Best Non-Playoff Matchups This Bowl Season
Love them or hate them, there's one thing that can't be denied about the overabundance of bowl games: With so many matchups, it's hard not to end up with at least a few really good ones.
Not counting the semifinals, the remaining 36 games set to be played between Dec. 20 and Jan. 3 feature plenty of duds, for sure. But root around a little and you'll find some gems in there, games that either pit teams of clashing styles or ones with built-in storylines because of histories between coaches and/or players.
Whatever the reason, there's a number of non-playoff bowl games that should be appointment viewing. And we've got a lineup all ready for you to plan your holiday activities around.
Check out our list of the best non-semifinal games of the 2014 bowl season, complete with TV info and plenty of reasons to tune in.
Miami Beach Bowl: BYU vs. Memphis
1 of 11
When: Dec. 22, 2 p.m. ET
Where: Miami
TV: ESPN
BYU's life as a football independent has been mostly good, with the Cougars getting into a bowl game after each of the four seasons out on their own. This past year, though, they were deemed as not big enough for future scheduling by certain leagues.
The American Athletic Conference has been more than willing to schedule BYU, with three AAC teams on its schedule this season and three on next year's slate. In between, the Cougars (8-4) get to face the league's best team, Memphis, in a pre-Christmas clash in south Florida.
Memphis (9-3) shared the AAC title with UCF and Cincinnati, its first title since 1971. The Tigers were 3-9 a season ago, one of the most improved teams in the country.
Both teams feature solid offenses, while Memphis is fifth nationally in scoring defense, allowing 17.1 points per game.
BYU went 2-1 against the American, while Memphis was 7-1. Make this a de facto AAC title game, since the league didn't have one?
Boca Raton Bowl: Marshall vs. Northern Illinois
2 of 11
When: Dec. 23, 6 p.m. ET
Where: Boca Raton, Florida
TV: ESPN
This game is a battle of second-tier powers, both of whom have either flirted with stardom or got a chance to play with the big boys.
Northern Illinois was the final so-called "BCS Buster" team in 2012, when it went unbeaten and got to play Florida State in the Orange Bowl. Marshall looked like it would get a chance to be the new version of that, as the Thundering Herd started 11-0 and were in the running for the at-large major bowl bid awarded to a non-power conference team before losing their regular-season finale.
Both are conference champions—NIU (11-2) won the Mid-American title, while Marshall (12-1) claimed the Conference USA crown—but each was passed up for the "Group of Five" access bowl bid in favor of Boise State. While that stinks for the teams and their leagues (since such a bid would have come with a lot of revenue), it did provide the opportunity for organizers of this new bowl to create a pretty enticing mid-major matchup.
Marshall ranked second in the country in total offense, at 563.4 yards per game, led by senior quarterback Rakeem Cato and a potent run game. Cato has thrown for a touchdown pass in 45 straight games, an FBS record, and he is eighth in career passing yards and sixth in all-time passing TDs.
Liberty Bowl: Texas A&M vs. West Virginia
3 of 11
When: Dec. 29, 2 p.m. ET
Where: Memphis
TV: ESPN
The holidays are a time best spent with family and friends, a chance to catch up with people you haven't seen in a while. Sometimes that revolves around a football game, as the circuitous routes that many college coaches take in their careers lead to some interesting reunions this time of year.
The Liberty Bowl will be such a gathering for Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin and West Virginia's Dana Holgorsen, who coached together at Houston in 2008-09. Holgorsen went on to be an assistant at Oklahoma State before getting the West Virginia job, while Sumlin jumped to A&M in 2012.
Both run the same style of Air Raid offenses, which could make for a very entertaining game...if you don't mind a lack of defense.
"Will this game have the highest over/under of any of the bowls?," wrote Graham Watson of Yahoo "The Aggies' defense was 101st in the country, and West Virginia can be explosive—when it isn't turning the ball over."
Despite the connections, A&M (7-5) and West Virginia (7-5) have never met before. Yet considering that one essentially replaced the other in the Big 12 (West Virginia's invite came after A&M left for the SEC), it's almost as if the programs are linked to each other.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Texas Bowl: Arkansas vs. Texas
4 of 11
When: Dec. 29, 9 p.m. ET
Where: Houston
TV: ESPN
The Southwest Conference was a football power league for decades, but when Arkansas left in 1991 to join the SEC it marked the beginning of the end. Texas moved to the Big 12 in 1996, along with Baylor, Texas A&M and Texas Tech, and the league disbanded.
