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Putting a Bow on the 2023 Bowl Season

Hello and welcome back loyal readers to the 2023 College Football Bowl Pick’em. As you are reading this we are one week removed from the end of the College Football season. The days are longer. There is less joy in the air, and we have to wait 229 days until the opening weekend of the 2024 season… A lot of things have happened since our last blog before the playoff so I will break down the biggest things that happened and put a nice post Christmas bow on the 2023 bowl season and the chaos that has ensued since the National Championship game. 

To make this blog flow better, I will recap the chaos in a top 5 countdown leading us to and through the playoff and aftermath of the postseason. Starting with #5 Ole Miss and Georgia are the teams to beat in the SEC in 2024. Saturday Dec. 30th was a big day for the SEC. The conference was having a “down year” but had just picked up a win the night before over Ohio State thanks too *checks notes* Missouri… and had a chance to get two more big wins with Ole Miss taking on Penn State in the Peach Bowl and Georgia taking on Florida State in the playoff… I mean Orange Bowl. First was the Peach  Bowl and Lane Kiffin showed the college football world that Ole Miss will be a problem in 2024. Jaxson Dart and co shredded and very good Penn State defense enroute to a 38 to 25 victory. Ole Miss is gonna be a problem in 2024. They have a weak schedule, Kiffin has added seemingly every transfer in the portal (he even offered us at Press Box After Dark to #TransferToTheSip). They did lose starting running back Quinshon Judkins to Ohio State but they still have the number one or two portal class (depending on what website you look at). Expectations will be sky high in The Grove next year. As a Mississippi State fan this is hard to admit. However, since we are the mature fanbase in Mississippi, I will respect the job that Joey Freshwater has done up in Oxford. The playoff is expanding to twelve teams in 2024 and if the Rebel-Black Bear-Landsharks aren’t in the playoff then it will be a bust of a season for the Lane Train. Now onto the game that “killed bowl games as we know it” the Orange Bowl. This game is simple at a glance. Georgia showed up and Florida State didn’t. The Bulldogs destroyed the Seminoles 63 to 3… Now look Florida State’s whole team was either hurt or sat out the game but that's an excuse that I’m tired of really. Did Florida State get screwed by the playoff committee… yes. Does that mean they can use that as an excuse for the beating they took? No. We here at Press Box After Dark love bowl season (clearly) and we are against players sitting out. We understand why they do it but don’t agree with it. Plus with NIL being a thing, there should be no excuse for a player getting paid to sit out a bowl game unless they are injured. Florida State got embarrassed and that result probably happens to them in the Rose Bowl against Michigan so the committee got it right. The twelve team playoff will solve this mess and in our opinion will not kill bowl season. Bowls will still be played, players will still sit out but at the end of the day if there is money to be made, a bowl will be played. I’m sorry your season ended poorly FSU. Georgia had the same number of players out for the game so don’t use that excuse. If you are truly back to being the FSU of old, then we’ll see you in the 2024 playoff and all of this mess will be forgotten. 

#4 The Rose Bowl was a college football masterpiece. Michigan the program with  the most wins. Alabama the program with the most national championships (other than Yale) and Nick Saban (for now…).  The matchup, the colors, the sunset, this is what college football dreams are made of. When Bama upset Georgia in the SEC championship, we all knew this matchup was happening. It did not disappoint. Michigan struggled early, then Bama struggled and Michigan led at the half. Then Michigan played sloppily and Bama looked like they had the game won but a late fumble by Jalen Milroe and a touchdown drive that will go down in Michigan history led by JJ McCarthy forced overtime. In the overtime period Michigan scored in two plays and then it all came down to a fourth and goal from the three yard line for the Crimson Tide to keep the game alive. A bad snap threw off the timing and Milroe had nowhere to go. Michigan had finally gotten the playoff monkey off their back and beat the mighty SEC to book their ticket to the National Championship game in what will no doubt go down as an all time Rose Bowl game. 

#3 Michael Penix made a case to be the first QB off the board in the 2024 NFL Draft. 

In the second Semi-Final, Washington came in as the underdogs to Big XII champion Texas. Texas had dudes all across the board and many thought they would overpower Washington. On paper that seemed to be the case but Washington had an ace up their sleeve. They had Michael Penix who proved he was the dude in a 37 to 31 victory in the Sugar Bowl. Penix was 29 for 38 for 430 yards and 2 touchdowns. He was selected as Sugar Bowl offensive MVP and was the difference in this game. In our preview for this game we thought the only shot Washington had was Penix and his receivers taking advantage of a suspect Longhorn secondary and just as we predicted that happened. Look at us, getting things right and we don’t even get paid to do this. Penix wasn’t alone in the victory but he was the story. For a man that has torn two ACL’s and in his sixth year it was a Disney movie night for him and he earned it. Penix may not be the first QB off the board in the NFL Draft but he made himself a part of the conversation after that night. As for Texas, it wasn’t meant to be but it was a building block for the program and Steve Sarkisian. Texas finally made it to the playoff and are moving to the SEC. Quinn Ewers is coming back and with the playoff expanding they can use this experience to make a run in 2024.

#2 Hail to the Victors 

The stage was set for the 2023 National Championship Michigan and Washington. It was the first four team era championship game to not feature the SEC since the very first CFP title game in 2014 (fun trivia for you there). Michigan vs. Penix and that Washington Offense was the headline. The Wolverines had one of the most controversial paths to this game that we have ever seen. Cheating scandals, suspension of head coach Jim Harbaurgh for eight games, injury to team captain offensive linemen Zak Zinter, you name it and Michigan will tell you they faced it in 2023. Look regardless of what you think of the cheating scandal and all of the nonsense Michigan brought upon themselves, Michigan still had to win the games. It wasn’t easy but they did the thing. For the first time since 1997 the Michigan Wolverines are National Champions. The Maze and Blue bullied Washington all night rushing for 303 yards, highlighted by two 40 plus yard touchdown runs by Donovan Edwards and 134 yards on the night for senior Blake Corum. Penix was pressured all night and the secondary for Michigan shut down the Huskies, only allowing 255 yards through the air. 34 to 13 was the final as Michigan ran away with it in the second half to end what will be looked back on as a controversial storybook season. The Big Ten is back on top of the college football world and Michigan finally has broken through. If Jim Harbaurgh stays in Ann Arbor this could be the start of something special but that remains to be seen as we head into our last point of bowl season…

