Thanks to the wonders of television and a natural inability to sleep, I have been able to see an inordinate amount of college football this bowl season. I’m not complaining about it one bit.
After watching almost the entirety of just about every bowl game (I might have missed a few plays here or there due to overlap between some games), I am here to give out bowl grades to every team which competed.
Before we start, I just want to point out that the grades judge teams against themselves and their opponents. They are not how I would determine a theoretical matchup between two random teams. If a bad team gets an A for overachieving while a good team earned a C, the second team is probably still better. Also, the grades are only based on the bowl games. I am treating each bowl game as a one-game season. What a team earned in that game is its grade. So, here are all the grades for the FBS teams which played in the first week of bowl season.
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Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl: Utah 35, BYU 28
Utah: The Utes took care of business by capitalizing on BYU mistakes early. They got complacent, though, and allowed the Cougars back in the game. Utah really did nothing particularly outstanding, but they did enough in the first quarter to hold on. The defense was far from perfect after that, but it did slow BYU down enough to earn the win.
Grade: B+
BYU: Grading the Cougars gives me a tough choice right off the bat. The first quarter earned an F, or something even lower. It was ugly. After that, though, BYU dug its heels in and waged one heck of a fight. That has to be rewarded, even if the Cougars’ first-quarter ineptitude was just too much to overcome in the end. Tanner Mangum still has a lot of growing up to do, but how he responded after that first quarter certainly pushed him in the right direction.
Grade: B-
Gildan New Mexico Bowl: Arizona 45, New Mexico 37
Arizona: It was a disappointing season in Tucson, but the Wildcats get full credit for showing up for their bowl game. The defense was as porous as ever, but it did slow down New Mexico for large chunks of the game. Anu Solomon took a step back this year, but he definitely took steps forward in this game. Of course, playing well against the Pac-12’s best is very different from making good decisions and solid throws against an overmatched defense.
Grade: B
New Mexico: I said this was all about the bowl game and not the season, but I just want to stress how incredible a job Bob Davie did with New Mexico this year. He took a team from rock bottom in the FBS to the point where it was able to beat three of its best Mountain West opponents this year. He changed the culture in Albuquerque. The Lobos believed they could win this game against a Pac-12 team, and they came pretty close to doing it. When the talent catches up to the belief–and Davie has the Lobos heading in that direction–this will become one of the better teams in the MWC. For this year, though, their bowl game had too many mistakes, including three turnovers, for them to win.
Grade: C+
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl: Appalachian State 31, Ohio 29
Appalachian State: I can’t say enough about the fight this team showed in this comeback win. This was not a team that was used to playing close games. The Mountaineers got blown out by Clemson and Arkansas State while beating everyone else pretty handily. They had not yet successfully dealt with the adversity of being behind late. The offensive line finally figured out how to buy Taylor Lamb time in the fourth quarter and, when that was coupled with numerous Ohio mistakes, the Mountaineers were able to take full advantage and win their first bowl game in school history–in their first try.
Grade: B-
Ohio: Watching this game, it was painfully obvious that Ohio was the better team. The Bobcats thoroughly outplayed Appalachian State on both sides of the ball for three quarters. They took advantage of early mistakes and cashed them in. Then, when it mattered the most, they gave all of those mistakes back, with interest. It had to be disappointing for Ohio and Frank Solich. This season, and this game, deserved better.
Grade: C
AutoNation Cure Bowl: San Jose State 27, Georgia State 16
This is the one bowl game I can’t give grades for. My cable provider doesn’t have CBS Sports Net. Because it wasn’t on ESPN, I couldn’t watch it online afterwards. I can give my television and internet an F for making me miss it, though.
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: Louisiana Tech 47, Arkansas State 28
Louisiana Tech: The Bulldogs have quietly made themselves into one of the more consistent teams in a Group of 5 conference the past few years. They aren’t in the top tier, but they are close almost every year. Florida transfer Jeff Driskel lit up a solid Arkansas State defense in the second half of this game. I bet the Gators wish they still had him right about now.
Grade: A-
Arkansas State: The Red Wolves have a lot of positives to take from this game and this season, even if they were a bit overmatched against Louisiana Tech. Replacing Fredi Knighten will not be easy, but they have the right coaches and system in place to go far.
