2025-01-01 14:05

I did rant a bit over Miamis QB and the meltdown of the team against Iowa State.
Well, it looks like the HC was also not happy and did fire his DC right after the game, making him indirect responsible for the meltdown late in the season, which did cost them the Championship game participation and the of course the bowl loss.

Let's review the last set of bowls.

FIFTH SET OF BOWLs

Monday, December 30
TransPerfect Music City Bowl
Iowa vs #19 Missouri
I was wrong with one thing there, the Iowa offense did pay way better than I did anticipate.
This game was an open one from start to almost finish.
Iowa scored 1st, then did Mizzou score and the game was tied at 7.
On the next Kickoff did then Iowa return the ball 100 yards for the lead and Missouri answered afterwards with a scoring drive next.
Tied at 14 did then the heat cooled a Little down, until Iowa scored for the lead again and they took that into the break.
After the break first a lot of nothing until Iowa scored a field goal, which seemed to motivate the Tigers to get back into the game and score a TD.
Down by 3 did then the Tigers defense come up big with an INT, which did prevent any Iowa scoring and did setup a long Missouri field Goal try from 56 Yards, which was good to tie the game at 24.
Iowa did stutter and gave the ball back to the Tigers, who did again kick a field goal.
Still 4:30 left in the game, Iowa did stutter again, but this time also Missouri. Iowa again with the ball, now less than 2 minutes left.
On 4th and 1, on MIssouris 36-yard line, they decided to go for it and the QB sneak was annihilated in the best way possible, which gave the Tigers the ball back and let them run down the Clock to win 27:24.
I was impressed by the Iowa offense, which did look much better than during the season.
Jacks BOWL Score: 14-13

Tuesday, December 31
ReliaQuest Bowl
Michigan vs #11 Alabama
Alabama did start bad into the game and did end their first 4 drives with turnover on downs, lost fumble, Interception and another lost fumble.
All that did lead to only 16 points for Michigan.
All in the 1st quarter. Then the teams did gain some period of equality and then finally did Alabama find their way into the endzone and later added a field goal to trail at the half 10:16.
So far, all OK, bad start, start of recovery.
But then, after the break, no improvement and Michigan did hold their ground to keep the lead intact.
Late in the 3rd came finally a turnover by Michigan and Alabama did ... turnover the ball on downs a few plays later with no scoring.
Both teams exchanged field goals afterwards, but overall the status quo stayed untouched, until time ran out and Michigan did upset Alabama 19:13.
I hope the 2nd season of the Alabama HC will be better, because THAT Kind of Performance can kill you faster than you can say 'rebuilding'.
Jacks BOWL Score: 14-14

Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl
Louisville vs Washington
A high scoring game with a lot of fun happening.
Interception return TD? Yes, that gave the Cardinals the lead.
Big gain pass play TD? Yes, that tied the game at 7.
Lots of scoring on back-to-back drives? Yes, that did lead to a halftime score of 21:21.
In the 3rd then suddenly not much of Washington, a lot of the Cardinals, which did suddenly lead by 14 points.
But Washington was not dead yet, they scored a TD to make it a 1 score game with less than 4 minutes to play.
Louisville suddenly unable to move the ball, punted after 3 plays.
Washington with another drive and scored with 9 second left to play.
Fuel by the momentum the HC decided to go for the win, tried a 2-pointer and failed, because the pass play was quite similar as the TD and one defender did smell it and reached high enough to bat the ball away.
The Cardinals won, 35:34 in an entertaining game.
Jacks BOWL Score: 15-14

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl
#15 South Carolina vs #20 Illinois
This game was very entertaining, but likely brutal for both fan bases to watch.
The 1st bad scene came, when Illinois, trailing by 3, went all the way to the endzone and did try to punch the ball in, but fumbled and SC did recover.
No points, and a touchback.
But South Carolina had no fun with this and punted the ball away, Illinois did get back to the endzone and took the lead.
Next drive, South Carolina came into the Red Zone of Illinois and tried a 4th and 7! but failed and turned the ball over with no score.
The Illini did nothing afterwards and the Gamecocks had another good drive but missed the field goal try with time running out, so Illinois leading 7:3.
In the 3rd quarter then finally a South Carolina TD, followed by an Illini Interception.
But instead of getting the game under control did then a South Carolina WR fumble the ball at mid-field and Illinois got the chance to score. And they did to take the lead back.
South Carolina? Answered and took the lead again with a TD but was unable to stop the Illini and lost the lead again, still 7:30 left to play.
South Carolina got the ball again, marched over the field and was at the 7-yard line, when the pass on 4th and 4 was dropped inside the endzone.
Illinois did run down the clock and won, 21:17.
What a bad defense performance of South Carolina.
Jacks BOWL Score: 15-15

