Tag: Sun Bowl

Notre Dame bowl projections following Stanford stunner

You can only have one: Duke’s Mayo or Tony the Tiger?

Monday we looked over what one of the computers had to say about Notre Dame as we examined how their loss against lowly Stanford impacted how ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) graded them.  In a not-surprising move, significantly worse is the best way to describe what FPI found.

What may be surprising however is where Notre Dame is now projected by the major prognosticators to end up this bowl season.  Remember, at 1-2 a few weeks back the USA TODAY Sports bowl projections had Notre Dame staying in South Bend for the winter.

After what one could argue was just as bad of a loss as Marshall, all of the outlets we track still have the Irish bowling.  Here are the latest places they’re sending them:

Central Michigan to face Washington State as Sun Bowl is salvaged

The Sun Bowl will pit Central Michigan and Washington State, now

The Sun and Arizona Bowls were impacted by COVID. That gave one of the games an opportunity to create a new matchup on short notice.

Central Michigan saw Boise State bow out of the Arizona Bowl due to the coronavirus. Washington State was in the same situation when Miami had to exit the Sun Bowl due to COVID-19.

So, officials for the game in El Paso put their heads together and were able to get the Chippewas to make the trek to the Sun Bowl, where they will face the Cougars on New Year’s Eve day.

Per Sunbowl.org:

The Barstool Arizona Bowl is, unfortunately, the fourth bowl game to be affected by COVID-19 in 2021.

CMU arrived in Tucson on Sunday and is ready to play. Being a four-hour drive from El Paso, the Chippewas are set up logistically to make the trip and compete on Friday.

The co-MAC West champion Chippewas will take on the Washington State Cougars after driving from the Arizona desert into the Borderland. This would still make it the second time in as many years that the Central Michigan Chippewas (8-4, 6-2 Mid-American Conference) would make a trip out west in postseason play. The last trip CMU made west of the Mississippi River was when it was in the 2019 New Mexico Bowl versus San Diego State.

Tony the Tiger is the sponsor of the Sun Bowl and he thinks the resolution is Grrrrrrreat!

Miami the latest to withdraw from bowl game

Another bowl very much in jeopardy…

The news with college football in regards to COVID in the last few days has been rough with teams having to withdraw from bowl games and games being cancelled in all.

The Military Appreciation Bowl and Fenway Bowls were both cancelled earlier on Sunday and we can now add another bowl potentially to that list.

Related: A look back at Notre Dame’s Sun Bowl win over Miami

Miami (FL), who was supposed to play Washington State in the Sun Bowl, is unable to field a team due to COVID protocols.  Washington State arrived in El Paso for the game on Sunday.  The game is scheduled to be played on the afternoon of New Year’s Eve.

According to Brett McMurphy, it is unknown if the Sun Bowl will be able to find a replacement for the Hurricanes.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed that things slow down in regards to the cancellations.

Related:

Top 10 Notre Dame plays of 2021 regular season

USA TODAY bowl projections call for two ACC playoff teams

Notre Dame and Clemson both make the College Football Playoff? USA TODAY’s latest bowl projections say yes. That and every other ACC pick.

The USA TODAY has released their updated bowl projections after college football’s Week 11 and the good news for ACC fans is that two members of their conference are projected to make the College Football Playoff.

The bad news is that neither of those two ACC teams are projected to win a game as they have neither in the national championship game.

USA TODAY projects the following in regards to the College Football Playoff as of November 17:

Rose Bowl:  2. Ohio State vs. 3. Clemson
Sugar Bowl:  1. Alabama vs. 4. Notre Dame

The projections call for both Alabama and Ohio State to win those games which would certainly set up an intriguing national championship game.

