Ranking College Football's 5 Best Bowl Games to Date
Bowl Season: The time for every fan to watch their respective teams' last hurrah of the 2013-14 season. While the BCS system is constantly scrutinized for its flaws, most of the time, it turns in a slate of quality matchups.
This year has been no different.
We've seen star-studded performances, close games and some amazing plays in the first 15 games of the bowl season. With the majority of the bowl games yet to be played, there promises to be even more excitement in the coming weeks.
But first, let's take a look back at the bowl season thus far.
Criteria
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How exactly does a bowl game land on this list?
Well, it needs to fulfill certain criteria that warrant it as the best of the best.
In the final game of the season, upsets happen. With one last chance to put a stamp on a season, teams shell out their very best in every single play of a bowl game. With this in mind, it's not uncommon to see a team like Utah State, a 8-5 team from the Mountain West, handle a 12-1 Northern Illinois.
Also included in the "final game of the season" mantra is the frequency of big plays, sometimes courtesy of crazy trick plays. If you didn't notice, the Statue of Liberty play made an appearance this postseason when Colorado State used it on a two-point conversion to tie Washington State at 45 in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl.
The main objective a bowl game needs to accomplish to be featured on this list is to make something memorable happen. And this list features numerous memorable moments.
Honorable Mention: Fight Hunger Bowl
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No Steve Sarkisian? No problem.
After Sarkisian bolted for Southern California, interim head coach Marques Tuiasosopo led the Washington Huskies to a 31-16 victory over BYU in the Fight Hunger Bowl.
The Huskies got an early 7-0 lead by way of a Bishop Sankey 11-yard touchdown run. The Huskies never relinquished their lead.
In what was Washington quarterback Keith Price's final outing in the purple and gold, he struggled. Price threw for 123 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Going up against a stingy Cougars defense, Tuiasosopo called upon Sankey to be the main cog in his offensive machine. And like he has all season, Sankey delivered. Despite not playing the fourth quarter, Sankey carried the ball 21 times for 95 yards and two touchdowns in another productive outing.
A motivated Huskies team fended off a strong Cougars team in an awesome venue. What's not to love?
No. 5 Russell Athletic Bowl
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Could this be Teddy Bridgewater's Louisville swan song?
If so, what a way to walk off into the sunset.
Against Miami in the Russell Athletic Bowl, Bridgewater put on a show. The junior quarterback for the Cardinals completed 35-of-45 passes for 447 yards and three touchdowns as Louisville routed the Hurricanes 36-9.
Stephen Morris, the quarterback for Miami, failed to match Bridgewater through the air. The Louisville defense flew around the field all night and flustered Morris. He finished 12-of-27 for 160 yards and no touchdowns. The Miami offense failed to convert on 11 third down opportunities.
With this performance, Bridgewater has solidified himself worthy of a top three selection in next year's draft.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
No. 4 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
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If not for a loss to Bowling Green, Northern Illinois would've played in a BCS bowl game.
Instead, they were deemed worthy of a matchup with Utah State in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. I guess someone forgot to tell the Huskies and Heisman Trophy finalist quarterback Jordan Lynch that Utah State could play.
The Aggies, led by an incredibly stingy defense, held the Huskies to just 14 points after they averaged about 42 per game coming into the game. Utah State held on to win 21-14.
Utah State running back Joey DeMartino had his way with the Huskies defense. He carried the ball 23 times for 143 and a touchdown.
Lynch, who fell 80 yards short of eclipsing the 2000 yard mark for the season, turned the ball over twice and combined for only 255 yards.
Overall, a very entertaining upset victory for the Aggies in San Diego.
No. 3 Texas Bowl
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In a back and forth affair, it was Syracuse who had the final say.
Dual-threat quarterback Terrel Hunt escaped the pocket, and scampered into the end zone from 12 yards out to take a 21-17 lead over Minnesota in the Texas Bowl.
The Golden Gophers trailed 14-3 in the fourth but used some big plays from quarterback Mitch Leidner to get back into the game and take the lead. Leidner threw two touchdowns in the frame including a 55-yard toss to Drew Wolitarsky to take a 17-14 lead with 12:34 left in the ball game.
After the Orange took the lead late, Minnesota had one last chance to get back into the game. Syracuse had to fend off two Hail Mary passes from Leidner, one of which went through Wolitarsky's hands at the goal line.
Entertaining ending between two quality teams.
No. 2 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
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Tulane kicker Cairo Santos had a chance to send this game into overtime.
Instead, the 2012 Lou Groza award winner barely missed from 48 yards out, and University of Louisiana-Lafayette hung on to win 24-21 in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
Early on, however, it looked like the Ragin' Cajuns were going to run away with this one.
Trailing 14-0 early in the second quarter, Green Wave starting quarterback Nick Montana threw an out route that was intercepted by UL Lafayette's Corey Trim, who took it 82 yards for a touchdown.
Coming back from three scores down can be a daunting task, but Tulane rallied. Running back Orleans Darkwa totaled three touchdowns to tie the game up in the third quarter.
Devin Powell, who took over for Montana, threw a costly interception early in the fourth quarter that led to a Hunter Stover field goal. The score held in an emotional battle between two Louisiana based teams.
No. 1 Gildan New Mexico Bowl
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Trick plays, emotion and a wild finish.
This game had it all.
A matchup in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl between Washington State and Colorado State doesn't exactly scream "must-watch," but that's what it turned into. People who missed it will be kicking themselves for not witnessing it.
But for a while, it didn't look like it would be anything more then a Washington State blowout.
After Cougars quarterback Connor Halliday threw his fifth touchdown of the first half to make the score 35-13, it appeared that Washington State was going to run away with this game.
Not quite.
Using big plays from quarterback Garrett Grayson and running back Kapri Bibbs, turnovers and an advantageous mentality, the Rams rallied and trailed by two with 33 seconds left in the game. A Statue of Liberty play on the two-point conversion tied the game up and overtime looked likely.
Then, Washington State had another costly turnover. On the ensuing kickoff, returner Teondray Caldwell fumbled the ball away and the Rams picked the ball up. As the clock expired, Jared Roberts nailed a 41-yard field goal to end a crazy game.
This thriller is well deserving of the top spot on this list.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
