We now know the eight living quarterfinalists from the College Football Playoff. Unfortunately, we will still have to wait a little over a week before reducing the peloton to four. But don’t worry, college football fans. In the meantime, there are plenty of bowl games to keep us interested.
Monday’s bowl slate features another pair of morning contests for your amusement if you want to take a break from last-minute shopping or other holiday preparations. Coincidentally, both matches will take place in venues with strangely colored surfaces. So, as they said in the early days of television, don’t adjust your sets.
Here are today’s matches.
Myrtle Beach Bowl – Coastal Carolina vs. Texas-San Antonio
Time/TV/location: 11 a.m. ET, ESPN, Conway, South Carolina
Why watch: By recent standards, it wasn’t a good year for the Chanticleers, but they are happy to have this opportunity to play one more game on their turquoise turf. Things didn’t go as planned for the Roadrunners either, although they played better down the stretch winning three of their last four games. Due to departures from the portal, freshman QB Tad Hudson will debut for Coastal. Texas-San Antonio will still benefit from the services of quarterback Owen McCown, who also hopes to return RB Robert Henry from injury.
Why it might disappoint: It is possible that the young Chanticleers players will attack the Roadrunners’ defense which is somewhat leaky even when it is composed of all its parts. If that happens, we could have a fun afternoon, but it’s more likely that Coastal Carolina will catch up most of the time.
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Idaho Potato Bowl – Fresno State vs. Northern Illinois
Time/TV/location: 2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Boise, Idaho.
Why watch: The second game of Monday morning also features a few teams with a lot of roster uncertainty. The Huskies produced one of the brightest early season results with their upset of Notre Dame, but finished in the middle of the MAC pack, while the Bulldogs put together a .500 campaign under coach interim Tim Skipper with Southern California assistant Matt Entz ready to take over. on. Due to numerous QB departures, both teams’ most proven strengths will be in the ground game. Northern Illinois RB Gavin Williams has done a good job filling in for the injured Antario Brown, and the duo of RBs Elijah Gilliam and Bryson Donelson should carry the load for Fresno State.
Why it might disappoint: Even before all the gate drives, defenses represented the stronger side of the ball for both teams, meaning we could find ourselves in a punt competition on the blue turf. This could at least mean there will be some endgame drama, so it might still be worth watching.
This article was originally published on USA TODAY: What are the college football bowl games today? Two confrontations to watch
