes from Cornelious Brown, the defense forced three takeaways, and the team was in total control throughout. Even after WKU came up with a third quarter touchdown, it was all Panther O from there with scoring drive after scoring drive to go up 39-14 until the final moments.

21. GoodYear Cotton Bowl Classic

Oklahoma 55, Florida 20
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 3
– 10 Thoughts on the Cotton Bowl

The ONLY reason why this isn’t even lower is because Oklahoma was so much fun to watch.

It was over the moment most of Florida’s receiving corps opted out, there were more key players out, and Oklahoma put it away with a 17-0 lead – ended on a Tre Norwood pick six of Kyle Trask – in the first seven minutes.

Emory Jones and the Gators made it interesting for a little bit in the second quarter to pull within 17-13, but the Sooners ended the fun four plays later with a quick touchdown drive as part of a 38-point run to turn this into an embarrassment.

Bowl Rankings
Bowls: No More, No Less
Decent Bowls | Good Bowls | Best Bowls

NEXT: Bowl Rankings: Bowl Games. No More, No Less

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College Football Bowl Games: Ranking All 28. How Good Is Your Bowl?

Ranking all 28 college football bowl games for the 2020-2021 season from the best-looking to the worst. How good is your bowl game?

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Ranking all 28 college football bowl games for the 2020-2021 season from the best-looking to the worst. How good is your bowl game?

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

– Future College Football Playoff Sites & Dates

Ranking Every Bowl Game: Pre-Bowls

Ohhhhhhhh, are there some doozies this year.

Teams that jumped the gun and took their bowl invites early, a ton of teams with losing records, too many good programs opting out, and all while hoping to just get each of these crazy things in during a raging pandemic.

This year, the “there are too many bowls” crowd needs to stay mum. Several of them aren’t able to go, the Rose Bowl isn’t even the Rose Bowl, and the whole thing gets shot out of a cannon a day after all the pairings were announced.

Oh, you’ll watch. You have nowhere to go and nothing else to do. Oh yes, you will watch.

Let’s go.

Here’s how these things are categorized …

– Deep cuts
– Sure, whatever
– Bowls. Yes. Bowls
– Bowls that won’t suck
– Watch or die

Bowl Game Rankings: Deep Cuts

29. SERVPRO First Responder Bowl

Saturday, December 26
ESPN, 3:30 pm
Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, TX
Louisiana vs UTSA

This was one of the most exciting bowl games of last season, but this time around it has the potential to be a problem. If UTSA’s offense gets going it might stay close, but the Ragin’ Cajuns might come out and show that the rankings all season long had it wrong. This is a one-loss team that beat the Fiesta Bowl-bound Iowa State Cyclones, and it’s – no offense, or anything, SERVPRO First Responder Bowl – here.

Line: Louisiana -13.5, o/u: 59
Last Season: WKU 23, Western Michigan 20
Last year pre-bowl season ranking: 25
Last year final bowl season ranking: 2

28. Montgomery Bowl

Wednesday, December 23
ESPN or ESPN2, 7:00 pm
Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, AL
Florida Atlantic vs Memphis

We’re setting the bar way low for you two. The problem is that Florida Atlantic is all about the defense. It’s coming off a shootout loss to a miserable Southern Miss team, but usually the D rules the day. The concern is that Memphis takes over right away and FAU is never quite in it. Go you Owls and make this ranking look silly.

Line: Memphis -9.5, o/u: 50
Last Season: No Bowl
Last year pre-bowl season ranking: No Bowl
Last year final bowl season ranking: No Bowl

27. Myrtle Beach Bowl

Monday, December 21
ESPN, 3:30 pm
Brooks Stadium, Conway, SC
Appalachian State vs North Texas 

Technically, this should probably be rated a little bit higher. It’s a Monday afternoon game, North Texas puts up a bazillion points, gives up a bazillion and 5, and this should be a wild shootout. However, it should also be an Appalachian State blowout.

Line: Appalachian State -21, o/u: 64.5
Last Season: No Game
Last year pre-bowl season ranking: No Bowl
Last year final bowl season ranking: No Bowl

26. Duke’s Mayo Bowl

Wednesday, December 30
ESPN, 12:00 pm
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
Wake Forest vs Wisconsin

The problem is that Wisconsin still doesn’t really have all of its parts healthy, it still has a struggling offense, and it still has a defense that has the ability to turn the lights out on this Demon Deacon O. It might be a close game, but don’t confuse a tight score with an interesting football game. However, last year’s Belk wasn’t expected to be much, and it was a classic.

Line: Wisconsin -6.5, o/u: 55.5
Last Season: Kentucky 37, Virginia Tech 30
Last year pre-bowl season ranking: 22
Last year final bowl season ranking: 4

25. Union Home Mortgage Gasparillia Bowl

Saturday, December 26
ABC, 12:00 pm
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL
UAB vs South Carolina

This is so crazy it just might work. An awful two-win SEC team going against the Conference USA Champion? It sounds like the makings of a sitcom, and it could turn out to be an interesting matchup if the Gamecocks are into it. If this is a USC blowout, though, this will set the “yeah, Group of Five can play with anyone” crowd back several steps.

Line: UAB -5, o/u: 43.5
Last Season: UCF 48, Marshall 25
Last year pre-bowl season ranking: 30
Last year final bowl season ranking: 30

24. LendingTree Bowl

Saturday, December 26
ESPN, 3:30 pm
Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, AL
WKU vs. Georgia State 

Don’t be shocked if this turns into one of the surprise bowl games. WKU plays hard, Georgia State has an interesting offense, and this should be among the most unpredictable bowl games. If the WKU offense isn’t working, though, this could be a long day.

Line: Georgia State -4.5, o/u: 53.5
Last Season: Louisiana 27, Miami University 17
Last year pre-bowl season ranking: 37
Last year final bowl season ranking: 28

23. R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

Wednesday, December 23
ESPN, 3:30 pm
Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA
Louisiana Tech vs Georgia Southern

At the very least, there should be a decent energy in the building in some way. Louisiana Tech hasn’t been all that great, and Georgia Southern runs its quirky option, but there’s a chance this game bogs down fast. Call this a We Hope To Be Wrong ranking and that it’s at least close late, even if it’s not scintillating.

Line: Georgia Southern -6, o/u: 50
Last Season: Appalachian State 31, UAB 17
Last year pre-bowl season ranking: 33
Last year final bowl season ranking: 27

22. New Mexico Bowl

Thursday, December 24
ESPN, 3:30 pm
Toyota Stadium, Frisco, TX
Hawaii vs. Houston

San Diego State might have opted out, but it would’ve been a bit more interesting if the bowl had signed on the Aztecs from the Mountain West rather than Hawaii. However, don’t be shocked if this is far closer and far more interesting than the line. Hawaii will battle and Houston still has to prove its good.

Line: Houston -13, o/u: 60.5
Last Season: San Diego State 48, Central Michigan 11
Last year pre-bowl season ranking: 36
Last year final bowl season ranking: 37

– Sure, whatever
– Bowls. Yes. Bowls
– Bowls that won’t suck
– Watch or die

NEXT: Bowl Game Rankings: Sure. Whatever.

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