Ranking every 2018-2019 college bowl game by watchability
By Cephas Evans
14. New Mexico Bowl – North Texas vs. Utah State
Utah State will be preparing for the New Mexico Bowl without head coach Matt Wells, offensive coordinator David Yost, and defensive coordinator Keith Patterson. Wells recently accepted the head coaching position at Texas Tech and will be taking his assistants with him, but all three have expressed their desire to assist in game-planning heading into the game. That help could prove to be the difference for Utah State when these two high-powered offenses face off. Each team ranks in the top-25 of total yards, points per game, and passing yards per game, so expect these teams to put on a show by airing it out and putting points on the board. Utah State quarterback Jordan Love is the player to watch in this game.
13. SERVPRO First Responder Bowl – Boston College vs. (25) Boise State
At one point, Boston College was 7-2 and in the top-20 of the College Football Playoff rankings. From that point on, the Eagles dropped three straight games to finish 7-5 and landed in the middle of the conference standings. Unfortunately, for Boston College fans, that three-game losing streak could easily extend to four. Not only is Boise State the better team offensively, but they also hold an edge on the defensive side of the ball as well. However, if Boston College can find a way to revert back to the team they were in October, they could easily send the Broncos home empty-handed.
12. Boca Raton Bowl – Northern Illinois vs. UAB
Just four years ago, the University of Alabama-Birmingham shut the doors on their football team and planned to scrap the program for good. UAB fans weren’t having it and fought for their program to be reinstated. Now, just two years later, UAB is 10-3 and going bowling, which makes this one of the best storylines in all of college football. However, getting a bowl win won’t be easy against the MAC Champions. Northern Illinois doesn’t play the greatest offense, but they have the ability to shut you out. This looks to be a hard-fought low-scoring game, but I’ll be pulling for UAB to cap off their amazing story with a bowl victory.
11. Sugar Bowl – (5) Georgia vs. (15) Texas
If we were ranking the New Year’s Six bowls, this would rank second to last. If you’re wondering why these two powerhouse schools don’t stack up to the rest of the match-ups, it’s simply because Georgia is too good. The Bulldogs are undoubtedly one of the top-four teams in the country and showed it in the SEC Championship against Alabama. Texas had a great year and looks to be improving, but they aren’t ready to play this talented Georgia team. The Bulldogs opened as an 11-point favorite and will have no problem covering this spread.
10. Armed Forces Bowl – Houston vs. Army
If Houston was at full strength, they would likely win this game. That said, quarterback D’Eriq King, one of the best in the AAC, is out for the rest of the season and defensive tackle Ed Oliver, who is likely a top-five pick in the NFL Draft, will skip this game to prepare for the NFL. For that reason, this looks like it will be a tight game. Army, who capped off one of their best seasons in decades with a win over Navy, has shown they have the talent to compete with anyone. Early in the year, Army took Oklahoma to overtime but came up short of the upset. It’s always easy to root for the military schools in the Armed Forces Bowl and this year will be no different. So everyone should tune in and pull for Army to get their third bowl victory in three years.