College Football Bowl Games

There will be plenty of bowling when the annual college football bowl games that number 43 kick off on my birthday at the Bahamas Bowl in Nassau, and there’s also the annual New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque pairing Brigham Young and SMU with the Cougars a 2-point favorite, and there’s New Mexico State taking the field against Bowling Green in a toss-up for the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit, Mich.

BYU and SMU are scheduled for a 12:15afternoon kickoff on Dec. 17, NMSU and Bowling Green are rated a toss-up its tilt slated for Dec. 26, the day after Christmas.

Oklahoma barely made it into the qualifying field and takes a 6-6 record against No. 13 Florida State in the Cheeze-It Bowl on Dec. 29 in Orlando, Fla., with the Seminoles favored by seven. Looks like a good one in the Gator Bowl on Jan. 30 as No. 19 Notre Dame meets up with No. 20 South Carolina.

Jackson State is 9-0 in its final game under head coach Dion Sanders as he has signed up for the same role at Colorado following his initial season at Jackson State, and his present team hopes to toast him with a farewell celebration in the annual Celebration Bowl versus North Carolina Central In Atlanta, Ga., on Dec. 17 in an early 9 a.m. start.

Syracuse went 6-0 to qualify, then lost five straight before rallying at Boston College to again take the field in the annual Pinstripes Bowl in Yankee Stadium against Minnesota, which will be the third time the Orange  has played a bowl downstate, this time on Dec. 29 in a scheduled 9 a.m.start.

As for the Final Four to be played on Dec. 31, No. 1 undefeated Georgia is 13-0 and a 6 and one-half pick over 11-1 Ohio State at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta, Ga., and in the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz., No. 2 unbeaten Michigan also comes in at 13-0and is favored by 9 and one-half over 11-1 Texas Christian.

If both the Wolverines and Buckeyes win, it would piece together a Big Ten rematch after Michigan went from a 23-23 halftime tie in Columbus to a dominating 47-30 victory. Georgia is at the top of the heap while TCU is the initial Christian institute to ever reach this level.

FRIDAY DECEMBER 16

Bahamas Bowl, Nassau Bahamas

MIAMI (Ohio) vs. UAB, 9:30 a.m.

Core Bowl, Orlando, Fla.

UTSA vs. TROY, 1 p.m.

Fenway Bowl, Boston

LOUISVILLE vs. CINCINNATI, 9 a.m.

Celebration Bowl, Atlanta Ga.

JACKSON STATE vs. NC CENTRAL, 9 a.m.

New Mexico Bowl, Albuquerque, N.M.

BRIGHAM YOUNG vs. SMU, 12:25 a.m.

LA Bowl, Inglewood, Calif.

FRESNO STATE vs. WASHINGTON STATE, 1:30 p.m.

LendingTree Bowl, Mobile, Ala.

RICE vs. SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI, 3:45 p.m.

Las Vegas Bowl, Las Vegas, Nev.

OREGON STATE vs. FLORIDA, 5:30 p.m.

Frisco Bowl, Frisco, Tx.

NORTH TEXAS vs. BOISE STATE, 7:15 p.m.

Myrtle Beach Bowl, Conway, S.C.

MARSHALL vs. UCONN, 12:30 p.m.

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Boise, Idaho

SAN JOSE STATE vs. EASTERN MICHIGAN, 1:30 p.m.

Boca Raton Bowl, Boca Raton, Fla.

LIBERTY vs. TOLEDO, 5:30 p.m.

New Orleans Bowl, New Orleans, La.

SOUTH ALABAMA vs. WESTERN KENTUCKY, 7 p.m.

Armed Forces Bowl, Fort Worth, Tx.

BAYLOR vs. AIR FORCE, 5:30 p.m.

Gasparlla Bowl, Tampa, Fla.

MISSOURI vs. WAKE FOREST, 4:30 p.m.

Independance Bowl, Shrevport, La.

HOUSTON vs. LOUISIANA, 1 p.m.

Hawaii Bowl, Honolulu, Hawaii

MIDDLE TENNESSEE vs. SAN DIEGO STATE, 6 p.m.

Quick Lane Bowl, Detroit, Mich.

NEW MEXICO STATE vs. BOWLING GREEN, 12:30 p.m.

First Responder Bowl, Dallas, Tx.

MEMPHIS vs. UTAH STATE, 1:15 p.m.

Birmingham Bowl, Birmingham, Ala.

