0 comments by Allen Kenney on 12/19/2014
For degenerate gamblers, bowl season is a bit like staring at an In-N-Out Burger separated from you by a minefield. If the regular season treated you kindly, no need to risk blowing yourself up for some fast food. If you took it on the chin for the last three months, jump in and hope you’re […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
Miami is — along with New Orleans — one of the great winter party destinations for American football fans. The city has served as the longtime host of the venerable Orange Bowl game, and it has also hosted 10 Super Bowls. Miami is a city made for postseason football, so it might be easy to […]
0 comments by Steve Fetch
While the FBS is new to this whole playoffs thing, the other divisions in college football are no strangers to settling things on the field. The FCS playoffs are into the semifinal round, and three seeded teams — including the top two seeds — remain in the hunt to claim the national title. Will it […]
0 comments by Bart D
Follow TSS on Twitter @TheStudentSect Author @TheCoachBart I was watching the timeless holiday classic Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer last week when it struck me that Santa’s whole system needs an about face, and to bring in an HR guy at some point. He basically dismissed Rudolph’s chances of being on the sleigh team just […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 12/18/2014
Saturday, the bowl season kicks off with five games. One will be played in Boise, Idaho. One will be played in Montgomery, Alabama. One will be played in Albuquerque. Two will be played in the best party cities this nation knows: New Orleans and Las Vegas. Of the two games in party cities, one will feel […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
The story of the last two New Mexico Bowls is the story of why bowl games are a (wait for it) Land of Enchantment as far as college football fans and pundits are concerned. Bowl games don’t always hit the sweet spot (see the 2011 Fight Hunger Bowl between 6-6 Illinois and 6-7 UCLA), but […]
Duke picked up a critical win at Georgia Tech last weekend. The Blue Devils probably didn’t expect Virginia to be an equally consequential contest the following weekend, but the other teams in the ACC Coastal didn’t expect Duke to represent such a key game last season. Duke is now finding out what it’s like to be on the other side of the tracks. Virginia-Duke will do a lot to shape the evolving ACC Coastal race.
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 12/17/2014
It’s not as though dozens of bowl teams won’t be motivated. Yes, you’ll get the occasional “sulking bowl team” such as USC in the 2012 Sun Bowl against Georgia Tech, but in most cases, the “motivation factor” manifests itself in the form of the underdog that really, really wants to prove a point or make […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
There are hundreds of different ways to approach bowl season — let’s at least take a few different views of this unique part of FBS college football, something which separates it from every other American team sport. No best-of-seven series, no bracketed tournaments. You can call bowls one-game exhibitions. You can call them one-game championships. […]
0 comments by Steve Fetch
We are still early in the 2014-2015 season, and most leagues have not even started conference play yet, but it is already time to talk about one of the best parts of the NCAA tournament: bracket busters. Although the lines separating low-majors, mid-majors and high-majors get blurrier and blurrier every year (the packs might begin […]
0 comments by Kevin McGuire on 12/16/2014
The army Navy Game is one full of traditions and plenty of fanfare before the opening kickoff. When the weather is good, as it was this past weekend in Baltimore, parachute teams from the army and Navy drop in from the skies above to thunderous applause and a good amount of awe. Ever wanted to […]
0 comments by Terry P. Johnson
Admit it: you’re waiting until the last minute to fill out your bowl picks. While you’ve figured out whom to pick in most of them, there are still a few where you’re prepared to flip a coin. Don’t worry, the Student Section is here to help. Although the staff doesn’t always agree, we’ve all listed […]
0 comments by Terry P. Johnson
One of the things the Student Section strives to provide its readers with is a wide range of opinions about what’s going on in the worlds of college football and basketball. Bowl season is no different, which is why we listed each staff member’s picks against the spread. The number in parentheses is the confidence […]
0 comments by Kevin Causey
One of my favorite parts of bowl season is seeing what “swag” the bowls are giving out to the players. The Sports Business Daily does a great job each year with this topic. Here’s the publication’s explanation of bowl swag: At least $5.4M will be spent on gifts that will be given to the ’14-15 […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 12/15/2014
Linking conference strength to bowl results is always a tenuous, risky thing to do — it can be done, but it requires great care and an awareness of limitations. The reasons for being cautious about touting — or downgrading — a conference based on bowl performance are obvious. They do, however, demand some care and […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
You know what the main stories will be when the College Football Playoff arrives on Jan. 1: Can Mark Helfrich not get destroyed in the coaching matchup with Jimbo Fisher? Can Cardale Jones lead Ohio State’s offense with distinction? Can Oregon’s offense deal with an extended layoff, finding rhythm in a situation that is often […]
