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Top 5 Non-Cotton Bowl Games Featuring Group of Five Teams

By Zach Bigalke

Oct 29, 2016; Laramie, WY, USA; Wyoming Cowboys wide receiver Austin Conway (25) runs against the Boise State Broncos during the fourth quarter at War Memorial Stadium. The Cowboys beat the Broncos 30-28. Mandatory Credit: Troy Babbitt-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 29, 2016; Laramie, WY, USA; Wyoming Cowboys wide receiver Austin Conway (25) runs against the Boise State Broncos during the fourth quarter at War Memorial Stadium. The Cowboys beat the Broncos 30-28. Mandatory Credit: Troy Babbitt-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 5, 2016; Denton, TX, USA; Louisiana Tech Bulldogs wide receiver Carlos Henderson (1) caries the ball in the fourth quarter against the North Texas Mean Green at Apogee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sean Pokorny-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 5, 2016; Denton, TX, USA; Louisiana Tech Bulldogs wide receiver Carlos Henderson (1) caries the ball in the fourth quarter against the North Texas Mean Green at Apogee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sean Pokorny-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Armed Forces Bowl

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs v. #25 Navy Midshipmen

  • Date: Friday, Dec. 23
  • Start Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
  • Location: Fort Worth, TX
  • Venue: Amon G. Carter Stadium
  • TV: ESPN
  • Live Stream: WatchESPN

Navy thought it would be among the Group of Five teams contending for the Cotton Bowl. Instead they dropped out of the running after losing the AAC title game at home to Temple. They were at least locked into the Armed Forces Bowl prior to losing the Army-Navy Game for the first time in 15 years. The Midshipmen have suffered through injuries to key weapons on offense, namely quarterback Tago Smith before the season started and then his replacement Will Worth. Navy managed to hold off Houston for the AAC West despite flagging defensive numbers, and the Middies should have no problem running the ball.

Their opponent, Louisiana Tech, is a fellow division champion. Unlike Navy, the Bulldogs lost their conference title game on the road to Western Kentucky. Ryan Higgins leads one of the most potent passing attacks in the country, throwing to top-five receivers Carlos Henderson and Trent Taylor. The Bulldogs are defensively deficient against the pass, but that shouldn’t prove costly against this Navy team. A seven-game winning streak ended with a two-game swoon to end the regular season, but Skip Holtz’s team still features enough firepower to challenge Navy.

Louisiana Tech never really came close to beating Navy in their only previous meetings, a home-and-home series in 2009 and 2010. This will be the first time in 14 editions that the Armed Forces Bowl features a ranked team, with Navy remaining in the CFP Top 25 in large part because a new ranking wasn’t released after the Army-Navy Game. Nevertheless, this should be a fascinating contest between Group of Five division winners with wildly different playing styles.

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