A reason (or two) to watch every one of this year's bowl games

The "Bowls are dead!" chorus is growing louder. Notre Dame opted out after what had to feel like one of the crueler playoff snubs imaginable (non-2023 Florida State edition, anyway). So did Kansas State and Iowa State (who, to be fair, lost their head coaches and had basically taken a bowl trip to Ireland to start the season already). When the Birmingham Bowl was looking for an opponent for Georgia Southern, it had to search pretty deep into the bin of 5-7 teams before finding one willing and able to make the flight. The vibes have certainly been better.

Once the field is set, however, the vibes don't matter. With two delightful Saturday matchups -- Prairie View A&M vs. South Carolina State in the Cricket Celebration bowl at noon ET, then Boise State vs. Washington in the Bucked Up LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk at 8 p.m. (with Army-Navy in between, of course) -- the train leaves the station. Then we're off on a three-week journey from Atlanta to Boise and Frisco and Hawaii and Boston and Birmingham and El Paso and all points in between.

Some teams will be more excited to be there than others, and some players will opt out, and the show will go on regardless. We'll soak in the last college football we can get, we'll see players dump french fries and mayonnaise (in separate bowl games, though that'd be delightful together) on victorious coaches, we'll murder an anthropomorphized Pop-Tart, and we'll all have a lovely time.

The deader we pretend bowls are, the more entertaining they turn out to be. To prepare you for the silliness, I'm here to lump each bowl game -- not including first-round College Football Playoff games, which technically aren't bowls, or the Fiesta and Peach Bowl semifinals, which don't have any teams yet -- into 13 categories. (Some show up in multiple categories. It's fine.)

Here's something you need to know about each game on the forever-loaded bowl schedule.

The usurpers start their run

CFP Quarterfinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl: James Madison-Oregon winner vs. No. 4 Texas Tech (Jan. 1)

CFP Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential: Alabama-Oklahoma winner vs. No. 1 Indiana (Jan. 1)

Generally speaking, I remain of the belief that the College Football Playoff quarterfinals should be at home stadiums and that the four bowls currently used for the quarterfinals should be used to pair off the top eight non-playoff teams in the most attractive possible matchups. This year, we could have gotten a Texas-USC Rose Bowl, or Vanderbilt in the Sugar Bowl, or maybe a postseason Holy War between BYU and Utah in the Cotton Bowl. (And hey, would Notre Dame have so quickly opted out of bowl participation if the promise of a Notre Dame-Michigan Orange Bowl loomed instead? Perhaps, but go with me here.)

I'm not the biggest fan of these bowls basically being used as neutral-site venues for a playoff game. I remember last year's incredible Arizona State-Texas quarterfinal, for instance, but I had to think for a moment to remember that it was technically also the Peach Bowl. To me that almost dilutes the value of these major bowls.

The best way around this problem, however, is when teams like Indiana or Texas Tech -- college football's greatest usurpers at the moment -- are involved. Indiana and Ohio State played in a Big Ten championship game last week that had almost no playoff consequences, but you couldn't tell that to Indiana fans who desperately wanted to see their team both pull one over on the Buckeyes for the first time since 1988 and win a share of their first Big Ten title (and earn their first Rose Bowl berth) since 1967. The Hoosiers will play -- and be favored against -- a college football blue blood there, too, be it Oklahoma or Alabama. They will obviously hope to play two more games after this one, but this will still feel like an awfully big deal.

Texas Tech, meanwhile, will be playing in its first Orange Bowl. It is an injustice that the Red Raiders weren't sent to the far closer Cotton Bowl -- Ohio State was sent there instead, and there's a chance it could create a bit of a home-field advantage for the Buckeyes' opponent if they face Texas A&M there -- but it is still a neat rarity for a program that is successfully spending its way into the big time.

For all the problems facing this sport at the moment, we could see Indiana winning the Rose Bowl and Texas Tech winning the Orange Bowl, clinching a semifinal appearance against each other and assuring that one of them will play the national title. That's pretty cool. (Granted, we also could end up with Alabama-Oregon or something far more familiar.)

Dynasties in the making?