Arkansas and Texas have only met four times since, including once in a bowl game (Arkansas won the 2000 Cotton Bowl, 27-6), but their histories are still intertwined. And it will be like they're tapping into that rich backstory when these two old-school football teams meet in Houston.
"Fans of good, old-fashioned, hard-nosed football are going to love the Texas Bowl," Bleacher Report's Ben Kercheval wrote. "There may not be a ton of points—or passing yards—but that's just fine with us."
Who cares that each team is 6-6, as the season wound down both were playing so well they were among the most dangerous in the country, the kind of teams that opponents wouldn't want to run into in a bowl game. Having them play each other, then, is so fitting.
Charlie Strong's first season at Texas has been an up-and-down one, but it still should be considered a success as he'd tried to install his culture. At Arkansas, Bret Bielema ended a 17-game SEC losing streak for the program by notching back-to-back shutout victories in November.
Music City Bowl: LSU vs. Notre Dame
5 of 11
When: Dec. 30, 12:30 p.m. ET
Where: Nashville
TV: ESPN
Good luck getting a ticket to this one.
Two of the most popular programs in the country should easily sell out this game, regardless of the fact that neither team had a particularly good season in 2014.
LSU (8-4) tied for fourth in the SEC's West Division, hamstrung by an offense that couldn't manage any consistency. Notre Dame (7-5) began 6-0 and was within an offensive pass interference call of knocking off defending champion Florida State but then ended on a four-game losing streak as the mounting mistakes of talented quarterback Everett Golson became too much to overcome.
Given three weeks to game-plan for each other, though, expect crafty LSU coach Les Miles and Notre Dame's Brian Kelly to both have their ducks in a row for a great game.
The game might not mean much compared to the playoffs or "New Year's Six" games, but the result could help answer many of the "how would Notre Dame do in the SEC?" questions that often pop up. The Fighting Irish haven't done particularly well in their last two such games, getting blown out by Alabama two years ago in the BCS title game and losing by 27 to LSU in the 2007 Sugar Bowl.
Belk Bowl: Georgia vs. Louisville
6 of 11
When: Dec. 30, 6:30 p.m. ET
Where: Charlotte
TV: ESPN
Many of the struggles Georgia experienced in 2013 were blamed on defensive coordinator Todd Grantham. Fair or not, he became a scapegoat, and his departure in the offseason was applauded by many Bulldogs fans.
Now Grantham is at the helm of the nation's sixth-ranked defense and third-ranked run defense as Louisville's defensive coordinator, a group Georgia will get very acquainted with in this pre-New Year's game in Charlotte.
"It's going to be a great challenge to compete with Louisville, period, but certainly Todd has done a very, very good job there," Georgia coach Mark Richt told Seth Emerson of the Macon Telegraph. "So we're looking forward to the game."
In addition to Grantham, a pair of former Georgia players—defensive backs Josh Harvey-Clemons and Shaq Wiggins—left the program and joined Louisville. Both are sitting out this season.
Louisville (9-3) allowed 93.7 rushing yards per game this season, while its secondary features safety Gerod Holliman, who tied an FBS record with 15 interceptions in 2014. Georgia (9-3) averaged 255 rushing yards per game, a number that remained constant even with Todd Gurley missing four games because of suspension and then going down with a season-ending injury because of the stellar play of freshman Nick Chubb.
Peach Bowl: Ole Miss vs. TCU
7 of 11
When: Dec. 31, 12:30 p.m. ET
Where: Atlanta
TV: ESPN
TCU (11-1) had a playoff-caliber resume, not to mention the backing of Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby as the team he felt should have gotten a semifinal bid despite the Horned Frogs losing to Baylor. They didn't get the invite but still have plenty to prove and will get a chance to do so in SEC country against one of the many SEC teams that earlier this season were getting lauded for the playoffs.
Ole Miss (9-3) began 7-0, capped by a landmark win over Alabama that had the Rebels ranked as high as third in the country, before they ran out of gas and couldn't get by just with their stout defense. Still, a chance to reach 10 wins for the first time since 2003 should be great motivation for a program looking to keep up with the rest of the SEC powers.
Two of the most well-known quarterbacks in the country will square off in TCU's Trevone Boykin, who's had a breakout season after losing his job the year before, and mercurial Ole Miss senior Bo Wallace. Also getting to see how the Rebels' "Landsharks" defense handles Boykin and TCU's uptempo attack will make for great viewing.