Kinder's Texas Bowl
Baylor vs LSU
LSU had a good 1st quarter (14:0), and a decent 2nd quarter, only tainted by the allowed points (20:17). Still, they led 34:17 at the half.
In the 2nd half the game became laid back, even it did not look that way in the 1st place.
Baylor scored a TD and LSU did throw afterwards an INT.
Suddenly the lead did not look so big anymore.
But Baylor wanted the change too much and tried to get the 1st down on 4th and 1 and did not only fail, they fumbled and recovered the own ball many yards behind the line of scrimmage at mid-field.
LSU did take the gift and scored a TD to get the 17-point lead back.
Later did an LSU field goal extended that lead even further and Baylor did adjust the margin a bit, but at the end did LSU win 44:31.
Jacks BOWL Score: 16-15

Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (College Football Playoff Quarterfinal)
#4 Penn State vs #9 Boise State
Penn State made it clear, who was in charge here.
Yes, the Heisman candidate RB of Boise State got over 100 yards rushing, but the Broncos defense did allow the Penn State RB to run for even more and the whole team for double the yards the Broncos were able to gain on the ground.
Their QB did do his best, but overall was the Penn State defense too sharpe and picked him off 3 times.
Penn State got the ticket to the semifinal by beating Boise State, 31:14.
Still a great season for Boise State and Penn State fans are likely happy about the best season of the team since almost a decade.
Jacks BOWL Score: 17-15

And we advance further to the Quarterfinals of the national championship playoffs and some other bowls.

The SIXTH SET OF BOWLs is from Wednesday 1st of January to Saturday 4th of January.

Wednesday, January 1st
College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (College Football Playoff Quarterfinal)
#3 Texas vs #12 Arizona State
@Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
This season, under the new 12-team playoffs-system, the Peach Bowl is selected to host a quarterfinal.
In upcoming seasons it will host the semis at some point, as all BIG bowls will do at some point.
The bowl is played since 1968 and is played now inside the new home of the Atlanta Falcons.
The most participations since ever does have the SEC with 40 matches and of those 23 wins, including last year (2 game winning streak).
Second is the ACC, with 37 games, but only 15 wins.
Texas had a great game in the 1st round and did eliminate Clemson.
Arizona State had a bye and will face now the toughest opponent of the whole season.
Interesting here is, both teams have good, if not great, running backs and will try to run the ball heavily.
The difference is, ASU has likely not the kind of defense Texas can bring to the game.
If the Sun Devils want to win here, they need to stop the running of Texas and need to establish the run on their own.
I don't see that happening. The lines of Texas are very strong and that will break the neck of ASU.
Texas is a 13.0 Point favorite and I think they will beat that line by a lot more points.
Longhorns win.

College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the 2025 Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential (College Football Playoff Quarterfinal)
#6 Ohio State vs #1 Oregon
@Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
A College Football Playoffs bowl, in the past connected with the PAC-12 and the BIG10.
This season one of the quarterfinals, last season it was one of the last semifinals under the 4-team-playoff system.
Played in the Rose Bowl stadium, home of the UCLA Bruins.
The Rose Bowl exists since 1902. The oldest bowl game of all.
Traditionally the PAC-12-Champ did play the BIG10-Champ, but this was abandoned when BCS and CFP were introduced, and other matchups had to be made possible.
Still, if possible, they tried to have at least a PAC-12 vs BIG10 matchup (like last 2022), but that is now also over with the 12-team-playoff system.
The PAC-12 has most played games in this, 101, with a record of 52-46-3, while the BIG10 has 74 with 35-39, including last years win (3 game winning streak).
All other teams together do come only to 45 games, 20-22-3.
Ironically, this game feature now a BIG10-team against another BIG10-team, but former PAC-12-team.
And it is a rematch from within the season, which Oregon won in a close game at home.
Now on neutral site, this will be different.
Ohio State came out motivated (why they were not against Michigan is beyond me) and did kill Tennessee at home in 1st round.
Oregon did sit on their bye week and was then able to prepare for a rematch.
Vegas has Ohio State as favorite by 2.5 points.
Well, if they play like the 1st round, they are hard to beat, but CAN they do that?
I don't know. I still see the Ohio State team against Michigan and that was bad.
Oregon was so far flawless, often close to a loss, but never gave up.
I picked Oregon to win it all, so I don't see any reason to give up on them before their 1st game in the playoffs.
Hopefully we get a close game, a high scoring game and at the end ....
Ducks win.

College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl (College Football Playoff Quarterfinal)
#5 Notre Dame vs #2 Georgia
@Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
The Sugar Bowl is this season the last quarterfinal of the playoffs (last year it was also one of the last semifinals under the 4-team-system).
The Bowl itself exists since 1935.
In the past, a BIG 12 team battles a SEC team, but now of course is invited, what fits the playoff rules.
It's played in the home of the New Orleans Saints.
By far the SEC did send in the past the most teams, 81, and has a record of 42-38-1. That includes also teams on both sides.
Notre Dame did win in a good way against Indiana but will have to play a different kind of team in this game here.
The only downside for Georgia is, their QB is injured. But that could on the other hand be their upside, because their starter had off-games with 2 to 3 INTs.
We will likely see a very defense driven game and this could actually come down to a single point, because every point will count heavily.
Georgia is favored by 0.5 points, and my key to the game is, whether Notre Dame can pass against Georgia, or not.
Because if they can, Georgia is likely lost. If not, Georgia will grind that team down with a running game and clock management.
I did pick Georgia to advance, because I don't see Notre Dame in the same league as them. The missing starting QB might make this game winnable for Notre Dame, but I think Georgia will mitigate this and win.
Bulldogs win.

