Brush up on the college football bowl games, from A to Z
The 41-game bowl bonanza starts on Friday with the Bahamas Bowl and ends on Jan. 13 with the College Football Playoff national championship in New Orleans.
There might not be a need for the ensuing knowledge but it is yours to dispense during the holiday season.
The 2019 bowls, from A to Z:
A is for Appalachian State or “another one.” The Apps (12-1) are D.J. Khaled’s favorite program. They go for another bowl win after another coaching change. They are unbeaten in four bowl trips and have won their past two games by a combined score of 79-13.
Shawn Clark kicks off his tenure as the new head man in Boone with UAB (9-4) in the New Orleans Bowl on Saturday night.
B is for Boogie Basham. Technically, the Wake Forest All-ACC defensive end’s given name is Carlos but it’s a crime to waste such an exquisite use of alliteration.
Boogie and the Demon Deacons (8-4) get Michigan State (6-6) in the Pinstripe Bowl in New York on Dec. 27. The Deacs have won three straight bowl games under Dave Clawson.
C is for Charlotte and “congratulations.” Not only are the 49ers (7-5) making their bowl debut but they are in the best possible bowl outside of the CFP.
Charlotte faces Buffalo (7-5) in the Bahamas Bowl on Friday. Senior Benny LeMay has seven 100-yard rushing games for the 49ers this season but the Bulls rank fourth in the country in run defense.
D is for Day either “new” or Ryan. Coach Ryan Day has Ohio State back in the playoff in his first full season as Urban Meyer’s replacement. The Buckeyes (13-0) face Clemson (13-0) in the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz. on Dec. 28.
The Big Ten hasn’t scored a point in a CFP game since Ohio State’s 2014 title game win over Oregon.
E is for Elijah Bell. The senior receiver led North Carolina A&T (8-3) with 53 catches for 782 yards and six touchdowns. The Aggies take on Alcorn State (9-3) in the Celebration Bowl in Atlanta on Saturday.
The Aggies have won their past three bowl trips to Atlanta, including a 24-22 decision over Alcorn State last year.
F is for “farewell” or Foster, Bud. Tip of the cap to longtime Virginia Tech defensive coordinator, who is retiring after 33 seasons with the Hokies.
Foster gets one more chance to vex an opposing offense in the Belk Bowl in Charlotte on Dec. 31. The Hokies (8-4) face Kentucky (7-5).
G is for “gator.” You could “spot a hungry gator,” as the high-tech glasses commercial on a loop on the ACC Network promises, just not in the Gator Bowl. Tennessee (7-5) and Indiana (8-4) are matched up in Jacksonville, Fla. on Jan. 2.
The Gators of Florida (10-2) take on the ACC’s vice president (9-4 Virginia) in the Orange Bowl in Miami on Dec. 30.
H is for Hurts, Jalen. The best story in college football. Many people were rooting for Hurts to get a shot at his former team (Alabama) in the CFP.
Alas, all the graduate transfer quarterback did was throw for 3,634 yards and run for 1,255 more to lead Oklahoma (12-1) to a spot in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta on Dec. 28 opposite of No. 1 LSU (13-0).
I is for Isaiah Simmons. Clemson has more recognizable stars on offense but if the Tigers repeat, don’t be surprised if the supremely-talented junior linebacker is the primary reason.
He led a rebuilt Clemson defense with 91 tackles, including 14 for a loss. The Tigers lead the country in scoring defense (10.6 points per game).
J is for Ja’Marr Chase. Quarterback Joe Burrow won the Heisman Trophy for LSU but Chase helped him. A lot. An FBS-best 18 of the sophomore receiver’s 73 catches went for touchdowns. He averaged 20.5 yards per catch and led the country in receiving yards (1,498) and yards per game (124.8).
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K is for Kat, specifically Big Kat Bryant the junior defensive end for Auburn and captain of this year’s All-Name Team.
DL Knock (sadly a receiver, not a defensive lineman, for Ohio) and Luq Barcoo (CB, San Diego State) round out the All-Bowl team. Thumbs down to UTSA and Rice for not winning six games and depriving us of Sincere McCormick and Blaze Alldredge.
L is for “left out.” The Crimson Tide (10-2) were left out of the CFP for the first time. Without injured quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, and with a couple of other NFL draft prospects sitting out, what’s left of the Tide will take on Michigan (9-3) in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando on Jan. 1.