As for the rest of the ACC, here’s what the USA TODAY has shaking out:

Jan. 2 – Orange Bowl: Miami (FL) vs. Florida
Jan. 2 – Gator Bowl:  North Carolina St. vs. Kentucky
Dec. 31 – Sun Bowl: Boston College vs. Washington
Dec. 30 – Duke’s Mayo Bowl: Wake Forest vs. Michigan
Dec. 29 – Cheez-It Bowl: North Carolina vs. Texas
Dec. 29 – Pinstripe Bowl: Virginia vs. Purdue
Dec. 28 – Military Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Navy
Dec. 26 – Gasparilla Bowl: Louisville vs. Central Florida

Some compelling games here and quick takeaways:

  • Seemingly nobody is giving Notre Dame a chance in the ACC Championship Game against Clemson. I know there was no Trevor Lawrence but even with him that game was going down to the final few possessions.  The Irish are understandably underdogs in that potential rematch but its getting treated like there is simply no chance they can do it a second time against a Clemson team that is great, but certainly has flaws.
  • Miami and Florida brings me flashbacks of the Sugar Bowl a couple decades back when the teams brawled on Bourbon Street their first night in town for the game.
  • The Cheez-It Bowl would lose it’s collective Cheez-It filled mind if it were to get Mack Brown and North Carolina to take on a Texas team that has only disappointed since his exit.
  • If Michigan qualifies for a bowl this year you can bet your bottom dollar I hope it’s the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.  And you can parlay that bottom into me hoping they lose it.

In this strange season Army has actually already accepted an invitation to play in the Dec. 26 Independence Bowl and the projection has them taking on Colorado.

Bowl games are set to get underway the same day most conferences will be playing their championship games.  What an odd twist on an incredibly odd year.

Legend of the Sun Bowl: Johnny Majors

Legend of the Sun Bowl: Johnny Majors

EL PASO — Throughout its proud history, the University of Tennessee football program has won six national championships and appeared in 54 postseason bowl games.

Many players, coaches and one broadcaster, Lindsey Nelson, have been inducted into bowl game Halls of Fame.

The first segment in Vols Wire’s bowl series chronicled the accomplishments of Nelson, Andy Kozar and Hank Lauricella, who are in the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame.

This installment focuses on the Sun Bowl and Tennessee great Johnny Majors.

In 1984, Majors led the Vols to the Sun Bowl to play Maryland.

The Terrapins edged Tennessee, 28-27.

Majors, a College Football Hall of Famer as a player at UT and a national championship head coach at Pittsburgh in 1976, coached three times in the Sun Bowl with the Vols, Iowa State and with the Panthers.

In 1971, Majors completed his lone winning season with the Cyclones with a 33-15 loss to LSU.

With Pittsburgh, his Panthers toppled Kansas, 33-19, in 1971.

At Tennessee, Majors and the Vols dropped a heartbreaker to the Terps.

Majors, the 1973 Walter Camp Coach of the Year and AFCA Coach of the Year in 1976, is also in the Sugar Bowl Hall of Fame and the Peach Bowl Hall of Fame.

He was a named a Legend of the Sun Bowl in 1995.

WATCH: Ohio’s Frank Solich gets french fry bath after Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

Frank Solich was bathed in french fries after Ohio won the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

Bowl season is giving new meanings to baths coaches get after their school is victorious. First, Herman Edwards was showered with Frosted Flakes after Arizona State won the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl. And, now, we have 75-year-old Frank Solich being doused with french fries, of course, following Ohio’s win over Nevada Friday in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

Have to think there are plenty of companies that will see this as an opportunity. The Olive Garden Pasta Bowl for starters sounds like a great and awful idea all at once. The Campbell’s Souper Bowl? A Starbucks Bowl or a Carvel Bowl could get sticky.

WATCH: Arizona State’s Herman Edwards gets Frosted Flakes bath after Sun Bowl win

Arizona State audibled from Gatorade to Frosted Flakes for coach Herman Edwards after its Sun Bowl triumph.

