College Bowl Games 12/17-12/23 – Who Ya Got?

This season has been very goofy, both in game results and all the coaching changes during the season. Some of the transitions were smooth and classy (Billy Napier), and some were punk moves (Brian Kelly). We finally have a playoff team that’s not from one of the 5 Godzilla conferences. And we have a crazy 42 bowl games plus the national championship.  We’ll continue picking game results through the bowl season and see if we can predict the insanity. We’ll start with all the bowl games to be played between December 17 and December 23. 

12/17/2021   

Bahamas Bowl, Nassau, Middle Tenn. (6-6) vs. Toledo (7-5) – The Rockets are the first of eight – that’s right, EIGHT – teams from the Mid-American Conference to go bowling. MTSU actually lost to Charlotte. Enough said. Toledo 27, MTSU 24

Cure Bowl, Orlando, N. Illinois (9-4) vs. Costal Carolina (10-2) – Appalachian St started the run of “little guy over Goliath” with the Michigan win in 2005 all the way to the middle of the last decade. Then Coastal Carolina moved to the top of the little guy heap. This year they were surpassed by UTSA as they lost to a couple of lesser teams. The MAC is still the MAC, even with 8 teams in bowl games. I don’t expect this to be all that close. CCU 31, NIU 20

12/18/2021   

Boca Raton Bowl, Boca Raton, W. Kentucky (8-5) vs. App. State (10-3) – Speaking of ASU, they had another good season. Their reward is an opponent that can score 50 on almost anyone. Hilltoppers 37, Mountaineers 28

New Mexico  Bowl, Albuquerque, UTEP (7-5) vs. Fresno State (9-3) – It’s almost a home game for UTEP, but Fresno is a MUCH better team. Fresno St 33, UTEP 17

Independence Bowl, Shreveport, BYU (10-2) vs. UAB (8-4) – UAB is my brother’s school, so I’m rooting for them. Problem is, they have a lot of gigantic holes on defense. BYU 38, UAB 28

LendingTree Bowl, Mobile, E. Michigan (7-5) vs. Liberty (7-5) – For a hot minute, Liberty was the flavor of the month in the Group of 5. They slipped a lot this year, then rewarded the Frozen Coach with a contract extension. Track meet alert. Liberty 33, EMU 27

L.A. Bowl, Los Angeles, Utah State (10-3) vs. Oregon State (7-5) – Had to create a new bowl to show off the new stadium toy. Sacrilegious as it may sound, it’s only a matter of time before the Rose Bowl moves to this venue. USU 30, OSU 24

New Orleans Bowl,  New Orleans, Marshall (7-5) vs. Louisiana (12-1) – The LA Bowl is following this model – get a second bowl in the city to jack up tourism income. Of course, in New Orleans, there is a much greater opportunity to harvest “dumb drunk people” YouTube videos. That will be the more entertaining aspect – the game will be a blowout. Louisiana 41, Thundering Herd 24

12/20/2021

Myrtle Beach Bowl,  Conway SC, Tulsa (6-6) vs. Old Dominion (6-6) – Once upon a time, ODU was 1-6 and I had circled the Charlotte-ODU game as a lock for my squad, ensuring we would go to a bowl. They haven’t lost since. They won’t lose this one either. ODU 37, Tulsa 30

12/21/2021

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Boise, Kent State (7-6) vs. Wyoming (6-6) – Advantage goes to Kent State, who has just enough blue in their uniforms to pull a Boise State and blend into the turf. KSU 23, The Other Cowboys 20

Frisco Bowl, Frisco TX, UTSA (12-1) vs. San Diego State (11-2) – The city of Frisco goes all-out and creates TWO new bowls. This one features the G5 team that would be in a January 1 bowl if it hadn’t lost to a terrible team at the end of the year. The opponent is formidable but has been playing all road games for 2 years while the new home stadium is constructed. They got destroyed in their conference title game. UTSA 38, SDSU 28

12/22/2021   

Armed Forces Bowl, Fort Worth, Army (8-3) vs. Missouri (6-6) – Still can’t figure out how Army lost to a crummy Navy team. They should recover against an over-achieving Missouri squad. Army 34, Mizzou 28

12/23/2021

Frisco Classic, Frisco TX, Miami (OH) (6-6) vs. North Texas (6-6) – The second bowl game in Frisco features the terrible team that cost UTSA their January 1 bowl game. For the uninitiated, the road team is from Oxford, OH (between Dayton and Cincinnati) near the Great Miami River. That’s where the name comes from. Yes, a river in Ohio is called the Miami River. The Other Miami 21, NTSU 17 

Gasparilla Bowl, Tampa, Florida (6-6) vs. UCF (8-4) – Another copy of the New Orleans bowl game formula. This one is just so more people can go to Florida in the winter. Both teams are local. Not sure which team all the tourists will pull for, but the one from further north in Florida is shorthanded due to transfers. UCF 23, Lizards 20

Last week’s record: 6-4

Season: 99-35