The annual Bowl Mania reckoning is upon the AroundTheCornSportsBlog entry.
I have gone 3-6 since Christmas Eve, and with the most crowded day of bowl game action now right in front of us, now would be a great time to break out of the funk. Minor upsets are beginning to occur, whereas at the beginning of bowl season, the results were almost exclusively chalk.
Matman Robinson continues to lead the group overall, but today could be categorized as “Moving Day” for Bowl Mania entries.
Let’s take a look at the busiest day of the bowl season.
Wasabi Fenway Bowl
Connecticut vs. North Carolina (Saturday, 11 AM ET – ESPN)
A football game between basketball bluebloods, at a baseball field? Sign us up. Throw in Bill Belichick back roaming the streets of the Boston area, and you’ve got can’t miss television kicking off before noon on the East coast.
Though the Tar Heels will be without their head coach who led the team throughout the regular season, Mack Brown, Freddie Kitchens will be motivated to prove himself as play-caller for the game and I believe the players will be ready to roll as well. Expect the Tar Heels to get the job done at Fenway.
My Pick: 28-17 North Carolina
Bowl Mania Confidence: 35 points
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl
Boston College vs. Nebraska (Saturday, 12 PM ET – ABC)
Another bowl game taking place in a baseball cathedral, this game features two squads that should be excited to be playing in the postseason (if the Nebraska fan bases storming of the field following bowl eligibility is any indication, this is accurate).
The Eagles will be without Thomas Castellanos, who Around The Corn has raved about since the preseason, and his absence will be tough to overcome. Unless Nebraska partied too hard in the Big Apple leading up to this one, the Cornhuskers should take the victory with relative ease.
My Pick: 30-14 Nebraska
Bowl Mania Confidence: 36 points
Isleta New Mexico Bowl
Louisiana vs. TCU (Saturday, 2:15 PM ET – ESPN)
The Ragin’ Cajuns had an excellent season by Sun Belt standards, but kind of fell off near the end of the season and don’t have any hardware yet for a season that started 8-1. Capturing any sort of hardware in this game will be difficult against a Big 12 squad that had one of the more potent offenses in the conference during the regular season.
Keep an eye out for Ben Woolridge, the Ragin’ Cajuns quarterback who missed the team’s final three games of the regular season with a broken collarbone. He’s expected to try to play this game and if he does, gives Louisiana a fighting chance against the Horned Frogs. If Woolridge is back to full strength, this one will be close until the fourth quarter.
My Pick: 34-30 Louisiana
Bowl Mania Confidence: 18 points
Pop-Tarts Bowl
#18 Iowa State vs. #13 Miami (Saturday, 3:30 PM ET – ABC)
This is the first game between ranked teams this bowl season, and that’s not the only reason it is worth watching. The marketing behind this game has been excellent since Kellanova took over and plastered its Pop-Tarts brand all over it. Expect the halftime and post-game extracurriculars to be just as entertaining as the game itself should be.
Though Cam Ward made the surprising decision to confirm his availability for this game, some of Miami’s other key players offensively are either questionable or already ruled out. The Hurricanes played with fire periodically throughout the season and if they let the Cyclones get out to an early lead, may have trouble orchestrating late game heroics to win this game. Matt Campbell’s team punched above its weight this season and I believe will be motivated to end the season on a high note.
My Pick: 30-27 Iowa State
Bowl Mania Confidence: 38 points
Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl
Colorado State vs. Miami (OH) (Saturday, 4:30 PM ET – The CW)
Following closely behind the footsteps of the Pop-Tarts Bowl, the Arizona Bowl has attempted to do more with less by utilizing clever marketing efforts to bring eyeballs to a game that has been difficult to find by scanning channels on whatever streaming service you have. Snoop Dogg – yes, the part-time rapper, part time Martha Stewart Sous-chef, has lent his name as the title sponsor of this game.
The Redhawks did an excellent job this season navigating injuries to key players and a very tough out-of-conference schedule to reach eight wins. Miami will look to win with its defense, trying to stop Colorado State’s Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, who had high expectations coming into the season but who didn’t quite deliver on them this year. I don’t like the chances of that happening, but the Redhawks have already surprised me this season.
My Pick: 21-14 Colorado State
Bowl Mania Confidence: 11 points
Go Bowling Military Bowl
East Carolina vs. North Carolina State (Saturday, 5:45 PM ET – ESPN)
The Wolfpack wouldn’t like to admit it, but this is an important game for the program that could be categorized as “big brother” to East Carolina. Despite little history to suggest an actual rivalry between the two North Carolina schools, a victory for the AAC squad would be an excellent selling point to recruits and transfer portal options alike. To add to the importance, these two programs play each other in the 2025 season opener.
North Carolina State suffered through a number of setbacks quite early into the season, including prized portal pickup Grayson McCall announcing his retirement from football. CJ Bailey filled in valiantly for McCall, and grew a lot in the process, but the offense has still been suspect for most of the season. East Carolina was potent in the passing game, and will go up against a suspect Wolfpack pass defense, but in the end I don’t see this being a game that the North Carolina State coaching staff will take lightly.
My Pick: 37-33 North Carolina State
Bowl Mania Confidence: 16 points
Valero Alamo Bowl
#17 BYU vs. #23 Colorado (Saturday, 7:30 PM ET – ABC)
The game of the day, and one of the best games of the entire bowl season, takes place in San Antonio on Saturday evening. Current Big 12 members will face off thanks to a little-known wrinkle of the current rules that considers Colorado a Pac-12 member, allowing what is technically an in-conference battle take place during the postseason.
Coach Prime confirmed both Travis Hunter and son Shedeur will play in this game, giving fans one last opportunity to see the future NFL draft picks in a Colorado uniform. The two have put on a show both on and off the field since arriving in Boulder, and anything less than a barnburner in this game would be viewed as a disappointment by most. Despite BYU’s Big 12 leading defense, I see a lot of points being scored by both teams. The Alamo Bowl rarely features strong defensive performances, and this one will be no different.
My Pick: 44-38 Colorado
Bowl Mania Confidence: 7 points
Radiance Tech Independence Bowl
#22 Army vs. Louisiana Tech (Saturday, 9:15 PM ET – ESPN)
Navy won the Army-Navy game earlier this month and just knocked off an SEC school in its bowl game. Your move, Black Knights.
Army had a terrific season, capturing the AAC title and giving itself an opportunity to win 12 games for the first time in program history. The Black Knights are also the only team this bowl season facing a sub-.500 opponent, as Louisiana Tech was slotted into this matchup following Marshall’s opt out. I expect a team like the Bulldogs to be motivated to be playing in a game they didn’t think they had, but the Black Knights are for real. Louisiana Tech’s C-USA leading run defense won’t be enough to stop the Army triple option attack.
My Pick: 24-13 Army
Bowl Mania Confidence: 29 points