Fiesta Bowl: Arizona vs. Boise State
8 of 11
When: Dec. 31, 4 p.m. ET
Where: Glendale, Arizona
TV: ESPN
Arizona (10-3) was a major player in the playoff race this season, the only team to beat Oregon who had a chance to do it again last week in the Pac-12 title game. The Wildcats couldn't duplicate the feat, getting beat handily by the Ducks, but their overall body of work was deemed strong enough by the playoff committee to land them a cushy bowl slot less than two hours from campus.
But Arizona's reward also comes with a price. It has to try and avoid the fate of other power programs who have fallen to non-power teams in major bowl games. Boise State (11-2) has pulled that off before, surprising Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, and as the top-rated team from outside the power leagues this season, the Broncos get another chance to show they belong.
This is the Wildcats' third straight year with a bowl game, with each season under Rich Rodriguez including an extra game. Bryan Harsin didn't get to coach in a bowl last year, as he'd already left Arkansas State for Boise by the time that came around.
Expect explosive offense, some big plays on defense and, very likely, some trickeration. It's how Boise beat Oklahoma seven years ago and could factor in again this time.
Orange Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. Mississippi State
9 of 11
When: Dec. 31, 8 p.m. ET
Where: Miami
TV: ESPN
Of all the teams that were ranked No. 1 at some point this season, only one of them was doing so for the first time in program history. That would be Mississippi State, which held the top spot in the Associated Press poll for more than a month and was atop the first three College Football Playoff rankings while getting off to a 9-0 start.
The Bulldogs (10-2) lost two of three to end the season, falling not just from No. 1 but out of the playoff race. Despite the great beginning, the way things finished has left a sour taste.
But that's what bowl games are for, to finish on a high note. Granted, MSU didn't pick up the most favorable of matchups by having to deal with the option run attack of Georgia Tech (10-3).
Tech fell, 37-35, to Florida State in the ACC title game, giving the defending national champions a fight to the end. Averaging 333.6 yards per game on the ground, the Yellow Jackets are a handful to defend.
But MSU has its own headache to unleash on opposing defenses, that being junior quarterback Dak Prescott. A Heisman contender for much of the season, this could be his final game if he opts to turn pro.
Cotton Bowl: Baylor vs. Michigan State
10 of 11
When: Jan. 1, 12:30 p.m. ET
Where: Arlington, Texas
TV: ESPN
Baylor (11-1) would much prefer to be playing in AT&T Stadium on Jan. 12, when the national championship game is being held. But after getting shut out of the playoffs, the Bears will have to settle for playing in their second major bowl game in as many seasons after a second straight Big 12 title.
And unlike last year, when Baylor's fans had to travel to Arizona for a relatively undesirable matchup with UCF—one it ended up losing—this time those fans can make a short drive from Waco to see the Bears go toe-to-toe with Big Ten power Michigan State (10-2).
The idea of seeing Baylor's top-rated offense go against a Michigan State defense that ranks seventh in yards allowed is one of many great storylines for this New Year's Day game. You also have gunslinging Baylor coach Art Briles matching wits with Michigan State's stoic Mark Dantonio, while Baylor's underrated defense gets a chance to prove its mettle against an MSU offense that averaged 43.1 points this year and features several returners from last year's Rose Bowl team.
At several times this season, it looked like either of these teams could have ended up in Arlington for the title game. Instead, we get them as sort of a pre-championship appetizer.
Alamo Bowl: Kansas State vs. UCLA
11 of 11
When: Jan. 2, 6:45 p.m. ET
Where: San Antonio
TV: ESPN
Not including the championship game, there are six bowl games that are scheduled for after New Year's Day. Think of it as a way to help bride the gap between the semifinals and the title bout 12 days later.
Even better, it includes an intriguing game between a UCLA (9-3) team that began the season as a championship contender but had too many hiccups to make that happen against one of the most consistent programs in the country over the last four years.
Kansas State (9-3) has a chance for a third 10-win season in the past four years, all while being coached by a man—Bill Snyder—who looks more like a kindly grandfather than a wildly successful college football coach. This game will the final one for a pair of Wildcats offensive stars, mobile quarterback Jake Waters and record-setting wide receiver Tyler Lockett.
It very likely be the final game for UCLA's quarterback Brett Hundley as well. The redshirt junior passed up a chance to go pro after last season, but after getting sacked 36 times this year he may want to start getting paid to have defensive linemen throw him to the ground.
All statistics provided by CFBStats.com.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at realBJP.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
