Most intriguing non-College Football Playoff Bowl games

The College Football Playoff Committee released its final rankings Sunday, meaning we now know who the 12 teams that will be vying for a National Championship are. While those 12 are the only teams left to contend for a championship, the rest of the 70 bowl-eligible teams still have something to play for, and all found out their bowl designation on Sunday.

Let's take a look at some of the most intriguing bowl matchups. To be clear, these will be non-College Football Playoff bowls, which rules out all New Year's Six bowl games as those are the College Football Playoff quarterfinal and semifinal games.

Valero Alamo Bowl: BYU vs. Colorado:

The most intriguing non-CFP bowl is the Alamo Bowl, though I'd like to call it the 'Missed-Out-On-The-Big12-Championship Bowl'. After Colorado, BYU, Arizona State and Iowa State finished in a four-way tie atop the conference standings, Arizona State and Iowa State made the Big 12 Championship game due to tiebreakers, leaving Colorado and BYU with no shot at the CFP.

The No. 17 Cougars and No. 23 Buffaloes will get to play their version of the Big 12 Championship in the Alamodome on December 28. In the new world of player opt-outs in bowl games, fans will be thrilled to hear that Colorado head coach Deion Sanders said quarterback Shedeur Sanders and two-way player and Heisman hopeful Travis Hunter will both play. BYU had a disappointing end to its season, dropping two of its last three games to fall out of the Big 12 championship, but a high-profile bowl win could salvage a successful season.

Pop-Tarts Bowl: Miami vs. Iowa State:

Another matchup of teams disappointed not to be in the field of 12 will take place in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando. The Cyclones were a win in the Big 12 Championship game away from making the CFP, and if Miami had beaten Syracuse in the final week of the season they likely would have made the playoff win or lose in the ACC Championship.

Instead, the No. 13 Hurricanes and No. 18 Cyclones will be playing for a tastier prize: A massive Pop-Tart. Miami quarterback, and potential number-one overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Cam Ward confirmed his plans to play in the game, giving fans one last time to see the star quarterback in a Miami uniform. You can guarantee NFL scouts will be in attendance to get one last look at Ward in a game before this spring's NFL Combine.

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ReliaQuest Bowl: Alabama vs. Michigan:

Finally, while this last bowl game doesn't feature two ranked teams, it's intriguing nonetheless. The ReliaQuest Bowl is giving fans a rematch of last season's overtime thriller in the CFP Seminifal at the Rose Bowl, when Michigan stopped Alabama on fourth-and-goal to advance to the National Championship. The No. 11 Crimson Tide are the first team out of the CFP and are likely disappointed in their bowl assignment, not playing another ranked team.

Michigan, on the other hand, have a very tough draw in Alabama but have to be thrilled with getting the opportunity to pull off another upset after shocking No. 2 Ohio State two weeks ago. Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said he isn't expecting many opt-outs, meaning we'll likely get to see quarterback Jalen Milroe run all over the field one final time this season.

The Wolverines went a disappointing 7-5 to follow up their National Championship in 2023, but beating Alabama for the second straight season in a bowl game could give them important momentum as they head into an important offseason of recruiting.

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