Bowl Games Ranked: Worst to Best

By Alex Lauzon from the “Course of Life” podcast

BOWL SEASON. IS. HERE. I’ll skip the pleasantries and get right to the definitive”worst to best” watch rankings, from the ugliest matchups to the weirdest bowl game sponsors and the matchups that have us all talking. There’s a lot to take, but here’s one opening thought on every game ahead this postseason. Let’s. Go. Bowling!

Bowl Games Ranked - #41 - #11

41. RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl - Syracuse vs. South Florida: We have to start with the 6-6 matchups of teams that barely snuck into bowl season. This is the worst one.

40. Quick Lane Bowl - Bowling Green vs. Minnesota: If the 5-7 Gophers didn’t have a catchy slogan like “Row the Boat” then this would rank dead last.

39. 68 Ventures Bowl - South Alabama vs. Easter Michigan: Two directional schools that both went 6-6 in a very uneventful fashion, plus a random game sponsor.

38. SERVPRO First Responder Bowl - Texas State vs. Rice: Neither team gets to leave the state of Texas for their bowl game. Nothing like a bus trip to bowl season.

37. Camellia Bowl - Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois: I’m a bandwagon NIU but even i’ll admit how brutal this 6-6 tussle is.  

36. Famous Idaho Potato Bowl - Georgia State vs. Utah State: Bad matchup on the field but it’s the Potato Bowl on a blue field so that counts for something.

35. Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl - Georgia Tech vs. UCF: A duel between two 6-6 teams that probably should have finished with better records.

34. Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl - California vs. Texas Tech: Here it is - the preeminent matchup on the board of two 6-6 teams that can both put points up!

33. R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl - Jacksonville State vs. Louisiana: JAX State has made a quick ascent to bowling at the FBS level, but the Ragin Cajuns are basically the home team here.  

32. Myrtle Beach Bowl - Georgia Southern vs. Ohio: The Eagles are 6-6 but it’s the 9-3 Ohio Bobcats that are the slight favorites out of the MAC.  

31. Famous Toastery Bowl - Western Kentucky vs. Old Dominion: New bowl sponsor alert, Famous Toastery is apparently a diner chain? News to me, but this game should have points and toast up nicely.

30. Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl - UTSA vs. Marshall: Coffee sponsored game in Texas that UTSA should dominate. Might need a cup or two to get through this one.

29. EasyPost Hawai'i Bowl - Coastal Carolina vs. San Jose State: Normally I would rank the Hawaii Bowl higher, but the move from Christmas Eve to 10:30pm ET the night before is a brutal development.

28. Starco Brands LA Bowl - UCLA vs. Boise State: Basically a UCLA home game here, plus Gronk is the hoist of the game - should be a party!

27. SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl - Utah vs. Northwestern: Interesting matchup here in Vegas as NW comes in firing, while Utah definitely had higher hopes this season.

26. Avocados From Mexico Cure Bowl - Miami (OH) vs. Appalachian State: Break out the guac for this one - surprisingly Miami Ohio won 11 games this year and is going for a record winning season.  

25. Isleta New Mexico Bowl - New Mexico State vs. Fresno State: NMSU came very close to winning the C-USA, instead they’re headed down the road to play a bowl game in their rival’s stadium. Not ideal.

24. 76 Birmingham Bowl - Troy vs. Duke: All time goofy matchup for a very random bowl game played on Festivus. Surprisingly Troy is the team with a better record tally by four wins.

23. Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl - James Madison vs. Air Force: Two teams that were undefeated for the first three months of the season, both have something to prove. Always good to see a service academy in the Armed Forces Bowl.

22. Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl - Miami vs. Rutgers: This game gives me the ick but the saving grace is that it’s played at Yankee Stadium, so for coolness of venue I’ll tune in.  

21. Guaranteed Rate Bowl - Kansas vs. UNLV: Sticking with the football in baseball stadium theme, this game is played at the home of the National League champion Arizona Diamondbacks.  

20. TransPerfect Music City Bowl - Auburn vs. Maryland: This is one of those sneaky bad bowl games that they sandwich in pretty late in bowl season, making it feel more important than it really is.  

