Will this be the best playoff ever? (Bowl season preview/recap thread)

[Dolgevillefootballfan]

Here we go again! Postseason time at the FBS level: Bowl season! And I'll be here to guide you guys through such exciting bowls as the "Lendingtree Bowl" and... the... Tony the Tiger Sun... Bowl.

Uh, pardon me, I'll resume this intro in the next post...

 

[Dolgevillefootballfan]

Bowl rankings time!

Sorry about earlier; I just got a little sick while thinking about those AWFUL bowl names. Needless to say, neither the Sun nor the Lendingtree is gonna be on my bowl rankings list (Sorry, UL-Lafayette and Miami-Ohio).

But here are the bowls that DO get more than 1 star on my "Rate the bowls like you do hotels" scale. Let's get to it! (All times are Eastern)

5-star Bowls [like the Langham Hotel in Chicago]:
The CFP Semifinals and National Championship (Just not having Alabama in the CFP is like a breath of fresh air. And just LOOK at these matchups! In one semifinal we have Joe Burrow vs. Jalen Hurts, and in the other it's Ohio State giving Clemson it's ultimate test of legitimacy.)
Sugar Bowl: Georgia vs. Baylor [January 1st, 8:45] (Georgia returns to the Superdome to face off against another high-octane Big 12 team. Hopefully for them, it'll go better than the last time when Texas punked them out.)
Outback Bowl: Minnesota vs. Auburn [January 1st, 1:00] (And how about THIS for a fun matchup: It's "Row the Boat" vs. "Ye Ol' Slayers of Alabama". A mature Auburn squad vs. a determined Minnesota.)

4-star Bowls [like the Hotel Grand Pacific in Victoria, British Columbia]:
Rose Bowl: Oregon vs. Wisconsin [January 1st, 5:00] (You just simply can't go wrong with the Rose Bowl from Pasadena. This year, it'll give us the rematch from the 2011 season, and let's hope that it'll be just as good as that game.)
Holiday Bowl: USC vs. Iowa [December 27th, 8:00] (A miracle has happened! Clay Helton has saved his job at USC [for now]! It should be fun to see his fired-up squad take on a rock-solid Iowa team.)
Citrus Bowl: Michigan vs. Alabama [January 1st, 1:00] (Yesterday, my mom was like "Don't let Michigan play the Tide, don't let Michigan play the Tide... D'OH!" ...Then again, she'll be over the moon if Michigan somehow stops Nick Saban, just like Auburn did.)

3-star Bowls [like your typical Hilton or Best Western]:
Cotton Bowl: Memphis vs. Penn State [December 28th, 12:00] (The Memphis Tigers FINALLY got that breakthrough season, and now they're in the "New Year's Six" to take on the historic Penn State program. But will losing Mike Norvell to Florida State hamper the Tigers?)
Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl: SMU vs. Florida Atlantic [December 21st, 3:30] (FAU is in the same boat as Memphis; their head coach had just flew the coop [Lane Kiffin is now at Ole Miss], so how will the Owls cope as they take on a resurgent SMU program?)
Mitsubishi Las Vegas Bowl: Boise State vs. Washington [December 21st, 7:30] (How cruel can these bowl organizers be to Chris Peterson? He announces his retirement, and then in his final game they stick him with his old team in Boise State. A team, by the way, that MAY still be upset over not getting a "New Year's Six" bowl.)
Liberty Bowl: Navy vs. Kansas State [December 31st, 3:45] (This ranking might change if Navy loses to Army this Saturday, but this is a sneakily great matchup. We have Chris Klieman surprising a lot of people by getting K-State 8 wins, and he's facing a Navy program that has it's pride back.)
Alamo Bowl: Utah vs. Texas [December 31st, 7:30] (Recently, the Alamo Bowl has given us some great games. Maybe we'll get another one as Texas tries to regain some lost pride against a Utah team that was SO CLOSE to making the CFP.)
Gator Bowl: Tennessee vs. Indiana [January 2nd, 7:00] (By the way, this is the only post "New Year's" bowl on my list. Anyway, Indiana wants to finish off their best season since 1993, while the Vols wants to complete a fine comeback from the pits of a 2-5 start.)