COASTAL CAROLINA vs. EAST CAROLINA, 4:45 p.m.

Camellia Bowl, Montgomery, Ala.

GEORGIA SOUTHERN vs. BUFFALO, 10 a.m.

Guaranteed Bowl, Phoenix, Ariz.

WISCONSIN vs. OKLAHOMA STATE, 8:15 p.m.

Military Bowl, Annapolis, Md.

CENTRAL FLORIDA vs. DUKE, noon

Liberty Bowl, Memphis, Tenn.

ARKANSAS vs. KANSAS, 3:30 p.m.

Holiday Bowl, San Diego, Calif.

OREGON vs. NORTH CAROLINA, 6 p.m.

Texas Bowl, Houston, Tx.

TEXAS TECH vs. MISSISSIPPI, 7 p.m.

Pinstripe Bowl, Yankee Stadium N.Y.

SYRACUSE vs. MINNESOTA, noon

Cheeze-It Bowl, Orlando, Fla.

FLORIDA STATE vs. OKLAHOMA, 3:30 p.m.

Alamo Bowl, San Antonio, Tx.

WASHINGTON vs. TEXAS, 7 p.m.

Orange Bowl, Miami Gardens, Fla.

TENNESSEE vs. CLEMSON, 6 p.m.

Duke’s Mayo Bowl, Charlotte, N.C.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE vs. MARYLAND, 10 a.m.

SUN BOWL, El PASO, Tx.

UCLA vs. PITTSBURGH, noon

Gator Bowl, Jacksonville, Fla.

NOTRE DAME vs. SOUTH CAROLINA, 1:30 p.m.

Arizona Bowl, Tucson, Ariz

WYOMING vs. OHIO, 2:30 p.m.

Peach Bowl, Atlanta, Ga.

GEORGIA vs. OHIO STATE, 6 p.m.

Fiesta Bowl, Glendale, Ariz.

MICHIGAN vs. TEXAS CHRISTIAN, 2 p.m.

Music City Bowl, Nashville, Tenn.

KENTUCKY vs. IOWA, 10 a.m.

Sugar Bowl, New Orleans, La.

ALABAMA vs. KANSAS STATE, 10 a.m.

RellaQuest Bowl, Tampa, Fla.

MISSISSIPI STATE vs. ILLINOIS, 10 a.m.

Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Fla.

LSU vs. PURDUE, 11 a.m.

Cotton Bowl Classic, Arlington, Tx.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA vs. TULANE, 11 a.m.

Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.

UTAH vs. PENN STATE, 3 p.m.

College Football National Championship

SEMIFINAL WINNERS, 5:30 p.m.

43 GAMES ————-

THAT’S ALL FOLKS!

And oh, if you are a betting person, all the other odds have been pieced together in Las Vegas.

And In No Special Order:

Middle Tennessee by 4 over San Diego State;

Houston by 12 over Louisiana;

Utah by a measly 1 over Penn State;

USC over Tulane by 6 and one-half;

Wake Forest by 7 over MIssouri;

Liberty by 2 and one-half over Toledo;

Mississippi State by 8 over Illinois;

Wyoming by 3 and one-half over Ohio;

Central Florida by 3 over Duke;

Arkansas and Kansas in a toss-up;

Same with Notre Dame and South Carolina;

Memphis by 4 and one-half over Utah State;

Texas by 1 over Mississippi;

Cincinnati by 3 over Louisville;

Tennessee and Clemson in a pick-em;

North Carolina State by 2 and one-half over Maryland;

North Texas and Rice in a toss-up;

Washington State by 7 over Fresno State;

Troy and UTSA in a pick-em;

Alabama over Kansas State by 3;

Alabama Birmingham by 10 over Miami of Ohio;

Coastal Carolina by one and one-half over East Carolina;

Georgia Southern by 8 over Buffalo;

Oregon State by 7 over Florida;

Oregon by 6 over North Carolina;

Baylor by 12 over Air Force;

Western Kentucky by 5 and one-half over Southern Utah;

Texas over Mississippi by just a point;

LSU by 3 over Purdue;

Washington by 7 over Texas Tech;

Kentucky by 6 over Iowa;

Marshall by 12 over UConn;

Pittsburgh by 3 and one-half over UCLA;

Wisconsin by 10 over Oklahoma State;

Florida State by 12 over Oklahoma;

Syracuse by 6 over Minnesota;

And Jackson State by 17 over NC Central.