Where does the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl rank among playoff games?

Immediately after Duke wins 42-39 over Arizona in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowlthere was a feeling that the game offered an instant classic.

There were a lot of scores on New Year’s Eve, a game decided in the last shots and a giant bowl of fake cereal that players celebrated by jumping into – a bunch.

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People who classify such things have had fun. In bowl rankings that have emerged since the CFP national championship game, the Sun Bowl ranked sixth of 41 bowls in one list and seventh of 47 in the other (one counted non-bowl playoff games and an FCS bowl).

The CBS Sports and College Football News rankings had the Sun Bowl behind the Sugar Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl and, interestingly, the Hawaii Bowl. CBS, which overall had higher ratings than CFN for non-playoff bowls, had the Sun Bowl behind the New Mexico Bowl.

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Obviously, these rankings are completely subjective and depend on the author. CFN described its list as “best to worst,” while CBS Sports used the word “thrill” in its headline. Neither listed any criteria or factors.

More: Duke rallies past Arizona State in Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl classic

CBS Sports: Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl sixth of 41

It should be noted that CBS Sports’ rankings did not include the four campus playoff games or the national championship, which technically aren’t bowls.

CBS Sports said: “The ACC champions won their ninth game in a shootout behind four touchdown passes and 327 yards from Darian Mensah. His 17-yard strike to Que’Sean Brown with 2:10 remaining was the dagger for the Blue Devils, who were shut out of the playoffs in favor of James Madison despite winning the league title over Virginia in early December. Nate Sheppard rushed for 170 yards and a score for Dukewho won despite allowing 619 total offensive yards to the Sun Devils.

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The Sun Bowl ranked 12th in its projected pro-bowl rankings.

CBS Sports Top 6

2. Sugar bowl: Miami 39, Georgia 34

3. Hawaii Bowl: Hawaii 35, Cal 31

4. New Mexico Bowl: North Texas 49, San Diego 47

5. Pop Tarts Bowl: Brigham Young 25, Georgia Tech 21

6. Solar bowl: Duke 42, Arizona 39

The full ranking is here.

More: Duke QB Mensah wins Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl MVP award

CFN: Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl 7th out of 47

It should be noted that the CFN rankings include the five playoff games that were not officially bowls, as well as the Celebration Bowl between the MEAC and SWAC champions (the two historically black conferences in the FCS).

CFN said: “It was as fun as a bowl game can be, with lots of points, big plays, a good comeback, great quarterback play and a cereal celebration.

“Both teams combined for over 1,100 yards, with Duke’s Darian Mensah coming out late to balance a massive day from ASU’s Jeff Sims.

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“The Sun Devils got two late touchdown passes from Sims to go up 39-35, and virtually won the game after stopping the Blue Devils on fourth down.

“ASU was trying to run out the clock, lost a fumble trying to run out the clock, and Mensah had a 17-yard touchdown pass for the game-winning score.”

Past CFN post-bowl rankings for the Sun Bowl: 2024: 4 (Louisville 35, Washington 34), 2023: 41 (Notre Dame 40, Oregon State 8), 2022: 5 (Pitt 37, UCLA 35), 2021: 13 (Central Michigan 24, Washington State 21), 2020: NA, 2019: 21 (Arizona State 20, Florida State 14)

CFN top 6

1. Sugar bowl: Miami 39, Georgia 34

2. Hawaii Bowl: Hawaii 35, Cal 31

3. Fiesta Bowl: Miami 31, Ole Miss 27

4. Cricket Celebration Bowl: South Carolina State 40, Prairie View A&M 38, 4OT

5. Cotton Bowl: Miami 24, Ohio State 14

6. 1st round of playoffs: Miami 10, Texas A&M 3

7. Solar Bowl: Duke 42, Arizona State 39

The full top 10 is here. The full list is here.

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Bret Bloomquist can be reached at [email protected]; @Bretbloomquist on X.

This article was originally published on El Paso Times: How good was this year’s Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl? See the ranking