College Football 2018-19 Bowl Games

Once again it is time for the college bowl season. It could also be named the silly season. Only three of the 40 bowl games actually count. You read that right, there are 40 bowl games this season. That is up one from last season because 39 is just not enough. The two semifinal playoff games this season are the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, actually Arlington, and the Orange Bowl in Miami, actually Miami Gardens. The championship game will be held at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Those are the three that count. The rest of them are exhibition games that are only good for bragging rights and recruiting. The schools may also make a few dollars if they are lucky. They may also lose money. 

Bowls used to be rare. Fifty years ago, there were probably only eight or ten games. A school had to be top 25 to get a bid. Now you only need to win six games, 50%, to be eligible. There are 125 FCS division football programs and 78 will play in bowl games. That is about 62% of the teams, very exclusive. If by chance there aren't 78 teams with six victories, they will let a five-win team or two play. With the inception of conference championship games, some teams play 13 games. A team with a 6-7 record still qualifies for a bowl. Gotta fill those slots so ESPN will have live programming to air. 

So let's get on with my observations about this illustrious bowl season. 

• The first six games will be December 15th, the Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl, the New Mexico Bowl, the Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl, the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl, and the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. All must see games packed with big-time football power schools.
• There will be four bowl games in the DFW area. The Frisco Bowl in Frisco, TX; the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth; the First Responder Bowl which is played in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas; the Cotton Bowl which is played at AT&T Stadium (aka Cowboys Stadium, aka Jerry's World) in Arlington. So, the Cotton Bowl game is not played in the Cotton Bowl stadium and the contest in the Cotton Bowl stadium is not the Cotton Bowl game. Clear?
• Orlando has three bowls, the  Cure, Camping World, and Citrus Bowls.
• Several places have two games, Tampa, New Orleans, and the Miami area.
• Once again there is a bowl game in that football hotbed Nassau, Bahamas. This year it is called the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl but is sponsored by the town of Elk Grove, IL, a Chicago suburb. Not sure what the name or sponsorship is about. 
• It's a tossup for the worst location. Boise and Detroit have games. Boise may win because that game is outdoors and played on a blue field. There is also the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. That could be pretty cold but at least it's in the Big Apple. 
• There are always some obscure sponsors scattered among the bowls and they insist that their name is in the title. This year we have Raycom Media, R+L Carriers, Cheribundi, Bad Boy Mowers, Quick Lane, Walk On's, and Nova Home Loans.
• Some bowls have incredibly long name as they try to get the sponsor's name included with the original name. The San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl, The Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman, and The Rose Bowl Presented by Northwestern Mutual top the list. 
• Gator is back in the name this season. After four years of being The Taxslayer Bowl, it is The Taxslayer Gator Bowl once again. Of course, it was just The Gator Bowl for several decades and was played in the actual Gator Bowl stadium which is long gone.
• The Gasparilla Bowl has been moved from St. Pete's Tropicana Field, a terrible baseball stadium and worse football venue, across the bay to Raymond James Stadium, a real football venue that is home to the Tampa Bay Buccanneers and the Outback Bowl. A good decision unless the weather is really bad. Tropicana has a roof.
• The Cactus Bowl lost its name and is now The Cheez-It Bowl.   
• There is both a Military Bowl and an Armed Forces Bowl. Different days, different places. Each sponsored by large defense contractors. Cozy.
• There will be some of the made for TV bowls that will have about as many people on the field as in the stands. 
• Most of the venues are at least adequate nowadays. That was not always the case. The original Independence Stadium in Shreveport looked like a bad Texas high school stadium before the city rebuilt it. Hell, the old Gator Bowl was pretty spartan as was the Orange Bowl. 

The first game between highly ranked teams will be December 29th at The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl when #7 Michigan plays #10 Florida. Go Gators! That is also the date of the two College Football Playoff semifinal games. They are #3 Notre Dame vs #2 Clemson in the Cotton Bowl and #4 Oklahoma vs #1 Alabama in the Orange Bowl. 

I'm interested to see how Oklahoma does against Alabama. The Sooners score a ton of points but play in the Big 12 where nobody plays defense. Alabama does play defense.

The remaining big bowl games are on January 1st, the traditional date. The most interesting of those games may be #8 UCF vs #11 LSU. The non-Power Five Knights of the American Athletic Conference (AAC) against the mighty SEC Tigers. 

It's almost time to buy the snacks, chill the beer and get ready for some football. It shouldn't take much longer than about 125 hours to watch the 40 bowl games. I'm sure they will all be riveting. It will all be over on January 7th when Alabama beats Clemson for the championship.

Let's go bowling. I hope your team wins.

wjh