Bowl season is here! In fact, it’s more than here: it already started! While last weekend I folded the LA Bowl into normal coverage, from here we’ll forward lower-level games of interest into the bowl slate as well.
As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.
Tuesday, December 16
9:00: Jacksonville State vs. Troy (Veterans Bowl @ Montgomery, AL; ESPN): For the record, this game already happened, and I had Troy winning. So whoops.
SP+ line: Troy by 1.1
Vegas line: Troy by 2.5
Watchability tier: II
Previous meetings: These Alabama teams met often in lower-level ball, but only one meeting has occurred since either went to FBS: Troy defeated still-FCS Jacksonville State 21-3 in 2001.
Last bowl game: Jax State lost 30-27 to Ohio in last season’s Cure Bowl, their second bowl appearance in a row (and ever). This is Troy’s first bowl game since a 17-10 loss to Duke in the 2023 Birmingham Bowl.
Announcers: Matt Barrie, Tom Luginbill, and Harry Lyles Jr.
Wednesday, December 17
5:00: Old Dominion vs. South Florida (Cure Bowl @ Orlando, FL; ESPN):
As is usual with games like this, it may depend on who actually suits up for USF, but I’m leaning their way.
SP+ line: USF by 8
Vegas line: USF by 3.5
Watchability tier: II
Previous meetings: This is the first meeting between these teams.
Last bowl game: This is ODU’s first bowl since a 38-35 loss to Western Kentucky in the 2023 Famous Toastery Bowl. This is the third bowl appearance in a row for USF. Last season they defeated San Jose State 41-39 in the Hawaii Bowl.
Announcers: Dave Neal, Fozzy Whittaker, and Morgan Uber
8:30: Louisiana vs. Delaware (68 Ventures Bowl @ Mobile, AL; ESPN): The Blue Hens did well in their first FBS season to get to 6-6. I don’t think the Cajuns are obviously better than them, but for a team still moving up from FCS, I think at the end of the year a team used to the FBS level will just be more ready to play a 13th FBS game.
SP+ line: Cajuns by 1.8
Vegas line: Cajuns by 3
Watchability tier: I
Previous meetings: This is the first meeting between these teams.
Last bowl game: This is the eight straight bowl game for the Cajuns, dating to the Cure Bowl, a 41-24 Tulane win. Last season they lost 34-3 to TCU in the New Mexico Bowl. Since this is their first season in FBS, this is also Delawre’s first ever bowl game.
Announcers: Clay Matvick, Max Browne, and Alyssa Lang
Thursday, December 18
9:00: Missouri State vs. Arkansas State (Xbox Bowl @ Frisco, TX; ESPN2): RIP to the Bahamas Bowl, which this game is taking the place of. I actually like MoState a bit more in this one, due to their more successful move up.
SP+ line: Missouri St by 1.2
Vegas line: Arky St by 1.5
Watchability tier: I
Previous meetings: These teams have never met as FBS opponents, but did meet 4 times when Missouri State was still in DI-AA/FCS. In 1991, Missour State won 37-20. The three subsequent meetings have been Arkansas Staet wins, the most recent of which was a 70-7 win in 2015.
Last bowl game: Since this is Missouri State’s first season in FBS, this is also their ever bowl game. Arkansas State has been to three straight bowls, beating Bowling Green 38-31 in last season’s 68 Ventures Bowl.
Announcers: Jorge Sedano, Rodney McLeod, and Victoria Arlen
Friday, December 19
11:00: Kennesaw State vs. Western Michigan (Myrtle Beach Bowl @ Conway, SC; ESPN): A matchup of G5 champs that should be at least a little fun while you’re busy pretending to work. Kennesaw tramped their way through Conference USA, while WMU has a much more typical MAC season. I’ll take the Owls here.
SP+ line: Kennesaw by 1.1
Vegas line: WMU by 3.5
Watchability tier: II
Previous meetings: This is the first meeting between these teams.
Last bowl game: This is Kennesaw State’s first ever bowl game. WMU lost 30-23 to South Alabama in last season’s Veterans Bowl.
Announcers: Matt Schumacker, Dustin Fox, and Marilyn Payne
2:30: North Carolina State vs. Memphis (Gasparilla Bowl @ Tampa, FL; ESPN): Things are starting to get a little bit more real here. Sure, there’s still plenty of other bowls next week that involve G5 teams, but this one should be fun. The Tigers are still doing plenty of Memphis things, though they’re part of the group of top American coaches who are now coaching elsewhere. Provided they haven’t already had too many guys transfer out, I like them slightly over NC State.
SP+ line: Memphis by 6.8
Vegas line: NCSU by 6
Watchability tier: III
Previous meetings: This is the first meeting between these teams.
Last bowl game: NC State should have a six game bowl streak stating to the 2020 Gator Bowl, but the 2021 Holiday Bowl was canceled. They lost 26-21 to ECU in last season’s Military Bowl. This is Memphi’s fourth consecutive postseason appearance, dating to a 38-10 win over Utah State in the 2022 First Responder Bowl. They beat West Virginia 42-37 in last year’s Frisco Bowl.