#1 The GOAT has said Goodbye 

After the chaos of the 2023 CFP and Michigan’s Championship win, the biggest news in the sports world was the announcement that Nick Saban was retiring from Alabama. Now at first we thought this was fake. Since the 2020 covid season, there has been some twitter account saying “Nick Saban is retiring” so why believe it this time? Well this time Pete Thaamel tweeted it which meant it was serious. The SEC rejoiced and we finally got to watch Bama fans go through a coaching search for the first time in 17 years… as you expected they did not take it well. In all seriousness, I got to see Nick Saban coach in person at LSU and at Alabama. He is the greatest coach in my lifetime and my choice for the greatest coach of all time. The fear his teams put in you as a fan facing him will never be matched. The best conference in college football (sorry Big Ten) ran through that man for 17 years… It may be matched but it will never be duplicated. Coach Saban will be missed and I know many fans are happy he is retired but everyone will tell you that they respect his greatness (if they don’t they are lying). Alabama moved fast and landed Kalen DoBoer as the man to follow Saban in Tuscaloosa, which is a homerun hire for the Tide. They will be must watch TV in 2024 to see how many Bama fans want DoBoer fired after he doesn’t score 70 points against *checks notes*  Western Kentucky in week one…  

That wrapped up another Bowl season and another year of this group Pick’em. It started with just my family but has grown to over 30 friends and family members. Bowl season is the most wonderful time of the year, and this Pick’em means a lot to me. We started our blog on this topic and will continue to grow Press Box After Dark just like we grew this Pick’em. Although I am now 0-5 in my own Pick’em, I will still have hope that next year will finally be my year when early December rolls around. As for the winner, I was to keep their full name safe but with a record of 28 and 15 honorary Godmother to my daughter Auntie Cable Cable took home the Rollin’ B. Bowlin Trophy. When asked for her victory strategy, she said, “I asked boys on Hinge for their picks and used those with some of my own.” If that doesn’t get us a sponsor then I don’t know what will! Congrats to Auntie Cable Cable and her multiple Hinge boyfriends on your victory. Long live the Press Box After Dark Bowl Pick’em! We’ll see you in December for Bowl Season 2024!       

Written by Hunter 

Unwrapping the Heart of Bowl Season

Hello and welcome back loyal readers to the 2023 College Football Bowl Pick’em. As you are reading this Christmas 2023 has come and gone. Christmas never lasts long enough. When I was a child, I unwrapped presents so fast in excitement that before you blinked it was over. Now that I’m a father it goes slower but my one year old ripped through her gifts and all that hard work finally becoming Santa was over in a flash.  This last stretch of Bowl games is a lot like unwrapping presents on Christmas morning. It’s over before you know it, but man were there great memories made. Since the last post there have been 15 bowls that have come and gone and I wish I could break them all down, but Christmas time with family and friends got in the way. Let’s take a day by day approach and recap to the best of our abilities the heart of bowl season. 

Tuesday December 26th-

The day after Christmas was a busy one with 3 bowls to watch while you played with your new toys. The only 5-7 bowl team Minnesota opened the day with a win in the Quick Lane Bowl over Bowling Green. The Golden Gophers started senior quarterback Cole Kramer for the first time in his career and the best part was his story of having to put his wedding planning on hold to return to campus for bowl practice. It was a great story but Kramer didn’t do much as Minnesota overpowered Bowling Green, rushing for 255 yards enroute to a 30 to 24 victory. Next up Texas State took down Rice in the First Responders Bowl for the Bobcat’s first ever bowl victory. Texas State and young head coach GJ Kinne put on an offensive show that was fun to watch. Also the Texas State fans drank all the beer at Gerald J. Ford Stadium (home of the SMU Mustangs). If you ask me, that's SEC material right there. In the nightcap, Kansas proved it is a football school when they thumped UNLV in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl 49 to 36. Livelong Jayhawk Jason Bean threw for six touchdowns and won offensive MVP in his final game for KU. How can you not like Kansas football? Just a feel good story and if Jalon Daniels can stay healthy next year in the new Big XII… could be a dark horse Playoff team. Just saying…

Wednesday December 27th- 

The first Wednesday of the fall/winter without Survivor (We are a crew full of Survivor fans so this was a big deal) featured four games to get us through the day. It started with an upset for our group as Tulane was bested by the Hookies of Virginia Tech in the Military Bowl. Only 9 of the 33 participants in our Pick’em backed the Hookies and I will admit, my bad Virginia Tech. Good win over a good Tulane team. Next in one of the most anticipated games of the year, West Virginia (Mountain Momma!) took down North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl! The Mountaineers were picked to finish 14th in the Big XII and with this win over UNC finished the year 9-4. Neal Brown has the people of Morgantown trusting The Climb (just like Miley Cyrus baby, “It’s the Climb!!!”). Brown also got the now famous Mayo Bath after the victory. I’m not a fan of mayo so I think it’s gross but I’ve watched the Mayo Bath at least ten times. It’s a beautiful mayo car wreck and I can’t help but watch. In the first bowl game not on the ESPN family of networks, USC actually showed up and won a bowl game under Lincoln Riley as the Trojans won the Holiday Bowl 42 to 28 over Louisville. Miller Moss (who’s headshot makes him look like an 80's teen movie villain) filled in for Caleb Williams and threw 6 touchdowns for the Trojans of Los Angeles. This game has now posed the question, is Caleb WIlliams a system quarterback? We will discuss that closer to the NFL draft but for now Miller Moss is the man in Lincoln Riley’s LA funhouse. In the nightcap, the Cowpokes of Oklahoma State beat a bunch of walk-ons and freshman dressed as Texas A&M in the Texas Bowl. I’ll be honest when the Aggies third string quarterback got the start then broke his arm in the first quarter, I closed my eyes and fell asleep. Sorry Oklahoma State fans. Maybe next year y’all can win the Big XII and go to the playoff? I promise I won’t fall asleep if that happens. As for the Aggies, let’s hope you guys don’t ruin Mike Elko (I actually like him). 

Thursday December 28th-

Thursday started off confused as we had two bowl games thinking they were baseball games as Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium hosted the Fenway Bowl and the Pinstripe Bowl respectively. First in Boston, the home town Eagles welcomed future ACC member SMU with a 23 to 14 beating in the cold New England rain. SMU was upset when Liberty got the New Year’s Six Group of 5 bowl bid but it turned out to be a blessing for the Ponies. This way only a few people saw them lose to a 6-6 Boston College team instead of a bunch of people seeing them lose to sixth ranked Oregon (theoretically lose). The Pony Express has a lot to work on if it wants to get rolling in the Power 5. Over in the Bronx, the hometown adjacent Rutgers Scarlet Knights took down the U (Miami for those unaware) 31 to 24. My favorite part of Rugters winning football games are the Soprano memes that flood Twitter. Always good stuff there. You go Rutgers, best of luck against your new conference rival UCLA…  The afternoon game gave us the hero the world needed heading into 2024… The Pop Tarts Mascot (Strawberry). I don’t think a single word I type will ever do justice to our Pop Tart savior. For just a glimpse of his glory check out this tweet (https://twitter.com/PopTartsBowl/status/1740789058589396999). Let it be known that Press Box After Dark will die for the Pop Tarts Mascot. Oh also Kansas State beat NC State in the actual football game 28 to 19. The Pop Tarts Mascot was so electric that I forgot about the game… my bad K-State. I can’t remember the name of the last bowl of the night but it was in San Antonio, a very forgettable venue… Arizona topped Oklahoma 38 to 24. The Wildcats forced 6 turnovers and completed one of the best feel good stories of the college football season. Good for Jedd Fisch and Arizona. Could be a force in the new Big XII. Oh and Oklahoma, thanks for making the SEC look bad… ya bums. 

