10 College Football Non-Playoff Bowl Matchups We'd Love to See
While the advent of the College Football Playoff has absorbed so much postseason attention, the fact is many fans across the country are focused first on what matchup their favorite team draws for bowl season.
This season, college football will have 38 non-playoff bowl games spanning a few weeks from mid-December to early January. Though the rewards might be smaller, these games are quite important for so many connected to their programs before we all hit the long, dark, football-less stretch of the offseason.
Some bowl matchups can be a ton of fun, such as last year's thrilling clash of styles between Michigan State and Baylor in the Cotton Bowl. That's the ultimate goal of every bowl game outside of the final four—generating enough pregame interest to get people to tune in and pitting two teams that can put on an entertaining game of football.
After studying the projections, tie-ins and conference standings, here are 10 bowl matchups outside of the College Football Playoff that we would love to see come to fruition this Selection Sunday. Some feature coaches facing former schools, while others match up high-powered offense or excellent defenses.
What matchup would you love to see this bowl season? (Sorry, but Kansas vs. UCF just isn't going to happen.) Tell us in the comments below.
Arkansas vs. Wisconsin
1 of 10
This matchup is usually on any dream list for bowl matchups year in and year out—Bret Bielema taking his Arkansas team to the postseason and facing his former team at Wisconsin.
Bielema left Wisconsin in 2012, after leading the Badgers to their third straight Rose Bowl berth, to take the head coaching job at Arkansas. His departure upset some in Madison, and he told Matt Hayes of Sporting News earlier this year that he has not talked to Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez since he took the Arkansas job.
"I’m making $150,000 more a year here than I was there," Bielema said, per Hayes. "But some people in Madison wanted to make it about me and money. Or that there was some friction between Barry and I. The only burning thing in my gut, the one scar on my heart that’s hard to deal with, is how my leaving was portrayed."
The matchup between Bielema's power-running Arkansas team and Wisconsin, which is now on its second head coach since his departure, would be an intriguing one on the field in addition to all the off-the-field storylines. The difference between the Razorbacks' and Badgers' records might make this one harder to pull off this year, but the SEC and Big Ten are locked into several postseason matchups.
Auburn vs. Cincinnati
2 of 10
This is another possible bowl matchup of a head coach facing his former school. Tommy Tuberville coached at Auburn for 10 seasons, a decade that included a perfect season in 2004 and six consecutive Iron Bowl wins.
Tuberville is still well-regarded on the Plains, even though he was fired in 2008 after going 5-7. His son, Tucker, is a scout-team quarterback at Auburn, and Tuberville has made several trips to Jordan-Hare Stadium to watch his son's team play. According to Brandon Marcello of AL.com, the elder Tuberville was in attendance when Tucker made his on-field debut last month against Idaho.
Auburn's disappointing 6-6 season will most likely force the Tigers to make the short in-state trip up Highway 280 to the Birmingham Bowl, which pits the SEC against the American Athletic Conference.
Seeing Tuberville coach against his former team—and his son—would make for a much more interesting matchup than a typical pre-New Year's Eve bowl game featuring a Power Five program.
Bowling Green vs. Georgia Southern
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The rest of these hypothetical bowl matchups include at least one Power Five team, but let's throw in a showdown between two teams from the Group of Five conferences.
The Sun Belt and the MAC are set to play two bowl games against each other—the GoDaddy and the Camellia—and a matchup between Bowling Green and Georgia Southern would make for a ridiculously fun clash of offensive styles.
Bowling Green, under head coach Dino Babers, will play for the MAC Championship this weekend behind the strength of its big-play offense. The Falcons have attempted the third-most passes in all of the FBS this season, while option-running Georgia Southern has only thrown three touchdown passes all year. Only two teams have thrown for more yards than Bowling Green, and only two teams have attempted more rushes than Georgia Southern.
Although Bowling Green is far from a pass-only team, taking it to the air through quarterback Matt Johnson is its primary form of attack. Georgia Southern would want to keep it on the ground and grab its first-ever bowl win. With both teams ranking in the top 20 in scoring this season, this would be a unique shootout.
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Florida vs. Michigan
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Michigan's Jim Harbaugh and Florida's Jim McElwain are high-profile candidates for any coach of the year award after turning around their respective programs in a heartbeat.
So why not let these two respected first-year head coaches—and their big-name schools—go at it to end their strong debut campaigns?
The Gators and the Wolverines have met only twice before in their long college football histories, with Michigan pulling out one-possession victories in a pair of high-scoring bowl games back in 2003 and 2008. The two teams are scheduled to open the 2017 season against each other in the Cowboys Classic, but some are projecting them to meet in this year's Citrus Bowl.
Although Florida and Michigan both finished their regular seasons on sour notes against their biggest rivals, they would still make for a high-profile bowl matchup. Bring on McElwain vs. Harbaugh.
Florida State vs. Notre Dame
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Admittedly, this prospective bowl matchup would have been a lot better if Everett Golson was the starting quarterback at Florida State. But even with Sean Maguire taking over as the top signal-caller for the Seminoles, a game between FSU and Notre Dame would receive a ton of hype.
According to Bleacher Report's Bryan Fischer, the Seminoles and the Fighting Irish seem destined to grab two of the four at-large spots in the New Year's Six bowl games:
"Florida State, Notre Dame, Ohio State are your at-large selections in the NY6 right now.
