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We have to wait another week for college football games to get back on the tube. Even though the vast majority of the talk now is on the playoffs and some other tasty New Year’s Day matchups, there’s going to be plenty of good football to watch once bowl season kicks off on Dec. 19.
There are several intriguing matchups in the early games before Christmas Day, and they’re worth watching.
Here are the five early game you should make a good effort to see:
Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl (BYU vs. Utah, Dec. 19 in Las Vegas, Nev.): The Holy War took a hiatus in the regular season once Utah found it hard to fit in after it moved to the Pac-12 and then added a ninth league game. It’s good these two bitter rivals are hooking up, one for the rivalry factor but mostly because they’re two pretty darn good teams. A Mormon migration to Sin City should be a great way to get the bowl season started.
Miami Beach Bowl (South Florida vs. Western Kentucky, Dec. 21 in Miami): Western Kentucky has one of the country’s best quarterbacks in Brandon Doughty. He threw for an eye-popping 4,594 yards, had 45 touchdowns to only seven interceptions and completed 72 percent of his passes. The Hilltoppers are 11-2, with their only losses to bowl teams LSU and Indiana. South Florida has been one of he hottest teams in the country down the stretch, winning seven of its last eight to contend in the AAC. The Bulls had nice wins against Temple and Cincinnati down the stretch and coach Willy Taggert has this program heading in the right direction.
Marmot Boca Raton Bowl (Temple vs. Toledo, Dec. 22 in Boca Raton, Fla.): These two mid-majors stepped up in a big way this season. The Owls beat Penn State early and Memphis late and had a very good team in Notre Dame on the ropes until the very end. Toledo has an SEC scalp on their wall from this season, a huge win for the program at Arkansas in September. This is an even matchup, so it should be a close, entertaining game.
Hawaii Bowl (Cincinnati vs. San Diego State, Dec. 24 in Honolulu): One of the most enjoyable quarterbacks to watch in college football is Cincinnati’s Gunner Kiel. He’s had a crazy career path, with stops or serious flirtations at Indiana, LSU, Notre Dame and now Cincinnati. He’s a gunslinger and he’s take some chances, but he’s also had huge success against some good teams, throwing for 427 vs. Temple and 523 vs. Houston this year. Plus the pictures from Hawaii on Christmas Eve will be nice.
GoDaddy Bowl (Georgia Southern vs. Bowling Green, Dec. 23 in Mobile, Ala.): Struggled for a fifth, but we’ve seen Georgia Southern give some SEC East teams fits in recent years, like Georgia this year – a narrow loss for Southern – and Florida a few years back, when Georgia Southern pulled off a huge upset. Lots of local kids on that team, names many die-hard SEC fans will know.
The other games before Christmas, for diehards only
AutoNation Cure Bowl: Georgia State vs. San Jose State, Dec. 19 in Orlando
Gilman New Mexico Bowl: Arizona vs. New Mexico, Dec. 19 in Albuquerque, N.M.
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl: Ohio vs. Appalachian State, Dec. 19 in Montgomery, Ala.
R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: Louisiana Tech vs. Arkansas State, Dec. 19 in New Orleans
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Akron vs. Utah State, Dec. 22 in Boise, Idaho
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl: Boise State vs. Northern Illinois, Dec. 23 in San Diego
Popeyes Bahamas Bowl: Middle Tennessee vs. Western Michigan, Dec. 24 in Nassau, Bahamas
Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist and author who is covering SEC football for Saturday Down South.