2-star Bowls [like the Flagstone Motel in Port Angeles, Washington]:
Orange Bowl: Florida vs. Virginia [December 30th, 8:00] (On one hand, it's great that Virginia was able to make a big-league bowl. But on the other hand, Virginia is here and not Notre Dame?! Are you serious?!)
Hawaii Bowl: BYU vs. Hawaii [December 24th, 8:00] (The Cougars are in another bowl, and this time they get to face an old rival in the Rainbow Warriors? I'm intrigued.)
Texas Bowl: Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M [December 27th, 6:45] (Jimbo Fisher's struggles to rebuild A&M will continue as he faces an old face from A&M's days in the Big 12.)
Camping World Bowl: Notre Dame vs. Iowa State [12:00, December 28th] (Ah! So THAT'S where the Fighting Irish ended up! Problem is, they're facing Iowa State... which may cause some matchup problems for the Irish.)
Belk Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Kentucky [December 31st, 12:00] (After a couple of scary moments, Justin Fleute has Va-Tech back on track. But can they break a Kentucky defense that has remained pretty good this season?)

And 1-Star Bowls [like the ones where you'd find needles on the refrigerator]:
The rest of them
​

...So there you go! Do you agree or disagree with any of my picks? Let me know.

 

[Twiztidbuck]

TBD. If Buckeyes win it all, yes. If we don't, then the 2014 playoff was the best so far.

 

[packerzrule]

Bowl rankings time!

Sorry about earlier; I just got a little sick while thinking about those AWFUL bowl names. Needless to say, neither the Sun nor the Lendingtree is gonna be on my bowl rankings list (Sorry, UL-Lafayette and Miami-Ohio).

But here are the bowls that DO get more than 1 star on my "Rate the bowls like you do hotels" scale. Let's get to it! (All times are Eastern)

5-star Bowls [like the Langham Hotel in Chicago]:
The CFP Semifinals and National Championship (Just not having Alabama in the CFP is like a breath of fresh air. And just LOOK at these matchups! In one semifinal we have Joe Burrow vs. Jalen Hurts, and in the other it's Ohio State giving Clemson it's ultimate test of legitimacy.)
Sugar Bowl: Georgia vs. Baylor [January 1st, 8:45] (Georgia returns to the Superdome to face off against another high-octane Big 12 team. Hopefully for them, it'll go better than the last time when Texas punked them out.)
Outback Bowl: Minnesota vs. Auburn [January 1st, 1:00] (And how about THIS for a fun matchup: It's "Row the Boat" vs. "Ye Ol' Slayers of Alabama". A mature Auburn squad vs. a determined Minnesota.)

4-star Bowls [like the Hotel Grand Pacific in Victoria, British Columbia]:
Rose Bowl: Oregon vs. Wisconsin [January 1st, 5:00] (You just simply can't go wrong with the Rose Bowl from Pasadena. This year, it'll give us the rematch from the 2011 season, and let's hope that it'll be just as good as that game.)
Holiday Bowl: USC vs. Iowa [December 27th, 8:00] (A miracle has happened! Clay Helton has saved his job at USC [for now]! It should be fun to see his fired-up squad take on a rock-solid Iowa team.)
Citrus Bowl: Michigan vs. Alabama [January 1st, 1:00] (Yesterday, my mom was like "Don't let Michigan play the Tide, don't let Michigan play the Tide... D'OH!" ...Then again, she'll be over the moon if Michigan somehow stops Nick Saban, just like Auburn did.)

