2022-2023 College Bowl Games

It is once again time to look forward to Bowl season. Of course, my alma-mater of Northern Illinois had an extremely rough and unexpected year. So, did Northwestern, the closest "Power Five" school. I still enjoy keeping up with college football though on Saturdays (which is not something I was ever really into as a kid), and am looking forward to see what happens in all the Bowl games. One big difference this year from the past couple seasons is that it is unlikely (hopefully) that any games will be cancelled or altered due to Covid outbreaks. It is also unfortunate that so many of the top players will not be playing in the Bowl games, either because they do not want to risk injury or because they have already entered the "transfer portal." College football is a very different kind of sport than it was traditionally and for those teams that are not in the national championship four team playoff, the other Bowl games may not mean as much.

Very soon, the playoff field will expand from four teams to 12 and that should add some extra excitement. I actually wish it could be a 16 team field will all 10 conference champions receiving automatic bids and then the six highest ranked non champions joining them to play in various Bowl games over a four week period. All the teams would receive a ranking regardless of if they won their conference or not. That is unlikely to happen anytime soon though, so I guess we may never know if a #16 ranked MAC Champion could shock everyone and win it all.

As for this season, despite the final rankings, I happen to think the four best teams in the country were, in order, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, and Alabama. It would have been pretty exciting to have two New Years Eve matchups between the SEC rivals and the Big 10 rivals for the right to face each other for the championship. That was not to be though. I think the television rankings would have been a lot higher for those games.

In looking now at all the Bowl games, the teams highlighted are the ones I "want" to win, and not necessarily predictions. As I always say, for most of these games, I do not truly care who wins, but just hope the contests are entertaining. The rankings will be the official ones from the playoff committee.

1. Bahamas Bowl

Nassau, The Bahamas

Miami RedHawks vs. Alabama at Birmingham Blazers

2. Cure Bowl

Orlando, FL

# 25 Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners vs. # 24 Troy Trojans

3. Fenway Bowl

Boston, MA

Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Louisville Cardinals

4. Las Vegas Bowl

Paradise, NV

Florida Gators vs. # 14 Oregon State Beavers

5. LA Bowl

Inglewood, CA

Washington State Cougars vs. California State, Fresno Bulldogs

6. LendingTree Bowl

Mobile, AL

William Marsh Rice Owls vs. South Mississippi Golden Eagles

7. New Mexico Bowl

Albuquerque, NM

Southern Methodist Mustangs vs. Brigham Young Cougars

8. Frisco Bowl

Frisco, TX

North Texas Mean Green vs. Boise State Broncos

9. Myrtle Beach Bowl

Conway, SC

Marshall Thundering Herd vs. Connecticut Huskies

10. Potato Bowl

Boise, ID

Eastern Michigan Eagles vs. San Jose State Spartans

11. Boca Raton Bowl

Boca Raton, FL

Liberty Flames vs. Toledo Rockets

12. New Orleans Bowl

New Orleans, LA

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs. South Alabama Jaguars

13. Armed Forces Bowl

Fort Worth, TX

Baylor Bears vs. United States Air Force Academy Falcons

14. Independence Bowl

Shreveport, LA

Louisiana at Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns vs. Houston Cougars

15. Gasparilla Bowl 

Tampa, FL

Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs. Missouri Tigers

16. Hawai'i Bowl

Honolulu, HI

Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders vs. San Diego State Aztecs

17. Quick Lane Bowl

Detroit, MI

New Mexico State Aggies vs. Bowling Green State Falcons

18. Camellia Bowl

Montgomery, AL

Georgia Southern Eagles vs. State University of New York at Buffalo Bulls

19. First Responder Bowl

University Park, TX

Memphis Tigers vs. Utah State Aggies

20. Birmingham Bowl

Birmingham, AL

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers vs. East Carolina Pirates

21. Guaranteed Rate Bowl

Phoenix, AZ

Wisconsin-Madison Badgers vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys

22. Military Bowl

Annapolis, MD

Central Florida Knights vs. Duke Blue Devils

23. Liberty Bowl

Memphis, TN

 

Kansas Jayhawks vs. Arkansas Razorbacks

 

24.  Holiday Bowl

San Diego, CA

# 15 Oregon Ducks vs. North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels

25. Texas Bowl

Houston, TX

Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. Mississippi Rebels

26. Pinstripe Bowl

New York, NY

Syracuse Orange vs. Minnesota, Twin Cities Golden Gophers

27. Cheez-It Bowl

Orlando, FL

Oklahoma Sooners vs. # 13 Florida State Seminoles

28. Alamo Bowl

San Antonio, TX

# 20 Texas at Austin Longhorns vs. # 12 Washington Huskies

29. Mayo Bowl

Charlotte, NC

Maryland, College Park Terrapins vs. # 23 North Carolina State Wolfpack

30. Sun Bowl

El Paso, TX

Pittsburgh Panthers vs. #18 California, Los Angeles Bruins

31. Gator Bowl

Jacksonville, FL

# 21 Notre Dame du Lac Fighting Irish vs. #19 South Carolina Gamecocks

32. Arizona Bowl

Tuscon, AZ

Ohio Bobcats vs. Wyoming Cowboys

33. Orange Bowl

Miami Gardens, FL

# 6 Tennessee, Knoxville Volunteers vs. # 7 Clemson Tigers

34. Music City Bowl

Nashville, TN

Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Kentucky Wildcats

35. Sugar Bowl

New Orleans, LA

# 5 Alabama Crimson Tide vs. # 9 Kansas State Wildcats

36. Fiesta Bowl

Glendale, AZ

# 3 Texas Christian Horned Frogs vs. # 2 Michigan Wolverines

37. Peach Bowl

Atlanta, GA

# 4 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. # 1 Georgia Bulldogs

38. ReliaQuest Bowl

Tampa, FL

# 22 Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science Bulldogs vs. Illinois Urbana-Champaign Fighting Illini

39. Citrus Bowl

Orlando, FL

# 17 Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Tigers vs. Purdue Boilermakers 

40. Cotton Bowl

Arlington, TX

# 16 Tulane University of Louisiana Green Wave vs. # 10 Southern California Trojans

41. Rose Bowl

Pasadena, CA

# 11 Pennsylvania State Nittany Lions vs. # 8 Utah Utes

42. National Championship

Inglewood, CA

Fiesta Bowl winner vs. Peach Bowl winner

# 3 Texas Christian over # 4 Ohio State

# 3 Texas Christian over # 1 Georgia

# 2 Michigan over # 4 Ohio State

# 2 Michigan over # 1 Georgia