The Sun Bowl called an audible on the Gatorade bath. That’s what happens when your game is sponsored by Tony the Tiger and Frosted Flakes

Arizona State coach Herman Edwards was showered with the cereal after his Sun Devils defeated Florida State, 20-14, Tuesday in the Sun Bowl in El Paso.

Quite sure some coaches would rather be bathed in cereal than the energy drink during the postgame celebrations in the winter.

 

2019-20 college football bowl game schedule, dates, times, betting lines

The 2019-20 bowl schedule features 40 games. Here’s a look at who will be playing who?

There are a plethora of bowl games on the 2019-20 schedule. If it feels like almost every school is in a postseason game, that’s because it has almost come to that. Here is all the info you need to know about bowl season.

December 20

Bahamas Bowl
Buffalo vs. Charlotte
Opening line: Buffalo -4.5
Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium
Nassau, Bahamas
2 p.m. | ESPN

Frisco Bowl
Kent State vs. Utah State
Opening line: Utah State -8.5
Toyota Stadium
Frisco, TX
7:30 p.m. | ESPN2

December 21

Celebration Bowl
Alcorn State vs. North Carolina A&T
NC A&T -7.5
Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Atlanta, GA
Noon | ABC
New Mexico Bowl
Central Michigan vs. San Diego State
Opening line: San Diego State -4.5
Dreamstyle Stadium
Albuquerque, NM
2 p.m. | ESPN
Cure Bowl
Liberty vs. Georgia Southern
Opening line: Georgia Southern -6
Exploria Stadium
Orlando, FL
2:30 p.m. | CBSSN |
Boca Raton Bowl
FAU vs. SMU
Opening line: SMU -3.5
FAU Stadium
Boca Raton, FL
3:30 p.m. | ABC
Camellia Bowl
Arkansas State vs. Florida International
Opening line: Arkansas State -3
Cramton Bowl
Montgomery, AL
5:30 p.m. | ESPN
Las Vegas Bowl
No. 19 Boise State vs. Washington
Opening line: Washington -3.5
Sam Boyd Stadium
Las Vegas, NV
7:30 p.m. | ABC
New Orleans Bowl
No. 20 Appalachian State vs. UAB
Opening line: Appalachian State -17.5
Mercedes-Benz Superdome
New Orleans, LA
9 p.m. | ESPN

December 23

Gasparilla Bowl
Marshall vs. UCF
Opening line: UCF -17.5
Raymond James Stadium
Tampa, FL
2:30 p.m. | ESPN

December 24

Hawai’i Bowl
BYU vs. Hawai’i
Opening line: BYU -2.5
Aloha Stadium
Honolulu, HI
8 p.m. | ESPN

December 26

Independence Bowl
Louisiana Tech vs. Miami (Fla.)
Opening line: Miami -7.5
Independence Stadium
Shreveport, LA
4 p.m. | ESPN
Quick Lane Bowl
Eastern Michigan vs. Pittsburgh
Opening line: Pittsburgh -11
Ford Field
Detroit, MI
8 p.m. | ESPN