CFP Quarterfinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic: Miami-Texas A&M winner vs. No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (Dec. 31)

CFP Quarterfinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl: Tulane-Ole Miss winner vs. No. 3 Georgia (Jan. 1)

It is a delightful work of symmetry that we have usurpers on one side of the bracket and the heaviest of heavyweights on the other. Of the past four national titles, Ohio State and Georgia have won three. The Buckeyes are the defending champs, and for all of the talk about parity in the SEC, the Bulldogs, national champs in 2021 and 2022, have won three of the last four conference titles and have played for seven of the last eight.

Ohio State is playing in the Cotton Bowl for the third straight season -- even if last year's win over Texas very much falls into the "it was a semifinal in Arlington more than it was the Cotton Bowl" category -- and is visiting Jerry World for the fifth time in nine years. No matter how familiar the Buckeyes are with the terrain, however, they won't be that familiar with their opponent: They'll either be playing Texas A&M for the first time since the 1999 Sugar Bowl or Miami for the first time since 2011.

Georgia, meanwhile, will be either playing a Cinderella -- if Tulane can avenge a blowout loss to Ole Miss early in 2025 -- or facing a rematch of one of the SEC's best games of 2025. The Dawgs went on a 17-0 run over the final 13 minutes to beat Lane Kiffin's Rebels 43-35 on Oct. 18. Granted, they're not Kiffin's Rebels anymore, and a lot will have changed in two months. But either upstarts will pull upsets in the Cotton and Sugar Bowls, or we'll get our first Ohio State-Georgia game since their incredible 2022 playoff game in Atlanta.

My five favorite non-playoff bowls

Bucked Up LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk: Boise State vs. Washington (Dec. 13)

I ended up with five different reasons to pick these five games. Boise State-Washington is a pretty fun regional semi-rivalry that tends to produce either fun, tight Boise State wins or statement blowouts from UW. Both the Broncos and Huskies, meanwhile, are young enough to be hoping for big things in 2026, and both could use a positive result as a nice springboard.

Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl: California vs. Hawai'i (Dec. 24)

California-Hawai'i might as well be called the JKS Bowl. Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, a native of Ewa Beach, Hawai'i, has committed to returning to Berkeley next season -- despite the fact that we don't know what offensive coordinator new head coach Tosh Lupoi is going to hire -- and he gets a homecoming game of sorts back on the islands.

Go Bowling Military Bowl: Pittsburgh vs. East Carolina (Dec. 27)

Pitt-ECU is just going to be a mess. A wonderful mess. The Panthers and Pirates played two of last season's wildest bowls -- Pitt lost a six-overtime slugfest to Toledo, ECU won a brawl-plagued (or brawl-blessed?) rivalry game over NC State -- and they both tend to live right on the line between aggression and a total lack of control. Hell yeah.

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl: No. 13 Texas vs. No. 18 Michigan (Dec. 31)

Texas-Michigan is, quite simply, a helmet game. I'm a fan of underdogs, and I preach the value of college football socialism as much as anyone, but I'm allowed to enjoy helmet games.

ReliaQuest Bowl: No. 14 Vanderbilt vs. No. 23 Iowa (Dec. 31)

Vandy-Iowa means that the final chapter in the Diego Pavia story will come against a physical and often confusing Iowa defense and a generally underrated Hawkeyes team. This should be a max-effort game from both sides, too.

Disappointment Bowls, Part 1 (crushed CFP dreams)

Isleta New Mexico Bowl: No. 25 North Texas vs. San Diego State (Dec. 27)

Pop-Tarts Bowl: No. 12 BYU vs. No. 22 Georgia Tech (Dec. 27)

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl: No. 13 Texas vs. No. 18 Michigan (Dec. 31)

ReliaQuest Bowl: No. 14 Vanderbilt vs. No. 23 Iowa (Dec. 31)

SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl: No. 15 Utah vs. Nebraska (Dec. 31)

Granted, the First Team Out of the 2025 CFP, Notre Dame, isn't playing in the postseason at all. But the likes of BYU, Texas, Vandy, Utah and American Conference title game loser North Texas dealt with their share of disappointment too. Who uses the snub and/or letdowns as fuel, and who's already punted on the season?

