It's that time of year again. Time to spread the word about 43 college football bowl games that are coming your way this holiday season, as sanctioned by the NCAA and mostly televised by ESPN. Time to salute (?) the sponsors of such games who were willing to put corporate pride and a few million bucks aside, risking ridicule and anonymity to bring us pigskin entertainment.
First, a little background.
- Making up the four schools that will compete for the College Football Playoff championship in Houston January 8 are Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama. No Georgia, the defending champion? No Ohio State? Not even undefeated Florida State? You might say the Wolverines don't belong here because they allegedly stole signals during games, and coach Jim Harbaugh was suspended. Alabama? Had they not defeated Georgia in the SEC title game, they wouldn't be here, right?
- This was the last season in college football before realignment rears its ugly head. Next season, the SEC brings in Oklahoma and Texas. The Big Ten gets even bigger with the addition of four west coast schools--USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington. Stanford and California will join the Atlantic Coast Conference. Most of the other Pac-12 schools, with the notable exception of Oregon State and Washington State, will be off to other conferences. Will the last one to leave please turn off the lights?
- The biggest story of the early season was Deion Sanders, whose "Prime Time" antics set up shop as the new coach of the Colorado Buffaloes. His overhauled team won big games and big TV ratings before the bottom fell out as the season went along, which is why you won't be seeing him anywhere except for TV commercials this season. That doesn't mean we've heard the last of Deion Sanders, though. He's just getting started.
- The University of Minnesota has once again made the Bowl Board this season. But at 5-7 and only a win at Iowa to claim the Floyd of Rosedale trophy, coach P.J. Fleck's squad missed many more opportunities to bring home the bacon. They'll be making their third appearance at a bowl game in Detroit the day after Christmas, and only because they were "academically eligible". Like we always say: If the Gophers are in a bowl game, you'll know there's too many of them.
As always, the Bowl Board works like this. We mention what game it is, who's playing, where is it, and where you can watch it. Plus a brief description of the game's main sponsor.
So . . . ready for it?
Saturday, December 16
Myrtle Beach Bowl: Georgia Southern vs. Ohio (Conway, SC) ESPN
Cricket Celebration Bowl: Howard vs, Florida A&M (Atlanta) ABC
Cricket is a wireless provider.
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: Jacksonville State vs. Louisiana (New Orleans) ESPN
Freight shipping and logistics
Avocados From Mexico Cure Bowl: Miami (Ohio) vs. Appalachian State (Orlando, FL) ABC
Avocados and breast cancer awareness
Isleta New Mexico Bowl: New Mexico State vs. Fresno State (Albuquerque, NM) ESPN
Locally based resort and casino.
LA Bowl: UCLA vs. Boise State (Inglewood, CA) ABC
Hosted by Rob Gronkowski
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl: California vs. Texas Tech (Shreveport, LA) ESPN
Defense contractor.
Monday, December 18
Famous Toastery Bowl: Western Kentucky vs. Old Dominion (Charlotte, NC) ESPN
All-day breakfast restaurant chain.
Tuesday, December 19
Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl: TX-San Antonio vs. Marshall (Frisco, TX) ESPN
Coffee shop chain.
Thursday, December 21
RoofClaim,com Boca Raton Bowl: South Florida vs. Syracuse (Boca Raton, FL) ESPN
Roofing repairs.
Friday, December 22
Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. Central Florida (Tampa, FL) ESPN
Mortgage lender.
Saturday, December 23
Birmingham Bowl: Troy vs. Duke (Birmingham, AL) ABC
Camellia Bowl: Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois (Montgomery, AL) ESPN
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl: James Madison vs. Air Force (Fort Worth, TX) ABC
Defense contractor
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Georgia State vs. Utah State (Boise, ID) ESPN
68 Ventures Bowl: South Alabama vs. Eastern Michigan (Mobile, AL) ESPN
Gulf Coast developer.
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl: Utah vs. Northwestern (Las Vegas) ABC
Building products distributor.
EasyPost Hawaii Bowl: Coastal Carolina vs. San Jose State (Honolulu) ESPN
E-commerce online shipper.
Tuesday, December 26
Quick Lane Bowl: Bowling Green vs. Minnesota (Detroit) ESPN
Chain of auto service shops.
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl: Texas State vs. Rice (Dallas) ESPN
Disaster reparation services.
Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Kansas vs. UNLV (Phoenix) ESPN
Home mortgage lender.
Wednesday, December 27
Military Bowl presented by GoBowling.com: Virginia Tech vs. Tulane (Annapolis, MD) ESPN
Bowling promotion website.
Duke's Mayo Bowl: North Carolina vs. West Virginia (Charlotte, NC) ESPN
Southeast-based mayonnaise brand.
DirecTV Holiday Bowl: Louisville vs. USC (San Diego) Fox
Satellite TV provider.
TaxAct Texas Bowl: Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma State (Houston) ESPN
Online tax preparer.
Thursday, December 28
Wasabi Fenway Bowl: Southern Methodist vs. Boston College (Boston) ESPN
Cloud storage company.
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl: Rutgers vs. Miami (New York) ESPN
Lawn mower manufacturer.
Pop-Tarts Bowl: NC State vs. Kansas State (Orlando, FL) ESPN
Breakfast snack.
Valero Alamo Bowl: Arizona vs. Oklahoma (San Antonio, TX) ESPN
Energy company.
Friday, December 29
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl: Clemson vs. Kentucky (Jacksonville, FL) ESPN
Online tax preparer.
Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl: Oregon State vs. Notre Dame (El Paso, TX) CBS
Breakfast cereal.
AutoZone Liberty Bowl: Memphis vs. Iowa State (Memphis, TN) ESPN
Nationwide auto parts chain.
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic: Missouri vs. Ohio State (Arlington, TX) ESPN
Tire manufacturer and blimp flyer. New Year's Six game.
Saturday, December 30
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl: Mississippi vs. Penn State (Atlanta) ESPN
Chicken restaurant chain. New Year's Six game.
Capital One Orange Bowl: Georgia vs. Florida State (Miami Gardens, FL) ESPN
Banking and financial services. New Year's Six game.
TransPerfect Music City Bowl: Auburn vs. Maryland (Nashville, TN) ABC
Translation services
Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl: Toledo vs. Wyoming (Tucson, AZ) The CW/ Barstool
Sports entertainment website.
Monday, January 1, 2024
ReliaQuest Bowl: Wisconsin vs. LSU (Tampa, FL) ESPN2
Cybersecurity company
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl: Liberty vs. Oregon (Glendale, AZ) ESPN
Vacation home rentals.
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl: Iowa vs. Tennessee (Orlando, FL) ABC
Snack food
Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential: Alabama vs. Michigan (Pasadena, CA) ESPN
Financial services. National semifinal.
Allstate Sugar Bowl: Texas vs. Washington (New Orleans) ESPN
Financial services. National semifinal.
Monday, January 8, 2024
National Championship Presented by AT&T (Houston) ESPN
Communications giant.
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