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Top 5 Non-College Football Playoff and New Year’s Six Bowl Games

By Zach Bigalke

Dec 3, 2016; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers wide receiver Daikiel Shorts (6) scores a touchdown and celebrates with Mountaineers wide receiver Gary Jennings (12) during the second quarter against the Baylor Bears at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 3, 2016; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers wide receiver Daikiel Shorts (6) scores a touchdown and celebrates with Mountaineers wide receiver Gary Jennings (12) during the second quarter against the Baylor Bears at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports /
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November 26, 2016; Stanford, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal running back Christian McCaffrey (5) scores a touchdown against Rice Owls cornerback J.T. Blasingame (14) and safety Cole Thomas (28) during the second quarter at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
November 26, 2016; Stanford, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal running back Christian McCaffrey (5) scores a touchdown against Rice Owls cornerback J.T. Blasingame (14) and safety Cole Thomas (28) during the second quarter at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Sun Bowl

#18 Stanford Cardinal v. North Carolina Tar Heels

  • Date: Friday, Dec. 30
  • Start Time: 2:00 p.m. ET
  • Location: El Paso, TX
  • Venue: Sun Bowl Stadium
  • TV: CBS
  • Live Stream: CBS Sports Live

Stanford will be sending off one of its greatest players ever in this contest. Christian McCaffrey didn’t have the sort of electric season that got him invited to the Heisman ceremony last year, but he still went for over 2000 all-purpose yards in his junior season and could be a first-round NFL Draft pick this spring. The Cardinal leaned heavily on a defense that allowed just 20 points per game. Thanks to that unit, Stanford is within reach of a sixth double-digit win season in the past seven years. Keller Chryst seems to have snagged the starting quarterback position from Ryan Burns, though neither has been overwhelming.

North Carolina has its own star shooting up the NFL Draft charts in quarterback Mitch Trubisky. The Tar Heel was one of the dozen most efficient quarterbacks in the country, throwing for nearly 3500 yards with 28 touchdowns and just four interceptions. But Trubisky got little help from a rushing attack that ranked 99th nationally, and the defense did UNC few favors. In the end the Tar Heels managed to knock off teams like Pitt and Florida State and challenged for the ACC Coastal until suffering late upsets to Duke and NC State.

The Sun Bowl arrived on the college football landscape way back in 1935. The game was inaugurated the same year as the Orange and Sugar Bowls, and has a long history on the bowl landscape. Both teams playing in the game this year have been among the Sun Bowl’s most featured teams over the decades. Stanford and North Carolina haven’t played one another in nearly two decades, and they’ve never squared off in this contest.

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