Football Bowl Season: Friday's Slate Offers Two New Matchups Before the Semifinals

It's the hap-happiest season of all. College Bowl Season began on December 17. There are 42 bowl games featuring 84 teams plus the National Championship Game. That is until the pandemic wreaked havoc on the schedule.

When the bowl schedule was released earlier this month, there were three games scheduled before the two playoff games for Friday, December 31. Of the six teams playing today, three of them will take the field, and one of those in a city that was not on their initial travel plans.

Initially, the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville was to feature two ranked teams, Wake Forest and Texas A&M. The Aggies were the first team this bowl season to pull out of a game due to Covid issues on the team. So, instead of canceling the game, Gator Bowl officials brought in Rutgers, a 5-7 team that theoretically wasn't even bowl eligible.

Then the University of Miami was to play Washington State in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl in El Paso. But then The U pulled out of that game because of Covid issues. Before the Sun Bowl could make a decision on a replacement team, the choice was made for them. The Arizona Bowl in Tucson was also scheduled for today. That game featured Central Michigan versus Boise State. Boise State then pulled out because of Covid concerns, leaving Central Michigan literally in the desert by themselves. So, the Arizona Bowl canceled, and Central Michigan traveled to El Paso to take on Washington State in the Sun Bow. Got it? Who's on first anyway?

Here is a look at the Gator, Sun, Cotton, and Orange Bowls:

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl: #17 Wake Forest (10-3) vs. Rutgers (5-7)

Friday, December 31 [FuboTV, 10:00 a.m. CT, ESPN]
TIAA Bank Field, Jacksonville, FL; Line - Wake Forest -15.0; over/under 62.0

This should be a no brainer - a team that was ranked in the Top 10 late in the season and lost in their conference championship game versus a team that was not even bowl eligible when games were announced and only had eight days notice to prepare for the bowl game.

The Demon Deacons defense gave up 423.9 yards per game, 202.1 of that on the ground (114th in FBS), and 30.3 points per game. So, if the Scarlet Knights want to even be competitive after having a month off without practice, they need to take advantage of the Wake Forest defense. Run the ball and run it some more.

This will be the third matchup between these schools with Wake Forest having won both of the previous meetings.

Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl: Washington State (7-5) vs. Central Michigan (8-4)

Friday, December 31 [FuboTV, 11 a.m. CT, CBS]
Sun Bowl Stadium, El Paso, TX; Line - Washington State - 7.0; over/under - 57.5

If a game is named after a cereal, it should be GREEAAAATTT! If you're scratching your head saying these two teams weren't in the Sun Bowl, you're halfway right. Washington State was set to play Miami, who pulled out due to Covid issues. Not long after that, Boise State pulled out of the Arizona Bowl. Central Michigan was already in Tucson. Good news is El Paso is only a four hour bus trip away. So they headed east. They will now play WASU, and the Arizona Bowl got canceled.

It's the Cougars versus the Chippewas, and they are meeting for the first time. Both teams have some offensive fire power and both had the same amount of preparation time. This should be an interesting game. Or as Tony would say, GREEAAAAATT!

Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (Semifinal): #1 Alabama (12-1) vs. #4 Cincinnati (13-0)

Friday, December 31 [FuboTV, 2:30 p.m. CT, ESPN]
AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX; Line - Alabama - 13.5; over/under - 57.5

Capital One Orange Bowl (Semifinal): #2 Michigan (12-1) vs. #3 Georgia (12-1)

Friday, December 31 [FuboTV, 6:00 p.m. CT, ESPN]
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL; Line - Georgia - 7.5; over/under 45.5

Earlier this month, KillerFrogs wrote a detailed preview of both of the College Football Playoff semifinal games. Read that preview here.

Enjoy the next round of College Bowl Season! Additional bowl games will be previewed in future articles.

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