Across the field, Eastern Michigan will try to snap a three-game bowl losing streak. The Eagles' most recent bowl victory came in However, went after opening with four consecutive victories. Meanwhile, Kent State was the MAC runner-up in and is paced by experienced quarterback Dustin Crum, who has thrown for 7, yards, 51 touchdowns, and just 12 interceptions spanning 50 games over five seasons. Mike Houston has done a nice job at East Carolina, which has secured its first winning season since That was the same year the Pirates made their most recent bowl appearances.
Running back Keaton Mitchell ranked second in the American Athletic Conference with 1, rushing yards. The site is Yankee Stadium for a matchup between teams that expected more from themselves in The Hokies opened the season with a win over then-No.
Meanwhile, Maryland started but didn't win its sixth game until beating Rutgers in its regular-season finale. This is the Terps' first bowl trip since Quick, who leads the nation in rushing yards? For those who said Central Michigan's Lew Nichols with 1,, that would be correct.
And, impressive with such deep knowledge. Nichols has totaled 2, rushing yards and 22 overall touchdowns in 22 career games spanning three seasons at CMU. He could be in for a special performance against a Boise defense that ranks 79th in the country allowing an average of UTEP is bowling for the first time since after recording two fewer victories than it did over the previous five seasons.
Miners sophomore Jacob Cowing is among the nation's top receivers with 67 catches for 1, yards and seven touchdowns. However, Fresno State has held four opponents to nine or fewer points and recorded two shutouts this season.
But Bulldogs quarterback Jake Haener 3, yards, 32 touchdowns, nine interceptions entered the transfer portal and coach Kalen DeBoer took the Washington job. That means North Texas won't have to travel far for an attempt to cap its season with a sixth straight win. The Mean Green's opponent is a Miami squad that's looking for its first bowl victory since Miami quarterback Brett Gabbert has thrown for 2, yards with 24 touchdowns and six interceptions.
The Falcons' option offensive attack leads the nation averaging That might not bode well for Louisville, which is giving up The Cardinals do have one of the most nation's most versatile quarterbacks in Malik Cunningham 2, passing yards, 18 touchdowns; rushing yards, 19 TDs. It has been a season of streaks for Army, which opened , then lost three straight before it allowed a total of 57 points during a four-game winning run heading into the annual clash with Navy.
Missouri, on the other hand, has averaged Then again, the Tigers won consecutive contests just once, but one of those victories came against Florida. This matchup features a pair of conference title-game runners-up. However, quarterback Bailey Zappe 5, passing yards, 56 touchdowns, 11 interceptions is someone to keep an eye on this bowl season. The Mountaineers have allowed just 55 points over the last five games.
Coastal Carolina wasn't able to recapture the glory of its , but then they did record back-to-back double-digit victory seasons for the first time on the FBS level. Chanticleers quarterback Grayson McCall has thrown for 5, yards with 49 touchdowns and 16 interceptions while rushing for and 11 TDs over the last two seasons.
The Huskies rank fifth in the nation averaging Louisiana's special season now includes a Sun Belt Conference championship. Part of the College Football Playoff rankings, the Ragin' Cajuns , winners of 12 straight, will now try for a third consecutive bowl victory.
From to , Louisiana was in the New Orleans Bowl. Its opponent, however, is Marshall, which is since losing three straight from Sept. The Thundering Herd will try to avoid a third straight bowl loss after winning seven in a row. A couple of western teams will hook up in a bowl sponsored by funnyman Jimmy Kimmel. Oregon State beat Pac champ Utah and Arizona State en route to securing its first bowl bid since Aggies running back Calvin Tyler Jr.
Now, this is the way to draw interest for a bowl matchup between teams. It will be just the fifth time since that these neighboring programs have met. North Carolina snapped a three-game series losing streak with its win over Gamecocks in Reports of West Virginia assistant Kirk Ciarrocca becoming the offensive coordinator at Minnesota adds a bit of juice to this contest.
Otherwise, it pits two teams that had a chance for big seasons in The Gophers won four straight and were in contention for the Big West Division title when they were stunned at home by Illinois on Nov.
West Virginia, meanwhile, dropped its first two Big 12 games against Oklahoma and Texas Tech by three points each. Expect Brian Kelly to be spoken of early and often as LSU tries to close a middling season with its third consecutive victory. Then, it will be time to move onto a new era for the football program with the former Notre Dame boss at the helm.
On the opposite sideline, Kansas State will be trying to avoid a third consecutive loss. This will be the first meeting between these two schools since when the Tigers won over Kansas State. The unique venue won't be the only pertinent storyline for this bowl. Yes, playing a football game at historic Fenway Park will be special, but this will be the final game at Virginia for coach Bronco Mendenhall, who recently announced his resignation after six seasons in charge of the program.
