Top 10 college football bowl games to watch
The bowl season is upon us, college football fans.
Obviously you’ll seek out the game involving the school with your rooting allegiance, but you might wonder which other games present the most compelling matchups. Naturally, in a lineup of so many bowls, some are going to be better than others. Only the most devoted football watcher will be able to catch them all, but the average fan undoubtedly has other time commitments during the holiday season and must pick and choose which games will be most worthy of attention. We’re here to help.
With all that out of the way, here are the top 10 bowl games – not including the to-be-determined College Football Playoff title tilt – ranked in order of watchability.
10. Sun Bowl: No. 18 UCLA vs. Pittsburgh, Dec. 30, 2 p.m., CBS:
The good news is there’s a fair amount of nextlevel talent on both teams. The bad news is a number of those players probably won’t be around. Pitt QB Kedon Slovis has already re-entered the transfer portal, and several Bruins standouts are mulling draft decisions.
9. Holiday Bowl: No. 14 Oregon vs. No. 25 North Carolina, Dec. 28, 8 p.m., Fox: This bowl that regrettably wasn’t played last year when UCLA was unable to participate was once among the best of the non-New Year’s lineup. It could be again if these teams, whose seasons ended on a down note, show what they can do. Ducks QB Bo Nix was hampered by a bad wheel late in the season but is expected to play, and Tar Heels QB Drake Maye hopes to provide a preview of big things to come in 2023.
8. Gator Bowl: No. 19 South Carolina vs. No. 20 Notre Dame, Dec. 30, 3:30 p.m., ESPN:
Clemson fans can be forgiven if they give this one a pass, but for the rest of the country, this clash of spoilers should be of interest. There is also bust potential either way, however, as neither team was especially consistent this season. The Gamecocks were red-hot over the last month, but the Notre Dame defense should give QB Spencer Rattler a challenge. Fighting Irish QB Drew Pyne is transferring out, so a groundand-pound approach seems likely.
7. Alamo Bowl: No. 12 Washington vs. No. 21 Texas, Dec. 29, 9 p.m., ESPN: We’ll put this at the top of the non-New Year’s Six list, though some of the bigname stars are likely to sit it out, including Texas RB Bijan Robinson. The Longhorns should still be able to move the ball, and the Huskies are more than capable of keeping pace as they hope to finish off a superb bounce-back campaign.
6. Orange Bowl: No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 11 Clemson, Dec. 30, 8 p.m., ESPN:
We put this last among the majors due to the number of players sitting out to prepare for the draft, but there’s still plenty of fun potential. Tigers faithful will get a look at the near future with Cade Klubnik running the offense, and the Vols will work in a lot of young passcatchers.
5. Cotton Bowl: No. 8 Southern California vs. No. 17 Tulane, Jan. 2, 1 p.m., ESPN:
This turn on the big stage is a remarkable achievement for the Green Wave, who won just two games a year ago. They already own a victory against a power-conference champion (Sorry, K-State fans), so they won’t be intimidated by USC’s brand name. We must also hope Trojans QB and Heisman winner Caleb Williams will have had enough time to rehab his troublesome hamstring that took away a big part of his game in the Pac-12 finale.
4. Rose Bowl: No. 7 Penn State vs. No. 10 Utah, Jan. 2, 5 p.m., ESPN: The Granddaddy gets a quality matchup even though both participants have multiple losses. The Utes got their first taste of this atmosphere last year and would love to come home with a victory this time. The Nittany Lions won the games they were expected to this year but would like to finish with a top-10 triumph to validate their season.
3. Sugar Bowl: No. 5 Alabama vs. No. 9 Kansas State, Dec. 31, noon, ESPN: In terms of rankings, this is the topper among the non-playoff pairings. Hypothetically, any game involving Alabama has blowout potential, but the Crimson Tide have not been the juggernaut of years past, both winning and losing their share of tight ones. As for the Wildcats, the Big 12 champs are delighted with this opportunity and would love to cap off a huge season with a signature win.
2. Fiesta Bowl: No. 2 Michigan vs.
No. 3 TCU, Dec. 31, 4 p.m., ESPN: A case could be made for this one to be in the No. 1 spot. The Horned Frogs seem incapable of playing any game that isn’t a nail-biter, and we certainly hope that tendency continues and breaks the trend of semifinal routs. Michigan, however, knows how to put games on ice in the fourth quarter, and the imposing Wolverines offensive line will look to do just that once again.
1. Peach Bowl: No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 4 Ohio State, Dec. 31, 8 p.m., ESPN: But we’ll give the top nod to the prime-time game, given the past success enjoyed by both programs under this format. The biggest question is whether the Buckeyes’ high-octane offense can make any headway against the Bulldogs’ defense, which doesn’t generate a ton of pressure but is superb in coverage and knows how to stop the run. But the Ohio State defense that was torched by the Wolverines also has much to prove, and UGA QB Stetson Bennett knows how to get the ball to the right place.