Friday December 29th-

Clemson and Kentucky started our day off with a banger in the Gator Bowl. Dabo and the Tigers got the dub thanks to a go ahead touchdown with 17 seconds left. Tough way for Kentucky to end their year but both of these programs will keep being successful in 2024. Next in the second bowl game not on the ESPN family of networks, Notre Dame destroyed poor Oregon State in the Sun Bowl. Final score of this one according to Oregon State was Fighting Irish Too Much and Beavers Not So Much… Don’t believe me? Here’s the tweet (https://twitter.com/BeaverFootball/status/1740860059113169100) Sorry Oregon State, best of luck in 2024. After the Sun Bowl, Memphis capped off a 10 win season with a victory in a home game. Sorry I meant the Liberty Bowl. The Tigers outgunned Iowa State 36 to 26. I was happy for Memphis but I feel like teams shouldn’t be allowed to play in their home stadium for a bowl game. Not because I think it’s unfair. Because I think the team should get to travel and be rewarded for their season. Not just play another home game. The week finished off with the first New Year’s Six Bowl as Mizzou took down the Buckeyes of Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl Classic 14 to 3. Ohio State was down to a true freshman third string quarterback due to the transfer portal and injury, but had every other starter available. Well everyone but star receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. The public seemed to know he wasn’t playing. Harrison Jr. is the projected #2 overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft but the media tried to make you think he was gonna play in this game all the way up to game time. I don’t know if he did play it would have helped the Buckeye offense that struggled for four quarters to do anything against the Tigers. Mizzou struggled as well but had two 90 plus yard touchdown drives in the fourth quarter to put this one away and finish the year 11-2. I was wrong about Eliah Drinkwitz… my bad. I will admit when I am wrong and I was wrong about this coach and his team. Mizzou will be a team to take seriously next year in the new look SEC. 

Only 10 bowls are left. Let’s try and slow down this final full weekend of college football. It will be over before you blink. So get together with your friends, shoot some fireworks for New Years and enjoy what we here at Press Box After Dark believe could be the best College Football Playoff to date! Until next time, enjoy the beauty that is Bowl season!  

Written by Hunter 

Duke’s Mayo Bowl Preview 

Good morning college football fans. It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Not Christmas, but bowl season. Today, we take a look at the history of the Duke’s Mayo Bowl and preview this year’s matchup between the Tar Heels of North Carolina (8-4) and the Mountaineers of West Virginia (8-4). 

The history of the Duke’s Mayo Bowl originates in 2002 when a new bowl game was introduced to the postseason under the “Continental Tire” sponsor. The bowl has changed sponsors 3 times since (Meineke Car Care bowl from ’05-’10, Belk Bowl from ’11-’19, and Duke’s Mayo from ’20-present). The bowl has always featured an ACC team and has included matchups against the Big East, AAC, SEC, and Big 10. The current tie-ins call for an ACC team and a Big 10 team (even years) or SEC team (odd years). So I know what you’re thinking… Why in the world is WVU playing in this year’s game? Well, the big and mighty SEC didn’t have enough bowl eligible teams and the brilliant folks over in Charlotte, NC immediately jumped on West Virginia to fill the spot (West Virginia sold out their ticket allotment the following week and forced the bowl planners to open up the upper deck for seating at Bank of America Stadium). After selecting WVU, there were then 4 separate bowls with the ACC tie-in all vying to select Notre Dame. Ultimately, the Fighting Irish were selected by the Sun Bowl, yes the Sun Bowl, who won after putting all 4 bowl games into a hat and selecting at random who would get Notre Dame. The committee for the Sun Bowl was so surprised at getting Notre Dame, that they didn’t even have their logo ready to display at the selection party. 

Anyways, back to the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. The committee ended up selecting UNC and created a matchup between two of its most common participants. UNC has played in the bowl 5 times (1-4) and West Virginia has played in it 2 times (1-1). This will be a rematch of the 2008 Meineke Car Care bowl that saw WVU come out victorious in a 31-30 all time classic, with Pat White starting and winning his 4th straight bowl game (’05 Sugar, ’06 Gator, ’07 Fiesta), becoming the first and still the only QB to accomplish this feat.  

The ’08 matchup was a back and forth affair with 7 lead changes and an impressive offensive showing on both sides. For UNC, all time great receiver Hakeem Nicks turned in an unreal performance with 3 touchdowns on 8 catches and 217 yards. On the flip side for WVU, Pat White had arguably his most impressive performance of his career, with 3 passing touchdowns, 55 yards on the ground and surpassing 300 passing yards (332) for the first time in his 4 year career. 

For this year’s game, let’s take a look back at each team’s season and what got each team to this point. Looking at UNC, the Tar Heels were predicted to finish in third place in the ACC behind only Clemson and Florida State. They were able to get out to a red hot start at 6-0 behind a strong start from highly touted QB, Drake Maye, despite their top receiver, Tez Walker, being ineligible until their fifth game of the season. All that momentum came to a screeching halt when the 10th ranked Tar Heels dropped their first game of the season at home against a very poor UVA team. That game seemingly took all the air out of the season with the squad finishing the season 2-3 after the UVA loss with their only wins coming against Campbell and a narrow victory over a “Riley Leonard-less” Duke team in double overtime. The boys from Chapel Hill are limping their way into bowl season with an 8-4 record and will be without both Drake Maye and Tez Walker, who have elected to sit out of this year’s bowl game to focus on the NFL.  

For WVU, the Mountaineers arguably started the season with exactly opposite preseason expectations when compared to UNC. The Eers were predicted to finish in dead last, 14th, by the Big 12 media members, with head coach Neal Brown cemented to the hot seat. West Virginia started the season off with a top 10 matchup in Happy Valley against Penn State. The Eers fell 38-15 but showed some real grit against James Franklin’s squad. Following a victory over Fcs Duquesne (Go Dukes), they were able to squeak out 3 narrow victories over Pitt, Texas Tech, and TCU. Sitting at 4-1, WVU fans were riding high, calling to be ranked, and looking forward to a largely favorable remaining schedule. A Thursday night matchup against Houston and former head coach, Dana Holgorsen, brought the Mounties back down to earth. During a game that was largely dominated by the Cougars, WVU was able to claw its way back with a 50 yard touchdown pass with 12 seconds left to take a 4 point lead. In the hysteria, QB Garrett Greene ripped off his helmet resulting in a 15 yard penalty, giving the Cougars one last breath. Houston got the ball to midfield and sent WVU home with their tails tucked after they converted a 50 yard hail mary as time expired. The Mountaineers left Houston 4-2 with morale at an all time low. WVU, however, responded by going 4-2 in its remaining 6 games, losing to both Oklahoma schools and handling business against Baylor and Big 12 newcomers UCF, BYU, and Cincinnati. The Mountaineers ended the season 8-4, tied for 4th in the Big 12, and recorded the first winning season (excluding 2020) for Neal Brown since his start at WVU in 2019. 

