Day 1-4 of the 12 days of Bowlmas

12 days of Bowlmas.

It is that time of year when everything is overtaken by college football, primarily the college football bowl games. If you are like me and love college football, except for the playoff committee, and plan on watching as many games as humanly possible, hopefully, you will enjoy this article. Of the 12 days of Bowlmas, we will cover which games are the most intriguing and should be watched. Mainly, which games I will watch and recommend watching. For those who have a keen eye and noticed we are doing 12 days instead of 13, well, that is simply because that 13th Bowlmas day is the national championship. So of course, that must be watched. Let us begin!

On the first day of Bowlmas, the NCAA and other rich sponsors gave to me…

Saturday, Dec 16th. Myrtle Beach Bowl. 11 am EST kickoff

Georgia Southern Eagles 6-6 (-3.5) vs. Ohio Bobcats 9-3

Why must it be watched: It is the first game of Bowlmas. This is the game that kicks off the Bowlmas binge.

What to watch for: Georgia Southern Eagles, the 14th best passing offense, going against Ohio’s 7th best pass defense. Ohio will lean heavily on their defense, led by 2 1st team All-MAC linebackers and 2 3rd team All-MAC defensive linemen. The Eagles throw the ball around (67% of the time) 14th nationally, averaging 298 passing yards a game. While the Bobcats only give up 168 passing yards a game. The Bobcat offense is a little anemic, ranking 100th in total offense. It is going up against the 98th ranked defense that Georgia Southern fields.

If the Eagles' offense starts to click, they can put up some points in a hurry, averaging 30 pts a game. Bobcats rely on their defense to smother the opposition, only allowing teams to score more than 20 points just 3 times this season. All 3 games they lost. This could be a classic case of the top defense facing a slightly above-average offense and winning.

Prediction: Ohio 23 Georgia Southern 20

Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl. 9:15 pm EST

California Golden Bears 6-6 vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders 6-6 (-3)

Why must it be watched: This is the first game of Bowlmas featuring 2 Power 5 schools. Both teams will be fighting to get above .500.

What to watch for: The loss of quarterback Tyler Shough into the transfer portal should not be that big of a deal for the Red Raiders. Behren Morton has been the go-to guy at the quarterback position since Shough suffered a season-ending leg injury against West Virginia back in September. The Red Raider offense is not as explosive as its stereotype used to be, nor is it as pass heavy as it used to be under former coaches Leach and Kingsbury. The Red Raiders' offense ranks 70th nationally. Their hope will rest on their 72nd ranked defense trying to stop the 39th ranked Cal offense led by 1st team All-Pac12 running back Jaydn Ott. Cal's offense will need to keep up with their soft defense, which is ranked 113th.

This game has a chance to be a track meet. Cal will depend on Ott’s legs to control the tempo, while Texas Tech's three 2nd team All-Big 12 defenders will try to bow up and force Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza to beat them through the air. Cal comes in the winner of 3 straight after starting the season 3-6. 5 of their losses this year came against ranked teams; the other was against Auburn. Texas Tech enters the Bowlmas season after getting shellacked by a playoff and SEC-bound Texas Longhorns, 57-7, to finish their regular season.

Prediction: Texas Tech 52 Cal 41

Honorable mention:

Isleta New Mexico Bowl. 5:45 pm EST

New Mexico State Aggies 10-4 (-3.5) vs Fresno State Bulldogs 8-4

But why: Because of the Fighting Jerry Kills, aka New Mexico State. The Aggies received their 2nd straight bowl bid for only the 2nd time in school history. The last time the Aggies conquered the bowl invitation mountain was back when they received back-to-back bids in 1959 and again in 1960. Fresno State will be without their head coach Jeff Tedford, who had to step away after the regular season ended due to medical reasons.

On the second day of Bowlmas, the bowl selection committee gave unto me…

Monday, Dec 18th, Famous Toastery Bowl 2:30 pm EST

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 7-5 vs. Old Dominion Monarchs 6-6 (2.5)

Why must it be watched: It is one of the few days where there is only one game on that day. This is one of those days. It is a must-watch if you are binging Bowlmas.

