It's the most wonderful time of the year.
Bowl season isn't what it used to be. For one, it didn't use to be a season; it used to be just a day. Two, there are far too many bowls. Teams that finish the season 5-7 or 6-7 can, under some conditions, get a waiver to play in the post-season if there is a dearth of bowl-eligible teams for the litany of bowl games on the schedule. Three, the BCS and later the College Football Playoff took a lot of value from big-name bowls like the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl. The Rose Bowl is almost a consolation prize for the top team in the Big Ten. I never thought I'd see that day.
That said, these games still have a lot of spectator value especially as they proliferate through the holidays. They start Saturday with some interesting teams you'll want to watch on the weekend. Here's your first viewing guide for the holidays.
Saturday
New Mexico vs. Texas San Antonio [New Mexico Bowl] (ESPN, 2 p.m.). The New Mexico Bowl again highlights its niche as the first bowl game of the year. The Lobos will effectively host the Roadrunners, who are appearing in their first-ever bowl game. The Roadrunners have only been playing FBS football since 2012.
Bob Davie, coaching in his second-straight New Mexico Bowl, has revived his career in Albuquerque. (Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports)
Watch the Lobos' ground game; you won't be disappointed. Led by Teriyon Gipson and Tyrone Owens, the Lobos lead the country in rushing offense. It's something Bob Davie wanted to make deliberate when he came to Albuquerque after watching Navy as a color commentator for ESPN.
Notwithstanding the better season and tougher competition New Mexico plays in-conference, it's only a touchdown favorite over a 6-6 UTSA team.
Houston vs. San Diego State [Las Vegas Bowl] (ABC, 3:30 p.m.). This bowl game could've been so much more but it should be fun anyway.
The Cougars had their eyes on a bigger prize when the season started. However, Houston stumbled against Navy, seemingly costing it a shot at the playoff. Southern Methodist later routed it, costing the Cougars a shot at the New Year's Six. It ended the regular season with a road loss at Memphis and will finish its season here.
It will be without Tom Herman, who peaced out Houston after a year and will take over the Texas program. Todd Orlando was momentarily the interim coach before Houston promoted Major Applewhite to full-time head coach. Todd Orlando may or may not remain with the program after this season, but Houston says he has a standing offer to remain as Houston's defensive coordinator.
San Diego State had a good season by outward appearances. It's the Mountain West Conference champion after all. However, an early season loss by 17 points at South Alabama torpedoed the New Year's Six chase. The Aztecs had the Mountain West West (sic) division secured for weeks and played with no urgency down the stretch. It ended the regular season with back-to-back losses to Wyoming and Colorado State. It rebounded to beat Wyoming in Laramie by a field goal to win the conference championship.
Houston is a four-point favorite. Victory for Applewhite will mean containing Donnel Pumphrey. Pumphrey is second in the country with 2,018 rushing yards. He averages 155 yards a game.
Appalachian State vs. Toledo [Camellia Bowl] (ESPN, 5:30 p.m.). The "Camellia Bowl" is a clever way to hide the fact this bowl game will be played in Montgomery, Alabama. The camellia is the state flower and a convenient way to label a bowl game in which no team should aspire to play in a state in which no person should aspire to be.
This is Appalachian State's second-straight trip to this game. It beat Ohio 31-29 in last year's encounter. The Mountaineers will play as the co-champs of the Sun Belt. It shares the honor with an Arkansas State team that also finished 7-1 though the two teams did not play each other this season.
Incidentally, Toledo did play Arkansas State this year. It beat the Red Wolves in Arkansas by three touchdowns.
This game is a pick 'em, though the Rockets boast the No. 4 total offense in the country.
Central Florida vs. Arkansas State [Cure Bowl] (CBS Sports, 5:30 p.m.). Scott Frost's first year in Central Florida results in a 20-minute trip across Orlando to the Cure Bowl.
Scott Frost delivered a bowl to UCF in his first year. (Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports)
The Golden Knights are limping into this bowl game as a 6-6 team. They started the season 1-2 with losses at Michigan and home to Maryland. They clawed their way to a 6-4 record, albeit with losses at Houston and home to Temple along the way. It dropped two-straight by a combined 32 points to finish 6-6.
This is still better than last year's record. UCF was winless in 2015.
Arkansas State enters this game as the aforementioned Sun Belt co-champs, but its record is 7-5. Arkansas State had a brutal 0-4 start to the year. Three of these losses were defensible (Toledo, at Auburn, at Utah State). The other loss, at home to FCS Central Arkansas, is a head-scratcher.
Vegas likes Central Florida by six in what amounts a home game.
Southern Mississippi vs. Louisiana Lafayette [New Orleans Bowl] (ESPN, 9 p.m.). The New Orleans Bowl continues its tradition as the night cap to the first day of bowl games. The teams are unlikely to excite the casual viewer even if they're proximate to the bowl game's venue. The Superdome should have a solid turnout even if both teams are 6-6.
Each team's schedule is punctuated with some bad losses. Southern Mississippi, for example, lost by 11 at home to a 4-8 Charlotte team. Louisiana Lafayette lost by six on the road to a New Mexico State team that finished with three wins and is barely clinging to FBS status.
Southern Miss does have that nine-point road win over Kentucky to its credit. That might be one reason Vegas likes the Golden Eagles by five in this contest.
