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College Football: Ranking the 2023 New Year’s Six bowls by watchability

By Christopher Mangum

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - DECEMBER 02: Head coach Jim Harbaugh of the Michigan Wolverines leads his team onto the field prior to the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the Big Ten Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 02, 2023 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - DECEMBER 02: Head coach Jim Harbaugh of the Michigan Wolverines leads his team onto the field prior to the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the Big Ten Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 02, 2023 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /
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Selection Sunday is a few days behind us, meaning the College Football Playoff and New Year’s Six bowl games are now set in stone for later this month and the first few days of January.

From a stunning Rose Bowl matchup to a grudge match in the Orange Bowl, here is how I would rank the NY6 slate this season.

6. Fiesta Bowl (No. 8 Oregon vs No. 23 Liberty)

A few days ago, the Oregon Ducks were competing for — and were favored to land — a spot in the College Football Playoff. Now? Well, not so much; in fact, this is *by far* the worst of the New Year’s Six bowls this season.

Oregon, a two-loss conference runner-up, and Liberty, a 13-0 Group of Five Conference Champion, will face off in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, 2024, at 1 p.m. ET.

As the Washington Huskies play for a national title game berth, the Ducks are left with nothing but a gimme game against a school that most casual college football fans didn’t even realize was Division 1. I am a huge proponent of bowl season and a massive fan of the New Year’s Six games, but there is always one NY6 bowl that is uninspiring, to say the least.

Last year, Tulane and USC gave us an incredible performance, but these P5 vs. G5 games are not usually all that thrilling. Maybe I am wrong; perhaps Oreogn will have a lot of players sitting out, and Liberty will go 14-0 with a New Year’s Six win, but I am not too optimistic about it.

The good news? This game will eventually end, and we will get to watch two College Football Playoff games.

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