December 27

Military Bowl
North Carolina vs. Temple
Opening line: North Carolina -6
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
Annapolis, MD
Noon | ESPN
Pinstripe Bowl
Michigan State vs. Wake Forest
Opening line: Michigan State -3.5
Yankee Stadium
New York, NY
3:20 p.m. | ESPN
Texas Bowl
No. 25 Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M
Opening line: Texas A&M -4.5
NRG Stadium
Houston, TX
6:45 p.m. | ESPN
Holiday Bowl
No. 16 Iowa vs. No. 22 Southern California
Opening line: Iowa -2.5
SDCCU Stadium
San Diego, CA
8 p.m. | FS1
Cheez-It Bowl
Air Force vs. Washington State
Opening line: Air Force -2.5
Chase Field
Phoenix, AZ
10:15 p.m. | ESPN
Camping World Bowl
No. 15 Notre Dame vs. Iowa State
Opening line: Notre Dame -3.5
Camping World Stadium
Orlando, FL
Noon | ABC
Cotton Bowl Classic
No. 10 Penn State vs. No. 17 Memphis
Opening line: Penn State -7
AT&T Stadium
Dallas, TX
Noon | ESPN
Peach Bowl (College Football Playoff semifinal)
No. 1 LSU vs. No. 4 Oklahoma
Opening line: LSU -12.5
Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Atlanta, GA
4 p.m. | ESPN
Fiesta Bowl (College Football Playoff semifinal)
No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Clemson
Opening line: Clemson -2
State Farm Stadium
Glendale, AZ
8 p.m. | ESPN
December 30
First Responder Bowl
Western Kentucky vs. Western Michigan
Opening line: Western Kentucky -1
Gerald J. Ford Stadium
Dallas, TX
12:30 p.m. | ESPN
Music City Bowl
Louisville vs. Mississippi State
Louisville -3.5
Nissan Stadium
Nashville, TN
4 p.m. | ESPN
Redbox Bowl
California vs. Illinois
Opening line: California -6
Levi’s Stadium
Santa Clara, CA
4 p.m. | FOX
Orange Bowl
No. 9 Florida vs. No. 24 Virginia
Opening line: Florida -13
Hard Rock Stadium
Miami Gardens, FL
8 p.m. | ESPN

December 31

Belk Bowl
Kansas vs. Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech -3
Opening line: TBD
Bank of America Stadium
Charlotte, NC
Noon | ESPN
Sun Bowl
Arizona State vs. Florida State
Opening line: Arizona State -5
Sun Bowl
El Paso, TX
2 p.m. | CBS
Liberty Bowl
Kansas State vs. Navy
Opening line: Kansas State -1
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
Memphis, TN
3:45 p.m. | ESPN
Arizona Bowl
Georgia State vs. Wyoming
Opening line: Wyoming -7
Arizona Stadium
Tucson, AZ
4:30 p.m.
Alamo Bowl
No. 11 Utah vs. Texas
Opening line: Utah -6.5
Alamodome
San Antonio, TX
7:30 p.m. | ESPN

Jan. 1, 2020

Citrus Bowl
No. 13 Alabama vs. No. 14 Michigan
Opening line: Florida -13
Camping World Stadium
Orlando, FL
1 p.m. | ABC
Outback Bowl
No. 12 Auburn vs. No. 18 Minnesota
Opening line: Auburn -7.5
Raymond James Stadium
Tampa, FL
1 p.m. | ESPN
Rose Bowl Game
No. 6 Oregon vs. No. 8 Wisconsin
Opening line: Oregon -2.5
Rose Bowl
Pasadena, CA
5 p.m. | ESPN
Sugar Bowl
No. 5 Georgia vs. No. 7 Baylor
Opening line: Georgia -7.5
Mercedes-Benz Superdome
New Orleans, LA
8:45 p.m. | ESPN

Jan. 3

Birmingham Bowl
No. 21 Cincinnati vs. Boston College
Opening line: Cincinnati -6.5
Legion Field
Birmingham, AL
3 p.m. | ESPN
Gator Bowl
Indiana vs. Tennessee
Opening line: PK
TIAA Bank Stadium
Jacksonville, FL
7 p.m. | ESPN

Jan. 3

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Nevada vs. Ohio
Opening line: Ohio -6.5
Albertsons Stadium
Boise, ID
3:30 p.m. | ESPN

Jan. 4

Armed Forces Bowl
Southern Miss vs. Tulane
Opening line: Tulane -6
Amon G. Carter Stadium
Fort Worth, TX
11:30 a.m. | ESPN

Jan. 6

LendingTree Bowl
Louisiana-Lafayette vs. Miami (Ohio)
Opening line: Louisiana -14
Ladd-Peebles Stadium
Mobile, AL
7:30 p.m. | ESPN

Jan. 13

College Football Playoff National Championship Game
Mercedes-Benz Superdome
New Orleans, LA
8 p.m. | ESPN