December 23
Gasparilla Bowl: Southern Miss vs. Tulane
2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN – Tampa, Fla.
December 24
Hawaii Bowl: Cincinnati vs. Utah State
8 p.m. ET, ESPN – Honolulu, Hawaii
December 26
Independence Bowl: North Carolina vs. UAB*
4 p.m. ET, ESPN – Shreveport, La.
Quick Lane Bowl: Boston College vs. Indiana
8 p.m. ET, ESPN – Detroit, Mich.
December 27
Military Bowl: NC State vs. Navy
12 p.m. ET, ESPN – Annapolis, Md.
Pinstripe Bowl: Michigan State vs. Syracuse
3:20 p.m. ET, ESPN – Bronx, N.Y.
Texas Bowl: TCU vs. BYU*
6:45 p.m. ET, ESPN – Houston, Texas
Cheez-It Bowl: Cal vs. Kansas State
10:15 p.m. ET, ESPN – Phoenix, Ariz.
Holiday Bowl: Michigan vs. Utah
Time TBA – San Diego, Calif.
The Skinny
Nothing is a better cure for what ails you than playing Rutgers. Michigan, coming off of a lopsided loss to Wisconsin, got back on track by walloping the Scarlet Knights. Did they figure out some things on offense, or is an aberration coming against the laughing stock of the Big Ten? We’ll find out soon as the schedule tightens up with three of Michigan’s next four games coming against ranked opponents Iowa, Penn State, and Notre Dame.
There’s likely going to be several SEC bowl games where the conference isn’t able to fill all of its slots. There’s several reasons as to why. The SEC is likely to get three teams in the New Year’s Six, which knocks one out already. Then there’s the fact that Missouri, a near certainty to reach the requisite six wins, is ineligible to make a bowl game. South Carolina is good enough to make a bowl game, but a brutal schedule makes it unlikely that it finishes better than 5-7.
A ninth SEC bowl team could come down to whether or not Ole Miss can scratch out six wins; the Rebels have a clearer path to eligibility than the Gamecocks.