A quick note: I haven’t figured out how to display my picks on the bowl page yet, and there are some other errors. I will work on fixing the factual errors shortly, but for now winner/loser info will not be available. Rest assured, I’m keeping track internally.
As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.
Monday, December 22
2:00: Utah State vs. Washington State (Potato Bowl @ Boise, ID; ESPN): Like I said, I’m keeping track of everything internally, so I assure you I correctly picked Wazzu.
SP+ line: Wazzu by 3.6
Vegas line: Aggies by 3
Watchability tier: II
Previous meetings: This is the fifth meeting between these teams. They first met in 1949, a 33-0 Wazzu win. After a 46-6 win in 1950, the Aggies have won the most recent two to even the series: 34-14 in 1961 and 26-23 in 2021.
Last bowl game: For the Aggies, their last bowl game was the 2023 edition of this game, a 45-22 loss to Georgia State. Wazzu beat Syracuse in last season’s Holiday Bowl 52-35.
Announcers: Chuckie Kempf, Darius Walker, and Tori Petry
Tuesday, December 23
2:00: Louisville vs. Toledo (Boca Raton Bowl @ Boca Raton, FL; ESPN): As is true with almost all games outside of the playoff these days, this game will come down to motivation and presence. By the latter, I mean it quite literally: if key players are opting-out they’re not there. Motivation is more about mental presence, where Louisville could very well be bummed about playing a MAC team in a third tier bowl game in what was a pretty good season for them. I still have the Cards winning mind you, but the Rockets are always spicy, especially since they’re more likely to be up for this game.
SP+ line: Cards by 3.3
Vegas line: Cards by 8.5
Watchability tier: II
Previous meetings: Just one: a 31-6 Cardinals win in 1981.
Last bowl game: This is the fifth bowl game in a row for the Cardinals, dating to a 31-28 loss to Air Force in the 2021 First Responder Bowl. Last season they beat Washington 35-34 in the Sun Bowl. This is also the Rockets’ fifth bowl in a row, dating to a 31-24 loss to Middle Tennessee State in the 2021 Bahamas Bowl. Last season they beat Pitt in the Sports Bowl, 48-46.
Announcers: Jay Alter, Rocky Boiman, and Ashley Stroehlein
5:30: Western Kentucky vs. Southern Mississippi (New Orleans Bowl @ New Orleans, LA; ESPN): Southern Miss was having a good season. Then their quarterback got hurt, their head coach got hired away, and… yeah, Hilltoppers all the way here.
SP+ line: WKU by 6.2
Vegas line: WKU by 4
Watchability tier: I
Previous meetings: The first meeting was a 42-17 Hilltopper win in 2012. Tehy met in the 2015 Conference USA championship game, a 48-28 WKU win. Their most recent meeting was a 10-7 WKU win in 2020, making the Hilltoppers 4-0.
Last bowl game: This is WKU’s seventh bowl in a row, dating to the 2019 First Responder Bowl, a 23-20 win over Western Michigan. Last season they lost to JMU in the Boca Raton Bowl, 27-17. For Southern Missi, this is their first bowl game since a 38-24 win over Rice in the 2022 Lending Tree Bowl.
Announcers: Courtney Lyle, Rene Ingoglia, and Ian Fitzsimmons
9:00: Nevada-Las Vegas vs. Ohio (Frisco Bowl @ Frisco, TX; ESPN): While UNLV got a little waxed in the Mountain West title game, they’re still just better than Ohio. Other than that, see what I wrote above.
SP+ line: UNLV by 8.1
Vegas line: UNLV by 4.5
Watchability tier: II
Previous meetings: Just one: a 26-18 UNLV win in 1988.
Last bowl game: For the Rebels, this will be their third bowl in a row. Last season they beat Cal 24-13 in the LA Bowl. This is Ohio’s fourth bowl in a row, dating to the 2022 Arizona Bowl, wher ethey beat Wyoming 30-27. Last season they won the Cure Bowl over Jacksonville State 30-27.