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) December 2, 2015"
If that's the case, then the powers that be should put Notre Dame up against Florida State in a rematch of 2014's controversial finish in Tallahassee. Even if Golson doesn't take a single snap against his former team, this would be a matchup featuring some great talent—especially when Notre Dame's offense lines up against Florida State's defense.
These are two of the biggest names in the sport, both of which have a lot of star power and some heated recent history. What more could you want out of a non-playoff bowl game?
Houston vs. Ohio State
6 of 10
Houston head coach Tom Herman became the talk of the early "silly season" in the college football coaching carousel thanks to the 11-1 regular season he had with the Houston Cougars. If Houston defeats Temple this weekend in the AAC Championship Game, the Cougars should go to the New Year's Six as the Group of Five's representative.
For their matchup in such a lofty bowl game, let's put the first-year head coach against the school that helped him become such a hot commodity.
Herman was Ohio State's offensive coordinator from 2012 to 2014, and he played a huge role in the quarterback shuffle and offensive explosion the Buckeyes had en route to last year's national championship. While there's still a chance the Buckeyes get into the playoff or the Rose Bowl, many are projecting Urban Meyer's team to lock down an at-large bid into the major bowls.
This matchup would pit Urban Meyer against one of his former ace assistants, and J.T. Barrett would have an exciting dual-threat bout with Houston quarterback Greg Ward Jr. The Cougars would be hunting a Boise State-esque upset to cap what has been a tremendous 2015 season, while the Buckeyes would look to finish their season on a high note.
Miami vs. Mississippi State
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This scenario—also known as the "Dan Mullen Bowl"—was first inspired by a tweet from Miami beat writer Matt Porter of the Palm Beach Post:
"Fun scenario to think about: Miami hires Dan Mullen, plays Mississippi State in the TaxSlayer Bowl as Mullen watches from the stands.
— Matt Porter (@mattyports) December 1, 2015"
Since Porter's tweet, it's been reported that Mullen, the current head coach of Mississippi State, has interviewed for the head coaching vacancy at Miami. Mullen wouldn't address reports of the interview with Miami on Tuesday, pointing to the history of rumors about him leaving Starkville over the last several seasons.
"I’m not talking about any of that," Mullen said, per Michael Bonner of the Clarion Ledger. "Every year I come here, every single year, you guys ask me the same questions. I’m not going to waste my time commenting on rumors on the Internet."
Sorry, Dan, but we're going to run with one of these rumors on the Internet and imagine the scenario of a team you used to coach facing the team that just hired you in a tense bowl game. That would be quite a sight to see this bowl season.
Michigan State vs. Stanford
8 of 10
This prospective Rose Bowl matchup would take some gymnastics from the committee, as Michigan State would miss out on the College Football Playoff with a loss this weekend. Then the Rose Bowl could take one-loss Ohio State over two-loss Michigan State for the showdown in Pasadena.
But if Iowa defeated the Spartans in the Big Ten title game and Stanford grabbed the Pac-12 title, a rematch of the 2014 Rose Bowl would be a great game to watch. Michigan State won the previous meeting 24-20 in a high-profile clash that virtually ended on a 4th-and-1 stop from the Spartans.
Fans would get to see two excellent senior quarterbacks, Connor Cook and Kevin Hogan, battle it out once again. The matchup between Stanford do-it-all running back Christian McCaffrey and Michigan State's elite defensive front would be great to watch, as well.
These are power-minded teams with top-notch head coaches, quarterbacks and defenses. Two years after they put together a memorable game in the 100th Rose Bowl, Michigan State and Stanford would undoubtedly combine for another classic in the legendary venue.
Oregon vs. TCU
9 of 10
Even though TCU beat Baylor last week, the Horned Frogs are most likely going to miss out on the New Year's Six this season. Baylor has one more game left on its schedule, and the big-time bowl games would want to avoid a rematch between Ole Miss and TCU in the Sugar Bowl.
But if TCU has to drop down to one of the standard bowls, it could stay in-state and have a tremendous matchup with Oregon in the Alamo Bowl. Bleacher Report's Bryan Fischer wrote about that bowl pairing in his latest projections.
"In terms of football die-hards watching a game, it will be hard to top the chess match between TCU head coach Gary Patterson's defense and Oregon's offense in the Alamo Bowl," Fischer wrote.
TCU has a high-powered offense of its own, too, and the showdown between quarterbacks Trevone Boykin and Vernon Adams Jr. in their final college games would be a treat for fans of fast-paced football.
Texas A&M vs. Texas Tech
10 of 10
After beating Texas on Thanksgiving night, Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury was asked about a potential bowl matchup between his Red Raiders and in-state rival Texas A&M—his former employer. Kingsbury was completely on board with the idea.
"For the fans that bowl game would be incredible," Kingsbury said, per Suzanne Halliburton of the Austin American-Statesman. "If it is in the state of Texas it would be great attendance, great viewership. I think it would be great for the fans."
According to Jake Trotter of ESPN, Texas A&M's loss to LSU on Saturday night moved that game one step closer to becoming a reality at the Texas Bowl:
"With Texas A&M going down tonight, looking more and more like it could be A&M-Texas Tech in the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl.
— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) November 29, 2015"
Kingsbury was Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin's offensive coordinator during the 2012 season, the year Aggies quarterback Johnny Manziel won the Heisman Trophy. The two schools also shared a conference for a majority of their history, but they haven't faced each other since A&M left for the SEC. Reigniting this rivalry on Texas turf would be one of the best standard bowl games available this year.
Justin Ferguson is a college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.
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