3-star Bowls [like your typical Hilton or Best Western]:
Cotton Bowl: Memphis vs. Penn State [December 28th, 12:00] (The Memphis Tigers FINALLY got that breakthrough season, and now they're in the "New Year's Six" to take on the historic Penn State program. But will losing Mike Norvell to Florida State hamper the Tigers?)
Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl: SMU vs. Florida Atlantic [December 21st, 3:30] (FAU is in the same boat as Memphis; their head coach had just flew the coop [Lane Kiffin is now at Ole Miss], so how will the Owls cope as they take on a resurgent SMU program?)
Mitsubishi Las Vegas Bowl: Boise State vs. Washington [December 21st, 7:30] (How cruel can these bowl organizers be to Chris Peterson? He announces his retirement, and then in his final game they stick him with his old team in Boise State. A team, by the way, that MAY still be upset over not getting a "New Year's Six" bowl.)
Liberty Bowl: Navy vs. Kansas State [December 31st, 3:45] (This ranking might change if Navy loses to Army this Saturday, but this is a sneakily great matchup. We have Chris Klieman surprising a lot of people by getting K-State 8 wins, and he's facing a Navy program that has it's pride back.)
Alamo Bowl: Utah vs. Texas [December 31st, 7:30] (Recently, the Alamo Bowl has given us some great games. Maybe we'll get another one as Texas tries to regain some lost pride against a Utah team that was SO CLOSE to making the CFP.)
Gator Bowl: Tennessee vs. Indiana [January 2nd, 7:00] (By the way, this is the only post "New Year's" bowl on my list. Anyway, Indiana wants to finish off their best season since 1993, while the Vols wants to complete a fine comeback from the pits of a 2-5 start.)

2-star Bowls [like the Flagstone Motel in Port Angeles, Washington]:
Orange Bowl: Florida vs. Virginia [December 30th, 8:00] (On one hand, it's great that Virginia was able to make a big-league bowl. But on the other hand, Virginia is here and not Notre Dame?! Are you serious?!)
Hawaii Bowl: BYU vs. Hawaii [December 24th, 8:00] (The Cougars are in another bowl, and this time they get to face an old rival in the Rainbow Warriors? I'm intrigued.)
Texas Bowl: Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M [December 27th, 6:45] (Jimbo Fisher's struggles to rebuild A&M will continue as he faces an old face from A&M's days in the Big 12.)
Camping World Bowl: Notre Dame vs. Iowa State [12:00, December 28th] (Ah! So THAT'S where the Fighting Irish ended up! Problem is, they're facing Iowa State... which may cause some matchup problems for the Irish.)
Belk Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Kentucky [December 31st, 12:00] (After a couple of scary moments, Justin Fleute has Va-Tech back on track. But can they break a Kentucky defense that has remained pretty good this season?)

And 1-Star Bowls [like the ones where you'd find needles on the refrigerator]:
The rest of them
​

...So there you go! Do you agree or disagree with any of my picks? Let me know.

so...........you have #12 vs #18 as a 5 star game yet rate #6 vs #8 as a 4 star game?

 

[Dolgevillefootballfan]

How Joe Burrow's magical season electrified LSU -- and all of college football

 

[MAIZEandBLUE09]

Honestly, even though fucking Ohio State is in the playoff, I'm kinda happy it's not a Clemson Bama title game again. That shit was getting boring. I like the diversity in teams this year. No double SEC bullshit.

 

[Goldbug]

I'd love to see OU come out firing on all 8 cylinders and get down LSU by 14 in the 1st quarter. I want to see how LSU handles having someone grab their balls and shove a thumb in their eye. I think LSU if for real and they would fight back but I'd sure like to see a game like that.

 

[Rolltide94]

Uhhh....Clearly this will not be the best playoff ever...

 

[Deep Creek]

Honestly, even though fucking Ohio State is in the playoff, I'm kinda happy it's not a Clemson Bama title game again. That shit was getting boring. I like the diversity in teams this year. No double SEC bullshit.

Thanks to LSU or we'd of had the four usual suspects. Utah and Baylor had a chance to give some additional new blood, but...............

 

[BamaDude]

It's going to be hard to top 2017, when Bama snuffed Clemson in the first round & Georgia went two overtimes to topple Oklahoma before falling in OT to the Tide in the title game.

 

[kburjr]

It's going to be hard to top 2017, when Bama snuffed Clemson in the first round & Georgia went two overtimes to topple Oklahoma before falling in OT to the Tide in the title game.

Not to rain on your parade, but watchong the playoff games without hearing "Saban this and Saban that..." already makes it the best.

 

[NolePride]

No #1 seed has ever won the playoff.

A 4th seed has only won it one time out of five.