Looking at this matchup tomorrow, the result will be tough to predict with multiple opt outs and injuries. On the UNC side, the Tar Heels will be without Drake Maye and Tez Walker who have opted out, while the Mountaineers will be missing platoon running back CJ Donaldson and arguably one of the nation’s top offensive linemen Zach Frazier due to injuries.  

I’ll give the Eers the slight edge in this duel with them boasting the nation’s third best rushing offense. The keys to WVU winning will be getting quarterback Garrett Greene and top-graded true freshman running back Jaheim White out and running against the UNC defense. If WVU wins, it won’t be in a shootout but rather will likely come in a game that is controlled by its ground game. On the flip side, if UNC comes out victorious, the key for them will be exploiting the Eers’ soft zone pass coverage. If UNC backup, and first time starter, Conner Harrell is able to get comfortable against the weak WVU defense, the game could turn into a shootout. Though Harrell is faster than Drake Maye, expect UNC to get Harrell going in the air.  

This matchup has WVU favored (-6.5, O/U 55.5). Though there is much to be determined, there’s one thing we know for certain: Coach Brown will be covered in mayo after the game.  

 Written by Cameron 

Midweek Bowl Madness 

Hello and welcome back loyal readers to the 2023 College Football Bowl Pick’em. When we last left, seven bowl games had been completed on the opening Saturday and all 32 of our Pick’em participants had a winning record. Everyone was still in the mix heading into the first round of what I call Midweek Bowl Madness. These games are the one off bowl games that happen while you're at work on a Tuesday at 1:30 in the afternoon, or kickoff super late on a Thursday after college hoops. These games are good for gaining ground on those in front of you. However, you could find yourself on the wrong end of a losing streak and be out of the running in the blink of an eye. Let’s recap our first round of Midweek Bowl Madness of the 2023 Bowl Season. 

We started the week on Monday at 1:30 in the afternoon in Charlotte, NC (Ric Flair/ Four Horsemen country for my wrestling fans out there). It was the first ever playing of the Famous Toastery Bowl. Now a few important things to note: 1. Being from Mississippi, I had no idea what Famous Toastery was. I thought it was a bread making company. Apparently, it is a breakfast fast casual restaurant. (Who knew?) 2. This Bowl game only exists because the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl was postponed due to reconstruction of the Bahamas Bowl stadium.  Hopefully the Bahamas Bowl will return in 2024. 3. We found out that the winner of this game dumped a water cooler full of toast on their coach and that’s just awesome. The game was between The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and the Old Dominion Monarchs. Early on this looked to be a boring Monday Bowl blowout. ODU jumped out to  a 28 to nothing lead thanks to three WKU turnovers and bad quarterback play from Hilltopper starter Turner Helton who is the son of head coach Tyson Helton. Helton got the start due to senior Austin Reed sitting out the Bowl game. The Hilltoppers finally got on the board when Tyson Helton benched his son for third string quarterback Caden Veltkamp. Now  what was interesting about Veltkamp was he entered the transfer portal when it opened on December 4th. WKU coach Tyson Helton didn’t care if you were in the portal or not. He gave all of his players the chance to play if they wanted too or not even if they were in the portal. ODU’s head coach Rickey Rahne had the complete opposite approach to that. If any ODU player was in the portal, coach Rahne did not allow them to play or travel with the team. That decision may have been the difference. Down 28-7 at the start of the third quarter, Veltcamp led an unreal comeback to make it 35-28 with just 19 seconds left in the game. Western Kentucky had one shot to send it to overtime and Veltcamp didn’t miss. He connected on a 15 yard touchdown pass to K.D. Hutchinson and just like that, a 28 point lead for ODU was gone (Here is a link to that game tying touchdown pass: https://twitter.com/cjzero/status/1736882509088985228) In overtime Old Dominion got stuffed on the goaline and had to settle for a field goal. Only probably with that was when the Hilltoppers blocked that field goal and set themselves up for the win with any score. WKU went on the kick a field goal on their possession and took home the Famous Toastery Bowl trophy 38 to 35. This game is the main example that there are never enough Bowl games. It also was the greatest Famous Toastery Bowl in history… because it was the only one. Get it? Bad Dad joke aside, you should catch a replay of this one or check out the highlights because it was nuts. I think our tweet after game summed up the feeling for fans and sports bettors that had Old Dominion: https://twitter.com/PressboxAD/status/1736888642172325929 

Now you see why I call these midweek Bowl games madness, and that was only Monday. On Tuesday we got the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl between UTSA (Meep Meep) and We Are Marshall. This game had a lot to live up to if it was gonna top the Famous Toastery Bowl. For starters this game made everyone over the age of 25 feel older than dirt when it was announced the starting quarterbacks in this game were Owen McCown for UTSA (son of former NFL QB Josh McCown) and Cole Pennington for Marshall (son of former NFL QB Chad Pennington). I remember playing as both of their Dad’s on NFL Street for my GameCube when I was a child so the only thing I was missing to join AARP was random back pain. The Roadrunners came into this game as -7.5 point favorites and even though they fell behind 14 to 0 early; when they woke up in the second quarter, they made Marshall look like Wile E Coyote. UTSA took home the victory 35 to 17, Good fight from the Thundering Herd and head coach Charles Huff. I like him and UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor. I can see both of these coaches landing big jobs in the future. 

Two days and two good Bowl games. What could possibly go wrong on Thursday down in south Florida for the RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl? Well to sum it up in one sentence… It was a murder on live television. USF pummeled Syracuse 45 to 0… Have you guys ever seen the Syracuse mascot Otto? He’s a sweet little fun loving Orange ball and USF just straight up massacred my boy! There is just nothing else to say about this one. Don’t like the anti-bowl people see this score… 

To finish out the first week of midweek Bowl madness, we had a power five matchup in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl. ACC member Georgia Tech and new power five and Big XII member UCF squared off on the Friday night before Christmas for our entertainment pleasure. Now things have changed a lot for both of these programs recently. Georgia Tech is under first year head coach Brent Key and are four years removed from running the triple option. They are also led by former Jimbo Fisher QB at Texas A&M Haynes King. UCF is now in a real conference since their “national championship” in 2017 when they were in the American conference. Also funny enough their current head coach Gus Malzahn was the head coach of Auburn in the Peach Bowl they won to claim their “national championship” (talk about a full circle moment). Playing in a big boy conference didn’t do the Golden Knights any favors as they rolled into the Gasparilla Bowl 6-6. Georgia Tech also came in 6-6 but when I tell you the Titanic had a smoother ride than Georgia Tech’s football season, then you should know that it is the wildest 6-6 season of all time and will be broken down in an offseason deep dive by Press Box After Dark. This game was similar to the Frisco Bowl. UCF jumped out to an early lead, but the veteran leadership and great coaching from Brent Key sparked a comeback as Georgia Tech prevailed 30 to 17. The Yellow Jackets defense shutout UCF in the second half which was big considering they allowed back-to-back touchdowns on the Golden Knight’s first two possessions of the game. This was a great win for Brent Key. It is a big time program building win and I’m not saying Georgia Tech will compete in the ACC next year because they are losing a lot of leadership, but don’t be surprised if they get to 8 wins in 2024. 