Announcers: Wes Durham, Steve Addazio, and Dana Boyle
Wednesday, December 24
8:00: California vs. Hawaii (Hawaii Bowl @ Honolulu, HI; ESPN): Once again, the Hawaii Bowl is back in its spiritually appropriate spot on Christmas Eve. This could actually be a pretty fun game, too. The Rainbow Warriors are playing well and at home. Cal is, of course, the random number generator of college football teams, but if QB phenom JKS plays then serious, anything could happen. I’m giving Hawaii a slight edge.
SP+ line: Bows by 4.4
Vegas line: Cal by 1.5
Watchability tier: III
Previous meetings: There’s been three meetings where Hawaii is considered FBS or equivalent: the first was a 42-18 Cal win in 1993. The next year, the Bears lost 21-7 in Bekerely. Their last meeting was a 51-31 Cal win in a 2016 season opener in Syndey, Australia.
Last bowl game: This is Cal’s third bowl in a row. They lost to UNLV 24-13 in last season’s LA Bowl. Hawaii’s last postseason appearance the 2020 New Mexico Bowl (held, of course, in Frisco, TX) where they beat Houston 28-14.
Announcers: Chris Cotter, Max Browne, and Harry Lyles Jr.
Friday, December 26
1:00: Northwestern vs. Central Michigan (Sports Bowl @ Detroit, MI; ESPN): If Northwestern cares about this at all they should have no problems dispatching CMU.
SP+ line: Cats by 7.6
Vegas line: Cats by 10.5
Watchability tier: I
Previous meetings: CMU doesn’t seem to be one of Northwestern’s MAC punching bags, as they have just one meeting: a 2010 Northwestern win by a 30-25 margin.
Last bowl game: Northwestern’s last bowl game was a 14-7 win over Utah in the 2023 Las Vegas Bowl. For CMU, this is their first postseason appearance since a 24-21 win over Wazzu in the 2021 Sun Bowl.
Announcers: Matt Schumacker, Dustin Fox, and Ashley Stroehlein
4:30: New Mexico vs. Minnesota (Rate Bowl @ Phoenix, AZ; ESPN): The numbers give the Lobos a pretty fair shake in this one. I know Minnesota is not spectacular this year, but at least on paper I like the Gophers a lot. This combination may make this game more interesting than I originally imagined.
SP+ line: Lobos by 0.9
Vegas line: Gophers by 2.5
Watchability tier: II
Previous meetings: This is the first meeting between these teams.
Last bowl game: For the Lobos, this is their first postseason since a 23-20 win over UTSA in the 2016 New Mexico Bowl. For Goldy and Co, this is their fifth bowl game in a row. The streak started with an 18-6 win over West Virginia in the 2021 Guaranteed Rate Bowl. Last season they beat Virginia Tech 24-10 in the Mayo Bowl.
Announcers: Mike Monaco, Kirk Morrison, and Dawn Davenport
8:00: Texas-San Antonio vs. Florida International (First Responder Bowl @ Dallas, TX; ESPN): This isn’t the fun UTSA of a few years ago, but FIU is not good. The Road Runners should, well, you know.
SP+ line: UTSA by 8.7
Vegas line: UTSA by 8.5
Watchability tier: I
Previous meetings: The series is tied at 2-2 all time. The first meeting was a 16-13 UTSA win in 2014, and the most recent was a 30-10 UTSA win in 2022.
Last bowl game: This is UTSA’s sixth bowl in a row, dating to the 2020 First Responder Bowl, where they lost 31-24 to Louisiana. Last season they beat Coastal Carolina in the Myrtle Beach Bowl. For FIU, this is their first bowl since th 2019 Camellia Bowl, 34-26 loss to Arkansas State.
Announcers: Anish Shroff, Andre Ware, and Paul Carcaterra