2021-2022 College Bowl Games

It has been an exciting year in college football. Across the country, most stadiums saw very large crowds of enthusiastic students and other fans, seemingly none too concerned about the coronavirus. In Illinois, the one team to make a Bowl game this season are the MAC Champion Northern Illinois Huskies. This is quite an accomplishment for my alma mater. Last season, in an abbreviated campaign, they failed to win a single game. This year, they had several last minute wins and once again won a conference championship. All of this is very impressive for a team with many freshmen. Their reward though is playing next week in a pretty minor Bowl game in which they will be underdogs. 

Hopefully, all of these Division I games will be exciting. I do not have a tremendous rooting interest in most games but I will "pick a team" in each case that I suppose I prefer to win and they will be named in bold. The rankings are the official CFP final ones.

1. Bahamas Bowl

Nassau, The Bahamas

 

Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders vs. Toledo Rockets

 

2. Cure Bowl

Orlando, FL

 

Northern Illinois Huskies vs. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

 

3.  Boca Raton Bowl

Boca Raton, FL

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs. Appalachian State Mountaineers

 

4.  New Mexico Bowl

Albuquerque, NM

 

Texas at El Paso Miners vs. California State, Fresno Bulldogs

 

5.  Independence Bowl

Shreveport, LA

Alabama at Birmingham Blazers vs. # 13 Brigham Young Cougars

6. LendingTree Bowl

Mobile, AL

Eastern Michigan Eagles vs. Liberty Flames

7. LA Bowl

Inglewood, CA

Utah State Aggies vs. Oregon State Beavers

8. New Orleans Bowl

New Orleans, LA

# 23 Louisiana at Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns vs. Marshall Thundering Herd

 

9. Myrtle Beach Bowl

Conway, SC

Old Dominion Monarchs vs. Tulsa Golden Hurricane

10. Potato Bowl

Boise, ID

Kent State Golden Flashes vs. Wyoming Cowboys

11. Frisco Bowl

Frisco, TX

Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners vs. #24 San Diego State Aztecs

12. Armed Forces Bowl

Fort Worth, TX

Missouri Tigers vs. United States Military Academy West Point Black Knights

 

13. Frisco Football Classic

Frisco, TX

 

North Texas Mean Green vs. Miami RedHawks

14. Gasparilla Bowl

Tampa, FL

Central Florida Knights vs. Florida Gators

15. Hawai'i Bowl

Honolulu, HI

Memphis Tigers vs. Hawai'i at Manoa Rainbow Warriors

16. Camellia Bowl

Montgomery, AL

Georgia State Panthers vs. Ball State Cardinals

17. Quick Lane Bowl

Detroit, MI

Western Michigan Broncos vs. Nevada, Reno Wolf Pack

18. Military Bowl

Annapolis, MD

Boston College Eagles vs. East Carolina Pirates

19. Birmingham Bowl

Birmingham, AL

# 20 Houston Cougars vs. Auburn Tigers

20. First Responder Bowl

University Park, TX

United States Air Force Academy Falcons vs. Louisville Cardinals

21. Liberty Bowl

Memphis, TN

Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science Bulldogs vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders

22. Holiday Bowl

San Diego, CA

California, Los Angeles Bruins vs. # 18 North Carolina State Wolfpack

23. Guaranteed Rate Bowl

Phoenix, AZ

West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Minnesota, Twin Cities Golden Gophers

24. Fenway Bowl

Boston, MA

Southern Methodist Mustangs vs. Virginia Cavaliers

25. Pinstripe Bowl

New York, NY

Maryland, College Park Terrapins vs. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Hokies

26. Cheez-It Bowl

Orlando, FL

# 19 Clemson Tigers vs. Iowa State University of Science and Technology Cyclones

27. Alamo Bowl

San Antonio, TX

# 14 Oregon Ducks vs. # 16 Oklahoma Sooners

28. Mayo Bowl

Charlotte, NC

North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels vs. South Carolina Gamecocks

29. Music City Bowl

Nashville, TN

Tennessee, Knoxville Volunteers vs. Purdue Boilermakers

30. Peach Bowl

Atlanta, GA

# 10 Michigan State Spartans vs. # 12 Pittsburgh Panthers

31. Las Vegas Bowl

Paradise, NV

Wisconsin-Madison Badgers vs. Arizona State Sun Devils

32. Gator Bowl

Jacksonville, FL

 # 17 Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs.  # 25 Texas A&M Aggies Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Scarlet Knights

33. Arizona Bowl

Tucson, AZ

 

Central Michigan Chippewas vs. Boise State Broncos

 

34. Sun Bowl

El Paso, TX

Washington State Cougars vs. Miami Hurricanes Central Michigan Chippewas

35. Cotton Bowl

Arlington, TX

# 4 Cincinnati Bearcats vs. # 1 Alabama Crimson Tide

36. Orange Bowl

Miami Gardens, FL

# 3 Georgia Bulldogs vs. # 2 Michigan Wolverines

37. Outback Bowl

Tampa, FL

Pennsylvania State Nittany Lions vs. # 21 Arkansas Razorbacks

38. Citrus Bowl

Orlando, FL

# 15 Iowa Hawkeyes vs. # 22 Kentucky Wildcats

39. Fiesta Bowl

Glendale, AZ

# 5 Notre Dame du Lac Fighting Irish vs. # 9 Oklahoma State Cowboys

40. Rose Bowl

Pasadena, CA

# 6 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. # 11 Utah Utes

41. Sugar Bowl

New Orleans, LA

# 8 Mississippi Rebels vs. # 7 Baylor Bears

42. Texas Bowl

Houston, TX

Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Tigers vs. Kansas State Wildcats

 

43. National Championship

Indianapolis, IN

Cotton Bowl winner vs. Orange Bowl winner

# 4 Cincinnati over # 2 Michigan

# 4 Cincinnati over  # 3 Georgia

# 3 Georgia over # 1 Alabama

# 2 Michigan over # 1 Alabama