FRISCO BOWL: Southern Methodist (7-5) vs Louisiana Tech (6-6); 8 PM ET; ESPN If they held a bowl in Frisco would anyone know where to go? I, for one, initially assumed the game was in San Francisco. Not so; it turns out, Frisco is a community north of Dallas. And indeed they are having a bowl game there… Read More »
BOCA RATON BOWL; Boca Raton;7 PM ET; ESPN AKRON (7-6) VS FLORIDA ATLANTIC (10-3) by 11 First off, let’s give the devil his do, so to speak. LANE KIFFIN finally got sick of his old boss NICK SABAN and moved on to FAU just before Alabama went to the Final Four last season. This season he took a… Read More »
NEW ORLEANS BOWL; 1 PM ET; ESPN TROY (10-2) by 5 vs. NORTH TEXAS (9-4) The Troy football program has become like a basketball mid-major powerhouse in the FBS. The Trojans won 10 games in 2016 and have a chance to better that record this season with a win in this contest. QB/BRANDON SILVERS #12 has been an… Read More »
From a Bowl standpoint this is the last day of Bowling for Dollars, NCAA style. One big game remains for next week, but that’s another story. These games should be pretty darn good. FLORIDA (8-4) VS IOWA (8-4); OUTBACK BOWL; 1 PM ET; ABC … If both offenses play at their highest level this could be a real… Read More »
Rolling along toward the big time games we come across out first real match up in the Orange Bowl, but first let’s check everything on the 30th. GEORGIA (7-5) Vs. Texas Christian (6-6); LIBERTY BOWL; NOON PM ET; ESPN … Somewhat down years for both programs in 2016. But both teams have solid talent and look to be… Read More »
PITTSBURGH (8-4) Vs. NORTHWESTERN (6-6); PINSTRIPE Bowl; 2 PM ET; ESPN … The Wildcats are a feisty bunch under HC PAT FITZGERALD. They started the season slowly, but played some really solid ball to end the year at .500. The play a bit of Offense and a bunch of Defense. But they are likely to be outclassed in… Read More »
The good news is that we are now heading into the Bowl Games featuring some really good teams. We’ve already been treated to some outstanding individual performances, but now top players on top teams will be featured just about every day. Let’s take a look at a fairly pedestrian trio of games for post-Christmas consumption. MISSISSIPPI STATE (5-7)… Read More »
The last multiple game day for the Bowl Season, prior to Christmas is Friday the 23rd. Here are your 3 games for that day. BAHAMAS BOWL; 1PM ET; ESPN; EASTERN MICHIGAN (7-5) Vs. OLD DOMINION (9-3): A feel good game for most pitting EMU which has emerged from punching bag status to win seven games for the first… Read More »
The annual bowl schedule kicks off Saturday with a full slate of 5 games including a couple that are definitely worth a look. Here’s a quick preview of who to watch in Saturday’s bowl games. New Mexico (8-4) vs Texas-San Antonio (6-6); Gildan New Mexico Bowl; 2 PM ET; ESPN: The 40-something-game bowl schedule leading up to the… Read More »
CFP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP; #1 CLEMSON (14-0) vs. #2 ALABAMA (13-1); 8:30 PM ET; ESPN The prelims are done and the stage is set for what could be a very good CFP national championship game between unbeaten, top-ranked Clemson and perennial power Alabama in Glendale Santa Clara later Monday evening. Despite its one loss, Alabama comes in as the… Read More »
TAXSLAYER BOWL; Noon ET; ESPN PENN STATE (7-5) vs GEORGIA (9-3) Hate to break it to the folks in Memphis, in a sport notorious for ‘mythical’ things no one is going to slay anyone’s taxes. Take it to the bank if you’ve got anything left to take to the bank. Fortunately, we’ll get some real football as Georgia… Read More »
FIESTA BOWL; 1 PM ET; ESPN OHIO STATE (11-1) vs. NOTRE DAME (10-2) These two teams were in serious consideration for a Final Four spot until they both lost their final games to Michigan State and Stanford respectively. The Championship Play-Off committee may have gotten lucky that they both fell. The next luckiest entity is the Fiesta Bowl… Read More »
BIRMINGHAM BOWL, NOON ET; ESPN AUBURN (6-6) vs. MEMPHIS (9-3) At first blush this might look like a serious mismatch given the records of both teams. But the reality of an SEC schedule vs. an AAC one cannot be ignored. It also cannot help Memphis that HC JUSTIN FUENTE is already on the job at VA TECH. DARRELL… Read More »