Thursday, January 2nd
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl
Duke vs Ole Miss
@EverBank Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida
This bowl is played on the home field of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
It was established in 1946 and does usually field teams from SEC, BIG10 or ACC.
Overall, the SEC did send 45 teams to the bowl so far and won 27 games (lost last year and 2022).
Second is the ACC with 33 teams and 19 wins, including last years win.
At third Indy teams did play with 24 matches, but only 10 wins.
Duke (9-3) is not on the same level as Ole Miss (9-3).
Duke won many games, but lost to SMU, Miami and Georgia Tech, while Ole Miss did lose to Kentucky, LSU and Florida.
Granted, those Ole Miss losses are not THAT impressive, but the team did also win against heavy hitters like Georgia and South Carolina.
My gut feeling is, Ole Miss will win by 2 scores, and the betting line is Ole Miss -17.0, so looks like I'm not alone.
Duke can only win this, if the Rebels do shoot themselves in the foot by some very stupid errors.
Rebels win.

Friday, January 3rd
Servpro First Responder Bowl
North Texas vs Texas State
@Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, Texas
Operated since 2010, this had shifting tie ins, usually some power 5 school vs group of 5 school as intention.
The CUSA has send the most teams so far to the bowl and has a record of 4-3.
It's played on the home field of the SMU Mustangs.
North Texas (6-6) is often below my personal expectations but this season they did get a bowl spot, which I did not really anticipated.
Likely the win against Wyoming in September did tip the odds in their favor, a bit.
They face now a Texas State (7-5) team, which is also often below my expectations and here they were way below my expectations. Instead of contending they were lost against Old Dominion, Louisiana and Georgia State. Granted, all those losses were quite close, but still, far from being contenders.
Still, they are favored to win here by 13.5 points, which shows the level North Texas is expected to be on.
I have no real clue, whether that is fair or not, but since North Texas did fail in so many games, even against easier opponents, I stick with the favorite.
Bobcats win.

Duke's Mayo Bowl
Minnesota vs Virginia Tech
@Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
Played in the home field of the Carolina Panthers, this bowl is played under different names since 2002, latest change since 2020.
It's an ACC vs BIG10 game planned for this season (the bowl switches the opponent conference between SEC and BIG10 annually right now).
The ACC did send of course the most team so far, their record is 10-12 including last seasons loss (now 5 games losing streak).
The SEC did send 7 so far, 4-3 and the BIG 10 is quite new in the mix and has won so far both appearances.
Funny side fact, last season neither BIG10 nor SEC send a team, and the BIG-12 got a spot and the team won the game.
This season we have again the classic BIG10 vs ACC game and with Minnesota (7-5) a team you might not like to play.
They lost several games, but did also annoy some teams by winning, like USC, Illinois and on season finale the rival Wisconsin for the Axe.
They play Virginia Tech (6-6), who had a rough season and lost a view more, than needed.
The Hokies never did look very convincing, so no surprise is Minnesota favored to win, 9.0 points.
I think they can even beat that, but we have to wait and see.
If the offense of the Gophers rolls, they are unbeatable, if not, VT has a chance.
Golden Gophers win.

Saturday, January 4th
Bahamas Bowl
Buffalo vs Liberty
@Thomas Robinson Stadium, Nassau, Bahamas
Last year, the Bowl was shifted from the Bahamas to North Carolina, because the stadium on the Bahamas got renovations, but now it is back on the Bahamas and back to the regular name.
The attendance took a dive last season with less than 6.000 watching the bowl, while on the Bahamas it roughly had 12.000+.
It's a CUSA vs MAC Bowl and we had so far 9 matchups, the current matchup is the 10th anniversary.
Last season the CUSA team won, and the conference has now a 3 game winning streak. The conference leads the results with a 6-3 record.
The MAC is 3-5, but last year the Sun Belt was here (and lost).
Who reads this blog over the seasons might remember, I don't like this bowl, played on the Bahamas. OK, last year it was on the mainland and it was even worse in spectator Performance, but Overall, this bowl is just a joke and should be abandoned.
But let's concentrate on the game itself.
Liberty (8-3) had a down season, compared to their results in recent years, and should be favored here, if they play 100%.
That does Vegas doubt, since they made Buffalo the favorite by 2.5 points.
Why Buffalo (8-4) is favored, I don't know, except that Liberty had issues.
But Buffalo had also issues, lost that crucial game against Western Michigan AND also against later Champ Ohio.
Sure, the Bulls offense is good, if it clicks.
I learned that this bowl is a toss, you cannot really predict the outcome, how the Kids will play under such conditions.
Maybe it is wish-thinking, maybe just a thought of the past, but I see Liberty ahead here and win.
Flames win.

That's it for the 6th set of Bowl games.
Next set will be posted after the 4th of January and before the 10th.

'Til next time
Jack6 on BLOCK OF GRANITE

Tags: Block of Granite