# 2017 Bowl Games Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [December 28, 2017, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-bowl-games-thread/805446 "2017-12-28T04:00:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fugazi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@Fugazi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fugazi)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2017, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-bowl-games-thread/805446/21 "2017-12-31T06:57:27Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > It would’ve been hard to predict that the conference with the best bowl game record at this point is…the Big Ten (5-0). And yeah, Ohio looked pretty good in beating USC. > > \*sorry, _The_ Ohio. 🙂 Bzzzt. Wrong. Ohio didn’t play USC, they played and beat UAB in the Bahamas Bowl. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2017, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-bowl-games-thread/805446/22 "2017-12-31T12:19:56Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > The Pac-12 just went 1-8 in the bowl games. Worst record ever for a Power-5 Conference. Way to go, Left Coast. ☹ Don’t count out the SEC yet! They’re 1-3 so far! ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2017, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-bowl-games-thread/805446/23 "2017-12-31T15:14:24Z")
> [@Fugazi](#): > > Bzzzt. Wrong. Ohio didn’t play USC, they played and beat UAB in the Bahamas Bowl. Yep. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that **The** Ohio State University isn’t the only “Ohio” university around… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2017, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-bowl-games-thread/805446/24 "2017-12-31T15:18:27Z")
> [@USCDiver](#): > > Don’t count out the SEC yet! They’re 1-3 so far! Good point. It’s quite possible they could lose all five of their New Year’s Day bowls. I would certainly consider Michigan favored over USC, I **hope** that UCF beats Auburn (not because I dislike Auburn, but because it would make the point that UCF deserved more respect at 12-0), I predict Notre Dame will beat LSU (though the growing list of Fighting Irish who won’t be playing makes that less likely), and Georgia - Oklahoma and 'Bama - Clemson are tossups. If both the Pac-12 AND the SEC go 1-8, that would really, REALLY be a shock! ---
**Author:** ![Kitten\_Mitten](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b782af/32.png) [@Kitten\_Mitten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kitten_Mitten)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2017, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-bowl-games-thread/805446/25 "2017-12-31T15:24:16Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Yep. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that **The** Ohio State University isn’t the only “Ohio” university around… :rolleyes: He must be a Brady Hoke disciple. Brady would only refer to tOSU as Ohio. That crap filtered to Beilien and when the real Ohio beat Michigan in March Madness, Buckeyes and Spartans loved it. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2017, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-bowl-games-thread/805446/26 "2017-12-31T16:11:31Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Good point. It’s quite possible they could lose all five of their New Year’s Day bowls. I would certainly consider Michigan favored over USC, I **hope** that UCF beats Auburn (not because I dislike Auburn, but because it would make the point that UCF deserved more respect at 12-0), I predict Notre Dame will beat LSU (though the growing list of Fighting Irish who won’t be playing makes that less likely), and Georgia - Oklahoma and 'Bama - Clemson are tossups. > > If both the Pac-12 AND the SEC go 1-8, that would really, REALLY be a shock! There is no way UCF can beat Auburn with their defense. I predict a 45-14 scoreline. But I hope I’m wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2017, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-bowl-games-thread/805446/27 "2017-12-31T16:29:10Z")
Nah, I don’t root for That School Up North\* either. \*if you say its real name, it gains unholy powers and is entitled to your first-born, beware. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2017, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-bowl-games-thread/805446/28 "2017-12-31T18:34:51Z")
I do have to say that this bowl season makes me wax nostalgic for the days of yore, when there were only 10 or so bowl games, and the four New Year’s Day bowls all had specific tie-ins, and I wish these darn kids would get the heck off my lawn! For those who don’t recall (or are too young to do so), the bowl lineup back in the day was: New Year’s Day Sugar Bowl (SEC Champ v At Large) Cotton Bowl (SWC Champ v At Large) Rose Bowl (Pac-8/10 Champ v Big-10 Champ) The granddaddy of bowls. Also, the only major bowl that had both spots locked in. Orange Bowl (Big-8 Champ v At Large) Pre-New Year’s Day (Ordered by oldest first) Sun Bowl (El Paso, TX) (Originally featured the [Border Intercollegiate Athletic Assoc.