I like to do my bowl preview a little differently. I’ll list each bowl in order of telecast but I also give each bowl a number value 1-40, 40 being the worst bowl and put that number after it. The national title game is not included because there is nothing to write about it yet. Anyway, from there I then take on the perspective of a local fan (i.e. a Utah fan living in Salt Lake City) and give the chances of me attending. Basically I talk out of my butt like always but it is more fun to write as a fan when it comes to bowl games than really analyze these things. All times central.
December 30th Games:
AutoZone Liberty Bowl – 35
Georgia (7-5, 4-4, SEC) vs TCU (6-6, 4-5, Big 12)
On a day with two top ten bowls and an intriguing low 20s ranked bowl, some games are going to be lost in the shuffle. This is one of them. I watch a ton of football and thought I remembered all bowl eligible teams. TCU was not one of them. The Horned Frogs beat four teams that didn’t go bowling, a FCS team, and Baylor who went 6-6 during the regular season. Their 31.7 ppg (49th in the nation) is also a lie. 59 against a FCS team. 38 points against Arkansas…in double OT. 41 against awful Iowa State. 62 against Baylor. They were held to six points by Okie State and Kansas State. They beat Kansas by just one point. In fact, in their losses they would score just 21.7 points per. This is not a vintage Patterson team.
I didn’t talk much about Georgia here…because there isn’t much to talk about. When you have a freshman qb (Jacob Eason) and a freshman coach (Kirby Smart) you are going to have some up and downs. They beat 8th ranked Auburn and a good North Carolina team, but also lost to Vanderbilt and were steamrolled by Ole Miss. If the secondary can hold up, this team should have no problems with TCU.
Would I go if I was a Georgia fan: 6.5/10
Nearby Atlanta has plenty of reasonable flights to Memphis. It is also under 6 hours of driving but you can pass through either Birmingham or go a little out of your way to Nashville to create a cool road trip. As for the product on the field, this is a young and up and coming squad. Why not support them in their first of, what should be many, bowls?
Would I go if I was a TCU fan: 4/10
Nearby Dallas has plenty of flights, too. Downgraded it some compared to Georgia because the drive is way longer (over 7 hours) and the team isn’t as fun to watch.
Would I go if Iowa was playing: 4/10
I sort of have the same feeling of Memphis as I do for Charlotte. I’m sure I would love the city, but the average temp in December is just in the 40s. I’ll get some of Memphis’s world famous BBQ in the spring or fall when I can enjoy their 60s or 70s degree days.
…So, should we watch on TV: 4/10
Between these two teams there were 11 single possession final scores. While it is clearly a meaningless game on paper and TCU has had all the issues I pointed out above, the fact is neither team is really good enough to generate much separation. Should be an extremely close game. Even overtime wouldn’t surprise me, so yeah, it isn’t a total dog of a game to watch with a beer and some nachos.
- Dec. 30, 11 am, ESPN
Hyundai Sun Bowl – 10
Stanford (9-3, 6-3, Pac 12) vs North Carolina (8-4, 5-3, ACC)
One of the talking points for bowl games is momentum. This game can be one of many tests of that theory as Stanford has ripped off five straight in a 6-1 finish while UNC has gone 1-2 in their final three. The biggest issue for this game is the lack of Christian McCaffery for Stanford. He decided to sit out this game in order to stay healthy for the upcoming NFL draft. While he is a big piece of their attack, he isn’t the only reason this team turned it on down the stretch.
Would I go if I was a Stanford fan: 3/10
While the improvement has been fun, the fact is this is a step back from the Rose Bowl last year. Worse, the logistics aren’t great. The flights from San Francisco to El Paso are all really expensive.
Would I go if I was a UNC fan: 2/10
The Heels were in the ACC title game a year ago and stepped back. Worse, Fedora’s staff has gotten blown out in their last two bowl games. Worse still, the flights from Raleigh or Charlotte are even more expensive than Stanford fans would have to pay. I used worse a lot in these last two paragraphs for a game I actually kind of like.
Would I go if Iowa was playing: 7/10
Much like the Alamo Bowl, I have a soft spot for the Sun Bowl. Iowa has had some great trips down there and I always wanted to go when younger. The history, the Mexican food, the ability to travel into Mexico, and much more are all interesting to me.
…So, should we watch on TV: 10/10
So what if McCaffery is sitting out? We still have plenty of NFL talent in this game including UNC’s quarterback Mitch Trubisky and his backfield mate RB Elijah Hood. Seeing these stars go against Stanford’s 17th ranked scoring defense should make for a fun one.
- Dec. 30, Noon, CBS
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl – 23
Nebraska (9-3, 6-3, Big Ten) vs Tennessee (8-4, 4-4, SEC)
My, my, the question for this game is which team will show up for both clubs? The Huskers started 7-0 and took Wisconsin to overtime before a 59 point loss at Ohio State. After that game they barely beat Minnesota, took down Maryland, but then the ugliness reared its head again in a 40-10 drubbing in Iowa City.
The Vols followed a similar path with a 5-0 start. An OT loss to Texas A&M was followed by a blowout to Alabama and a dumbfounding loss to South Carolina. After the three straight losses, Tennessee seemed to right the ship, winning three in a row before their rivalry game with Vanderbilt. Then their ugliness came out yet again with a 45-34 point loss to the Commodores. Those 45 points were the second most Vandy scored all year and by far the most scored in SEC play.
