The 2020-21 bowl schedule in college football was supposed to begin before the regular season had even ended. On December 19, most of the conference championships are scheduled — along with a collection of postponed games featuring teams who are not playing for a conference title. The first bowl game of the season was also set for December 19, with SMU and Texas-San Antonio scheduled to meet in the Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl. However, SMU withdrew after concerns about COVID-19 and contact tracing, although reports also indicated that SMU players were simply tired of the whole season and had no interest in a bowl game. Boston College pulled out even earlier of the bowl scenario, opting out due to the hassles of travel and testing in a pandemic. So let’s take a look at what we have left on the schedule, at least for now, as you plan for sports betting. It is worth noting, though, that especially the early bowl games can be difficult to handicap, even in a normal year, as teams from the Power 5 and the American Athletic Conference often find themselves surprised by teams from lower conferences who have a lot more excitement about the game than they do.
As of right now, we don’t know how some premier bowl games will turn out, pending conference championships and the College Football Playoff selections, but here are the games we know are set at this time, along with our thoughts on the first two matchups.
NCAA News: 2020-21 Bowl Schedule
Monday, December 21
Myrtle Beach Bowl
North Texas vs Appalachian State (2:30 pm ET, ESPN)
North Texas comes in with a record of just 4-5, but given the pandemic, all the FBS programs were deemed bowl-eligible this season. They lost two games to teams with losing records (Charlotte and Southern Mississippi). Of their four wins, none came against teams with winning records. The Mean Green offense has put up 35.1 points per game, 27th in the nation, and both of their quarterbacks, Austin Aune and Jason Beane, have put up decent numbers. Aune has a 13:4 TD:INT ratio, while Beane’s is 12:4. However, the team’s top receiver, Jaelon Darden, has opted out of the bowl game. DeAndre Torrey leads the team with 656 rushing yards and six scores. The problems come on defense, as the team has permitted 41.3 points, 243.6 rushing yards and 265.9 passing yards.
Appalachian State’s losses came to ranked opponents: Marshall, Louisiana and Coastal Carolina. They beat two winning teams (Georgia State and Georgia Southern). The offense puts up 31.8 points per game behind senior quarterback Zac Thomas (2,075 yards, 19 TD, 11 INT, 64.7% completion rate), who has four wideouts with at least 200 receiving yards. There are four tailbacks with more than 400 yards, led by 807 yards and seven scores from Camerun Peoples. Each of the four tailbacks averages more than 5.6 yards per attempt. The defense has been stout, permitting fewer than 20 points per game. Demetrius Taylor leads the team with six sacks, and the Mountaineers have only allowed 169.8 passing yards per game, seventh in the nation. Appalachian State to win.
Tuesday, December 22
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Nevada vs Tulane (3:30 pm ET, ESPN)
Nevada returns to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl after falling to Ohio there a year ago, 30-21. This year, the Wolfpack (6-2) face the Tulane Green Wave. Nevada started with five wins in a row but dropped two of their last three, losing to Hawaii and to unbeaten San Jose State. Nevada scores 29.9 points per game and throws for over 325 yards per contest, good for tenth in the nation. Carson Strong threw for 2,587 yards this season, including a career-best 411 yards against Utah State on November 5, posting a 22:4 TD:INT ratio. The defense permits 22.9 points per game.
Tulane started the season 2-4 but won four of their last five to finish at 6-5. The only loss they had down the stretch came against Tulsa, who will face Cincinnati in the AAC Championship. Tulane’s offense is potent, putting up 35.4 points per game, behind quarterback Michael Pratt, who completed just 55.9 percent of his attempts but had an 18:5 TD:INT ratio. Along with Pratt, four tailbacks all had over 200 rushing yards. Stephon Huderson and Cameron Carroll led the Green Wave rushing attack, with Carroll putting up 11 touchdowns. On defense, Tulane permits 28 points and 416.7 yards per game. I’m not sure which team will prevail here, but I’m taking the over.
Boca Raton Bowl
UCF vs BYU (7:00 pm ET, ESPN)
Wednesday, December 23
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Georgia Southern vs Louisiana Tech (3:00 pm ET, ESPN)
Montgomery Bowl
Memphis vs Florida Atlantic (7:00 pm ET, ESPN/ESPN2)
Thursday, December 24
New Mexico Bowl
Hawaii vs Houston (3:30 pm ET, ESPN)
Friday, December 25
Camellia Bowl (Teams TBA, 2:30 pm ET, ESPN)
Saturday, December 26
Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl (Teams TBA, 12:00 pm ET, ABC)
Cure Bowl (Teams TBA, 12:00 pm ET, ESPN)
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl (Texas-San Antonio vs TBA, 3:30 pm ET, ABC)
Lending Tree Bowl
Georgia State vs Western Kentucky (3:30 pm ET, ESPN)
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl (Army vs TBA, 7:00 pm ET, ESPN)
Guaranteed Rate Bowl (Teams TBA, 10:15 pm ET, ESPN)
Monday, December 28
Military Bowl (Teams TBA, 2:30 pm ET, ESPN)
Tuesday, December 29
Cheez-It Bowl (Teams TBA, 5:30 pm ET, ESPN)
Valero Alamo Bowl (Teams TBA, 9:00 pm ET, ESPN)
Wednesday, December 30
TransPerfect Music City Bowl (Teams TBA, 3:30 pm ET, ESPN)
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (Teams TBA, 7:15 pm ET, ESPN)
Thursday, December 31
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (Teams TBA, 12:00 pm ET, ESPN)
AutoZone Liberty Bowl (Teams TBA, 4:00 pm ET, ESPN)
Arizona Bowl (Teams TBA, 4:00 pm ET, CBS Sports)
Texas Bowl (Teams TBA, 8:00 pm ET, ESPN)
Friday, January 1
TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl (Teams TBA, 12:00 pm ET, ESPN2)
Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl (Teams TBA, 12:30 pm ET, ESPN)
VRBO Citrus Bowl (Teams TBA, 1:00 pm ET, ABC)
Rose Bowl Game (CFP Semifinal, Teams TBA, 5:00 pm ET)
Allstate Sugar Bowl (CFP Semifinal, Teams TBA, 8:45 pm ET)
Saturday, January 2
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl (Teams TBA, 12:00 pm ET, ESPN)
Outback Bowl (Teams TBA, 12:30 pm ET, ABC)
PlayStation Fiesta Bowl (Teams TBA, 4:00 pm ET, ESPN)
Capital One Orange Bowl (Teams TBA, 8:00 pm ET, ESPN)
Monday, January 11
CFP National Championship (Teams TBA, 8:00 pm ET, ESPN)
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