Previewing the bowl games as bowl season starts this weekend | LSU
For many people, most bowl games seem more than a little redundant in the age of the college football playoffs, which will triple in size in just two years.
But remember, college football fanatics: There are only 43 games left this college football season. Once someone lifts the CFP trophy, the helmets and shoulder pads will be put away by the end of August.
In other words, give me all you got college football.
Give us the mascots and the silly sponsor names. The loud sports jackets and louder bands. Give us the matchups, the nail biters, the blowouts, the excitements.
Even give me some overtime here and there – as long as I don’t have to cover them on time.
This year, the bowl season follows a satisfactorily correct geographic arc. The first bowl game begins in the East just after the sun has risen over the Atlantic. Miami (Ohio) meets UAB at 10:30 a.m. in the Bahamas Bowl. The bowl season concludes in Los Angeles just after the sun sets on the Pacific Ocean with the CFP Championship game at the Rams and Chargers’ glittering SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
In between, there’s plenty to please, obsess, tease, and, yes, bet. Here is an example of what is to come:
The Smartass Bowl: There weren’t enough mediocre football teams to fill all the bowl slots, so the Rice Owls slipped to last place. Despite a 5-7 record, the Owls will play Southern Miss at Saturday’s Lending Tree Bowl in Mobile, Alabama because they had the best Academic Progress Rate (APR) of any 5-7 team. “It looks like the intellectual brutality of Rice Football is finally paying off,” said the student newspaper Rice Thresher. It’s the first bowl of rice since the 2014 Hawaii Bowl.
Why Bowls on January 2nd?: Because January 1st is a Sunday and don’t want to play bowls against the NFL. So just accept this gift of four Monday Bowls — the Citrus between LSU and Purdue, the Cotton between Tulane and USC, the ReliaQuest, and the Rose — as a final Christmas gift to extend your holiday weekend.
The ‘We’ll Be Right Back’ Shells: Both LSU and Florida State bowl in Orlando. The Seminoles play Oklahoma in the Cheez-It Bowl on December 29. The Tigers and Seminoles will be back in Orlando on September 3 to face off in the 2023 season opener. Good chances that they will meet as top 10 teams.
The Covet Thy Rival’s Average-ness Bowl: Florida plays Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday. As nice as the Citrus is, this is the bowl LSU fans would want the Tigers in if they weren’t going to make it to the CFP. Instead, it goes to a 6-6 Florida team that has struggled under first-year and former UL coach Billy Napier. A double digit dog for the state of Oregon, the Gators play punt, pass and kick from where they set the lines on the Vegas Strip. Without the volatile quarterback Anthony Richardson signed up for the NFL, it looks like Napier’s first season at Gainesville will be a loss.
The Hello Goodbye Bowl: Deion Sanders coaches undefeated Southwestern Athletic Conference champion Jackson State against North Carolina Central at the Celebration Bowl in Atlanta on Saturday and then flies to Colorado, where he has just accepted the job of rebuilding the ailing Buffaloes. Colorado is #2 in CBSSports.com’s mocking Bottom 25, behind only UMass. Will Coach Prime have the buffs in a bowl in his freshman year?
The I’d Rather Lose Bowl: The winning coach in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl between Maryland and North Carolina State is dunked with a cooler full of mayonnaise that’s been cut with some water to help it flow. Yes, it’s as disgusting as it sounds. If I were the winning coach, I’d be faking an allergy. That year, the Duke’s Mayo Bowl folks allowed fans to apply to be a dunker. Detroit’s Quick Lane Bowl volunteered quickly and humorously. I’d rather have my oil changed quickly than get drenched in a high-calorie condiment.
Do not adjust the set bowl: No bowl lives up to its name better than this year’s Orange Bowl. In this corner we have Tennessee dressed in orange, and in this corner we have Clemson dressed in orange. I’m assuming one team or another is sporting solid orange helmets, jerseys and shorts. I may have to avert my eyes.