Would I go if I was a Nebraska fan: 3/10
I think the Riley experiment has gone about as bad as possible. They won just 5 games a year ago (six with the bowl) and this year totally no showed against Iowa and Ohio State. Not winning the big one / rivalries is what got Bo canned. Why do I want to spend hundreds of dollars to fly from Lincoln or Omaha, with a layover, just to see this team in action again? The 3 points are purely because Nashville’s reputation as an amazing city.
Would I go if I was a Tennessee fan: 10/10
Sure, sure, they didn’t live up to the preseason hype and Butch Jones is on the hot seat (as all UT coaches are), and Jalen Hurd quit the team, and Joshua Dobbs has shown little improvement as a passer but it doesn’t matter when the bowl is under 3 hours away. Good lord, it is an extra football game for very little effort.
Would I go if Iowa was playing: 7.5/10
Nashville, home of Sun Records. Yeah, count me in. I know Memphis is known more for BBQ but I’m sure Nashville has some good joints, too. Plus, as a die-hard hockey fan, I’d make sure to catch a Preds game.
…So, should we watch on TV: 6/10
Despite all the flaws of these teams you have two power conference schools with two supremely athletic quarterbacks. Tommy Armstrong Jr and Joshua Dobbs may never have developed into the kind of passers to get these teams over the hump and win a league championship but both have won a ton of games in their careers and clearly leave their schools in much better shape then when they got there. That’s enough for me to be curious about how this one plays out.
- Dec. 30, 2:30 pm, ESPN
Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl – 30
Air Force (9-3, 5-3, MTW) vs South Alabama (6-6, 2-6, Sun Belt)
South Alabama was one of the strangest teams this year. They opened with a win against Mississippi State, then lost two Sun Belt games. They bounced back against a FCS club and nationally ranked San Diego State. Then they lost two more league games. A 3-2 finish got this team to six wins and marked their two league wins but based on the Miss State and SDSU wins, this team should have won more in the Belt, right? They could have, after all four of their losses were by a single score. On the other hand, four of their wins were by a single score so maybe they should have lost more. Like I said, a strange team.
Air Force is easier to write about – they were good from the get-go. They started out 4-0, including a win over Navy. A three game skid in the middle of the year knocked them out of title contention but the losses were all tough games. At Wyoming, division champ, at New Mexico, eight wins during the regular season plus a bowl victory, and Hawai’i, a bowl winner. After that snap, Air Force won out, including wins over Army and Boise State.
Would I go if I was an Air Force fan: 8.5/10
The Falcons are in their ninth straight bowl but this is the first since going out to Hawai’i in 1998 that is in a beautiful weather location. Their recent games in Texas aren’t bad, but the Texan winter isn’t as reliably perfect as Arizona. There are also flights from Colorado Springs with a connector or nearby Denver that is nonstop. Weather plus ease of travel equals high marks.
Would I go if I was a South Alabama fan: 6.5/10
The young program is in their second bowl in school history after losing the Camellia bowl in 2013. Obviously the weather will be great but I can’t go too high. According to google prices for airfare is about 400 bucks. That’s a pretty big investment to see these Jags one more time.
Would I go if Iowa was playing: 7/10
I’ve been to Tucson, twice…once for an Iowa game! Fun, fun, college town. Great weather, great Mexican food, beautiful desert mountains and an added perk of being a quick drive away from Phoenix for people wanting a more urban experience.
…So, should we watch on TV: 3.5/10
Who doesn’t want to see Westen Steelhammer, Air Force’s awesome safety, in his final game? He alone is worth the price of admission. While both teams are tested: USA played six bowl-bound teams and Air Force took on seven, the Falcons are more experienced and had better results taking down four of those bowl teams compared to the Jags’ two. Because of this gap, I think USAF will roll to their 10th victory.
- Dec. 30, 4:30, American Sports Network
Capital One Orange Bowl – 4
Florida State (9-3, 5-3, ACC) vs Michigan (10-2, 7-2)
A tale of two ways to miss making the tournament. FSU lost early, getting creamed by Louisville and then the goofy North Carolina game, the second loss was on just October first. They rallied to go 6-1 with the lone loss by just three points to Clemson but the damage was done. Michigan started 9-0 before a stunning loss at Iowa. Two weeks later they lost to Ohio State in overtime to finish the year 1-2, not good enough to make the tournament. Despite both losing championship aspirations in different ways, both are insanely talented teams. This one should be a doozy.
Would I go if I was a FSU fan: 10/10
Historically speaking, the Orange Bowl is to the ACC what the Rose Bowl is to Big Ten folks so this is still a big, big deal to Noles fans. This will mark their first time playing in this one since 2013 so it isn’t exactly an every day thing for the historic program. The drive is long, 7 hours, but is doable in the flat landscape and good weather of Florida but there are also flights.
Would I go if I was a Michigan fan: 10/10
Despite the late hiccups this is still a fantastic team and they are playing in their first Orange Bowl since 2000. There are also some really cheap flights from Detroit to Miami, making this one a snap to get to.
Would I go if Iowa was playing: 9/10
Been there, done that. Kidding! I gave this a ten last year because it was a semifinal game. Despite not having that extra boost this year, it is still an extremely prestigious bowl game played in beautiful weather.
…So, should we watch on TV: 10/10
Dalvin Cook versus Jabrill Peppers. Done, sign me up.
- Dec. 30, 7 pm, ESPN
Big Ten and Counting 