I came into this four game midweek stretch at 5-2 and walked away 8-3. My only loss was thanks to Syracuse missing their flight to Boca and forfeiting to USF. If that didn’t happen I would have had an undefeated week. I’m in the one game back crew of our 32 participants  in this Pick’em which is right where I want to be. I will say I’m glad we aren’t a gambling advice blog because two of our Press Box After Dark crew members are 5-6 after the first 11 Bowls (Looking at you Zach and Cameron). First place however is a tie at 9-2 between our crew member Landon and friend of the blog Tom. Tom is our Nebraska fan so I'm sure he’ll find a way to choke down the stretch. We have another 7 game Saturday gauntlet starting at noon with the 76 Birmingham Bowl. Time to gear up and hope we survive what is set to be another action packed day full of Bowl games. Until next time, enjoy the beauty that is Bowl season!

Written by Hunter

Bowl Season Is Back and It Never Disappoints! 

Hello loyal readers and welcome back to the Bowl Pick’em. The 2023 Bowl season started this past Saturday and it lived up to the expectations. When taking part in a Bowl Pick’em, the opening Saturday can be make or break. There are 43 bowl games but if you fall behind early there aren’t enough games to make up ground. Add in the fact that most of the people in the Pick’em think alike or just pick the favorite, and your chances of winning the trophy could be in the hands of Eastern Michigan (Sorry to all our homies in Ypsilanti). I view the Bowl season as a gauntlet. You have to survive the Saturdays with five or more games and hope to get wins back on the one off mid week games. There were seven Bowl games to start us off this year, let’s recap those games and see where everyone in the group stands after Bowlmageddon day one. 

We started the 2023 Bowl season bright eyed and bushy tailed at 10:00 AM in the central time zone as Ohio took on Georgia Southern in the Myrtle Beach Bowl. Now this was a contrast of styles to say the least. Georgia Southern used to run the flexbone triple option until former USC head coach Clay Helton took over in Statesboro. Helton has transformed the Eagles into an Air Raid style team that throws it 40 plus times a game. Ohio on the other hand is power running and defense. The Bobcats came in with a top 10 defense in the country and they showed up. Ohio also took advantage of Georgia Southern’s turnover struggles. The Eagles came into Bowl season leading the nation in turnovers. That stat combined with Ohio’s aggressive defense explains the FIVE turnovers Georgia Southern had in this one. Ohio controlled this one from top to bottom even with a quarterback making his first career start. Quarterback Parker Navarro was very impressive for the Bobcats with his legs but the real hero was true freshman running back Rickey Hunt. The young man scored FIVE touchdowns Saturday morning before half the people on the west coast were even out of bed. Ohio cruised to a 41 to 21 victory and  I was off to a good start. 

Kicking off around halftime of the Myrtle Beach Bowl was the Cricket Celebration Bowl. For starters on this one, does anyone have Cricket wireless? I have never met anyone that uses Cricket wireless for their cell phones or internet. If you are reading this and use Cricket please DM us on Twitter. We want to meet the one customer they have. Now onto the game. The Celebration Bowl is the annual MEAC vs. SWAC bowl game that is treated like the HBCU’s national championship game. Last year Deion and Jackson State lost an overtime thriller to North Carolina Central. This year’s game didn’t have overtime but it did have the following: a sideline brawl, a player getting ejected for spitting, former NFL MVP Cam Newton, 30 combined points in the fourth quarter, Vice President Kamala Harris, and a 38 yard flea flicker touchdown pass for Florida A&M to beat Howard 30 to 26. Here’s a link to that flea flicker game winner (Twitter link: https://twitter.com/PressboxAD/status/1736122304856273076) This game did not disappoint and will probably be a top ten Bowl game in 2023. Shout out to the Rattlers for the victory and I moved to 2-0. 

After the morning games, the afternoon slate got started with another banger down in New Orleans. The R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl between Louisiana (The University not the State itself) and first time Bowl team Jacksonville State. Before we talk about this game, I have to shout out R&L Carriers as a Bowl sponsor. They have sponsored the New Orleans Bowl since 2006, and their company commercials with their CEO are just so awkward but perfect. Now about this game, we had another contender for Bowl game of the season on opening day. Before the game even happened there was controversy thanks to the no fun NCAA. Jacksonville State was an FBS member for the first time this year and due to their transition from the FCS they were not supposed to play in a Bowl game. However, as the season went on, Jax State just kept winning games. Them and James Madison were well over the six win mark and filed an appeal to the NCAA for Bowl eligibility. They were granted eligibility if and only if there were not enough 6-6 teams to fill every Bowl slot. Lucky for the NCAA that happened and they avoided a riot from college football fans. So Jax State got to go to New Orleans and JMU gets to play in the Armed Forces Bowl later this month. Congrats NCAA you did nothing fair and got lucky that things worked out. Now the game itself (much like the Celebration Bowl) had just crazy stuff happen throughout the game. Jax State had over 500 yards of offense compared to UL’s 247 yards but only won on a field goal in overtime. You may be wondering, how did that happen? Two words, Defensive Touchdowns. The Ragin Cajuns (top five school mascot) had three defensive touchdowns to give them a chance in this game and honestly had the game won until a late 18 yard touchdown pass by Gamecock quarterback Zion Webb forced overtime. In the OT period UL failed to move the ball and missed a field goal leading to the Jax State walk off winner moments later. The best part of overtime was the ESPN cameras catching the Gamecock’s kicker psyching himself up for the kick by yelling into the wall. Don’t believe me? Click the link to see for yourself (https://twitter.com/PressboxAD/status/1736161142643245323) Big time congrats to Rich Rodriguez and the Gamecocks on their first ever Bowl victory. Thanks to that game winning kick, I moved to 3-0 

As the old saying goes, “all good things must come to an end” that was the case for my undefeated Bowl record. The next two games happened during an extended family Christmas for me. While everyone was visiting and making memories, I was sliding down my seat on the couch in disappointment seeing my perfect record vanish into thin air. The Avocados From Mexico Cure Bowl took place in a south Florida thunderstorm, as Appalachian State took down Miami OH (not the fun Miami) 13-9… That score is gross, that game was gross, and my grandfather had the game on mute so I didn’t even get to hear the Avocados from Mexico jingle. I would like to forget this game happened and hopefully next year Avocados From Mexico can move this game to Mexico City. If that actually happens, the Press Box After Dark crew will be needing about 40 media passes… Sticking with the Mexico theme, the New Mexico Bowl was a disappointing way for New Mexico State to end their historic 2023 season. The Aggies won 10 games for the first time since 1960, won their first game over an SEC opponent when they upset Auburn in Week 12, and played for a Conference USA title in their first year in the conference. That’s why I shed a little tear when I watched Fresno State dominate the Aggies for four quarters to win the Isleta New Mexico Bowl (what the heck is Isleta?) 37 to 10. Congrats to both teams on a fantastic season and here's to both of them having repeated success in 2024.   

