This one is going to be short and sweet, as I’ve got eight games to cover. Like the title says, it’s almost a proper Saturday.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Saturday, December 27
11:00: Pittsburgh vs. East Carolina (Military Bowl @ Annapolis, MD; ESPN): We’ll get started in the AM with a matchup from Navy’s home stadium, and the Midshipmen aren’t playing in it. I still personally think this game is kind of silly, but it is what it is. (I’d think Audi Field in DC would be a better venue, though?) As for this one, this is the variety of P4 vs. G5 that will be closer than you’d think, and I expect both teams to show up. I’m still giving Pitt a slight edge though.
SP+ line: Pitt by 0.8
Vegas line: Pitt by 4.5
Watchability tier: II
Previous meetings: There’s been four meetings between these teams, but it’s been a while. The first was a 17-10 Pitt win in 1984, and the most recent was a 37-31 ECU win in 1992. Between then, they’ve split the series, so it’s even at 2-2.
Last bowl game: Last season, Pitt lost to Toledo in the Sports Bowl, 48-46. ECU beat NC State 26-21 in this very same game last year.
Announcers: Jay Alter, Rocky Boiman, and Madison Fitzpatrick

12:00: Clemson vs. Pennsylvania State (Pinstripe Bowl @ New York, NY; ABC): Welcome to the 2025 Disappointment Classic! Both of these teams were trendy picks for the Playoff back in August, and lo-and-behold look how that turned out. Clemson’s Dabo Swinney just barely held on and showed some encouraging signs down the stretch, but his offseason roster management needs to get with the times or this will probably happen again. Penn State, as we know, just got tired of the James Franklin of it all and fired him months ago. As for who the heck is going to win this game, this one is so tricky to forecast because of the discord around both teams. I’ve got Penn State just on paper, but I don’t feel good about it at all.
SP+ line: Penn St by 5.8
Vegas line: Clemson by 4.5
Watchability tier: II
Previous meetings: Just one, and it’s probably not a surprise it was a bowl game. That game was the 1987-1988 Citrus Bowl, a 35-10 Clemson win.
Last bowl game: Penn State would have a 12 game streak dating to the 2014 edition of this game where they beat Boston College 31-30, but they skipped 2020. Last season, as wild as it seems, they were in the playoff, where they beat SMU in the first round game 38-10, defeated Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl 31-14, and then narrowly lost to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl semifinal, 27-24. Clemson’s streak is the 4th longest in the country, at 21 straight, starting with a 19-10 win over Colorado in the 2005 Champs Sports Bowl. That said, I had apparently not looked this up before, or I forgot, but the Tigers missed a bowl in 2004 because, despite going 6-5, they elected not to play after the brawl in that year’s edition of the Palmetto Bowl. Otherwise, it’d be tied with Oklahoma for the second longest streak, dating to the 1999 Peach Bowl, where they lost 17-7 to Mississippi State. Last season they lost 38-24 to Texas in the opening round of the playoff.
Announcers: Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek, and Taylor McGregor

2:15: Connecticut vs. Army (Fenway Bowl @ Boston, MA; ESPN): It’s a regionally appropriate destination for these teams, though I’d kinda think given the weather up there right now they may wonder why we started having outdoor bowl games in cold places in the first place. At any rate, it’s been a dream season for UConn, and provided they don’t get fooled by the Knights too much, I think it’s likely to continue.
SP+ line: UConn by 8.7
Vegas line: Army by 7
Watchability tier: II
Previous meetings: Given the regional proximity of these two schools and long history of independence, it’s a little surprising they’ve only met 8 times as DI-A/FBS teams. Army lost 48-21 in their first meeting in 2003, and indeed the Huskies have dominated the series. They won the next four in a row, before Army finally notched a 35-21 win in 2014. The most recently met in 2022, a 34-17 Army win. UConn has a 5-3 overall series lead
Last bowl game: UConn beat UNC 27-14 in last season’s Fenway Bowl. Army defated Louisiana Tech 27-6 in last season’s Independence Bowl.
Announcers: Wes Durham, Steve Addazio, and Dana Boyle