But one of those victories did come against the Cowboys in Week 17 and they have experience playing five of the 13 other playoff teams. There's also the wild card of Kyler Murray, who can either carry them for a while or flame out in a third matchup with the Rams, who beat them in Week Kyle Shanahan has done a great job turning them back around and they have some positive elements that resemble their NFC championship run, including a reliable running game, a versatile passing game and an active front seven.
But the pass defense can be overwhelmed and the immediate draw against the Cowboys doesn't help. One of those losses was getting ripped by the Bills at home. The rubber match comes on the road. The Patriots beat up mostly on bad teams and the win over the Titans seems ancient. Here's also having little belief that Mac Jones will be some transcendent rookie passer in the postseason.
Belichick's effort to get his team back on the playoffs on the strength of the defense and running game is remarkable, but it needs more than hoping for attrition to make any kind of run. Pittsburgh will try its best to grind past Kansas City, playing there for the second time in four games after falling in Week But in the end, unless Roethlisberger digs deep for firepower, his career will end vs.
Mahomes in Arrowhead. They played the Bucs tough at home on a Thursday night in Week 6, losing Michigan State 11 10 W vs. Penn State vs. Oklahoma 14 14 -2 L 9 Oklahoma State vs.
Where does OU go from here? Oregon 15 15 -4 L vs. Houston 21 16 -3 L vs. Appalachian State vs. Western Kentucky vs.
Wake Forest 20 19 -2 L vs. Iowa 17 20 -3 L vs. Clemson 19 21 W South Carolina vs. North Carolina State 18 22 W vs. North Carolina vs. This Liberty Bowl appearance will be the 12th consecutive appearance in a bowl game for the Bulldogs. Mississippi State played in 13 bowl games from to before Mullen showed up. Granted, there are a lot more bowl games now than there used to be, but it's still a remarkable turnaround for a program that wasn't exactly draped in success.
Mike Leach has kept it going, but the Bulldogs might be slightly disappointed to be here. They finished the season but spent a few weeks ranked in the College Football Playoff Rankings, and their five losses came against teams that went a combined , so they're better than their record suggests.
Now Leach will be facing the program where he became a household name, Texas Tech, which enters the game with a record. There are a lot of questions about what we can expect from the Raiders. Tech fired coach Matt Wells during the season, but while Sonny Cumbie finished as interim coach, he's has since accepted the Louisiana Tech job.
He's going to coach the team in this game, but there's always a certain level of mystery in these situations. Now, its official site lists Richardson at 5-foot and pounds, but I think the school is being generous. Whatever Richardson's actual measurements, he's built like a fire hydrant, and he's fun to watch. He's thrown for 2, yards and 23 touchdowns to only five interceptions this season, leading a Central Michigan offense that was one of the most potent units in the MAC.
Richardson and the Chippewas will be facing a Boise State team coming off one of its most disappointing seasons in a while. It's the first time the Broncos have failed to win their division since the season and the first time they've lost five games in a season since going in That was Chris Petersen's last season in Boise before he left to take over Washington.
Fresno State coach Kalen DeBoer has left to take the Washington job, and it looks like he's taking quarterback and human crash test dummy Jake Haener with him.
That means the Fresno team that will play in this game is a shell of the team we saw during the regular season. This is unfortunate because UTEP is a great story, and they're why I have this game ranked this high. From , the Miners went , and four of those nine wins came in It's been a long time since this program had something to feel good about.
Too bad it doesn't have a more exciting matchup than this. Kansas State is an interesting team with an exhilarating player in running back Deuce Vaughn. Vaughn rushed for 1, yards and 15 touchdowns this season, and he's a threat in the passing game too, as he caught 47 passes for yards and another three scores. The Wildcats are a much better team when he's playing. Of course, it might not matter because we don't know what LSU will show up. While Ed Orgeron finished the regular season as LSU's coach, he will not be coaching in the bowl game, and there's a good chance the Tigers will have players with NFL futures opting out of this game.
Strong is at the head of an explosive offense. He's thrown for 4, yards and 36 touchdowns this season with his favorite target being Romeo Doubs, who enters the game with 1, yards receiving with 11 touchdowns. His teammate, Cole Turner, has caught 10 touchdowns from the tight end position. It's one of the more dangerous passing attacks in the country, and it's going against a volatile Western Michigan team.
You might remember Western Michigan as that team that beat Pitt this season in one of the most head-scratching results of the regular season, but that's a great example of what Western is all about.
One week it's beating the team that goes on to win the ACC; the next, it's losing to Ball State. The Broncos are a team that scored at least 30 points in eight of their 12 games and allowed at least 30 in four of them. They are a roller coaster worth standing in line for. Just know that it could cause nausea. I'm a sucker for football games in baseball stadiums because it makes no sense, and this one has the added value of The Green Monster looming over the field.
