The 5 Worst 2016 College Football Bowl Games
By Ty Duffy
There are 40 college football bowl games. Most range from mediocre to borderline unwatchable. We pointed out the five best in an earlier post. Here are the five worst.
Quick Lane Bowl: Maryland vs. Boston College
Both programs went 6-6. Both programs were most notable in 2016 for horrific losses to quality opponents. A trip to Detroit was a fitting reward. The most exciting thing either team offers is Maryland’s run game. That should be countered by BC’s run defense. Not sure this game could fill Ford Field paying people to attend.
Liberty Bowl: Georgia vs. TCU
Georgia and TCU are two disappointing programs. They lost close. They lost ugly. They deserve their holiday trip to Memphis. No one outside of fans of these teams wants to see them play again. Fans of these teams may want to watch them play even less.
St. Petersburg Bowl: Miami (Ohio) vs. Mississippi State
Miami went 6-0 over the second half of the season to finish 6-6. But, this is still a 6-6 MAC team playing a SEC team that went 4-7 vs. FBS, struggled with UMass, and lost to South Alabama. Reasonable possibility Mississippi State has an interim coach. You have something better to do, even if it is picking at leftovers and aimlessly flipping channels.
Outback Bowl: No. 17 Florida vs. Iowa
Florida has no offense. The Gator defense is more than capable of shutting down Iowa’s offense. Both teams will try to run the ball and run down the clock between plays. The game should finish in a timely fashion. It has that going for it.
New Mexico Bowl: New Mexico vs. Texas-San Antonio
Bowl play gets the party started at 2 pm on Dec. 17, with a New Mexico home game against a team that finished 6-6 in Conference USA. It’s a poignant reminder of what bowl play is all about: ESPN trying to milk ratings out of underwhelming TV inventory during a down period.