College Football: 5 most interesting bowl games
By Zach Bigalke
2. Peach Bowl — No. 12 UCF vs. No. 7 Auburn
During the BCS era, mid-major programs busted into the BCS field on seven occasions. In 2009, Mountain West champion TCU was matched against WAC champion Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. Setting aside that game, BCS Busters got to face opponents from one of the big six conferences on five occasions.
Only once did they lose, when Hawaii dropped its first game of the season against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. On every other occasion — Utah over Pitt, Boise State over Oklahoma, Utah over Alabama, and TCU over Wisconsin — the mid-major team came out on top. That run of success led to the creation of an automatic access point for the top Group of Five champion into one of the New Year’s Six bowl games after the creation of the College Football Playoff.
In the first three years of the new system, Group of Five teams have gone 2-1 against their Power Five opponents. This year’s winner of the invitation, without any question or controversy, was American Athletic Conference champion UCF.
The Knights ended the 2017 regular season as the only undefeated FBS team left standing. Now they get the chance to take on Auburn, which fell in the SEC championship game against Georgia to finish the year 10-3. This is one of those bowl games that could become an instant classic, as the top-ranked offense in the country faces one of the saltiest defenses in the SEC.