To round out the opening day of Bowl season, we had the LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk (that is tight end legend Rob Gronkowski for those unaware) and one of my top five non playoff Bowls, the Radiance Tech Independence Bowl in beautiful Shreveport, Louisiana. Let’s start with LA and after minutes and minutes of research I can somewhat confidently say that the LA Bowl was the first ever Bowl game to have a Host. Now you may be asking yourself, what does a host do at a Bowl game? Well loyal reader, this is what Gronk did as the host of the LA Bowl: Sang the National Anthem very poorly, was in 75% of the commercials for the game, had three special cocktails that fans could drink during the game, raced a football tee fetching dog at halftime, danced like a frat boy on the jumbotron, and took a selfie with almost everyone on the sideline. As for the game, new Big Ten member UCLA (that is just never going to sound normal) had a 21 point third quarter to spark a 35 to 22 comeback victory and take home the LA Bowl Championship Belt. No seriously the trophy was a wrestling belt. I know what I just typed sounds like a fever dream but I promise you it’s real and that’s Bowl season in a nutshell. Here’s a link to that championship belt trophy, it’s low key kinda sick (https://twitter.com/BowlSeason/status/1736237421606449218)  In the night cap on the bayou of Shreveport Louisiana, the college football world saw recent history repeat itself as Texas Tech rolled over Cal for a 34 to 14 win in the Independence Bowl. If you don’t understand the history thing, I’ll explain. In the last three seasons there hasn’t been a team that gets up for random Bowl games better than Texas Tech. They are now on a three game Bowl winning streak and all three games are blow out wins over power five opponents. In 2021 they destroyed Mike Leach (RIP Pirate) and Mississippi State in the Liberty Bowl 34 to 7. In 2022 they destroyed the other Mississippi school Ole Miss 45 to 25 in the Texas Bowl, and as stated above dominated Cal in the Independence Bowl. If Texas Tech could just play 12 random Bowl games as their whole schedule next year they may go undefeated. It wasn’t the season the Red Raiders wanted to have but they can take that momentum into the new look Big XII and potentially make some noise next year. Thanks to the two strong finishes from UCLA and Texas Tech I finished opening day with a 5-2 record. Still very much in the hunt for my first Bowl Pick’em title. I will note that out of our group of 32 participants this year we had no one with a losing record after seven games. Just three participants had a 6-1 record so two things are true after the first Saturday of Bowl season: 1. Nobody is perfect and 2. Everyone is still in the mix for a title. We have four midweek Bowl games before the next Saturday gauntlet so we’ll see if someone will break off from the pack or fall off the wagon. We’ll be back to recap this week’s games on Saturday, so until next time, enjoy the beauty that is Bowl season!  

Written by Hunter 

Top 5 Non-Playoff Bowls I’m Looking Forward To

Hello loyal readers of this two post blog on the 2023 College Football Bowl Season. We are just one day away from the start of the most wonderful time of the year, and I thought I would share my Top 5 Non Playoff Bowl games that I’m looking forward to this year. Now I will say that I am a sucker for all Bowl games so if I had the time I would rank all 43 Bowl games I would. However, we are new to blogging here at Press Box After Dark and I’m not the most skilled writer of the group, so I’ll just start with 5. Now these 5 are in order from 5 to 1 and they will not include any of the Playoff games but can include the rest of the New Year’s Six games. Let’s get this list started with number 5 

Number 5: Radiance Tech Independence Bowl- Cal vs. Texas Tech (Saturday Dec. 16th at 9:15 PM)  

I know this game  is a surprising choice to start this list but hear me out. This game at a glance seems like a normal bowl, however we have to dig a little deeper to see its true beauty. Let’s look at all of the qualities that I see from this game that just make it the perfect bowl game storm. First, it has an unknown sponsor. No offense to Radiance Tech but I have no clue what that is, so it leads to weird bowl swag bags. Seriously, can you imagine a Radiance Tech swag bag? That’s got to stink. Second, the matchup is so odd. 6-6 Cal taking on a 6-6 Texas Tech. That matchup is just so gross it rules! I love bowl matchups that pair up teams that you would never see play in a hundred seasons and this bowl has that. Lastly this is the Independence bowl in the booming city of Shreveport, Louisiana. Imagine when these teams heard they were going to Shreveport… I bet most of them had no clue where that was. A team from West Texas and a team full of California kids get the post season reward of Shreveport… ew! Look, Shreveport isn’t all bad. Both teams for this bowl normally stay in one of the many casinos so that can always lead to some wild pregame stories so shout out to Shreveport for that.  

As for the game itself, both teams come into this game needing this win to jump start their 2024 season. For Texas Tech 2023 wasn’t supposed to end in the northwest corner of Louisiana. Head Coach Joey McGuire made waves in the preseason claiming that the Big XII runs through Lubbock. It took just one game for that statement to bite them in the booty cheeks when they lost their season opener at Wyoming. They did rebound well and almost knocked off PAC 12 runner-up Oregon in week two, but the season really went off the rails when Oregon transfer quarterback Tyler Shough (pronounced Shuck for some reason) broke his left fibula in the week four loss at West Virginia. Shough (or Shuck) is now healthy and is transferring for his SEVENTH YEAR of eligibility to Louisville. Shough’s injury made it Behren Morton time in Lubbock. The sophomore (whose name sounds like a law firm) did a decent job getting the Red Raiders to a bowl with a signature win over 8 win Kansas. However, they did finish the year on the wrong side of a 57 to 7 blowout against their “rivals” from Austin. Morton and co need this to build momentum for the new look Big XII which could be good in the future for the Red Raiders but a loss in Shreveport will be a sad cherry on top of the poo poo sundae that was 2023. 

On the flip side Cal was an afterthought coming into 2023 in the loaded PAC 12. Early on they were proving that lack of preseason hype to be true. Needing to win their final three games for a trip to the beautiful bayou swamps of Shreveport, the Golden Bears rallied and upset Washington State, beat Stanford in The Game (no band ran on the field this year) and finished the year with a beat down of Chip Kelly’s UCLA squad. The Cal offense can light up the scoreboard. Led by true freshman quarterback Fernando Mendoza and 1200 yard rusher Jaydn Ott. They average 31 points a game and just at 395 yards. It’s a fun group to watch and there are not many players in the portal. Justin Wilcox can use this game to spring the Golden Bears into darkhouses in the new ACC. Yes that’s right the California Golden Bears are in the Atlantic Coast Conference (man realignment sucks). The Red Raiders opened as three point favorites but I can see the Golden Bears taking this one. I do fully expect this game to be bonkers. Two teams that can run the score up and it kicks off at 8:15 PM! It’s the first version of ACC after dark in a way so I’ll be staying up late to watch this one.   