The It Takes Guts Bowl: Mississippi state players have reportedly decided they want to play Illinois in Monday’s ReliaQuest Bowl despite the death of coach Mike Leach. It’s going to be quite an emotional afternoon for the Bulldogs in Tampa, Florida. To be honest, I don’t know if there was a bowl game like this. How focused State’s players will be is another question. Perhaps that’s one reason the Illini, who marginalized Michigan in November, are a 2-point favorite.
2022-23 BOWL SCHEDULE
All times central
Friday
Bahamas bowl
10:30 a.m. ESPN
Nassau, Bahamas
Miami, Ohio (6-6) vs. UAB (6-6)
Line: UAB-11.0
healing bowl
2 p.m. ESPN
OrlandoFlorida
No. 24 Troy (11-2) vs. No. 25 UTSA (11-2)
Line: Troy -1.5
Saturday
Fenway bowl
10 p.m., ESPN
Boston
Cincinnati (9-3) vs. Louisville (7-5)
Lead: UL-2.0
celebration bowl
11 p.m., ABC
Atlanta
Jackson State (12-0) vs. NC Central (9-2)
Line: JSU -14.0
Las Vegas Bowl
1:30 p.m. ESPN
Las Vegas
Florida (6-6) vs. No. 14 Oregon State (9-3)
Line: OSU-10.0
LA bowl
2:30 p.m., ABC
Inglewood, California
Washington State (7-5) vs. Fresno State (9-4)
Line: FSU-4.0
Loan tree bowl
4:45 p.m. ESPN
Mobile, Alabama
Rice (5-7) vs. Southern Miss (6-6)
Line: USM-6.0
New Mexico bowl
6:30 p.m. ABC
Albuquerque, New Mexico
SMU (7-5) vs. BYU (7-5)
Line: SMU -3.5
Frisco bowl
8:15 p.m. ESPN
Frisko, Texas
North Texas (7-6) vs. Boise State (9-4)
Line: BSU -10.5
Monday
Myrtle Beach Bowl
1:30 p.m. ESPN
Conway, South Carolina
Marshall (8-4) vs. Connecticut (6-6)
Line: MU -10.0
Tuesday
Idaho Potato Bowl
2:30 p.m. ESPN
Boise, Idaho
Eastern Michigan (8-4) vs. San Jose State (7-4)
Line: SJSU-3.5
Boca Raton bowl
6:30 p.m. ESPN
Boca Raton, Fla
Liberty (8-4) vs. Toledo (8-5)
Line: UT -5.0
Wednesday
New Orleans bowl
8 p.m. ESPN
Caesar’s Superdome
Western Kentucky (8-5) vs. South Alabama (10-2)
Line: US -4.5
December 22
Armed Forces Bowl
6:30 p.m. ESPN
Fort Worth, Texas
Baylor (6-6) vs Air Force (9-3)
Line: BU -5.5
23rd of December
independence bowl
2 p.m. ESPN
Shreveport
UL (6-6) vs. Houston (7-5)
Line: UH-6.5
Gasparilla bowl
5:30 p.m. ESPN
Tampa, Fla
Wake Forest (7-5) vs. Missouri (6-6)
Line: Wake -1.0
24th of December
hawaiian bowl
7 p.m. ESPN
Honolulu
Middle Tennessee (7-5) vs. San Diego State (7-5)
Line: SDSU-7.0
December 26th
Quick Lane Bowl
1:30 p.m. ESPN
Detroit
New Mexico State (6-6) vs. Bowling Green (6-6)
Line: BGSU-3.0
December 27th
camellia bowl
11 p.m. ESPN
Montgomery, Alabama
Georgia Southern (6-6) vs. Buffalo (6-6)
