So here's my list, a ranking of the 40 bowl games by watchiness. This list will not include the Friendship Bowl because it's not for FBS schools and the national championship game because I don't know which teams will play in it so it can be ranked (Alabama and Clemson, book it.)
But first, since this is the last Saturday before the bowls, watch the Army/Navy game. The uniforms are always badass.
We always root for Army (Mrs. Keith was in the Army in the 80's) but they haven't won in 14 years.
On to the rankings!
40. Popeye's Bahamas Bowl, Dec. 23, 1pm Eastern Michigan vs. Old Dominion
-I didn't even know Old Dominion played FBS football, when did that happen? They went 9-3 and have to be favored over a perennial MAC doormat. This game is played in a soccer stadium and will be 90% empty but hey, Popeye's is always good.
39. Hawaii Bowl, Dec. 24, 12/24, 8pm Hawaii vs. Middle Tennessee
-The nice thing about not doing BowlQuest any longer is not having to watch this on Christmas Eve.
38. Gildan New Mexico Bowl, Dec. 17, 2pm New Mexico vs. UTSA
-A home game for New Mexico, that's not even a reward for a good season. "Hey, you qualified for a bowl, you get to stay home!" At least with Hawaii playing a home game they get to be in Hawaii. No one wants to stay home in Albuquerque.
37. St. Petersburg Bowl, Dec. 26, 11am Miami (OH) vs. Mississippi State
-The Redhawks are a great story, starting 0-6 and then going 6-0 to get bowl eligible for the first time in forever. I've clearly ranked this game too high because Miami is going to get slaughtered by an SEC school. This used to be the Bitcoin Bowl, is Bitcoin still a thing?
36. Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl, Dec. 30, 5:30pm South Alabama vs. Air Force
-This is the bowl game that's online, not on ESPN. South Alabama beat a really good San Diego State team and Air Force beat Navy and Boise State and are usually fun to watch. Once again, no BowlQuest, no reason to watch.
35. Foster Farms Bowl, Dec. 28, 8:30pm Utah vs. Indiana
-This game is on Fox, so ESPN is actually willing to give up a few of these games. This will be a beat down. Utah is always good and Indiana just lost their coach who evidently was kind of a jerk. With the Big 10 top heavy in the better games, lower tier conference teams have to play better opponents than they normally would. Indiana should be playing Kentucky somewhere.
34. Heart of Dallas Bowl, Dec. 27, 12pm North Texas vs. Army
-I moved this up a spot because of Army but it's a rematch of a regular season game no one was interested in. Another great example of too many bowl games.
33. Autonation Cure Bowl, Dec. 17, 5:30pm UCF vs. Arkansas State
-Another game ESPN has tossed away. It's on CBS Sports Network. UCF went winless last year so that's something to talk about. Probably a pretty even match up of two teams I won't be watching.
32. Birmingham Bowl, Dec. 29, 2pm South Carolina vs. South Florida
-A bowl game tradition, coaches leaving their teams before a bowl game. USF's Willie Taggert is the new coach at Oregon, one a number of schools (Michigan State, Notre Dame), that dropped like a rock. USF is good, South Carolina is not - could be a blow out.
31. Miami Beach Bowl, Dec. 19, 2:30pm Tulsa vs. Central Michigan
-In it's short history, this game has been pretty entertaining. The Chips ruined Oklahoma State's season with a Hail Mary on a blown penalty call with no time remaining, so why not beat another team from that state. I'll watch this game on my first day of vacation.
30. New Orleans Bowl, Dec. 17, 9pm Southern Miss vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
-The Ragin' Cajuns should just schedule this bowl game every season. Their fans always show up pretty well to create a decent crowd. Southern Miss is close by so the Superdome should be pretty loud. Let's hope the ULL QB plays better than he did this season, more picks than TD's.
29. Cactus Bowl, Dec. 27, 10:15pm Baylor vs. Boise State
-Throwback a 5-Hour Energy if you plan on watching. The Bears are in free fall and Boise State is good, so this may be over ranked. I'll be doing mornings during this week so there's no chance I'm watching this but by all means, you can.