M is for the Military Bowl. North Carolina (6-6) returns to the postseason for the first time since 2016 for a matchup with Temple (8-4) in Annapolis, Md. on Dec. 27. UNC coach Mack Brown had a 3-2 bowl record his first time around with the Tar Heels.
N is for Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish get to take part in the ACC bowl order since they play five ACC games per year and are a conference member in almost all other sports. The Fighting Irish (10-2) get a dud of sendoff with a trip to the Camping World Bowl in Orlando on Dec. 28 for a tussle with Iowa State (7-5).
O is for Coach “O” or Ed Orgeron, who has LSU in the playoff in his third full season as head coach. Orgeron has always been recognized as a top-notch recruiter but after flaming out at Ole Miss in the mid-2000s it has been a long road back for the raspy-voiced Cajun.
Orgeron has shown some big-game chops with the Tigers. He has a 9-1 record in his past 10 games against top-10 teams.
P is for “points.” Expect lots of them in the Boca Raton Bowl on Saturday when SMU (10-2) and Florida Atlantic (10-3) square off.
The Mustangs, with Texas transfer Shane Buechele at quarterback, average 43.0 points per game and the Owls average 35.2. It’s the only bowl matchup (outside of the CFP) between top-20 scoring offenses.
Q is for Quick Lane. Detroit will be hard-pressed to live up to its “Rock City” moniker with this clash between Pittsburgh (7-5) and Eastern Michigan (6-6) on Dec. 26 but it’s the day after Christmas and it’s a football game on ESPN, so hundreds of thousands of people will be watching.
R is for “rouler.” As they say on Bourbon Street “laissez les bon temps rouler” or let the good times roll. The national title game is at the Superdome on Jan. 13.
That’s good news for local LSU fans. The Tigers have won a version of the national title in 1958, 2003 and ‘07. All three times, it won its final game in either the Sugar Bowl or the Superdome.
S is for Sunshine. It’s not his preferred nickname but Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence looks too much like the character from “Remember the Titans” to ignore the similarity.
You can call Lawrence whatever you want after his star turn in the national title game last year with 347 yards and three touchdowns in a 44-16 win over Alabama.
T is for transfer. It’s officially the “Year of the Transfer Quarterback” with Burrow (Ohio State) at LSU, Hurts (Alabama) at Oklahoma and Justin Fields (Georgia) at Ohio State.
They finished 1-2-3 in the Heisman voting and now all three are in the CFP.
U is for Utah or Utes. It was a long fall for the Utes from the cusp of the CFP to the Alamo Bowl. After a 37-15 loss to Oregon in the Pac-12 title game, the Utes (11-2) will take on a disappointing Texas team (7-5) in San Antonio on Dec. 31.
V is for Virginia. Everything is coming up UVa. First, the national title in hoops and now a major bowl trip (the Orange Bowl) for Bronco Mendenhall. Some ACC schools get to have everything.
W is for “wait.” We are going to have to wait a few more years for the CFP to expand. The current TV contract, with a four-team field, runs through 2026.
With five power conferences (plus Notre Dame), vying for four spots every year, the math doesn’t really work. The TV money will help to make it so but there should be an 8-team field with five power conference champions, the best “Group of 5” champion and two at-large spots.
X is for Xavier Subotsch. The Apps don’t figure to have to punt much (they only did once in last year’s bowl rout) but if they do, Subotsch will be ready. The Aussie did actually have to punt three times in the 2017 Dollar General Bowl.
Y is for Young, Chase. How good was Ohio State’s junior defensive end? The Buckeyes somehow managed to beat Maryland (73-14) and Rutgers (56-21) while he was suspended.
Jokes aside, Young (16.5 sacks) was good enough to finish fourth in the Heisman voting.
Z is for the first Z (or second) in Chazz Surratt. Brown went out and got a star quarterback on the recruiting trail in Sam Howell and that left Surratt with a choice: transfer or switch positions. He made the unusual move to linebacker and excelled. He led the Heels, and the ACC, with 110 tackles.
Howell has held up his end of the bargain with an ACC-best 3,347 passing yards and 35 TD passes.
This story was originally published December 19, 2019 at 12:22 PM with the headline "Brush up on the college football bowl games, from A to Z."
