This Week in Bowling: It Begins

By Alex Lauzon from the “Course of Life” podcast

Lace up your shoes and get ready to line em’ up and knock em’ down - bowl season is officially upon us and there’s 40+ games to pick this holiday season. Sports fans here and abroad know that nobody, I mean nobody does a more drawn out and content-heavy postseason than college football. With the 6-6 win-loss threshold (and one 5 win team this year) going bowling, seemingly any half decent program gets a trip, a sponsored bowl game and an extra helping of practices to get better for next season. We’re the lucky ones cause it means there’s 40+ opportunities for winners, and endless college football highlights and lowlights coming our way.

The first week of games are a mix of bowl season potpourri that seems just right for this time of year. We’ve got a game hosted by Gronk, a couple of “home game” schools playing in their own states, and a couple surprisingly good matchups for early bowl season on the boards. Let’s get to the games:

Week 1 Bowl Games

Saturday 12/16

Myrtle Beach Bowl - Georgia Southern vs. Ohio (+3.5) - 11 am ET - Bright and early on Saturday we get it going from golf paradise. The Ohio Bobcats are the favorite but their QB Kurtis Rourke is already transferred so it’s a coin flip what type of offense shows up for the slight favorites out of the MAC. A great “who knows’ game to start off bowl season.

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl - Jacksonville State vs. Louisiana (+3) - 2:15 pm ET - Shout out to Jacksonville State for obtaining a bowl game invite in their very first season of postseason eligibility. Unfortunately, they were given a tricky draw in bowl season as the Louisiana are basically the home team host of this game, just a short drive from their campus. I have a hard time picking against Louisiana in this game as it's very familiar territory for the program.

Avocados From Mexico Cure Bowl - Miami (OH) vs. Appalachian State (-5.5) - 3:30 pm ET - Both teams did some cool stuff to get to what I've dubbed the Guac Bowl. Miami Ohio have notched an astounding 11 wins and are going for program history with a W, while App State had a landmark win against a previously undefeated James Madison team a few weeks ago to solidify their postseason status. Of note, App State’s workhorse back Nate Noel is transferring so the run game will look a bit different.

Isleta New Mexico Bowl - New Mexico State vs. Fresno State (+3) - 5:45 pm ET - Bowl games are all about motivation, and this bowl location and scenario is worth noting for motivation purposes. New Mexico State was so close to winning Conference USA and garnering a high profile bowl game. Instead, they fell to Liberty and their bowl game invite dropped all the way down to the New Mexico bowl…played in their home state…on the rival’s home field. This will either infuriate them to an inspired performance or be the last place they want to end their season, no in between.

Starco Brands LA Bowl - UCLA vs. Boise State (+2) - 7:30 pm ET - It’s another home game team in week one of bowling, this time the underwhelming UCLA Bruins play at SoFi down the road from campus. The game itself is hosted by Rob Gronkowski so it should be a party to watch on Saturday. Be sure to do a last second check on Boise State QB on the field, as UCLA’s Dontae Moore is likely out - questions marks aplenty in this one

Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl - California vs. Texas Tech (-3) - 9:15 pm ET (Friday) - Two brand name schools that both went an extremely mediocre 6-6 this season try to end with some positivity. The good news here for the night cap on Saturday is that both teams can put up points in bunches. Texas Tech’s QB status is more in question so the lean is the PAC 12 team here.

Monday 12/18

Famous Toastery Bowl - Western Kentucky vs. Old Dominion (-2.5) - 2:30 pm ET - Nothing like a Monday bowl game matinee to distract us from final pieces of work before we all clock out for the holidays. This was originally The Bahamas Bowl but relocated last second to Charlotte, NC - what a fun change of plans! This welcome distraction has a brand new bowl sponsor - Famous Toastery looks to be a quaint little chain of breakfast themed diner restaurants. This game should toast up nicely in the points department, as both offenses think touchdown first.

Bowl Season Pick

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Georgia Southern -3.5 - Due to the uncertainty at QB on the other side

Louisiana +3 - Basically a home game for the Ragin Cajuns.

App State -5.5 - The MAC is down this year and I’m starting off picking against them.

Fresno State +3 - Lack of motivation for a dejected NMSU.

Boise State +2 - QB uncertainty galore here but the Broncos are tough in bowl season.

Cal +3 - Going with some dogs to start off bowl season, and leaning into PAC 12 teams.

Western Kentucky +2 - This could be a sneaky shootout bowl game.