There is some meaning to that. The 2-3 match-up is the game where the teams are tested. Usually against a
balanced offensive team. (run and throw). Thus they are tested defensively against folks who, like them, can
dominate the l.o.s. 1 vs 4...isn't a great challenge. (usually) The first year, they screwed with the seeding,
and when Ohio St upset Bama...They would go on to totally dominate the l.o.s. vs Oregon. (Both sides of the
ball).

This playoff is actually becoming pretty routine. Whomever wins the 2-3 game will win the NC because they will
have to make the fewest adjustments from one game to the other. The winner of the 2-3 game is better tested
defending the entire field.

The winner of Clemson-Ohio State wins it all.

 

[Deep Creek]

No #1 seed has ever won the playoff.

A 4th seed has only won it one time out of five.

There is some meaning to that. The 2-3 match-up is the game where the teams are tested. Usually against a
balanced offensive team. (run and throw). Thus they are tested defensively against folks who, like them, can
dominate the l.o.s. 1 vs 4...isn't a great challenge. (usually) The first year, they screwed with the seeding,
and when Ohio St upset Bama...They would go on to totally dominate the l.o.s. vs Oregon. (Both sides of the
ball).

This playoff is actually becoming pretty routine. Whomever wins the 2-3 game will win the NC because they will
have to make the fewest adjustments from one game to the other. The winner of the 2-3 game is better tested
defending the entire field.

The winner of Clemson-Ohio State wins it all.

#4 has won it twice and #2 has won it three times.
#4 Ohio State
#2 Alabama
#2 Clemson
#4 Alabama
#2 Clemson

College Football Playoff History

 

[TheLonestarDUCK]

No #1 seed has ever won the playoff.
The first year, they screwed with the seeding,
and when Ohio St upset Bama...They would go on to totally dominate the l.o.s. vs Oregon. (Both sides of the
ball).

Well you proved your CFB Playoff knowledge by totally missing the 4 seed # of wins. The OSU vs Oregon game was a 1 point game with 15:30 left in the game. Total domination was the Oregon vs FSU game.

 

[fishinabarrel]

Well you proved your CFB Playoff knowledge by totally missing the 4 seed # of wins. The OSU vs Oregon game was a 1 point game with 15:30 left in the game. Total domination was the Oregon vs FSU game.

He didnt say anything about dominating the whole game but I dont think you can deny Ohio State dominated the line of scrimmage in that game.

Ohio State lost the turnover game 4-0 in that game (Mariotas desperate heave int at the end dossnt count) and still won by 22. Turnovers kept Oregon in that game otherwise they would have lost by 40

 

[fishinabarrel]

Honestly, even though fucking Ohio State is in the playoff, I'm kinda happy it's not a Clemson Bama title game again. That shit was getting boring. I like the diversity in teams this year. No double SEC bullshit.

It's still 3/4 of the teams that have been in it pretty much every year. Thank a former Buckeye for keeping Bama out of it

 

[ellupo]

It's still 3/4 of the teams that have been in it pretty much every year. Thank a former Buckeye for keeping Bama out of it

There are no former Buckeyes once a Buckeye always a Buckeye.

 

[MAIZEandBLUE09]

It's still 3/4 of the teams that have been in it pretty much every year. Thank a former Buckeye for keeping Bama out of it

This is only the 2nd time OSU made it outside of the very first year 6 years ago. LSU has never been. So I like the different matchups we're getting.

 

[Across The Field]

This is only the 2nd time OSU made it outside of the very first year 6 years ago. LSU has never been. So I like the different matchups we're getting.

This is OSU's 3rd trip, though our 2nd trip was pretty forgettable.

 

[Across The Field]

He didnt say anything about dominating the whole game but I dont think you can deny Ohio State dominated the line of scrimmage in that game.

Ohio State lost the turnover game 4-0 in that game (Mariotas desperate heave int at the end dossnt count) and still won by 22. Turnovers kept Oregon in that game otherwise they would have lost by 40

That was the craziest part of it. I'm pretty sure all of our turnovers were in Oregon territory, too. I give credit where it's due, but we moved the ball at will against them and killed them in TOP.