If you have not listened to this week’s Men Of The Scarlet And Gray Podcast, shame on you. I will remember you during The Airing Of Grievances when I celebrate Festivus next week with my family.
Bowl season is upon us. Just like the college football season itself, bowl season seems to come and go far too fast for my liking. Below are some quick thoughts about how The B1G will be represented this bowl season…
12/26 at 3:30pm EST on ABC, in The New Era Pinstripe Bowl ~ Indiana vs Duke. Admit it – after a couple days of family time, won’t you be anxious to see some college football? Personally, I think Indiana has too much offensively for Duke, but maybe I am mistaken.
12/26 at 9:15pm EST on ESPN, in The Foster Farms Bowl ~ Nebraska vs UCLA. To say that Huskers Head Coach Mike Riley had a rough year in 2015 would be an understatement. While I would like to see Nebraska finish out 2015 on a positive note against UCLA, my feeling is UCLA has too much, especially with budding superstar quarterback Josh Rosen at the helm for the Bruins.
12/28 at 5pm EST on ESPN2, in The Quick Lane Bowl ~ Minnesota vs Central Michigan. Quite commonly in bowl games, it comes down to which team is happiest to be there. After losing their head coach midseason unexpectedly, I believe the Golden Gophers are going to make the most out of their bowl experience.
12/30 at 10:30pm EST on ESPN, in The National Funding Holiday Bowl ~ Wisconsin vs USC. Some things never change. Among them, the idea that kicking off a football game at 10:30pm EST, even during bowl season, is a good idea. Wisconsin seemed to falter down the stretch; I like USC under their recently named head coach Clay Helton here.
12/31 at 8pm EST on ESPN, in The Goodyear Cotton Bowl (CFP Semi-Final) ~ Michigan State vs Alabama. First off, do not be surprised if this does not kick off at 8pm; the other semi-final game is scheduled to start at 4pm, but that could always run over. Anyway, this is a tough one to call, but I am leaning with Michigan State, if, and this is a big if, Spartan quarterback Connor Cook’s shoulder is healthy. Remember I wrote “big if”.
01/01 at 12pm EST on ESPN2, in The Outback Bowl ~ Northwestern vs Tennessee. Northwestern has had a solid year, but has really struggled offensively. While I do not believe Tennessee is an upper echelon SEC team, I believe the Volunteers will have too much speed for the Wildcats in this one.
01/01 at 1pm EST on ABC, in The Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl ~ That Team Up North vs Florida. Personally, whenever I go to Buffalo Wild Wings, the last thing in the world I think of is “citrus”, but I digress. Buckeye fans will be focused upon what the Buckeyes will be doing at this time. Do not be surprised if Jim Harbaugh earns a win over an offensively challenged Gators squad.
01/01 at 5pm EST on ESPN, in The Rose Bowl Game Presented By Northwestern Mutual ~ Iowa vs Stanford. “The Granddaddy Of Them All”. Yes, I would have loved to have seen the Buckeyes in this one, but that is a separate conversation. Iowa is to be congratulated upon a fine 2015 season, but I like Stanford in this game.
01/02 at 12pm EST on ESPN, in The TaxSlayer Bowl ~ Penn State vs Georgia. As I stated up above, bowl season will go fast. Here will be one of your last chances to watch live college football for several months. Maybe your last time to watch Nittany Lions quarterback Christian Hackenberg running for his life in a Penn State uniform. I like Georgia here, despite all of their coaching turnover.
Bowl season is something to be cherished. Here is to hoping The B1G will give us fans something worthwhile to watch over the next couple of weeks.
Leave a Reply