Number 4: Pop Tarts Bowl- NC State vs. Kansas State (Thursday Dec. 28th at 5:45 PM) 

Look at the title of this bowl. IT’S THE FREAKING POP TARTS BOWL!!! That’s it, that’s the reason it’s on this list. Well there are more reasons that I will get into but I can promise you that the Press Box After Dark crew loves Pop Tarts. In the offseason there will be a Pop Tarts bracket on this website to determine the official Pop Tart of Press Box After Dark. This game is more than just Pop Tarts. This is a top 25 matchup between two teams that had great seasons. One of them with a win will have a ten win season for the first time since 2002. The other can establish themselves as the new standard in their new look conference. Let’s first look at the Wolfpack from Raleigh, North Carolina  

NC State comes into the Pop Tarts bowl with a 9-3 record and to say it’s been a rocky road (rocky road somehow not a Pop Tart flavor) would be an understatement. In the off season the Wolf Pack landed grand transfer Brennan Armstrong from Virginia. Armstrong followed his OC from Virginia Robert Anae and the Wolfpack looked to be a potential factor in the no divisions ACC. Fast forward to week five after an ugly 13 to 10 loss to Louisville, Armstrong was benched for true sophomore MJ Morris. Last year Morris took over for a hurt Devin Leary and was supposed to red shirt but couldn’t and finished 2022 8-5. The plan for Armstrong to come in and take over to give Morris that red shirt year was scrapped and Morris took over as the starter. Morris went 3-1 as the starter with wins over Clemson and Miami. He chose to sit out the rest of the year and Armstrong returned in week ten. The benching woke Armstrong up as he has been a perfect 3-0 since coming back with a big rivalry win over UNC. However the end of the year wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows as their QB of the future MJ Morris got his red shirt and hopped in the transfer portal. That is bad news for the Wolfpack who will have to replace Armstrong who is a six year senior, but leading receiver Kevin Conepcion is a true freshman and is planning on coming back next year so he is a player to build around. If NC State could pull off the win it will be their first 10 win season since 2002 when Chargers legend Philip Rivers was leading the offense. Rivers has had 10 children since that season in 2002 with his tenth being born in October of 2023 so is that a sign for an NC State win? 

Kansas State would like to play spoiler to that tenth Wolfpack win and pick up the pieces on what will go down as a disappointing year for the Wildcats. In the preseason K-State was a favorite to repeat at Big XII champs. Chris Klieman and co have a well oiled machine in Manhattan but this season was a year of close but no cigar. In week three they lost an out of conference game to Missouri on a 61 yard field goal as time expired. Two weeks later they lost on the road to an Oklahoma State team that had a roller coaster season itself. Then lost all of their Big XII title hopes in an overtime thriller to Texas in Austin. 10-2 was still on the table until the Wildcats lost in what I’m calling Snowmageddon in the season finale to farm school rival Iowa State. The post season has continued to be a downslide for the Wildcats as star quarterback Will Howard hit the transfer portal along with 18 other players. Also in that 18 was the team’s second leading rusher Treshaun Ward who has committed to Boston College. Plus side is leading rusher DJ Giddens is staying and backup QB Avery Johnson isn’t completely green to running the ship, but the defense lost a lot of players in the portal so it’s a guessing game as to who’s showing up for the Wildcats. My gut is telling me to never count out Klieman though. The guy is a winner and a top 10 coach in my opinion. There is a lot on the line for both schools so this one is a circled bowl for sure. If anything you should watch this game for the first ever EDIBLE TROPHY!!! That’s not a typo. The winner gets to eat a Pop Tart trophy! This will be must watch viewing.  

Number 3: SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl: Utah vs. Northwestern (Saturday Dec. 23rd 6:30 PM) 

The Las Vegas Bowl has always been a bucket list bowl for me. I have never been to Vegas, and this game every year just gets a matchup that catches my eye. This year is a tale of two very different teams. Utah and Northwestern. Two teams that had polar opposite preseason expectations. Two teams that had completely different paths to the game. However, their one common ground is that both of these teams will play a full sixty minutes on December 23rd. 

Let’s look at the Utes. Utah came into this season with one goal, repeat as PAC 12 champs and make the College Football Playoff. On paper they had everything to achieve those goals. They had a sixth year quarterback that was MVP of the PAC 12 title game last year in Cam Rising. They had a great strength of schedule with two non conference Power 5 opponents in Florida and Baylor. Plus the PAC 12 was expected to be the best it has been in years so the champion was very likely to get in. Lastly they have an elite coach in Kyle Whittingham who (like Klieman above) I believe to be a top 10 coach in college football. There was really only one thing stopping Utah… Injuries. Rising was out for the season recovering from his Rose Bowl ACL tear, and it seemed like anyone that could get hurt did. They got winnable QB play from both freshman Nate Johnson and noted pig farmer/career backup to Rising Bryson Barnes. However the PAC 12 was brutal and the Utes dropped four games in conference. Adding to the lackluster season, three quarterbacks hopped in the portal. Nate Johnson, Bryson Barnes, and talented freshman Mack Howard are all gone. Meaning that Junior Luke Bottari who only has 10 career pass attempts is the likely starter for this bowl game. Look I’m never going to count out Utah under Whittingham and they will be a big time contender in the Big XII next year but they have a tall task ahead of them in Vegas. Luckily for Bottari (or whoever is playing QB) the whole running back and wideout room is making the trip to Vegas and the defense despite all the injuries is still good so it is possible the Utes get a win. However they will have to beat the team of the year that no one has talked about.  

 Northwestern had the complete opposite of preseason hype that Utah had coming into the year. Over the off season long time Northwestern Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald was fired due to a hazing scandal that I will not go into because this is a light hearted blog. If you want to read about that scandal for context go ahead but I will warn you it’s not a fun read. David Braun was promoted to interim head coach after Fitzgerald was dismissed. Braun was a career long assistant coach with his highest title being the DC for the Purple Cats for not even a season. Everything looked bad for Northwestern. An opening weekend loss to Rutgers and Vegas making them home underdogs to UTEP in week two kinda showed viewers what the national media thought of this team and the current state of the program. However, Braun and Purple Cats have done nothing but improve and get better each week. Northwestern had an over/under win total of 3 and they finished strong and come into this game at 7-5. In a world that went googoo gaga over Deion Sanders winning *checks notes* 4 GAMES, it’s a shame that Northwestern didn’t get the praise it deserved. These players went through the ringer this offseason and accomplished something nobody thought they would. We here at Press Box After Dark are behind Northwestern and hope they can finish this season on an all time high with a Las Vegas Bowl win! Maybe then people will start giving Braun some praise for the job he’s done instead of giving “Coach Prime” sportsman of the year for being a flashy loser. All jabs at Deion aside, Utes vs. Purple Cats in Vegas should be a hard hitting good time!       