3:30: Georgia Tech vs. Brigham Young (Pop-Tarts Bowl @ Orlando, FL; ABC): This is possibly the hype-est game of bowl season outside of the playoff. Which, as a Georgia Tech alum and fan, I can’t say I’m all that familiar with. After, there was that one time we beat Dak Prescott in the Orange Bowl. Both teams should have… most of their guys in this one. The Haynes and Haynes backfield figures to ride one last time for the Jackets, while BYU’s main coup of coach carousel season was hanging to their head guy, Kelani Sitake. This figures to a game that’s more of a rock fight than elegant, wide-open football, but that’s how two largest fans of strawberry Pop-Tarts (Brent Key and Sitake) like it. I hope this game is as good as everyone, myself included, thinks it’s going to be.
SP+ line: BYU by 6.9
Vegas line: BYU by 4.5
Watchability tier: IV
Previous meetings: Just four. The first was a 28-19 win in 2002. The next one is the first one I remember, as I had just started my freshman year at Tech. There was a watch party at Bobby Dodd for the game, and my RA tried to get everyone on our floor to go. I… think I was the only one that showed up, whereupon I watched an ugly, dispiriting 24-13 loss in Provo. Fortunately the next game went significantly better. Since then, the teams played a regular season home-and-away in 2012 and 2013, and the less said about those the better. BYU holds an overall 3-1 series lead.
Last bowl game: For Tech, this is their third bowl game in a row, dating tot he 2023 Gasparilla Bowl, a 30-17 win over Central Florida. Last season they lost 35-27 to Vanderbilt in the Birmingham Bowl. BYU beat Colorado 36-14 in last year’s Alamo Bowl.
Announcers: Mark Jones, Roddy Jones, and Quint Kessenich

4:30: Miami vs. Fresno State (Arizona Bowl @ Tuscon, AZ; The CW): I’m going to be honest, the two games above this and the game below it should cover up most of this game, but I’m sure there’ll be some reason to keep an eye on it. Maybe. I like Fresno by a lot here.
SP+ line: Fresno by 4.8
Vegas line: Fresno by 3.5
Watchability tier: I
Previous meetings: This is the first meeting between these teams.
Last bowl game: For the Redhawks, this could’ve been their seventh bowl in a row, but they went 2-1 in 2020 and who knows if they skipped a game or not. So let’s call it a five game streak, dating to the 2021 Frisco Football Classic, a 27-17 win over North Texas. Last season they beat Colorado State 43-17 in the Arizona Bowl.
Announcers: Thom Brennaman and Will Blackmon

5:45: San Diego State vs. North Texas (New Mexico Bowl @ Albuquerque, NM; ESPN): This is the “unstoppable force versus immovable object” game of the day. North Texas features the best offense in FBS (and their quarterback is expected to play) and will score. The question is just how much they will score against the 16th ranked defense by SP+. Remember, SDSU held Cal’s dynamic QB to 0 points a few months ago. With mostly everyone playing, I like UNT, but this could be fun in a somewhat different way.
SP+ line: UNT by 8.5
Vegas line: UNT by 3.5
Watchability tier: III
Previous meetings: These teams have met seven times. The first meeting was a 42-24 SDSU win in 1969. They met every year after that until 1975. The Aztecs won all of those games, save one: 14-9 UNT win in 1974.
Last bowl game: For the Aztecs, this is their first bowl game since the 2022 Hawaii Bowl, a 25-23 loss to Middle Tennessee State. North Texas lost to Texas State 30-28 in last season’s First Responder Bowl.
Announcers: Lowell Galindo, Aaron Murray, and Lauren Sisler

7:30: Virginia vs. Missouri (Gator Bowl @ Jacksonville, FL; ABC): Well, not every P4 vs. P4 game can be a winner. I just don’t have strong feelings about these teams at all, but I guess it’s a sort-of come down from all the games earlier in the day. Maybe a good time to go back to hanging out with your family while this is on in the background, if you’re into that sort of thing. I apparently have UVA winning, so let’s go with that.
SP+ line: Mizzou by 5.5
Vegas line: Mizzou by 6.5
Watchability tier: II
Previous meetings: Just one: a 31-7 Mizzou win in 1973.
Last bowl game: For the Hoos, this is their first bowl since the 2019 Orange Bowl, a 36-28 loss to Florida. This is Mizzou’s fifth straight bowl in a row, dating to a 34-22 win over Army in the 2021 Armed Forces Bowl. Last season they beat Iowa 27-24 in the Music City Bowl.
Announcers: Bob Wischusen, Louis Riddick, and Kris Budden

9:15: Houston vs. Louisiana State (Texas Bowl @ Houston, TX; ESPN): If LSU is in any mood other than “ready to get this thing over with in the same stadium we ended last season in”, I’ll be surprised and owe a very big tip of the cap to Frank Wilson. Suffice it to say, I expect Houston to win.
SP+ line: LSU by 1.9
Vegas line: Houston by 3
Watchability tier: II
Previous meetings: Once again, for how relatively close these teams are, they’ve only met three times. LSU won the first meeting in 1996 35-34. The Cougars got them three years later 20-7, and LSU won the last meeting in 2000 28-13.
Last bowl game: For the Cougs, this is their first bowl game since a 23-16 win over Louisiana in the 2022 Independence Bowl. LSU, except for the pandemic, has a 26 game bowl streak dating to the 2000 Peach Bowl, a 28-14 win over Georgia Tech. Last season, they beat Baylor 44-31 in this very bowl game.
Announcers: Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers, and Cole Cubelic