Announcers: Anish Shroff, Andre Ware, Paul Carcaterra
8:00: Alabama @ Oklahoma (College Football Playoff First Round; ABC): And now… the playoff. It’s hard to say how compelling this game will be, after all, we already saw it. And Oklahoma won. Both teams enter with plenty of questions on offense. For Oklahoma, have the past three weeks off allowed John Mateer’s hand to heal up a bit more? For Bama, can they do anything that resembles the team’s offense before roughly late October? The SEC championship game is very hard to watch for multiple reasons, not the least of which was Ty Simpson looking like he’d regressed in a big way while facing a very, very good defense. And if there’s anything these Sooners do, it’s play defense. I don’t think Simpson’s life is going to get any easier this time around. You’ve heard it before: it’s tough to beat a team twice. But with the kind of game the Sooners will probably play, Bama may be lucky to score points.
SP+ line: Sooners by 3.3
Vegas line: Sooners by 1.5
Watchability tier: IV
Previous meetings: The Sooners are 5-2-1 against the Tide all time. Their first meeting was in the 1962-63 Orange Bowl, a 17-0 Bama win. The most recent was, of course, earlier this season, a 23-21 Sooner victory.
Last bowl game: The Sooners have the second longest bowl streak in the country, a 27 game streak dating to the 1999 Independence Bowl (a 27-25 loss to Mississippi). Last season, they lost 21-20 to Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl. The Tide have the third longest bowl streak, a 25-gamer dating to the 2001 Independence Bowl (where they beat Iowa State 14-13). Last season they lost to Michigan 19-13 in the Reliaquest Bowl.
Announcers: Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe, and Laura Rutledge
Saturday, December 20
12:00: Miami @ Texas A&M (College Football Playoff First Round; ABC): This is almost certainly the most compelling of the first round matchups. The Aggies, of course, only lost one game, but it was their last one. The Canes have big wins that got them into the field, but played inconsistent at times. There’s no doubt on paper they’ve got the talent to prevail. I’m not sure I really like either of these teams in the next round, but for now I think the Aggies’ consistency will allow them to prevail. I think this is the game with the best chance of an upset, though.
SP+ line: Aggies by 2.6
Vegas line: TAMU by 3.5
Watchability tier: IV
Previous meetings: These teams have met five times, all in the regular season. The first was a 70-14 A&M win in 1944. The most recent was a 48-33 Miami win in 2023, giving the Canes a slight 3-2 edge all-time.
Last bowl game: This is the third bowl game in a row for the Aggies. Last season they lost to Southern Cal 35-31 in the Las Vegas Bowl. Miami has also now made three postseason appearances in a row, losing 42-41 to Iowa state in last season’s Pop-Tarts Bowl.
Announcers: Sean McDonough, Greg McElroy, Molly McGrath, and Taylor McGregor
1:00: Johns Hopkins @ Wisconsin-River Falls (NCAA Division III Semifinal; ESPN+)
3:30: Tulane @ Mississippi (College Football Playoff First Round; TNT): And here’s the second of the two rematches we have in the first round. The odd thing here, of course, is the coaching situation. You may’ve heard that Mississippi’s coach left for another job on the SEC, so he’s not going to be in Vaught-Hemingway for this one. You may’ve also heard that the Green Wave’s coach also left for a SEC job, but unlike the former, Sumerall will be the head coach for this game. Could that make a difference? Maybe. But a three touchdown difference? I’m not so sure. Keep an eye on this one though.
SP+ line: Rebels by 17.9
Vegas line: Rebels by 17.5
Watchability tier: III
Previous meetings: It’s not suprising that these former conference mates have met 74 times, playing at least somewhat regularly through the 1980’s. They first met in 1893, a surely thrilling 12-4 Mississippi win. Their most recent matchup, back in September, was a 45-10 romp in Oxford. You’ll have to go back to 1988 to find the last Green Wave victory in this series, where Mississippi has a 45-29 all-time lead.
Last bowl game: Mississippi has a six game bowl streak dating to the 2020-21 Outback Bowl, a 26-20 win over Indiana. Last season they beat Duke 52-20 in the Gator Bowl. This is the fourth postseason contest in a row for Tulane, dating to the 2022-23 Cotton Bowl, where they beat Southern California 46-45. Last season they lost 33-8 to Florida in the Gasparilla Bowl.
Announcers: Joe Tessitore, Jesse Palmer, Katie George, and Quint Kessenich
4:00:
- Montana @ Montana State (“Brawl of the Wild”; NCAA Division I Semifinal; ABC): If the Tulane-Mississippi game is going the way we all think it will, don’t hesitate to flip over to ABC for what might turn into the greatest semifinal in the history of the NCAA football tournament.
- Harding vs. Ferris State (NCAA Division II Championship @ McKinney, TX; ESPN2)
4:30: John Carroll @ North Central (NCAA Division III Semifinal; ESPN+)
7:30:
- James Madison @ Oregon (College Football Playoff First Round; TNT): I believe both of these things to be true. First, given the rules and structure of the College Football Playoff, 11-1 Sun Belt champion JMU absolutely deserves to be in the field. Second, they stand absolutely no chance in this game.
SP+ line: Ducks by 15.3
Vegas line: Ducks by 21.5
Watchability tier: II
Previous meetings: This is the first meeting between these teams.
Last bowl game: This is the ninth postseason appearance in a row for the Ducks, dating to the 2017 Las Vegas Bowl (a 38-28 loss to Boise State). Last season they lost a playoff quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl 41-21 to Ohio State. This is the third straight postseason for the Dukes. Last season they beat Western Kentucky 27-17 in the Boca Raton Bowl.
Announcers: Bob Wischusen, Louis Riddick, Kris Budden, and Stormy Buonantony - Illinois State @ Villanova (NCAA Division I Semifinal; ESPN2)