Get your fill of college football during the holidays
It’s the Holiday Season again and that means plenty of food, family and football.
But this year, football junkies can now become football gluttons. The bowl schedule is comprised of 41 games (counting the National Championship Game on Jan. 11).
The Bowl season was once fun, and football always gave its fans a chance to escape nerve-racking family members and uncomfortable situations that seem to always arise when too many people spend too much time in close quarters.
People often eat too much at Christmas, but now football fans can stuff themselves to the gills with more than 40 games in less than 30 days. Let’s face it. There are now too many bowl games. Teams used to have to win at least six of their 12 games (or receive a waiver if they were 6-7 after losing a conference championship game).
That’s not the case anymore. San Jose State, Nebraska, and Minnesota were all declared bowl eligible despite posting 5-7 records and not appearing in a conference championship showdown. The Pac-12 and Big Ten (which is home to both the Cornhuskers and Golden Gophers), are both sticking out their respective chests about sending a record 10 teams to bowl games.
But is that really anything to brag about considering the postseason lineup and considering that the Pac-12 once had only eight (and later 10) teams, and that the Big 10 now has 12 teams and two received bowl bids with sub-.500 records?
Probably not.
That being said, some intriguing matchups are on the docket.
The obvious starting point is New Year’s Eve and the National Semifinals.
Those get underway with the Orange Bowl and the Cotton Bowl. The Orange Bowl pits top-ranked and undefeated Clemson (the Atlantic Coast Conference Champion) against Big 12 Champion Oklahoma.
The Cotton Bowl features Alabama (12-1) against Michigan State (12-1). The storylines here are numerous. Nick Saban once coached the Spartans, and Alabama is the only team to be making a second consecutive playoff appearance.
The Crimson Tide was upset by fourth-seeded Ohio State in last season’s semifinals. The Buckeyes went on to win the National Championship with another upset win over Oregon.
In the Southeastern Conference, Tennessee (8-4) is in a New Year’s Day Bowl Game for the first time in what seems like an eternity. The Volunteers will take on Northwestern (10-2) in the Outback Bowl in Tampa. The Wildcats played the Big Orange at the Citrus Bowl following the 1996 season, and a junior quarterback named Peyton Manning shredded Northwestern’s defense.
Also on New Year’s Day: Notre Dame plays Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. The two one-time regional rivals both had National Championship aspirations derailed by late-season losses. The Irish (10-2) lost to the top-ranked Tigers early, and had their title hopes dashed with a loss to Pac-12 Champion Stanford.
Ohio State (11-1) had its season ruined when it lost to the Spartans at home.
In the Citrus Bowl, SEC runner-up Florida will play Michigan. Both the Gators and Wolverines had new coaches in 2015, and both picked up some surprising victories en route to becoming two of the most improved programs on the national scene.
In the Rose Bowl, Big Ten runner-up Iowa takes on Pac-12 champ Stanford. This game will be huge for both the Cardinals and the Hawkeyes. Both had stellar seasons but didn’t get much respect. David Shaw’s Cardinals (11-2) lost to Northwestern and Oregon. But Stanford will make its seventh consecutive bowl appearance (a school record). Iowa was the Big Ten runner-up but managed to avoid the Buckeyes, Spartans, Wolverines and Penn State during the regular season.
The Hawkeyes dropped a heartbreaking decision to the Spartans in the title game. Both of these teams will invade Pasadena with something to prove.
New Year’s Night features another potential shootout as Ole Miss takes on Oklahoma State. Both the Rebels and the Cowboys can score points. If you plan to watch, you better pack a lunch and a box of Dramamine. This one won’t be for the faint of heart.
On Jan. 2 in the Valero Alamo Bowl, Texas Christian plays Oregon in another tilt that features a pair of explosive offenses. Let’s see if Gary Patterson and the Horned Frogs can dial up something to stop the Ducks. TCU can score too, and that makes this a must-see.
Arkansas and Kansas State both had disappointing seasons, but both will be looking to salvage something at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis. The Razorbacks (7-5) are playing in their own back yard and should have a slight edge here.
In the non-playoff bowl finale, West Virginia will play Arizona State in the Cactus Bowl (yawn).
The TaxSlayer Bowl features Georgia against Penn State. Both the Bulldogs and Nittany Lions didn’t live up to expectations. Mark Richt was fired and won’t coach the Bulldogs, leaving the program in an accelerated state of flux.
Bowl season gets underway on Dec. 19 with four games that will be absolutely forgettable.
Perhaps the most intriguing early bowl game will be the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl. That game features in-state rivals BYU and Utah. The Cougars are looking for a coach since Bronco Mendenhall bolted to take the Virginia job. The Utes were an early factor in the Pac-12 race.
The bowl schedule is bloated and too big to preview here, but some other must-see games include: the Independence Bowl; which pits Virginia Tech against Tulsa. Tulsa can be fun to watch but the compelling thing here is that it’s Frank Beamer’s last game coaching the Hokies. He’ll leave after nearly three decades as head coach and sadly, he won’t be around for the Battle of Bristol next season.
Justin Fuente will take the reins by then after leading Memphis on a successful run in 2015. His former team will face Auburn in a battle of Tigers in the Birmingham Bowl.
USC, which lost the Pac-12 title game to Stanford, will play Wisconsin in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego. Clay Helton was recently tapped to coach the Trojans (8-5) and he responded by firing half of his coaching staff, including former Boise State and Tennessee defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox. Helton, was named interim coach twice (most recently in 2015 after Steve Sarkisian showed up drunk for the Washington game, and was subsequently fired). That has to be a distraction during bowl preparation, and USC continues to be the text book definition of an unadulterated mess.
Those are just a few of the matchups that will conclude a truly crazy 2015 college football season.
Enjoy these and all the other bowl games.