28. Quick Lane Bowl, Dec. Dec. 26, 2pm Maryland vs. Boston College
-I had no idea either team made a bowl game until right now. It should be a good match up if you like a 14-10 game. It's the day after Christmas so it gets ranked higher than it should be because you need to watch something.
27. Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Dec. 22, 7pm Idaho vs. Colorado State
-This game usually turns out to be pretty fun, and the blue turf. These are two pretty good teams you never saw all season so give it a look.
26. Dollar General Bowl, Dec. Dec. 23, 8pm Ohio vs. Troy
-Since Western Michigan made a New Years 6 game, Ohio gets the landing spot for the MAC champ. I like Ohio and Frank Solich, so I put this up higher than where it probably should be. I have no idea what this game used to be but now it's just the Dollar General Bowl. (Update, it was the Go Daddy Bowl.)
25. Pinstripe Bowl, Dec.28th, 2pm Northwestern vs. Pittsburgh
-I really like this game at Yankee Stadium and it's usually pretty entertaining. Pittsburgh beat both Penn State and Clemson so it could turn ugly fast but I think it will be a close game.
24. Liberty Bowl, Dec. 30, 12pm Georgia vs. TCU
-Two big name schools who had mediocre seasons. Probably should be farther up the list but I have a feeling it will be a decent match up. More will be expected from both these schools next year, maybe they get an early start in this game.
23. Independence Bowl, Dec. 26, 5pm North Carolina State vs. Vanderbilt
-Vandy had a great win over Tennessee and can be fun to watch. NC State beat North Carolina in their finale, so two motivated teams.
22. Armed Forces Bowl, Dec. 23, 4:30pm Navy vs. Louisiana Tech
-Expect a lot of offense here, take the over. Good time for this game, people will be off work and looking for a game, so lots of watchiness. Navy is always a fun watch and La Tech doesn't play much defense.
21. Military Bowl, Dec.27, 3:30pm Temple vs. Wake Forest
-Two good teams you probably didn't see play this season. The Owls are peaking at the end of the season, winning the AAC championship game. Give this one a look, you ain't got nothing going on two days after Christmas.
20. Poinsettia Bowl, Dec. 21, 9pm BYU vs. Wyoming
-The Cowboys are another fun team to watch and BYU is almost always entertaining in bowl games. I got to see them in person this year, beating Michigan State in East Lansing, that was not fun. This game should be.
19. Holiday Bowl, Dec. 27, 7pm Minnesota vs. Washington State
-If Mike Leach is involved, that's a reason to watch. Minnesota had a good season but probably in a better game than they should be in but because of the Big 10 top heavy in big bowls they get a nice trip. This is also one of those match ups of two teams that may have never played each other.
18. Advocare Texas Bowl, Dec. 28, 9pm Texas A&M vs. Kansas State
-This is another game that probably looks better because of the names of the team playing. Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin's seat is warming rapidly and a loss here could almost light it on fire. K-State's Bill Snyder has been coaching football since they wore leather helmets. This is the last of four games on Dec. 28th so you may want to pace yourself.
17. Camellia Bowl, Dec. 17, 5:30pm - Toledo vs. Appalachian State
-The Rockets were probably the second best team in the MAC and this game was entertaining last year. Two teams that should let it rip.
16. Belk Bowl, Dec. 29, 5:30pm - Arkansas vs. Virginia Tech
-If the Hokies play like they did against Clemson in the ACC title game, this could be a blow out. Arkansas played flat at the end of the season but I think they'll be up for this one.
15. Boca Raton Bowl, Dec. 20, 7pm Western Kentucky vs. Memphis
-Doesn't seem like it will be that interesting but both teams can score. This is a better match up than should be in this dud of a bowl.
14. Sun Bowl, Dec. 30, 2pm North Carolina vs. Stanford
-Two teams with disappointing seasons, especially the Cardinal. Stanford's Christian McCaffrey is reason enough to watch this game as Stanford did improve as the season went on. The Tar Heels were expected to be better, may have something to improve on a pretty big stage.
13. Russell Athletic Bowl, Dec. 28, 5:30pm West Virginia vs. Miami
-The Mountaineers are 10-2 and a lot of fun to watch and the Hurricanes are improving but not back to the level their fans expect. Should be a good match up although the 5:30pm kick-off time kind of stinks.
