It’s the best time of the year for college football fans: Bowl season. In the second year of the four-team College Football playoff bracket, there are more than forty Bowl games that will be contested between December 20 and the CFP Championship Game on January 12.
Obviously, that’s a lot of football to jam in around all the usual Christmas and New Year celebrations, so read on as I rank every single Bowl game of the season in terms of my interest and potential for an instant classic:
(All dates are adjusted to Australian)
42. Celebration Bowl
December 20, 2015; Atlanta, Georgia
Alcorn State (Southwestern Athletic) vs. North Carolina A&T (Mid-Eastern Athletic)
The Celebration Bowl is in it’s first year, featuring teams from historically black Division I programs. The Celebration Bowl sits last on this list simply because I haven’t seen either of these two schools play, so it’s hard to get too excited.
41. Camellia Bowl
December 20, 2015; Montgomery, Alabama
Ohio (Mid-American) vs. Appalachian State (Sun Belt)
Another early Bowl game featuring two teams who aren’t exactly national powers. It’s probably fair to say that Appalachian State is still best known for that massive upset of Michigan in the Big House a few years back, and the Bobcats are a high-scoring team out of the always-exciting MAC. As with all MAC teams, it’s never boring watching Ohio on offense, and Appalachian State, appearing in their first Bowl game since graduating to FCS-level football, will be keen for a debut post-season victory.
40. Bahamas Bowl
December 25, 2015; Nassau, Bahamas
Middle Tennessee (C-USA) vs. Western Michigan (Mid-American)
The only Bowl game played outside of the United States is a Christmas Day event here in Australia, and only diehards are likely going to be tuned into the game. Middle Tennessee are looking for a win to cement a 5-game winning streak after a disastrous 2-4 start, whilst Western Michigan will be seeking to pick up where the left off in the regular season: an impressive 35-30 win over No. 30 Toledo, their first win against a ranked program in thirty-three attempts.
39. Cure Bowl
December 20, 2015; Orlando, Florida
San Jose State (Mountain West) vs. Georgia State (Sun Belt)
The first Saturday of games isn’t great. The Cure Bowl is one of two new Bowl match-ups for the 2015 season and the first of three games played at the Citrus Bowl. San Jose come in at 5-7 without many really had any good wins against FBS opponents this year. Georgia State have qualified for their first Bowl game since being elevated to FBS ranks. They come off a big rivalry win against Georgia Southern and will be looking to go 1-0 in Bowl games.
38. St Petersburg Bowl
December 27, 2015; St Petersburg, Florida
Connecticut (American Athletic) vs. Marshall (C-USA)
Another game I’ll record just in case something crazy happens. UConn had a big win (and an unlikely one) against then-undefeated Houston to clinch Bowl eligibility. The Huskies’ defense has been brilliant all season, stifling opponents all over the place, and they’re probably warm favourites against a Marshall squad who, if they win, will claim a third straight ten-win season.
37. Potato Bowl
December 23, 2015; Boise, Idaho
Akron (Mid-American) vs. Utah State (Mountain West)
A rare cold-weather game played on the blue turf in Boise, Idaho, and one more chance to see the exciting do-everything quarterback for Utah State, Chuckie Keeton. He can really make things happen, and is the beating heart of the Aggie offense. Akron come in with their first winning season in a decade, but may struggle to contain Keeton.
36. GoDaddy Bowl
December 24, 2015; Mobile, Alabama
Georgia Southern (Sun Belt) vs. Bowling Green (Mid-American)
BGSU come in as MAC champions after a definitive win over Northern Illinois in the conference championship game, and Georgia Southern are in the postseason for the first time in program history. Watch the Georgia Southern run game, led by Matt Breida, who will need to pound the rock often if the Eagles are to keep the high-powered BGSU offense, led by QB Matt Johnson, off the field. Johnson has passed for more than 4400 yards this year, and forty-one touchdowns.
35. New Orleans Bowl
December 20, 2015; New Orleans, Louisiana
Arkansas State (Sun Belt) vs. Louisiana Tech (C-USA)
Two fairly decent teams who saw some success in their respective conferences, playing in a cavernous NFL venue on the first weekend of the Bowl season. This game could go either way. La Tech come off a regular-season finale loss to Southern Miss and will need to be good to limit the effectiveness of Arkansas State quarterback Fredi Knighten, who has won every one of his 2015 starts, throwing for twenty touchdowns in the process.
34. New Mexico Bowl
December 20, 2015; Albuquerque, New Mexico
Arizona (Pac-12) vs. New Mexico (Mountain West)
Head coach Rich Rodriguez announced he’ll be staying in Tuscon, and star linebacker Scooby Wright is perhaps playing his last game for the Wildcats. There’s plenty of motivation there, but Arizona will need to take care against a resurgent Lobos squad who took on something of a giant-killing role late in the season, beating Boise State at home, a rarity. They have basically a home game here, and I expect them to be pretty competitive.
33. Miami Beach Bowl
December 22, 2015; Miami, Florida
Western Kentucky (C-USA) vs. South Florida (American Athletic)
The Hilltoppers come in as C-USA champions and will face a pretty good South Florida team, who have been one of the AAC surprise packets of the year, and are playing their first Bowl game since 2010. This should be a pretty good game – and a lot of what happens depends on whether USF can stop Hilltoppers quarterback Brandon Doughty, who was excellent in the C-USA Championship Game, and has been excellent all season.
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