After five months of college football, the season is down to two teams and one game. But as we wait for Miami and Indiana to meet in their College Football Playoff title throwdown, it is time for our annual lookback on the postseason contests that led up to this one.
All of them.
Since Dec. 13, when the Cricket Celebration Bowl and Bucked Up LA Bowl kicked off 2,200 miles apart, this great nation has been covered up in bowl games. And those bowl games have been covered up in mayonnaise, eggnog, baked beans and Frosted Flakes.
If you don't like fun, stop reading now. If you don't love college football, stop reading now. And if you are one of those Ebenezer Scrooge/mall-parking-lot-road-rage Karens who spent their holidays trying to convince the rest of us that bowl games are outdated, stop ... well, OK, you probably already stopped reading anyway. And that's cool with us. Because it's time for our annual celebration of all that is right with this greatest of sports at a time when so many are so obsessed with what is wrong.
Welcome to the 2025-26 edition of Best of the Bowls.
Best Performance by a Game Winner: Hawai'i's two-headed QB
In the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl, Rainbow Warriors starting quarterback Micah Alejado threw for 274 yards and three TDs, and rushed for another 33 yards, but suffered a hard hit in the closing seconds of the game with his team trailing Cal 31-28. Backup QB Luke Weaver, who hadn't played since mid-September, came off the bench and threw a 22-yard TD pass with 10 seconds remaining to win the game 35-31.
Best Performance by a Game Loser: Michael Van Buren Jr., LSU
The Tigers QB threw for 267 yards and three TDs, and nearly saved the day in the fourth quarter, but the team playing out the pre-Kiffin era string blew an early 14-point lead and lost to Houston 38-35 in the Kinder's Texas Bowl.
Best Finish You Might've Missed: Rate Bowl
You might remember the Rate Bowl as the Artist Formerly Known as the Copper Bowl, but now you'll know it as the Game Forever Known as the Golden Gophers' Last-Second Dagger Bowl.
Best Float: Prince Cheddward's Dragon
OK, OK, yes, we know that nothing will supplant the Rose Parade when it comes to rolling street artistry. However, those flower-and-seed covered floats never come close to the Rose Bowl itself. Prince Cheddward rode into the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl atop a smoking dragon slathered entirely in Cheez-Its.
Best Sideline Interview: Snoop Dogg
Dude doesn't just sponsor a game, the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl, he broke off the pregame interview of the game with his name because he looked up and saw he was game for making an actual play in the game with his name, fielding a kick in the end zone adorned with, yes, his name.
Best Trophy You Already Know About: Pop-Tarts Bowl
What could possibly top a giant toaster that cooks human-sized Pop-Tarts, so giant that we all held our breath when one of those tarts leapt for its life? How about a trophy that is also a toaster (even if the coaches can't figure out how to operate it)? If you don't know about the Pop-Tarts Bowl accolade/kitchen appliance, then you need to read this story by the great Dave Wilson.
Best Trophy You Need to Know About: Isleta New Mexico Bowl
During the first sunrise of September, on the sacred ground of the Zia Pueblo, Elizabeth and Marcellus Medina's family gathers clay from the land their family has occupied for centuries, which is used to craft the pot that is awarded to the winner of the New Mexico Bowl every December. It is hand-painted except for one blank space reserved for the name of the winning team, carefully inscribed as soon as the game is over. One part history, one part art and all parts glory.
Best Trophy the Coach Didn't Want: Vrbo Fiesta Bowl
Miami's Mario Cristobal, like Kirby Smart and others from the Saban coaching tree, has taken on his mentor's model of postgame celebration following any win that isn't a national championship. In his defense, Cristobal's focus was to get his players on the stage instead of "all these extra people," but when he was handed the golden football from atop the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl trophy he looked at it like he'd just opened a Christmas present that he thought was going to be a PlayStation but ended up being socks.
Still the Best Bowl Perk: NASCAR Ride-Alongs
No matter the name of its game, from Continental Tire and Meineke Car Care to Belk and Duke's Mayo, Charlotte's bowl game continues to both electrify and terrify its participants by taking them to Charlotte Motor Speedway for some 180 mph hot laps via the NASCAR Racing Experience.
Best Educational Experience: Is this where the dentist lost his tooth?
No doubt Nebraska was bummed to lose the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl to Utah, but at least they were able to get in some great learning opportunities. Isn't that right, Huskers wideout Dane Key?
Best Surprise Game Tweeter: Steven Van Zandt
Social media can be the worst. But when Bruce Springsteen's righthand man, aka Miami Steve, aka Little Steven aka Silvio Dante starts randomly live-tweeting about the Go Bowling Military Bowl because he likes East Carolina's logo because it wears a bandana like he does, well, then social media can be the best. Especially when he kept on tweeting all the way through bowl season and into the CFP.
The 'Hang It In the Louvre' Award: Duke WR Que'Sean Brown
Brown did what Arizona State's Jalen Moss had done earlier, taking a post-TD dive into a giant bowl of Frosted Flakes at the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl, but the image that emerged from Brown's backward flop was pure art.
The 'Isn't This Actually in the Louvre?' Award: The Beaneater by Annibale Carracci
After Louisville defeated Toledo in the Bush's Boca Raton Bowl of Beans, the Cardinals partook of said beans ... and legendary social media follow @ArtButSports partook of some art education.
The 'Is There Something Opposite of the Louvre We Can Hang This In?' Award: Holiday Bowl
The Trust & Will Holiday Bowl is an underrated classic, from BYU's 1984 national title game to Kevin from "The Office" slinging eggnog over the coach's head and onto photographers (which he did on purpose). But this year's end zone paint jobs were like some sort of wintertime beach Rorschach test.
Best Odd Couple: Butch Jones and Master Chief
The Xbox Bowl made its debut this year, played at The Star in Frisco, Texas. If you're going to be an Xbox game then who else should present the trophy but the hero of THE Xbox game, Master Chief from Halo, who handed over the hardware to Arkansas State and coach Butch Jones. I can't accurately explain why that juxtaposition is so funny, but you have to admit that it totally is.
Best Gatorade Bath Chase Won by Players: UTSA
As the Roadrunners finished off Florida International in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl, head coach Jeff Traylor responded by dashing more than 50 yards to try to avoid getting doused in the cold December Dallas air, but the plastic sideline thingy did him in.
Best Gatorade Bath Chase Almost Won by Coach: Army
As the Black Knights put away UConn in the much-colder New England air of the Wasabi Fenway Bowl, Army head coach Jeff Monken ran a bazillion yards zigzagging like Barry Sanders before a definite should-have-been holding penalty against D-lineman Jack Bousum did the frozen deed.
Best Season: Bowl Season
The ratings were up, the fun was up, and transfer portal be damned, the football was up ... especially for those who knew their time together was up, too.
