It’s bowl season
With the college football season coming to an end, there are several bowl games to look out for
December 12, 2019
The 2019-2020 NCAA college football regular season has come to a close, so now it is bowl season. Over a two week span, there will be various key match-ups between some of the powerhouse teams around the country.
Perhaps the most important bowl games are the two college football playoff semifinal match-ups. The first of these is the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl between the LSU Tigers and the Oklahoma Sooners. The Tigers won the SEC championship against Georgia in a lopsided affair, capping off their perfect regular season and bringing their record to 13-0. They have been led by their Heisman winning quarterback Joe Burrow and beaten ranked opponents such as Alabama, Auburn, Florida, and Georgia, which gave them a resume to be considered the number one team in the country. The Big 12 champion Sooners sit at 12-1 for the season and ranked fourth in the nation, who have their own Heisman award finalist in quarterback Jalen Hurts. They have an upset loss to unranked Kansas State, but earned their way into the playoffs with wins against Texas, Oklahoma State, and two wins against Baylor. This game is on Dec 28 at 4 p.m. on ESPN.
The other semifinal match-up is between Ohio State and Clemson in the Playstation Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 28 at 8 p.m. on ESPN. Ohio State has gone 13-0 this season, with three potential future high NFL draft picks: quarterback Justin Fields, running back J.K. Dobbins, and defensive end Chase Young. The Buckeyes have notched several double-digit wins against ranked opponents, such as Michigan, Penn State, and two victories over Wisconsin. The Clemson Tigers, on the other hand, are defending national champions and also have a perfect record going into the playoffs. Head Coach Dabo Swinney has put together a culture at Clemson that has resulted in two national championships in the past three years. This season the team has beaten teams such as Virginia, South Carolina, and Florida State.
One Florida team who has a bowl game this season is the University of Central Florida, who will be competing against Marshall in the Gasparilla Bowl at Raymond James Stadium on Dec. 23. The Knights are 9-3, and have wins against teams such as USF, Tulane, Houston, and Temple. Marshall is 8-4, and will be competing in their second consecutive Gasparilla Bowl. Last year they beat the USF Bulls, so they will look to be back-to-back Gasparilla Bowl champions.
One bowl game with a storied history is the Rose Bowl, which will this year will see the Oregon Ducks take on the Wisconsin Badgers. Both teams are ranked in the top ten, and competed in their conference championship games. Wisconsin lost a battle against national championship hopefuls Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game, while Oregon defeated Utah in the PAC-12 championship.
Bowl games provide exciting games for both the nation and the fans of these teams, giving them a chance for one last moment of glory before some of the seniors or future draft picks before they leave the team.
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