Disappointment Bowls, Part 2 (disappointing 2025 campaigns)

Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl: Penn State vs. Clemson (Dec. 27)

Kinder's Texas Bowl: No. 21 Houston vs. LSU (Dec. 27)

Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl: Tennessee vs. Illinois (Dec. 30)

Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl: Arizona State vs. Duke (Dec. 31)

Penn State, Clemson, LSU, Arizona State, Tennessee and Illinois all began the season in the preseason AP top 15, and they're all currently unranked. For Penn State and Clemson, the disappointments came early in the season, and they spent the latter portion of the year gathering themselves and trying to make something of the campaign. The Nittany Lions rallied to win their last three games to reach bowl eligibility, and the Tigers won their last four to finish 7-5. The Pinstripe Bowl winner will therefore actually finish the season feeling pretty good about itself, all things considered. Arizona State might, too, considering the Sun Devils could still end up 9-4 despite an injury to quarterback Sam Leavitt derailing their hopes.

The 2026 Heisman race begins

Bucked Up LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk: Washington (Demond Williams Jr.) vs. Boise State (Dec. 13)

Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl: California (Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele) vs. Hawai'i (Dec. 24)

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl: Missouri (Ahmad Hardy) vs. No. 19 Virginia (Dec. 27)

Valero Alamo Bowl: No. 16 USC (Jayden Maiava) vs. TCU (Dec. 30)

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl: No. 13 Texas (Arch Manning) vs. No. 18 Michigan (Bryce Underwood) (Dec. 31)

Ohio State's Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith (and Bo Jackson?), Georgia's Gunner Stockton, Ole Miss' Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy, Miami's Malachi Toney, Texas A&M's Marcel Reed and other potential 2026 Heisman candidates will be plying their trade in the CFP. Oregon's Dante Moore, too, if he doesn't go pro. But despite being outside of the playoff's realm, other potential candidates will have a chance to build plenty of 2026 buzz. Can you imagine what will happen if, say, Arch Manning throws for 300-plus on Michigan? You thought this year's buzz was loud?

Embrace the silliness

Bucked Up LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk: Boise State vs. Washington (Dec. 13)

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Washington State vs. Utah State (Dec. 22)

Bush's Boca Raton Bowl of Beans: Toledo vs. Louisville (Dec. 23)

Pop-Tarts Bowl: No. 12 BYU vs. No. 22 Georgia Tech (Dec. 27)

Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl: Miami (Ohio) vs. Fresno State (Dec. 27)

Duke's Mayo Bowl: Wake Forest vs. Mississippi State (Jan. 2)

It's OK to admit it: For some games, the teams, players and coaches are just pawns for other types of entertainment value. Boise State-Washington could be very entertaining on its own, but it's going to be awash with Rob Gronkowski appearances, too. The same goes for the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl.

Either Utah State's Bronco Mendenhall or Washington State interim coach Jesse Bobbit will get showered with french fries at the end of the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. The winner of the Bush's Boca Raton Bowl of Beans -- a real thing! -- allegedly won't get showered with beans, but there's still time for important people to change their minds on that one. And at this point, the lore of the Pop-Tarts Bowl and Mayo Bowl are about as well-known as the sport itself.

Either Wake Forest's Jake Dickert or Mississippi State's Jeff Lebby will be finding mayonnaise in places he never dreamed of come the morning of Jan. 3. College football!

Ending Year 1 with a bang

The transfer portal has redefined what it means to be a first-year coach. Either by choice or by necessity, you can now almost re-craft your entire roster right out of the gate. This goes horribly for some, obviously, but not even including some schools like Washington State, where the first-year guy has already left, we have a number of first-year success stories looking to keep the positivity going.

Cricket Celebration Bowl: Prairie View A&M (Tremaine Jackson) vs. South Carolina State (Dec. 13)

People of a certain age (read: mine) will forever remember Prairie View A&M as the school that lost an epic 80 straight games in the 1980s and 1990s. The Aggies have seen successful since then -- four SWAC West division titles, two SWAC titles -- but now they'll get their first Celebration Bowl spotlight thanks to last week's upset of Jackson State in the SWAC title game. And they got here with a first-year coach who could become a very big name soon.

Tremaine Jackson is 50-15 in his short time as a head coach, and in the past two years he has brought Valdosta State to the Division II national title game and won the SWAC with Prairie View. PVAMU will face second-year coach Chennis Berry and SC State, and my SP+ ratings have the game as almost a perfect tossup. A great game to start bowl season.

IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl: Jacksonville State (Charles Kelly) vs. Troy (Dec. 13)

JLAB Birmingham Bowl: Appalachian State (Dowell Loggains) vs. Georgia Southern (Dec. 29)

I wanted to isolate these two because of underrated bitterness: Jacksonville State and Troy are in-state rivals who will be playing each other in Mobile, Alabama, right in between the two schools. That one should be feisty enough that it almost made my favorite bowls list. Meanwhile, App State and Georgia Southern are former FCS powers that don't like each other much either, and their first game this season, a 25-23 Eagles win, was great.

Myrtle Beach Bowl Presented by Engine: Kennesaw State (Jerry Mack) vs. Western Michigan (Dec. 19)

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Utah State (Bronco Mendenhall) vs. Washington State (Dec. 22)

Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl: UNLV (Dan Mullen) vs. Ohio (Dec. 23)

Rate Bowl: New Mexico (Jason Eck) vs. Minnesota (Dec. 26)

SERVPRO First Responder Bowl: Florida International (Willie Simmons) vs. UTSA (Dec. 26)

Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl: Fresno State (Matt Entz) vs. Miami (Ohio) (Dec. 27)

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl: Rice (Scott Abell) vs. Texas State (Jan. 2)

Duke's Mayo Bowl: Wake Forest (Jake Dickert) vs. Mississippi State (Jan. 2)

Finishing strong

One method I enjoy for measuring which teams are particularly hot or cold at a given time is taking a weighted five-game average of how much teams are over- or underachieving against SP+ projections (weighted so that the most recent game takes on five times weight, the second-most recent game four times weight and so on).

At the end of the regular season, there were 15 teams with a weighted average of plus-9 PPG or better. That includes three playoff teams (Texas Tech, Tulane and Miami) and teams such as Wisconsin and Oklahoma State, which finished far short of bowl eligibility. But a few other teams, listed below with their PPG overachievement, could head into the offseason feeling like they have major momentum.

StaffDNA Cure Bowl: South Florida (+10.7) vs. Old Dominion (Dec. 13)

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Washington State (+10.9) vs. Utah State (Dec. 22)

SERVPRO First Responder Bowl: Florida International (+16.2) vs. UTSA (Dec. 26)

Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl: Fresno State (+9.2) vs. Miami (Ohio) vs. (Dec. 27)

Trust & Will Holiday Bowl: No. 17 Arizona (+11.0) vs. SMU (Jan. 2)

USF and Washington State have already lost their head coaches -- man oh man, does Wazzu deserve a period of time with some semblance of stability -- but at the very least, FIU, Fresno State and Arizona have a chance to build major offseason positivity.

Redemption time

On the flip side, a few teams limped into bowl season at the end of a run of underachievement. Here are five games featuring teams that hope a bowl will turn bad feelings around. (Three of them already have interim coaches.)

Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl: Coastal Carolina (-16.1) vs. Louisiana Tech (Dec. 30)

SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl: Nebraska (-13.8) vs. No. 15 Utah (Dec. 31)

New Orleans Bowl: Southern Miss (-13.2) vs. Western Kentucky (Dec. 23)

AutoZone Liberty Bowl: Cincinnati (-13.0) vs. Navy (Jan. 2)

Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl: Memphis (-12.3) vs. NC State (Dec. 19)

Congratulations, you get to play a service academy!

Wasabi Fenway Bowl: Army vs. UConn (Dec. 27)

AutoZone Liberty Bowl: Navy vs. Cincinnati (Jan. 2)

The Cincinnati staff and UConn interim staff will both try to navigate the distractions of bowl season (and the looming portal season) while studying how to defend very annoying option offenses. Have fun with that.

7-6 sounds much better than 6-7 (and 6-7 sounds better than 5-8)

Quite a few teams had to eke out bowl eligibility and will now try to finish above .500. Meanwhile, recent times have brought us something new: a 5-8 record, obviously earned only by teams that sneak into a bowl at 5-7, then lose. Six teams belong to the 5-8 Club -- 2016 North Texas, 2019 Army, 2021 Rutgers, 2022 Rice, 2023 Hawai'i and 2024 Louisiana Tech -- and three teams will be attempting to avoid the ignominy. Rice will be looking to avoid becoming the first two-time member.

68 Ventures Bowl: Louisiana (6-6) vs. Delaware (6-6) (Dec. 13)

Xbox Bowl: Missouri State vs. Arkansas State (6-6) (Dec. 18)

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Washington State (6-6) vs. Utah State (6-6) (Dec. 22)