The bowl season has expanded again, increasing the number of bowls to 42. Every single FBS team that is eligible for a bowl is going, so I cannot comment on undeserving teams or ignored teams. Let's dive right into the bowls. For this column, I start at the beginning and over the first six days.
Friday, Dec 17
Bahamas Bowl -- Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (6-6) v Toledo Rockets (7-5) : The MAC hasn't had much to cheer about in their non-conference contests, and I don't figure the conference will do well this bowl season. However, they should start out with a win. Toledo often does well in bowls, and they have a tough team with a stingy defense. The Blue Raiders don't respond well to stiff defenses, so this should be a hard game for them. TOLEDO by ten
Cure Bowl -- Northern Illinois Huskies (9-4) v #15 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (10-2) : Oh, man, someone doesn't like the MAC! One of the best chances for a conference bowl win would be Northern Illinois, who started slowly this season but has one of the best late season streaks in the country. Yet they are paired with the Chanticleers, who were ranked for most of the season and ran unbeaten until very late. Tough break for the Huskies. COASTAL CAROLINA by 13
Saturday, Dec 18
Boca Raton Bowl -- Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (8-5) v #25 Appalachian State Mountaineers (10-3) : The Sun Belt has three ranked teams, and two of them are featured in the first two days of the bowls. That doesn't seem fair, but it shows how little respect the country has for the conference, despite having one of the best overall bowl records over the past few seasons. Maybe this year they can start to gain their well-deserved respect. A blowout here should go a long way. APPALACHIAN STATE by 18
New Mexico Bowl -- UTEP Miners (7-5) v Fresno State Bulldogs (9-3) : The Miners can be a tough team, but the Bulldogs have been impressive at times this season, especially against tough opponents. The Bulldogs also have a history of doing well in bowl games. FRESNO STATE by 11
Independence Bowl -- UAB Blazers (8-4) v BYU Cougars (10-2) : The Blazers are a good team, but they're just overmatched here. BYU by 24
Lending Tree Bowl -- Eastern Michigan Eagles (7-5) v Liberty Flames (7-5) : My first potential upset! Eastern Michigan struggled against non-conference opponents, and Liberty started the year strong. The Flames somewhat sputtered in the later part of the season, though, while Eastern Michigan surprised some strong MAC opponents and cause some problems for conference contenders. I think Liberty will get it together, but the Eagles might pull off an upset. LIBERTY by six
LA Bowl -- Utah State Aggies (10-3) v Oregon State Beavers (7-5) : Our newest bowl, engineered by Jimmy Kimmel himself, could be the most interesting one of the day. It features the Mountain West Champions against a late season Pac-12 power. While I don't think the Beavers have the strength to beat the Aggies, they are a scrappy bunch, and will certainly fight hard. UTAH STATE by 13
New Orleans Bowl -- #12 Louisiana Ragin Cajuns (12-1) v Marshall Thundering Herd (7-5) : Marshall can be a tough team, but they seem to falter in bowl games. Louisiana won the Sun Belt for the first time, and ended up the highest-ranked Sun Belt team. They should excel in this game. LOUISIANA by 16
Monday, Dec 20
Myrtle Beach Bowl -- Old Dominion Monarchs (6-6) v Tulsa Golden Hurricane (6-6) : The records are the same, but Tulsa faced much tougher competition in the American Athletic Conference. They are the sturdier and better team. TULSA by 12
Tuesday, Dec 21
Idaho Potato Bowl -- Kent State Golden Flashes (7-6) v Wyoming Cowboys (6-6) : Another MAC flop. The Cowboys are better than their 6-6 record, and they want to prove that. Kent State may have surprised MAC opponents to reach the MAC Championship game, but their non-conference record stinks. WYOMING by 14
Frisco Bowl -- #16 UTSA Roadrunners (12-1) v San Diego State Aztecs (11-2) : We have the Mountain West runner-up against the Conference USA winner. This is our first match-up of double-digit winning teams, and both are strong offensive squads. The Aztecs have a slightly better defense, but I don't think that defense is good enough to stop the Roadrunners, even with help from Acme (sorry, old cartoon joke). This should be an excitingly close game, though. UTSA by ten
Wednesday, Dec 22
Armed Forces Bowl -- Missouri Tigers (6-6) v Army Black Knights (8-4) : Army may have lost to Navy, but this is their bowl and they have something to prove. ARMY by 16
Thursday, Dec 23
Frisco Classic -- North Texas Mean Green (6-6) v Miami Ohio Redbirds (6-6) : Doesn't a game have to have a history to be a classic? Okay, it is a classic baseball game, but not college football. Created basically as a means to allow a Texas school to get an additional bowl game, there is a reason why North Texas would have missed the bowls. Despite some struggles this season, I think this game will allow the MAC to gain another bowl victory. MIAMI OHIO by six
Gasparilla Bowl -- UCF Golden Knights (8-4) v Florida Gators (6-6) : Florida can be tough in bowl games, so an upset might be brewing, but UCF has a great bowl history, and a tough defense to boot. The Gators have not done well against tough defenses this season. UCF by nine
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