Ranking the 2018 bowl games by watchability

Forty bowl games in little more than three weeks, beginning Saturday and continuing through the College Football Playoff National Championship on Jan.

7, and then quiet, lonely solitude for eight months. Welcome to the postseason.

USA TODAY will help you make the most of the embers of this season by compiling a helpful list: Each bowl game ranked in order of intrigue, culminating with the to-be-determined matchup in the championship game.

(All times Eastern. Rankings are based on the most recent Amway Coaches Poll.)

40. Bahamas Bowl (Dec. 21, 12:30 p.m., ESPN): Florida International (8-4) vs. Toledo (7-5)

The bowl is now sponsored by Elk Grove Village, a suburb of Chicago near O’Hare International Airport, because when you think Bahamas you think the Chicago metropolitan area.

39. Gasparilla Bowl (Dec. 20, 8 p.m., ESPN): Marshall (8-4) vs. South Florida

(7-5)

38. Arizona Bowl (Dec. 29, 1:15 p.m., CBSSN): Arkansas State (8-4) vs. Nevada (7-5)

37. Camellia Bowl (Dec. 15, 5:30 p.m., ESPN): Georgia Southern (9-3) vs. Eastern Michigan (7-5)

36. Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Dec.

21, 4 p.m., ESPN): Western Michigan

(7-5) vs. Brigham Young (6-6) 35. Independence Bowl (Dec. 27, 1:15 p.m., ESPN): Temple (8-4) vs. Duke

(7-5) 34. Cure Bowl (Dec. 15, 2:30 p.m., CBSSN): Tulane (6-6) vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (7-6)

33. Military Bowl (Dec. 31, Noon, ESPN): Cincinnati (10-2) vs. Virginia Tech (6-6)

32. Texas Bowl (Dec. 27, 9 p.m., ESPN): Baylor (6-6) vs. Vanderbilt (6-6)

31. Cheez-It Bowl (Dec. 26, 9 p.m., ESPN): California (7-5) vs. TCU (6-6)

30. Pinstripe Bowl (Dec. 27, 5:15 p.m., ESPN): Miami (7-5) vs. Wisconsin (8-4)

Two proud programs loaded with NFL talent — it seems like a great recipe for a bowl game. But the Hurricanes and Badgers are fresh off underwhelming regular seasons and are meeting in a rematch of January’s Orange Bowl.

29. Belk Bowl (Dec. 29, Noon, ESPN): South Carolina (7-5) vs. Virginia (7-5)

28. New Mexico Bowl (Dec. 15, 2 p.m., ESPN): New Mexico (9-3) vs. Utah State

(10-2)

27. Hawaii Bowl (Dec. 22, 10:30 p.m., ESPN): Louisiana Tech (7-5) vs. Hawaii

(8-5) 26. Frisco Bowl (Dec. 19, 8 p.m., ESPN): San Diego State (7-5) vs. Ohio

(8-4) 25. Birmingham Bowl (Dec. 22, Noon, ESPN): Memphis (8-5) vs. Wake Forest

(6-6) 24. Sun Bowl (Dec. 31, 2 p.m., CBS): Stanford (8-4) vs. Pittsburgh (7-6) 23. New Orleans Bowl (Dec. 15, 9 p.m., ESPN): Middle Tennessee State (8-5) vs. Appalachian State (10-2) 22. Quick Lane Bowl (Dec. 26, 5:15 p.m., ESPN): Minnesota (6-6) vs. Georgia Tech (7-5)

What might seem like a mundane game between Power Five afterthoughts has a strong underlying theme: Paul Johnson’s final game as the Yellow Jackets’ head coach.

21. First Responder Bowl (Dec. 26,

1:30 p.m., ESPN): Boston College (7-5) vs. No. 24 Boise State (10-3)

20. Redbox Bowl (Dec. 31, 3 p.m., Fox): Michigan State (7-5) vs. Oregon

(8-4)

19. Dollar General Bowl (Dec. 22, 7:30 p.m., ESPN): Buffalo (10-3) vs. Troy (9-3)

18. Gator Bowl (Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m., ESPN): North Carolina State (9-3) vs. No. 20 Texas A&M (8-4)

17. Music City Bowl (Dec. 28, 1:30 p.m., ESPN): Purdue (6-6) vs. Auburn

(7-5) 16. Armed Forces Bowl (Dec. 22, 3:30 p.m., ESPN): Houston (8-4) vs. No. 25 Army (10-2)

15. Boca Raton Bowl (Dec. 18, 7 p.m., ESPN): Alabama-Birmingham (10-3) vs. Northern Illinois (8-5)

14. Outback Bowl (Jan. 1, Noon, ESPN2): No. 18 Mississippi State (8-4) vs. Iowa (8-4)

13. Las Vegas Bowl (Dec. 15, 3:30 p.m., ABC): No. 21 Fresno State (11-2) vs. Arizona State (7-5)

12. Liberty Bowl (Dec. 31, 7:45 p.m., ESPN): Missouri (8-4) vs. Oklahoma State (6-6)

An otherwise forgettable bowl game is made interesting for a turn-back-theclock matchup of these old Big 12 rivals. 11. Holiday Bowl (Dec. 31, 7 p.m., FS1): No. 22 Northwestern (8-5) vs. No. 19 Utah (9-4)

10. Citrus Bowl (Jan. 1, 1 p.m., ABC): No. 15 Kentucky (9-3) vs. No. 12 Penn State (9-3)

9. Alamo Bowl (Dec. 28, 9 p.m., ESPN): Iowa State (8-4) vs. No. 13 Washington State (10-2)

8. Camping World Bowl (Dec. 28, 5:15 p.m., ESPN): No. 16 West Virginia (8-3) vs. No. 17 Syracuse (9-3)

7. Peach Bowl (Dec. 29, Noon, ESPN): No. 10 Florida (9-3) vs. No. 8 Michigan

(10-2)

6. Sugar Bowl (Jan. 1, 8:45 p.m., ESPN): No. 14 Texas (9-4) vs. No. 6 Georgia (11-2)

5. Fiesta Bowl (Jan. 1, 1 p.m., ESPN): No. 11 LSU (9-3) vs. No. 7 Central Florida

(12-0)

Pick LSU at your own peril — the Tigers might have more talent, but UCF has an offense, a foreign concept down in Baton Rouge.

4. Rose Bowl (Jan. 1, 5 p.m., ABC): No.

9 Washington (10-3) vs. No. 5 Ohio State

(12-1)

Urban Meyer will coach his final game — at Ohio State, at least — after one of the dominant runs from a program in Big Ten history.

3. Cotton Bowl (Dec. 29, 4 p.m., ESPN): No. 2 Clemson (13-0) vs. No. 3 Notre Dame (12-0)

The greatest power this side of Alabama against one of the top brands in college sports. Only Tua Tagovailoa and Kyler Murray could upstage Clemson and Notre Dame.

2. Orange Bowl (Dec. 29, 8 p.m., ESPN): No. 1 Alabama (13-0) vs. No. 4 Oklahoma (12-1)

Tagovailoa against Murray. Alabama’s defense against Oklahoma’s offense. It’s the sort of marquee matchup made for the College Football Playoff.

1. College Football Playoff National Championship (Jan. 7, 8 p.m., ESPN): TBD

This one can’t go wrong. Alabama and Clemson for the fourth time? Sounds great. Alabama and Notre Dame? Yes, please. Oklahoma and Clemson? Oklahoma and Notre Dame? It’s a dream quartet.