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December 9, 2015Whether you’re a Buckeye, Bobcat, Rocket, Falcon, Bearcat, or Zip, there is plenty for Ohioans to look forward to in the 2015-16 bowl season. With so many games coming up we wanted to take a look ahead at the matchups, records, stakes, and pertinent data.
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl
Ohio Bobcats (8-4) vs. Appalachian State Mountaineers (10-2)
December 19; Montgomery, AL
5:30 p.m. ESPN
The Camellia Bowl marks the first-ever matchup between the Bobcats and Mountaineers. With eight wins on the season, Ohio qualified for their sixth bowl in seven seasons. The Bobcats are 2-6 in the postseason, with their most recent win coming against Utah State in the 2012 Independence Bowl.
As far as prestige goes, the Camellia Bowl lacks the luster of The New Year’s Six. The present iteration debuted in 2014 designed to feature a Mid-American and Sun Belt opponent. Bowling Green won the inaugural contest so the bar is set for the MAC.
Odds are you know App State because on September 1, 2007 the Mountaineers, then an FCS program, traveled to Ann Arbor, Michigan as an “easy” opening tilt for the Wolverines. Instead the visitors sprung one of the largest upsets in college football history in a 34-32 victory. You remember, right?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLE_bT_Zn7U#t=18s
ASU jumped to the FBS’s Sun Belt Conference in 2014 and are in their first year of bowl eligibility. For the Mountaineers, history is on the line.
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Akron Zips (7-5) vs. Utah State Aggies (6-6)
December 22; Boise, ID
3:30 p.m. ESPN
The Zips and Aggies will make their gridiron acquaintance on Boise State’s Smurf Turf. Head coach Terry Bowden led Akron to their best season in ten years, winning seven games and reclaiming the Wagon Wheel from Kent State. The Zips finished second in the MAC East and are traveling to their second bowl game in school history; they lost the 2005 Motor City Bowl to Memphis, 38-31.
The Potato Bowl, most appropriately, takes place in Idaho. The game began in 1997 and currently pits MAC and Mountain West schools against each other. The last MAC school to win the game was Ohio in 2011.
Utah State played an up-and-down season in 2015, losing to in-state rival Utah, then ranked No. 24, and winning at home against No. 16 Boise State. The Potato Bowl marks the fifth straight bowl appearance for USU; last season the Aggies won the New Mexico Bowl over UTEP.
Marmot Boca Raton Bowl
Toledo Rockets (9-2) vs. Temple Owls (10-3)
December 22; Boca Raton, FL
7:00 p.m. ESPN
One of the juicier December matchups showcases two mid-major schools who made headlines during the season. The Rockets shocked Little Rock in September with a 16-12 victory at No. 18 Arkansas. After a 7-0 start, pundits began to wonder how high the club would ascend. However, Toledo fell back to earth with a 2-2 finish and failed to win the MAC West. The Rockets are 9-4 all-time in bowl games, with their most recent win coming over Arkansas State in last season’s GoDaddy Bowl. Toledo leads all-time series with Temple, 7-3
The Boca Raton Bowl began in 2014; Marshall defeated NIU in the initial matchup.
Temple began the season with a bang, defeating Penn State for the first time since 1941. The Owls climbed to No. 22 in the AP Poll when they hosted College GameDay and Notre Dame on Halloween. Even after losing to the Irish, Temple won the AAC East before falling to Houston in the conference title game. Temple won their most recent bowl game, the 2011 New Mexico Bowl, and are 2-2 in four bowl contests.
GoDaddy Bowl
Bowling Green State University Falcons (10-3) vs. Georgia Southern Eagles (8-4)
December 23; Mobile, AL
8:00 p.m. ESPN
Bowling Green opened their season with a loss to No. 25 Tennessee, but turned around to beat the Big Ten newcomer Maryland at College Park the following weekend. BGSU soared through the MAC and earned their fourth division title. They topped Northern Illinois in the MAC Championship Game, 34-14, to finish their season with 10 wins. The Falcons are 5-7 all-time in bowl games, with their most recent win coming against South Alabama in the 2014 Camellia Bowl.
BGSU and Georgia Southern will meet for the first time in the GoDaddy Bowl. The postseason contest has gone by several names (including GMAC Bowl and Mobile Alabama Bowl) since its inception in 1999. The game has twice gone to double overtime — 2001 and 2010 — and Toledo won the most recent version at the end of the 2014 season.