12. Music City Bowl, Dec. 30, 3:30pm - Tennessee vs. Nebraska
-Marquee name match up although a lot more was expected from the Volunteers. No matter, an in-state bowl game will have a sea of orange in Nashville and the Huskers travel well too. Expecting a good old gone one here.
11. Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 17, 3:30pm Houston vs. San Diego State
-A really great match up even though you probably haven't seen SDSU play. Both teams can score a lot of points. Plus, this is on the first day of bowls, it will be worth your time. This game always gets a solid match up.
10. Citrus Bowl, Dec. 31, 11am LSU vs. Louisville
-Terrible start time for a big boy match up. The Tigers play great defense and the Cardinals have Heisman trophy winner Lamar Jackson. There you go.
9. Taxslayer (Gator) Bowl, Dec. 31, 11am Kentucky vs. Georgia Tech
-Put some new batteries in your remote so you can flip back and forth with the Citrus Bowl. Both teams are coming off huge wins and have momentum. Tons of watchiness here, both teams are fun to see and should be evenly matched up.
8. Outback Bowl, Jan. 2, 1pm Iowa vs. Florida
-Another great set of names on the marquee. Don't expect a ton of points, take the under. And yes, you probably have this Monday off work, use it wisely and watch this game. This should be an old school, grind it out 17-14 game.
7. Sugar Bowl, Jan. 2, 8:30pm Auburn vs. Oklahoma
-I'm not exactly sure how Auburn wound up in a such a high profile game except for the SEC contract to put a team in there. If the Tigers play to the level they can, it should be a really good game. Oklahoma hasn't played as solid a d-line since the Ohio State game.
6. Cotton Bowl, Jan. 2, 1pm Wisconsin vs. Western Michigan
-The 12-0 Broncos against a very good Wisconsin team. If WMU can pull off the upset, it will be the biggest win for the MAC maybe ever. The Badgers will make that very difficult to do but that's why we watch the games. This is one of those "no win" kind of games for Wiscy - if they win, they were supposed to and if they lose, oof. High watchiness.
5. Alamo Bowl, Dec. 29, 9pm Colorado vs. Oklahoma State
-If this game can live up to the drama of last year's game between TCU and Oregon, it should be ranked higher. Last year's Alamo Bowl was the best game of bowl season. Both teams have a lot to prove, especially the Buffs who are back after so many years of being home during bowl season.
4. Orange Bowl, Dec. 30, 8pm Florida State vs. Michigan
-Weird to see this game on the 30th, but the new bowl scheme requires prime time for these top six games. This should be a great game - Michigan's stingy defense against probably the best running back in the country this season, Dalvin Cook. I think the Seminoles win it with Michigan still upset over the outcome in Columbus. Should be a great game.
3. Rose Bowl, Jan.2, 5pm Penn State vs. USC
-Huge marquee match up with a truly unexpected very good season by James Franklin's Nittany Lions. USC may be playing some of the best football in the country right now and PSU is still smiling from their huge comeback in the Big 10 Champs game and feeling like they should be in the four team playoff. Both teams have a ton to play for and this has to be better than last year's stinker.
2. Fiesta Bowl, Dec. 31, 7pm Ohio State vs. Clemson
-There are going to be a lot of empty restaurants in Columbus on New Years Eve. The Buckeyes had an amazingly good season after graduating so many players. Clemson's only loss came in a thriller to Pittsburgh. A spot in the title game on the line, super watchy, of course.
1. Peach Bowl, Dec. 31, 3pm Alabama vs. Washington
-Thankfully New Years Eve falls on a Saturday instead of a Thursday afternoon like last year. I would have moved this game back to No. 2 if it were a weekday. If Washington can avoid turning the ball over they can hang with the Tide's smothering defense. Alabama's offense is good but beatable, their defense and special teams units are the best in the country. Just like Colorado, it's great to have Washington back in a high profile game. I think this is Alabama's toughest opponent of the season because of a down year in the SEC. Must see.
(This took a lot longer than I expected, excuse the errors and typos, too long to go back and fix.)
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