Number 2: Valero Alamo Bowl: Arizona vs. Oklahoma (Thursday Dec. 28th 9:15 PM)

Remember the Alamo or something like that. Normally the Alamo bowl is a non playoff game that is circled as a must watch and this year is no different. This year we have Oklahoma coming in at 10-2 just falling short of their Big XII title goals, and Arizona… Yea I’m as shocked as you are to see Arizona here. Much like Northwestern and Utah above we have another matchup of one team that had a lot of preseason hype that fell short and another team that had whatever the opposite of preseason hype is. 

First let's look at the Sooners. Oklahoma is in major turn the page mode coming into this thing. They are moving to the big bad SEC next year. Dillion Gabriel ,their gun slinging QB, has transferred to Oregon. Meaning it is former five star Jackson Arnold time in Norman. Oh and their OC Jeff Lebby is now the new head coach of Mississippi State (score one for the good guys!). For their offense head coach Brent Venables promoted from within and named Joe Jon Finley and Seth Littrell as Co-Offensive Coordinators. This is a prove it game for the Sooners. A chance to show everyone that with the staff changes, it doesn’t matter because Oklahoma will still be elite. This will be a tough task for the Sooners but if Bob Stoops is on the sidelines then they could run away with it. 

Then there is Arizona, a team that Jedd Fisch took from 1-11 to now 9-3 in year three. This is a team that in the preseason, it looked like 6-6 was the ceiling. It started that way when they went on the road and lost in overtime to a poor Mississippi State team in week two (one of the more random game results of the season across college football). The biggest thing that Fisch did for the Wildcats this season was moving on from former Washington State transfer Jayden de Laura to redshirt freshman Noah Fifita. De Laura had turnover problems and was a true gunslinger, had no clue what was gonna happen. Fifita came in and got the ball to his play makers and the offense started rolling. Especially watch out for two wideouts that I think will be playing on Sundays. Former UTEP transfer Jacob Cowing and 1,242 yard receiver Tetairoa McMillian (it’s easier to call him T-Mac). T-Mac and Fifita were high school teammates and that connection is a big reason for this turnaround. Arizona is a really good football team. Oklahoma is a good team that will be showing off new talent. If this lives up to the billing we will all remember the Alamo… Bowl.    

Number 1: Capital One Orange Bowl- Florida State vs. Georgia  (Saturday Dec. 30 4:00 PM)

I mean do I even need to type about this one? For the first time in the four team playoff era, the committee put in who they believed to be the four best teams available. These two teams… were somehow left out. Now we have this Orange Bowl matchup that on paper is going to be epic but it’s not my number 1 non-playoff bowl for that reason. It is number one for all of the drama that has ensued since selection Sunday. 

Florida State started the drama by doing what no one on the committee wanted by winning the ACC with a third string quarterback. Since Jordan Travis got hurt (get better my guy) there was a feeling that the world of college football just needed FSU to lose so we didn’t have to get to this point. They didn’t and were on the wrong side of history when they became the first Power 5 undefeated conference champ left out of the playoff. Their fans have rioted on social media and thrown out the idea no showing this game. Head Coach Mike Norvell and Georgia’s Kirby Smart no showed the Orange Bowl press conference so for a second the idea had some serious traction.  However, FSU won’t no show this game but I can guarantee that they will be pissed with something to prove when they travel to Miami. 

Looking across the way at Georgia they feel like they are the best team in college football. They have a good argument. Back to back champs, and were number one all year until they lost to Nick Saban and Alabama in the SEC Championship game. In my opinion they are one of the four best but there wasn’t enough room for the Dawgs. Kirby Smart will find a way to get this team motivated and even though both of these teams had a case to be in the playoff, they will need to treat the Orange Bowl as their own “national championship” game. 

These are just five matchups that I think will be interesting but you can find something to look forward to in any of the 43 bowl games. That’s the beauty of bowl season. Spending time with family around the Christmas tree and explaining to your grandpa why one coach is getting Duke’s Mayo dumped on his head. Happy Bowl Season Eve everyone! Tomorrow the chaos begins.  

Written by Hunter 

Hello and welcome to my very first attempt at what the internet calls a blog. The dictionary defines a blog as a regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style. Since I have never and will never consider myself a journalist or a good writer, I figured this was the best way to log the details of my family’s annual College Football Bowl Pick’em. 

For those of you that don’t know me, my name is Hunter. I’ll keep my last name a mystery for now, but knowing the internet it will be discovered in like a day. To be clear I have nothing to hide just want to keep the readers guessing. I am currently 28 years old and live in Mississippi. As you can guess due to my location I am an SEC football fan, a Mississippi State fan to be specific. I was raised on good southern values like yes ma’am, no ma’am, drinking sweet tea like water and watching football on Saturday from 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM.  I developed a passion/obsession with college football thanks to my mother who is a participant in this Pick’em. Some of my best childhood memories with her were waking up on Saturday and never leaving the couch with her. I thank her every season for introducing me to this sport that I love so much but at the same time question her sanity because she raised me to be a Mississippi State fan. Little did she know that would be the greatest form of parenting punishment she would ever come up with. I use this Pick’em as a way to text people once a year and annoy them to fill out a sheet of bowl picks for me to keep up with over the Christmas holidays. At first it was just my parents, my girlfriend (now wife) and myself. However as me and my wife married and moved to new cities, we started to meet an amazing cast of characters that wanted in on the action. I would be lying if I told you that I remember the first year we expanded this Pick’em outside the family. I would also be lying if I told you about the second year we expanded this pick’em outside the family, but that third time… I remember that because I finally got smart and started using Google sheets. Now that I have past records to look back on, I only wanted to make this Pick’em bigger and better. Last year as a joke I thought I would use my past skills as an Sports Information Director Graduate Assistant and type funny bowl recaps for everyone in the Pick’em. Two people outside of my father thought my recaps were good reads. Naturally knowing that someone liked my idea of recaps, the only thing to do next was to make the recaps bigger and better. Then one night while watching YouTube trying to fall asleep, it hit me. Watch a video on how to start a free blog! That way instead of two people and your Dad liking your recaps, random strangers can read them and call it garbage because the internet is an endless pit of keyboard cowards. The true reason for this blog is so the people involved in this pick’em have easier access to the recaps than last year, however I do hope random strangers and all 312 of my twitter followers read these and find them entertaining. I love college football and this blog will be my love letter to it every single year. It is an opportunity to stay connected with the people who shaped who I am as a person and share my story to anyone that wants to listen. I hoped you enjoyed post number one and I hope you’ll enjoy the many more to come. We have 43 bowl games to cover and over 30 participants in this thing! Anyone can take home the highly coveted and brand new (ordered and customized on Amazon for just 9.99 plus 14.99 for shipping and handling) Rollin’ B. Bowlin Trophy! Welcome to the 2023 Annual Press Box After Dark Bowl Pick’em!

written by Hunter