Bowl Season- Part 1

By The Rabbi, OTSL Producer and Video Editor

I love college football, and I truly love bowl season.

There might be 40 games (involving FBS teams), and that might be too much for all of you.  I don't care.  I truly love it.

So, because this bowl season is crazy and we haven't seen blog posts on here for a while, I'm doing a bowl preview, day by day of this very long bowl season.

I base each bowl preview with 5 questions:

1.  Why should I care about this game?  

I know I care but I need to give a reason for you to care.

2.  Who should I watch for?

It's the postseason, and if you're not playing for that ridiculous CFP trophy, you care about your draft stock, plain and simple.  

3.  What's the main storyline?

This seems a little like #1, but I can give you a thing to watch with the game.

4.  What's at stake?

Again, if you're not in a national semifinal, I have to let you know why we have this game to begin with.

5.  Who wins?

I'll even include gambling lines, if you're into that sort of thing.

Ready, set, analyze!

Gildan New Mexico Bowl

Arizona (-8) (6-6) vs. New Mexico (7-5)

1.  Why should I care?

Bet you didn't know this match up is Rich Rodriguez vs. Bob Davie!  That's kind of like Michigan vs. Notre Dame (although they didn't even come close to coaching there at the same time)!

2.  Who should I watch for?

Well, since OTSL's Sean Roman's favorite player for Arizona in Scooby Wright is out, and Arizona QB Anu Solomon might not play either, let's go with Wildcat safety Will Parks, the highlight in a defense that tried to hold up the injury machine that was Arizona's offense this year.

3.  Storyline

Arizona's motivation:  on one hand it's hard for a team with many returning players starting bowl season after playing in the Fiesta Bowl a year ago, however, the team that beat them in that Fiesta Bowl was New Mexico's conference rival, Boise State.

4.  Motivation

Arizona doesn't want to end the season 6-7 (and has a ton of people coming back in 2016), New Mexico would like to do their namesake bowl a little bit of justice.

5.   Who wins?

We'll go mild upset here:  New Mexico 38, Arizona 28

Las Vegas Bowl

No 22 Utah (-2) vs. BYU

1.  Why do I care?

Why shouldn't you care?  This is the holy war!  They were rivals for a long time (played til 2013), when Utah dropped BYU for Michigan as an out of conference opponents.  I always love it when old rivals meet together.  It is so damn awkward.

2.  Who should I watch for?

The person you saw on the first full day of college football, and that is BYU's QB Tanner Magnum.  He won two straight games with a Hail Mary, and had 21 total touchdowns on the season.  Pretty good for a guy who replaced Taysom Hill to start the season due to injury.

3.  Storyline

So many!  Bronco Mendenhall's last game as BYU head coach?  The Holy War restarting up in Vegas?  Brent Musburger calling the Holy War in Vegas?  SO MANY OPTIONS!

4.  Stakes

Both teams want a high note ending to seasons that could have been much better.  Utah was a good candidate to win the Pac 12 until they lost to USC and UCLA.  BYU lost their next two games after that pair of Hail Mary's and ironically they were to two common opponents of Utah:  Michigan (Utah won, BYU got drilled) and UCLA (BYU actually played them better).

5.  Who wins?

I think it's really close, but I think BYU hasn't played an opponent this caliber in a while:  Utah 31, BYU 20

Camellia Bowl

Appalachian State (-7.5) (10-2) vs. Ohio (8-4)

1.  Why watch?

Simple:  you probably remember when you were a kid (8 years ago!) when Appalachian State beat Michigan in the upset heard round the world.  Well, this team is all FBS grown up now, and they've won 17 games since joining the big leagues in 2014.

2.  Who to watch?

Mountaineer QB Taylor Lamb.  He's only a sophomore, but has become one of the nation's better young QB's.  29 TD's to 8 INT's?  More of that please.  Of course, like most App St. QB's, he runs too.  8 games with 20 yards rushing or more?  Yes please.

3.  Storyline?

Can the Mountaineers handle being favorites?  Very rare you see a Sun Belt team get favored over a MAC team by so much, but this program seamlessly has transitioned from 1-AA to 1-A (FCS to FBS) without a problem.  Will this be the first step to even bigger things?

4.  Stakes?

Appalachian State was one loss away from being conference champ, win here could make season 3 in the FBS the first one where they get regular season hardware.  Ohio needs to just get some consistency, trying to add a 4th straight victory (although it came after three straight losses).

5.  Who wins?

Get to know the 'Neers, they're here to stay:  App St. 35, Ohio 17

Cure Bowl

San Jose State (-2) (5-7) vs. Georgia State (6-6)

1.  Why watch?

Well, despite that 5-7 record next to San Jose State, these are two fun programs to watch, and you can tell your friends you watched the Inaugural Cure Bowl, the THIRD bowl to take place in Orlando.  Yes third.

2.  Who to watch?

Senior QB Nick Arbunkle of Georgia State.  Over 4,000 yards passing, and should very likely break the Sun Belt conference's single season passing record in this game.  Might be a bench warmer in the pros too, since he knows the pro style down in Atlanta.

3.  Storyline

I love bowl season, but this is the first of THREE teams that are forced into a bowl with a losing record (due to there not being enough over .500 teams).  Big time proving ground for the Spartans.

4.  At Stake

For San Jose State it's momentum:  they come into the bowl on a 1-3 skid and get a huge lifeline to end their season.  For Georgia State it's making sure they end their year with a FIFTH straight victory, very impressive for a team that didn't win a single game against a FBS team in 2013 or 2014.

5.  Who wins?

Eh, San Jose State 28, Georgia State 24

New Orleans Bowl (There is an actual sponsor, but they don't pay us)

Arkansas State (9-3) vs. Louisiana Tech (-2) (8-4)

1.  Why watch?

Remember how I sang the praises of Appalachian State before?  They still lost to Arkansas State  The Sun Belt winners and the C-USA team are going to score, score, and score some more.

2.  Who to watch?

Jeff Driskel.  If that name means something, it's because he used to be the QB at Florida who transferred to try to end his college career on a high note.  He did with 24 TD's and over 3,500 yards.  Why couldn't he have done that in Gainesville?

3.  Storyline

I'm curious to see Louisiana Tech play a bowl game at the Superdome.  They haven't played in this bowl before although you think they would have.

4.  At Stake

To prove who's the more stable ballclub of two teams who have played a ton of "minor" bowls over the last few years.  Feel like that Group of 5 team just might come out of one of these two conferences one of these days.

5.  Who wins?

Arkansas State 31, Louisiana Tech 24.

On our next episode:

The Miami Beach bowl.  Played in Marlins stadium, we might see better athletes than the Marlins have and certainly better football than the Dolphins or the 'Canes.