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border_Intercollegiate_Athletic_Association) champ) Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL - Now called the TaxSlayer Bowl) (Usually an SEC team and/or an ACC team) Tangerine Bowl (Orlando, FL - Since 1983 the Citrus Bowl) (MAC Champion v At Large) This was a weird bowl; before 1968 it didn’t even feature “University Division” (Div I-A) teams Liberty Bowl (Memphis, TN) (Two At Large Teams) Started in Philadelphia in 1959, played one year in Atlantic City indoors(!) in 1964, then went to Memphis Bluebonnet Bowl (Houston, TX - Defunct; ended 1987) (Two At Large Teams) Called the "Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl when played in the Astrodome from 1968 on Peach Bowl (Atlanta, GA) (Two At Large Teams, one often from the ACC) Started in 1968 Fiesta Bowl (Tempe, AZ) (WAC Champ v At Large) Started in 1971 after 1970 WAC Champion AZ St. was denied a major bowl game despite being undefeated The Fiesta Bowl barely makes the list. I view it as the beginning of the deluge. The Fiesta Bowl’s organizers moved very aggressively to obtain top-notch opponents for the WAC champion. After the Arizona schools moved to the Pac-10 in 1977, the bowl ended its affiliation with the WAC and started inviting the best At Large teams it could. By the 1981 season, it had moved to New Year’s Day, and by 1987, of course, it managed to hold the _de facto_ national championship game between #1 Miami (FL) and #2 Penn State. It was the future of bowl games being shown to us. The move by the Arizona teams to the Pac-8 (forming the Pac-10) was also the herald of the end of the classic 60s and 70s in CFB. The inauguration of ESPN guaranteed that new bowls could find a ready outlet for their games, and that conferences could get more TV exposure. But for me, the best times in college football were represented by that classic era, and its regular, predictable bowl schedule. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2017, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-bowl-games-thread/805446/29 "2017-12-31T21:51:49Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > But for me, the best times in college football were represented by that classic era, and its regular, predictable bowl schedule. Amen. We don’t need a Raycom Media Camellia Bowl or a Foster Farms Bowl, which ironically, was won by Purdue. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2018, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-bowl-games-thread/805446/30 "2018-01-01T07:22:36Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Amen. We don’t need a Raycom Media Camellia Bowl or a Foster Farms Bowl, which ironically, was won by Purdue. Bowls allow three more weeks of practice for eligible teams; its important in today’s limited practice football. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2018, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-bowl-games-thread/805446/31 "2018-01-01T21:00:39Z")
> [@Queen\_Anne\_s\_Lace](#): > > I’d be happy with the B1G going 7-1 in bowl games with the loss being by what I’m guessing is your team since you called Ohio State just Ohio. Damn. So close to a B1G sweep of their bowl games, but Harbaugh and Michigan had to shit the bed. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2018, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-bowl-games-thread/805446/32 "2018-01-01T21:37:07Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > There is no way UCF can beat Auburn with their defense. I predict a 45-14 scoreline. But I hope I’m wrong. Close. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2018, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-bowl-games-thread/805446/33 "2018-01-01T22:45:19Z")
> [@Doctor\_Who](#): > > Close. I was really wrong in this game and in the USC Ohio St game. I like Oklahoma and Alabama in the other games today. Smart betters will head to the bookie and bet on Georgia and Clemson. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2018, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-bowl-games-thread/805446/34 "2018-01-01T23:12:08Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > I was really wrong in this game and in the USC Ohio St game. > > I like Oklahoma and Alabama in the other games today. Smart betters will head to the bookie and bet on Georgia and Clemson. 😉 I was just kidding you. I never know what’s going to happen. So far I would go with your Oklahoma pick over my Dawgs. Ugly. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2018, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-bowl-games-thread/805446/35 "2018-01-01T23:45:53Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Amen. We don’t need a Raycom Media Camellia Bowl or a Foster Farms Bowl, which ironically, was won by Purdue. Who won the Chamomile Tea Bowl? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2018, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-bowl-games-thread/805446/36 "2018-01-01T23:55:04Z")
Well, good year so far for the Big Ten. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2018, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-bowl-games-thread/805446/37 "2018-01-01T23:59:49Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Well, good year so far for the Big Ten. Uh, it’s OVER for the BiG. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-bowl-games-thread/805446/38 "2018-01-02T00:45:08Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Damn. So close to a B1G sweep of their bowl games, but Harbaugh and Michigan had to shit the bed. I’ve never seen a shit-soaked bed that smelled so sweet! Go Cocks! ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-bowl-games-thread/805446/39 "2018-01-02T02:07:22Z")
How about this Georgia Oklahoma game now? Double overtime! ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-bowl-games-thread/805446/40 "2018-01-02T02:11:44Z")
While the game would have been closer and more exciting if it weren’t for Washington State’s excellent QB being injured, I really enjoyed the Holiday Bowl. It wasn’t just because my alma mater won big. Washinton State brought their fancy shmancy, small, fast, finesse-based defense to a cage fight. The first Michigan State possession of the 2nd quarter was a throat punch in response. 9:24 of game clock, 16 plays, and 81 yards capped with a touchdown. It was a thing of slow-motion beauty. The defense didn’t really recover until the game was out of reach. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-bowl-games-thread/805446.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-bowl-games-thread/805446.md?page=3)