Line: GSU-3.5
First Responder Bowl
2:15 p.m. ESPN
Dallas
Memphis (6-6) vs. Utah State (6-6)
Line: UM -7.0
Birmingham bowl
5:45 p.m. ESPN
Birmingham, Alabama
Coastal Carolina (9-3) vs. East Carolina (7-5)
Line: ECU -8.0
Guaranteed rate bowl
9:15 p.m. ESPN
Phoenix
Wisconsin (6-6) vs. Oklahoma State (7-5)
Line: UW-3.0
December 28th
military bowl
1 p.m. ESPN
Annapolis, Maryland
UCF (9-4) vs. Duke (8-4)
Line: Duke -2.0
liberty bowl
4:30 p.m. ESPN
Memphis, Tennessee
Kansas (6-6) vs. Arkansas (6-6)
Line: UA-3.0
holiday bowl
7 p.m. Fox
San Diego
No. 15 Oregon (9-3) vs. North Carolina (9-4)
Line: UO -14.0
Texas bowl
8 p.m. ESPN
Houston
Texas Tech (7-5) vs. Ole Miss (8-4)
Line: UM -3.5
December 29th
Pinstripe Bowl
1 p.m. ESPN
new York
Syracuse (7-5) vs. Minnesota (8-4)
Line: UM -7.5
Cheez-It Bowl
4:30 p.m. ESPN
OrlandoFlorida
Oklahoma (6-6) vs. No. 13 Florida State (9-3)
Line: FSU-7.5
Alamo bowl
8 p.m. ESPN
San Antonio
No. 20 Texas (8-4) vs. No. 12 Washington (10-2)
Line: UT -4.5
Dec 30
Duke’s Mayo Bowl
11 p.m. ESPN
Charlotte, North Carolina
Maryland (7-5) vs. No. 23 NC State (8-4)
Line: UM -1.5
sun bowl
1 p.m., CBS
El Paso, Texas
Pittsburgh (8-4) vs. No. 18 UCLA (9-3)
Line: UCLA-6.0
gator bowl
2:30 p.m. ESPN
Jacksonville, Fla
No. 21 Notre Dame (8-4) vs. No. 19 South Carolina (8-4)
Line: ND-2.0
Arizona bowl
3:30 p.m., barstool sport
Tucson, Ariz
Ohio (9-4) vs. Wyoming (7-5)
Line: select it
orange peel
7 p.m. ESPN
Miami
No. 6 Tennessee (10-2) vs. No. 7 Clemson (11-2)
Line: CU -7.0
Dec 31
sugar bowl
11 p.m. ESPN
Caesar’s Superdome
No. 5 Alabama (10-2) vs. No. 9 Kansas State (10-3)
Line: UA-3.0
Music City Bowl
11 p.m., ABC
Nashville, Tennessee
Iowa (7-5) vs. Kentucky (7-5)
Line: Iowa -2.5
Fiesta Bowl (CFP Semifinals)
3 p.m. ESPN
Glendale, Arizona
No. 3 TCU (12-1) vs. No. 2 Michigan (13-0)
Line: UM -7.5
Peach Bowl (CFP Semifinals)
7 p.m. ESPN
Atlanta
No. 4 Ohio State (11-1) vs. No. 1 Georgia (13-0)
Line: UGA-6.5
January 2nd
ReliaQuest Bowl
11 p.m., ESPN2
Tampa, Fla
No. 22 Miss. State (8-4) vs Illinois (8-4)
Line: Illinois -2.0
citrus peel
noon, ABC
OrlandoFlorida
No. 17 LSU (9-4) vs. Purdue (8-5)
Line: LSU-10.5
cotton bowl
noon, ESPN
Arlington, Texas
No. 16 Tulane (11-2) vs. No. 10 USC (11-2)
Line: USC -1.5
rose bowl
4 p.m. ESPN
Pasadena, California
No. 11 Penn State (10-2) vs. No. 8 Utah (10-3)
Line: Utah -2.5
January 9th
CFP National Championship Game
6:30 p.m. ESPN
Inglewood, California
Georgia/Ohio State vs Michigan/TCU
Line: TBA