Grade: B-
Miami Beach Bowl: Western Kentucky 45, South Florida 35
Western Kentucky: The Hilltoppers will sorely miss Brandon Doughty, but he ended his career in fitting fashion after getting off to a slow start. This wasn’t a perfect performance, but Western Kentucky’s offense was potent enough in Doughty’s final game. I don’t know if they can stay this lethal once they replace him, but the Hilltoppers have built a strong program in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Grade: A-
South Florida: The Bulls are far removed from 2007, when they reached No. 2 in the BCS before losing three straight, but Willie Taggart has them heading in the right direction. The program is bringing in talent again, and Quinton Flowers is an elusive quarterback who could become a star if his throwing improves just a little. Maybe expectations were too high in this game after their upset of Temple, but the Bulls played a strong game against a quality opponent.
Grade: B+
Marmot Boca Raton Bowl: Toledo 32, Temple 17
Toledo: The Rockets are a talented team that, for some reason, can be terribly inconsistent at times. This showed during the season and in this game as well. Once the Rockets found their rhythm, though, they ran away with this game, scoring touchdowns on their final three drives (not counting the kneel-down at the end). The defense was stingy as always, something unexpected coming out of the MAC.
Grade: A
Temple: This was an up-and-down season for the Owls. They have three tough losses to teams that will end the season ranked, along with that head-scratching blowout loss to USF. They hung tough in this game, and P.J. Walker and the offense played well; there just wasn’t much they could do against Toledo’s strong defense. This will be a disappointing finish and dreams of a ranked season collapsed at the end, but there was nothing embarrassing about this loss.
Grade: B+
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Akron 23, Utah State 21
Akron: Coach Terry Bowden said that this was Akron’s best team in school history. As the first team to win eight games and the first to win a bowl game, it very well might be. The Zips did not particularly excel at anything in this game, but they took advantage of Utah State’s mistakes and avoided their own. It was a solid win by a team that has made one of the biggest turnarounds in FBS the past few years.
Grade: C
Utah State: Utah State was by far the better team in this game. The Aggies were more talented, but couldn’t get out of their own way. Mistakes galore led to six punts, an interception, two fumbles lost, and two turnovers on downs. It was not a pretty game in the slightest, and it was not a fitting way for Chuckie Keeton to end his Utah State career.
Grade: F
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl: Boise State 55, Northern Illinois 7
Boise State: The future is bright under Brett Rypien. Boise State should have been lighting teams up like this during the regular season, but the Broncos made too many mistakes in too many games. They were relaxed in this game, though, and the results showed on both sides of the ball. Maybe a poor bowl showing would have made this season more palatable for Boise fans, because this team is just too talented to have lost four games. This was a lost season for Broncos fans, and they know it.
Grade: A+
Northern Illinois: On the one hand, I can’t give them a good grade because they really didn’t do anything. On the other hand, the Huskies never really had a chance. C- feels like a fair compromise.
Grade: C-
GoDaddy Bowl: Georgia Southern 58, Bowling Green 27
Georgia Southern: Favian Upshaw is fast. That’s about the only lesson you’ll need from this bowl game. Georgia Southern took advantage off BGSU’s second-half mistakes and never let the Falcons back into this game once the second half started.
Grade: A
Bowling Green: One thing became very clear as this game went on. The Falcons did not spend nearly enough time preparing for an option offense. Their defense is too good to have a showing this poor. The weather did not help the offense at all, but this game was over before it started because the defense was so woefully unprepared. It would have been a tough game regardless, but this is on the coaching staff.
Grade: F
Popeyes Bahamas Bowl: Western Michigan 45, Middle Tennessee 31
Western Michigan: P.J. Fleck is rowing the boat, and it is a transformation to behold. The defense is salty and the offense is explosive. Add it together, and you get the Broncos’ first-ever bowl win to cap a strong season. Fleck is recruiting circles around the rest of the MAC, too, so expect this to continue.
Grade: B+
Middle Tennessee: The Blue Raiders kept it tight for the duration, but a late interception was just too much to overcome. This was a solid game from two solid teams. One mistake at the end was the difference, even if that one mistake resulted in a two-score gap on the final scoreboard.
Grade: B
Hawai’i Bowl: San Diego State 42, Cincinnati 7
San Diego State: The Aztecs quietly had a very good season, capped off by a blowout win in their bowl game. Their ground game was beastly, and they offered no quarter for Cincinnati mistakes.
Grade: A
Cincinnati: The Aztecs wanted to win this game. The Bearcats didn’t, and it showed.
Grade: F
St. Petersburg Bowl: Marshall 16, UConn 10
Marshall: Someone who didn’t know how good the Huskies’ defense can be will probably be surprised by Marshall’s lack of scoring. UConn’s defense was stout in this game as well. There really wasn’t so much more that Marshall could do. UConn’s defense dictated this game; Marshall did plenty well just to win.