What to watch for: Western Kentucky’s defense ranks in the bottom half nationally, while the offense ranks 53rd. The Hilltoppers like throwing the ball around, doing so roughly 64% of the time. 3rd team All-CUSA quarterback Austin Reed has thrown for 3300 yards with 31 touchdowns. One of his favorite targets is 1st team All-CUSA receiver Malachi Corley, who leads the Hilltoppers with 958 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns. Reed and company will be going up against a Monarchs defense who ranks 66th in total defense and 48th against the pass. The Monarchs could argue that they are led by their defense, but only because their defense ranks higher than Western Kentucky’s. It is hard to argue for Old Dominion’s offense, which ranks 101st. The Monarchs won 3 of their last five games, beating Georgia State in the last game of the regular season to become bowl eligible. All 5 of the Hilltoppers' losses were against teams who are bowl eligible. 2 of the losses came against conference champions. The Monarchs are favored, at the point of writing this, but it is hard to argue against Western Kentucky’s offense. The Hilltoppers’ defense is worse than Old Dominions but only by 22 spots, which is not a whole lot in the grander scheme of things.

Prediction: Western Kentucky 45 Old Dominion 35

On the third day of Bowlmas, my girlfriend said to me that she doesn’t care and to go ahead and watch football…

Tuesday, Dec 19th. Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl. 9:00 pm EST

UTSA Roadrunners 8-4 (9.5) vs Marshall Thundering Herd 6-6

Why must it be watched: Another day with just 1 game being played. How will Marshall respond after their head coach Charlie Huff called out one of his former quarterbacks who entered the transfer portal, calling it “no surprise,” and “…the fans hate him. The kid has been miserable.” Being blunt is refreshing nowadays, but it also can backfire.

What to watch for: Marshall backed into the bowl game by beating Arkansas State on the arm of quarterback Cam Fancher. The same player Coach Huff called out for entering the transfer portal. Cam led the team with over 2,000 yards passing and 11 touchdowns to go along with his 11 interceptions. With his departure, Marshall and its 93rd ranked offense could be depending on grad transfer TJ McMahon, who threw a grand total of 1 pass this season, back in week 2. The Thundering Herd will be facing the 58th ranked defense in the Roadrunners. The Roadrunners only give up 138 rushing yards a game, while rushing themselves for 174 yards a game and boasting the 37th best offense, led by 2nd team All-AAC quarterback Frank Harris and 1st team All-AAC receiver Joshua Cephus Marshall's already anemic offense lost its top playmaker in Francher and will be depending on an unproven leader heading into their bowl game. Already reeling after a 9-4 season the year before in which they beat Notre Dame. The expectations for the Herd were for something bigger and competing for the Sun Belt championship. Instead, a 6-6 record, the starting quarterback transferring, and the coach saying that the quarterback was hated and miserable does not show a positive growth for the herd. As a massive underdog against UTSA, a solid showing could give Marshall a foundation to build upon next season. UTSA ripped off 7 straight wins after getting their doors blown off by Tennessee. Finishing behind Tulane and SMU in the AAC. UTSA's offense is fun to watch. They are fast and will keep putting pressure on the Herd defense. Yes, their defense may not be up to Michigan’s standard, but going against Marshall's underwhelming offense, the Roadrunners may look like the ‘85 Bears.

Prediction: UTSA 49 Marshall 17

On the fourth day of Bowlmas ESPN gave onto me…

Thursday, Dec. 21st RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl. 8:00 pm EST

Syracuse Orange 6-6 (-3.5) vs USF Bulls (6-6)

Why must it be watched: This will be the second to last day of Bowlmas when there will only be 1 game being played. Besides that, we have two 6-6 teams hoping to get above .500. Syracuse comes in after firing their head coach Dino Babers and beating Wake Forest under interim coach Nunzio Campanile to become bowl eligible. Campanile will be the head man for the ‘Cuse during the bowl game. New Orange head coach, Fran Brown, will be concentrating on recruiting and watching from the sidelines. Might find him doing an interview or two during the bowl game as well.

What to watch for: We know Syracuse will play hard for Campanile; we saw that against Wake Forest, but will their 81st ranked offense be able to do anything against USF and its 124th ranked defense? USF could not stop a motorized cart with a dead battery from rolling through their defense; their offense has the capability to keep the score tight. Quarterback Byrum Brown has thrown for over 3000 yards with 23 touchdowns. They will try to keep the 52nd ranked Syracuse defense on its heels with a combo quarterback and running back rushing attack to go along with Brown’s arm. Brown is second on the Bulls in rushing yards with 745 yards. Syracuse finished the season 2-6 after starting 4-0. The slide eventually caused Dino to lose his job. An offense that struggles to move the ball through the air, barely average over 170 yards a game. Controlling the tempo, keeping the Bulls offense off the field, and shortening the game could be their best bet at winning the game. The Bulls defense just stinks. Plain and simple. If their offense can keep the pressure on the Orange defense (52nd ranked) by Brown can keep them on their heels, USF could be set up for an upset.

Prediction: Syracuse 24 USF 20

James Paige