Seriously, each team should have the option of kicking a super field goal worth 10 points over the Green Monster from the logo at midfield. Just think of the added value and strategy behind such a move. Unfortunately, this game will feature two teams under interim coaches. Then there's Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall, who unexpectedly stepped down from his role. And it stinks for us and I guess the players, too because these were two of the more enjoyable offenses to watch in the country!
SMU runs the same kind of Air Raid offense you've seen a lot of, but it's good at it. Virginia runs an offense unlike many I've ever seen before, and I'm not sure what to call it, but it feels like you just chugged a liter of Mountain Dew when you watch it. There's a chance this game could get nuts, but there's just as much of a shot at it being a bust.
While they go about it in different ways -- Minnesota runs the ball so frequently you might confuse it for an option team -- the result is the same. Both teams average 2. And you know what the matchup reminds me of? Go back to when this game was called the Cheez-It Bowl not to be confused with the Cheez-It Bowl , and TCU and California played in a thriller that needed overtime to find a winner. It was the worst-played great game of all time and will live on forever in the Bad Bowl Game Hall of Fame.
While it's an impossible standard to meet, I think we could see history repeat itself here. Oh, and it's played in a baseball stadium. So much potential for stupid here. While Louisville's isn't as bad as that of Missouri, it's not great! That's going to be a problem for the Cardinals against Air Force, which ran the ball But a guy named Malik Cunningham should keep this game interesting for all involved. The Louisville QB is one of the more exciting players in the country, and as he goes, so go the Cardinals.
Cunningham threw for 2, yards and 18 touchdowns this season while rushing for yards and 19 touchdowns. If he throws for yards and rushes for 32 yards in this game, he'll be the first Louisville player to throw for at least 3, yards and rush for 1, yards in the same season since some guy named Lamar Jackson.
Whatever happened to that guy? Seriously, all of the things you could have called this game, and you go with the L. No wonder Hollywood pumps out nothing but superhero movies these days. It's all out of ideas. This is a battle of teams that are happy to be free of Gary Andersen, who had a lot of success at Utah State in his first stint with the school but left to take the Wisconsin job before suddenly leaving Wisconsin to take the Oregon State job. He lasted three seasons with the Beavers before returning to Utah State in and only lasted 16 games before getting fired.
Jonathan Smith replaced him in Corvallis and has the Beavers in their first bowl game since the Hawaii Bowl. The best story, however, is easily Utah State, one that could be made into a movie. Utah State coach Blake Anderson's wife Wendy passed away due to breast cancer just before the season began, and a big reason he left Arkansas State after last year was to get a fresh start elsewhere. He found one in Logan, where he led an Aggies team that went last season to its first Mountain West title and first conference title anywhere since winning the WAC in And who was Utah State's coach that season?
Yep, Gary Andersen. It all comes full circle. It's just too bad this terrific story has such a boring title like the L. Oregon started the year well, beating Ohio State on the road, and spent a few weeks in the top four of the rankings. Oklahoma was on the periphery while the world waited for it to kick its offense into overdrive and steam toward an eventual Big 12 title.
Alas, it was not meant to be. The Ducks ran into a buzzsaw named Utah and were cut in half. Unfortunately, the half with the legs managed to stand up and walk right back into the Utah buzzsaw last week, costing Oregon a Pac title and a New Year's Six berth. The Ducks will also be playing under an interim coach with Mario Cristobal off to Miami. But at least they made their conference title game? That's more than the Sooners can say about the Big Oklahoma lost to rival Oklahoma State for the first time since , and it started a mass exodus in Norman.
Former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops will lead the team into this game as the interim, and I suspect new coach Brent Venables will be there. Just look for a guy in a skybox being held back by a strength coach. In the end, both teams' late-season disappointment and uncertainty around the coaching situations make it hard to include this game in the top There should be plenty of offense and inconsistent defense, which could make for a shootout.
Maybe Miami can bring some of its drama to the field for this game because, on the surface, it's a damn good matchup. In late September, Van Dyke became the starter, and Miami's offense improved considerably, even if they only went in his eight starts. He threw for 2, yards and 25 touchdowns and is a reason for Canes fans to be optimistic. UM will face a Washington State team that faced the kind of adversity few teams have ever dealt with.
During the season, coach Nick Rolovich was fired because he refused to get a vaccine for COVID, and state law mandated all public employees get one. Rolovich was one of several coaches the school was forced to let go, but the Cougars still finished the season with six wins in their last eight games, including their first win over Washington since The performance was more than enough to remove the interim tag from Jake Dickert's name and earn him the job permanently.
Two Group of Five teams with unique identities that don't get a lot of national attention squaring off. Coastal Carolina was one of the darlings of the season, and it put on an encore performance this season, going behind QB Grayson McCall.
Coach Jamey Chadwell's offense can be described as an option offense on its eighth cup of coffee today.
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