19. Duke’s Mayo Bowl - UNC vs. West Virginia: I’m doubting we see Drake Maye in this game…but you never know. This cracks the top 20 because the winning coach gets a vat of mayo dumped on him, and for that reason only.

18. Military Bowl Presented by GoBowling.com - Virginia Tech vs. Tulane: Surprised to see the Hokies favored in a game against an 11 win Tulane program that won the Cotton Bowl last year.

17. Wasabi Fenway Bowl - Boston College vs. SMU: A gritty BC team hosts a home game at Fenway Park against a high powered SMU offense - something has to give.

16. DIRECTV Holiday Bowl - USC vs. Louisville: A nice looking matchup on paper, but with no Caleb Williams for USC and seeing how much of a drag Louisville’s offense can be, I don’t have very high hopes for entertainment.  

15. Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl - Toledo vs. Wyoming: A couple of mid-major programs do battle in the desert, but the commentary from Dave and Big Cat should be the real story from this game.

14. TaxAct Texas Bowl - Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma State: Talent all over the field in this SEC vs. Big 12 matchup from Houston, and Ollie Gordon is a highlight factory on his own.

13. AutoZone Liberty Bowl - Memphis vs. Iowa State: Another home game team as the Tigers are playing in Memphis against an Iowa State team that’s in this same type of mediocre bowl game seemingly every year.

12. Pop-Tarts Bowl - NC State vs. Kansas State: Love a good pop part as an afternoon snack or breakfast, and this matchup features two top 25 programs that are snackin’ for one more win. My favorite flavor is Frosted Blueberry FWIW.  

11. TaxSlayer Gator Bowl - Clemson vs. Kentucky: Dabo turned things around nicely to save face on the season, now they get an SEC test in Jacksonville to get a ninth win.

The Top Ten

10. Cheez-It Citrus Bowl - Iowa vs. Tennessee: I couldn’t rank a bowl game featuring Iowa and their pathetic offense any higher than #10. Here’s to hoping the Vols break through and provide the scoring for the day.

9. Valero Alamo Bowl - Arizona vs. Oklahoma: Two electric offenses, both of which grabbed some big wins this season. This is set up nicely for a shootout in San Antonio!

8. ReliaQuest Bowl - LSU vs. Wisconsin: Let's just hope Jayden Daniels and Malik Nabers play so we can get the most electric QB-WR duo in CFB, who would likely throttle a dwindling Wisconsin team.  

7. Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl - Oregon State vs. Notre Dame: A great matchup of top 20 programs, an amazing uniform color scheme on the field, and the backdrop of the El Paso sunset. It should be easy on the eyes for football fans.

6. Vrbo Fiesta Bowl - Liberty vs. Oregon: Though the Ducks are a heavy favorite, Liberty is still undefeated this season and this game gives big time Oklahoma vs. Boise State 2007 Fiesta Bowl vibes. Watch out for the Flames!

5. Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl - Ole Miss vs. Penn State: Two teams that are correctly scheduled in Bowl Season, and in future years they would both be in the 12 team playoff.

4. Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic - Missouri vs. Ohio State: A good QB matchup featuring Kyle McCord and Brady Cook, both teams are building for next season nicely and this would be a great way to cap off double digit win seasons. OSU still wants that last drive back against Michigan.

3. Capital One Orange Bowl - Georgia vs. Florida State: Both teams were left out of the playoff and angry, so it will be fascinating to see what version of each team shows up to Miami for this one.

2. CFP Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl - Texas vs. Washington: An amazing matchup of two offenses that should let it fly. You can’t see the over high enough for this gem of s playoff semifinal  

1. CFP Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game Pres. by Prudential - Alabama vs. Michigan: Alabama loves having the world mad at them, and here’s another spot for them to ruin a perfect season. I’m a holiday guy but January 1st can’t come soon enough.

Over forty great reasons to get in on our $50K Bowl Pick X Bonanza, which is live right now! What are you waiting for? Bowl Season is fleeting, action gets going early on Saturday 12/16.