RUSSELL ATHLETIC BOWL; BAYLOR (9-3) vs. NORTH CAROLINA (11-2); 5:30 PM ET; ESPN Both of these teams had Final Four aspirations in November but BAYLOR lost its top 2 QBs and UNC had to face Clemson in the ACC Championship Game. But this still looks like a very attractive match-up to watch which probably deserves to be played… Read More »
MILITARY BOWL: PITTSBURGH (8-4) vs NAVY (10-2); 2:30 PM; ESPN … Pitt and Navy will play in the Military Bowl in Annapolis in a renewal of an old-time eastern football rivalry. What makes this version of Pitt-Navy a bit unusual is that it is the 10-2 Midshipmen, who came within a game of possibly qualifying for a January… Read More »
WE are now getting down to the nitty gritty of the Bowl Season with an escalation in quality of the teams involved. By next week we will be watching the Final Four games, but for now how about some info on the Big Six Saturday contests for the day after Christmas. ST PETERSBURG BOWL: UCONN (6-6) v MARSHALL… Read More »
BAHAMAS BOWL; NOON ET; ESPN MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE (7-5) vs. WESTERN MICHIGAN (7-5) This is the story of two pretty good college teams that faced tough schedules and battled their way to this game out in the middle of the Caribbean for the Christmas Holidays. Certainly this presents one of the most interesting venues of all the Holiday… Read More »
DECEMBER 23 POINSETTA BOWL: BOISE STATE (8-4) v NORTHERN ILLINOIS (8-5); 4:30 PM ET; ESPN … Today’s bowl doubleheader has a definite MAC flavor to it as teams from the conference will be in both games stating with Northern Illinois playing Boise State in the Poinsetta Bowl in San Diego. This game also features the highest rated prospect… Read More »
TUESDAY DEC. 22 BOCA RATON BOWL 7PM/ET ESPN TEMPLE (10-3) vs. TOLEDO (9-2) Two solid teams, who felt just short of winning their respective conferences will match up in a game likely to be decided on the ground, more so than an aerial circus display. Neither PHILLIP ELY/QB/TOLEDO/#12 nor PJ WALKER/QB/TEMPLE/#11 is likely to light up the scoreboard… Read More »
December 21: MIAMI BEACH BOWL; Western Kentucky (11-2) versus South Florida (8-4); 2:30 PM ET; ESPN … Fans looking for a little football something to help get warmed up before this evening’s potentially epic NFL Monday night game between Detroit and New Orleans might want to check out the Miami Beach Bowl which promises to be one of… Read More »
SATURDAY DECEMBER 19 LAS VEGAS BOWL, Las Vegas, Nevada 3:30 ET ABC UTAH 9-3 VS BRIGHAM YOUNG 9-3 How about we rename this the Mormon Bowl, although its not exactly clear how these two conservative schools that both prohibit alcohol consumption on campus ended up in Sin City for their bowl. Go figure! The battle between intra-state rivals… Read More »
PITTSBURGH (6-6) vs. HOUSTON (7-5); Armed Forces Bowl; Ft Worth; Noon ET; ESPN … Playoff schmayo!! Florida State against Oregon; who cares! Alabama-Ohio State; big deal! Kicking off at 11 AM local time in game between teams with a combined 13-11 record the day AFTER New Year’s. Football just doesn’t get any better! In fact, both teams are… Read More »
National playoff semi-finals: #3 FLORIDA STATE (13-0) vs. #2 OREGON (12-1); Rose Bowl; 4:30 PM ET; ESPN … The preliminaries are done and its time to get down to the real business in college football defending national champion Florida State, the only remaining unbeaten team in the FBS ranks, faces rising West Coast power Oregon in the first… Read More »
New Year’s Eve #9 MISSISSIPPI (9-3) vs. #6 TEXAS CHRISTIAN (11-1); Peach Bowl; Atlanta; 12:30 PM ET; ESPN … Pretty good game to start your New Year’s Eve celebrations with a couple of Top 10 teams with a little something to prove. Ole Miss, for example, had visions of playing for the national championship after upsetting Alabama earlier… Read More »
Tuesday, December 30 NOTRE DAME (7-5) vs LSU (8-4); MUSIC CITY BOWL Nashville; 3PM ET; ESPN … Let’s hope the Fighting Irish have found a way to rejuvenate themselves after folding at the end of their schedule this fall, with 4 straight losses to end their season. In fact, it wasn’t all that long ago that Irish QB… Read More »