Grade: B
UConn: Here are some great stats about the UConn scoring defense. The gave up 20 points just five times this season. Only two opponents (BYU and Cincinnati) scored 30. Shutting down Marshall was par for the course. If UConn had an offense to go with this great defense, the Huskies may have actually been one of the better teams in the country, let alone the American Athletic Conference. Alas, they didn’t, and a losing record is all they have to show for one of the best defenses in America.
Grade: C+
Hyundai Sun Bowl: Washington State 20, Miami (FL) 14
Washington State: While the East Coast got warm weather due to El Nino, it was snowing in El Paso. In another weird reversal, Washington State won a game because of its defense. Luke Falk and the offense were average on an absolute scale, which is subpar for WSU, but it didn’t matter because the defense (aided by a poor showing from the Miami offense) stayed in control of this game.
Grade: B-
Miami (FL): To say that Miami played a bad game would be a compliment. The defense did a tremendous job of keeping the air raid in check, but the offense just gave it up with blunder after blunder. Miami’s offense produced a whopping total of five three-and-outs (plus one four-and-out) combined with three turnovers. It was not a good showing from a team that has a ton of talent. Mark Richt can’t get to Miami fast enough.
Grade: D
Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl: Washington 44, Southern Miss 31
Washington: An unfortunate trademark of Chris Petersen’s Boise State teams was that they often did not show up when they weren’t playing in top-tier games. This repeated itself last year with Washington’s loss to Oklahoma State. Petersen had his team ready to compete in this game, though the Golden Eagles played with a ton of heart and displayed more than a little trickeration. Eventually, Washington’s superior talent and physicality came through, though it was far from the best performance we’ve seen from this defense.
Grade: B
Southern Miss: Todd Monken has done wonders turning around this program in a very short period of time. The offense is once again explosive, and it came up just short against Washington. A few big plays here or there could have changed the outcome, which is really the goal any Group of 5 team should have coming into a game like this. Obviously, the Golden Eagles would have wanted the bounces to go their way, but Southern Miss has to feel it showed more positives than negatives in this game.
Grade: B-
New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Duke 44, Indiana 41
Duke: More than a few people thought that the game-ending field goal call was a bit of karmic payback after how the Duke-Miami game ended. Both teams played great, though, with Duke fighting back and never giving up when it seemed to be outplayed. The season could have gone a lot better, but this bowl game capped it off perfectly.
Grade: B+
Indiana: This is heartbreaking for the Hoosiers. Once again, they controlled a game only to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Kevin Wilson brilliantly set up the game-winning field goal attempt for a kicker who has a strong enough leg, but the holder left the laces in and the kick sailed wide. The missed kick in overtime (which was probably a miss, but the rulebook really needs to be changed to explicitly say what the rule should be on a ball directly over the uprights) has to be a huge gut-punch. This program is moving in the right direction, but you have to wonder what its ceiling is in one of the best divisions (at least as far as its best teams are concerned) in college football.
Grade: B
Camping World Independence Bowl: Virginia Tech 55, Tulsa 52
Virginia Tech: The Hokies put on an early offensive outburst, scoring 45 points in the game’s first 23 minutes. They managed only 10 points in the final 37 minutes, though, which allowed Tulsa back into the game. The team came out quickly to provide coach Frank Beamer with one final win, but you have to wonder about the enthusiasm over Bud Foster staying on with Justin Fuente after that defensive performance. It was not a good one.
Grade: B-
Tulsa: The Golden Hurricane did a tremendous job just earning a bowl, but they were physically manhandled on defense. They settled in a little in the second half, but Virginia Tech’s lack of points in the final 30 minutes was due more to self-inflicted issues and play-calling mistakes than to any defensive prowess Tulsa exhibited. The offense was potent, as always, but not potent enough to come out with a win.
Grade: C
Foster Farms Bowl: Nebraska 37, UCLA 29
Nebraska: This was one of the best games of Tommy Armstrong Jr.’s career. The secret? Only have him throw the ball when he really needs to. He is no good at running, and this big offensive line is so capable of making holes for running backs. Nebraska finally figured out its offensive formula in the final game of the season. The defense lacks speed in the secondary, and it showed, but the Cornhuskers did enough to cover their weaknesses and end this snake-bitten season on a much-needed high note.
Grade: A-
UCLA: The Bruins might not have been completely motivated in this game, but don’t let the result fool you. Nebraska won this game because it is a good team, not because UCLA played poorly. UCLA might have been a little overrated at times this season, but Josh Rosen is well on his way to becoming a star. If the team can keep its speed at the skill positions, long completions (which we saw a few of in this game) should stay the norm as long as Rosen is at quarterback.
Grade: B
