It’s 2020 bowl season! It’s the two weeks out of the year where we will gladly watch manufactured, meaningless football games in the name of exploitation. Sure, the sponsors can offer up swag bags to all players involved that are full of promotional items. They may even include items of need, such as food. Thanks to the Cheez-It Bowl, the “athlete-students” will be well fed this year… and constipated. Despite this, we can’t pay them real money for the efforts. That’s against the rules! This 2020 bowl season will look a little different, however.
We all get to hunker down during our two-week holiday slumber and enjoy a slightly less congested bowl schedule, with about the same amount of fans in the stands. Allowing only parents and siblings to the Montgomery Bowl will be no different than any other year. The only difference is that this year, it’s an actual policy. So let’s sift through the superfluous schedule that is the college football bowl season and determine which games are actually worth a watch this COVID holiday season.
Bowls You Can Afford to Skip
Disturbing mascot aside, the titillating matchup between Western Kentucky and Georgia State in the Lending Tree Bowl is one game that you could probably do without. Especially since the NCAA is not allowing any mascots on the field due to COVID. If I can’t tune in to see Big Red’s ugly head gyrating on the sideline, I’m out.
The R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl will feature Louisiana Tech versus Georgia Southern on a Wednesday afternoon two days before Christmas. I’m all for Wednesday afternoon football, don’t get me wrong. Who didn’t watch the pathetic display from the Steelers and Ravens COVID game a couple of weeks ago? Go ahead and finish up your last-minute shopping and wrap your presents during this bowl game. You need to save your football energy for more important things.
Aesthetically Pleasing
Here are a couple of games that may not give you good football, but will trick your eyes into wanting to watch. Everyone loves a football field that looks different. Boise State made it popular with their blue turf and now Coastal Carolina has followed suit with their teal turf. In its inaugural year, the Myrtle Beach Bowl will be played on Monday, December 21st at 2:30 PM EST. It is the first bowl game of the season so the teams don’t really matter. If you’re dying to know, it will put Appalachian State against the “Mean Green” of North Texas. That is their real nickname. You can even see it in person! Tickets are still on sale for as low as $77 still if you can imagine that.
Next up in the green football field refusal group is the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Again, strictly for turf purposes. I don’t care how long it has been there, the blue turf on the aforementioned Boise State campus gets me every time. Officially called Albertsons Stadium, we will see Tulane versus Nevada play on the December 22nd. We will get a Green Wave on a blue field and a Wolf Pack. If that’s not reason enough to watch then I don’t know what is. Be careful not to stare too long. You’ll be stuck with a blue rectangle burned in your vision for 30-60 minutes if you do.
Must Watch
With a name like the Roofclaim.com Boca Raton Bowl, it doesn’t sound too appealing. However, this one features the only ranked team among the first wave of bowl games. BYU comes in ranked #17 in the nation and they will face a UCF that had a down year compared to recent campaigns. Zach Wilson, the quarterback for BYU, is reason enough to watch. He was once on the Heisman watch list until his team lost one game to Coastal Carolina. This is a game for football lovers and they were nice enough to put it in the primetime slot on Tuesday, December 22nd.
Is there a better tradition than watching the New Mexico Bowl on Christmas Eve afternoon? I’m not sure what else you’d be doing but how can you pass up Hawai’i versus Houston? Since Hawai’i is five hours behind the east coast, we don’t get to enjoy very much Rainbow Warrior football. How many of you knew that was their official name? Be honest. They score a ton of points and don’t play defense. So, if you’re celebrating the holiday COVID-style and you want to distance yourself from the people in your household, give this one a watch.
In Memoriam
I want to take a moment and honor some of our lost games this year. We are left with a significantly shorter list of sub-par football games to choose from this bowl season thanks to COVID. Here are our fallen sponsors for the 2020 college football bowl season.
- Redbox Bowl: They still want you to know you can rent one and get one free tonight.
- Hawai’i Bowl: That’s right, it’s canceled but Hawai’i football plays on.
- Bahamas Bowl: The bowl no one really knew about.
- San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl: Make sure to think of San Diego County this Holiday season.
- Quick Lane Bowl: All your tire and auto needs will not be met.
- Las Vegas Bowl: Perhaps a few more college athletes will stay off the naughty list this year.
- Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl: They are really stretching out this marketing thing.
- LA Bowl: A brand new game that broke the record for shortest bowl name.
- New Era Pinstripe Bowl: That football game that’s played on a baseball field.
Be sure to check out Part Two of your guide to the 2020 COVID college football bowl season when the rest of the games are announced. In the meantime, enjoy your football saturation these next two weeks. In a couple of months, we will be begging for the Montgomery Bowl.
For more great takes and fun reads check out Belly Up Sports or follow them @bellyupsports. Check out my other articles or follow @jaybrink4 on Twitter for all things football and golf.