Georgia Southern made the jump to FBS before the 2014 season. The Eagles wasted no time making an impact by running the Sun Belt table and finishing 8-0. However, thanks to an NCAA postseason ban for newly admitted FBS teams, the Eagles failed to qualify for a bowl game. Georgia Southern’s record faltered slightly in 2015, though they took big brother Georgia to overtime in Athens before ultimately losing 23-17. The Eagles aim for their first bowl win in school history in Mobile.
Hawaii Bowl
Cincinnati Bearcats (7-5) vs. San Diego State University Aztecs (10-3)
December 24; Honolulu, HI
8:00 p.m. ESPN
The Cincinnati Bearcats continue their playoff streak by qualifying for their fifth straight bowl game in 2015. Cincy will be playing for their first bowl win since 2012, when they were still members of the Big East. After winning a share of the AAC last season, Cincinnati took a step backwards in 2015 dropping their record to 7-5. The Bearcats last played SDSU in 2007 and took the only contest they played.
Naturally, the Hawaii Bowl takes place at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. The NCAA held football games on the Islands as early as 1936, but the current version of the game began in 2002. On six occasions the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors played in the game which gave them the rare home bowl game. While both teams in the upcoming matchup will travel over the Pacific, the Bearcats will earn significantly more frequent flyer miles (over 4,400 miles) than San Diego State (about 2,500).
San Diego State enters the game as Mountain West Conference champs after defeating Air Force in the MWC Title Game. After a 1-3 start, the Aztecs rattled off a nine-game conference winning streak to close out the year. SDSU is 6-7 in 13 total bowl games with their most recent win in the 2013 Potato Bowl over Buffalo.
BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl
The Ohio State University Buckeyes (11-1) vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-2)
January 1; Glendale, AZ
1:00 p.m. ESPN
After winning the 2014 National Championship, The Ohio State University Buckeyes set their goals sky high for 2015: repeat. Through 10 games it seemed the Buckeyes would have a fighting chance to return to the playoffs. Michigan State changed all that by upsetting the Bucks in Columbus on a last-second field goal. A victory over rival Michigan partially balmed Ohio State’s season, but the quality win was not enough to propel them into the top four. Still, as far as consolation prizes go, the Fiesta Bowl is a worthwhile activity. OSU is no stranger to the desert; the upcoming matchup marks the school’s sixth appearance in the Fiesta Bowl with their most recent win coming against Notre Dame in 2005.
The Fiesta Bowl begin in 1971 and historically puts on entertaining contests. Ohio State’s 2002 double overtime national championship thriller took place at the Fiesta Bowl. Boise State famously trick played their way over Oklahoma on New Year’s Day 2007. A former BCS bowl and current New Year’s Six game, the Fiesta Bowl will participate in the semifinals rotation along with the other “major” bowls.
Notre Dame casts as long a football shadow as does Ohio State. Fans nationwide have strong opinions on the team do not hesitate to share with you how much they are overrated or underappreciated, often in the same season. The 2015 Irish earned quality wins over No. 14 Georgia Tech and No. 21 Temple, but also suffered season-altering defeats at No. 12 Clemson — now the No. 1 overall seed — and at No. 13 Stanford. The second loss may have cost Notre Dame an appearance in the College Football Playoff, though we will never know for certain. The Irish are playing in their sixth straight bowl game, and have won back to back postseason contests – the 2014 Music City Bowl over No. 23 LSU and the 2013 Pinstripe Bowl over Rutgers. Ohio State leads the all-time series with Notre Dame, 3-2.
Odds are you have an affiliation with one of the Ohio schools profiled above. Maybe you are an Ohio State alumnus or your parents graduated from Akron or your cousin goes to Bowling Green. Whatever your specific affiliation, the whole state Ohio can benefit from a strong showing across the bowl board. Even if it doesn’t affect what happens on the field, give a cheer for these great local schools. No other state has more schools playing in bowls this season. So let’s go FalBearBobZipRockEyes!
Correction: This article previously stated that Bowling Green lost the MAC Championship game. It has been updated to reflect the winning ways of one team in the state wearing orange and brown. WFNY regrets the error.
2 Comments
BG won the MAC Championship game 34-14 over NIU
go Buckeyes !!!!
go Rockets !!!!