Barry Lewis/KillerFrogs
Football Bowl Season: Saturday's Schedule Includes the Granddaddy of Them All; Four More
It's the hap-happiest season of all. College Bowl Season began on December 17. There are 42 bowl games featuring 84 teams plus the National Championship Game. That is until the pandemic wreaked havoc on the schedule.
New Year's Day has traditionally been the day of all the big-name bowl games. As bowl season has grown, those marquee games are spread out over a more extended time. However, for the first day of 2022, there are still five great matchups on the slate. Don't start boxing up those Christmas decorations just yet. Enjoy one more marathon day of college football.
After today, there are just two remaining games - the Texas Bowl and the National Championship Game.
Here is a preview of Saturday's five games - the Outback, Citrus, Fiesta, Rose, and Sugar Bowls.
Outback Bowl: #21 Arkansas (8-4) vs. Penn State (7-5)
Saturday, January 1 [FubotV, 11 a.m. CT, ESPN2]
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL; Line - Arkansas - 2.5; over/under 48.0
These two storied programs are meeting for the first time. Arkansas comes out of the gauntlet of the SEC West with an 8-4 record and an early-season win over Texas. Penn State spent many weeks in the Top 10 until they met their own division foes. They also suffered a midseason loss to Illinois in what would be a record-setting nine overtimes.
Many of this year's Nittany Lions team stars have opted out of the bowl game to enter the NFL draft, including five starters on the defense. This is the first bowl game for Arkansas since a 2016 appearance in the Belk Bowl. They have not played on New Year's Day since 2008 in the Cotton Bowl.
Vrbo Citrus Bowl: #22 Kentucky (9-3) vs. #15 Iowa (10-3)
Saturday, January 1 [FuboTV, noon CT, ABC]
Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL; Line - Kentucky -3.0; over/under - 44.0
Iowa comes into this game with a quarterback controversy with neither head coach Kirk Ferentz nor offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz naming a starter. Iowa's two quarterbacks, Spencer Petras and Alex Padilla, both had starts in the season, which had the Hawkeyes in the Top Five until they lost to Purdue in mid-October.
This is the first meeting between these two programs. Over the last few seasons, Kentucky has shown they are more than just a basketball school. Head coach Mark Stoops is closing in on becoming the winningest coach in Wildcat history. He finds himself in a unique situation as he will be coaching against his alma mater. Stoops played defensive back at Iowa from 1986-88.
PlayStation Fiesta Bowl: #9 Oklahoma State (11-2) vs. #5 Notre Dame (11-1)
Saturday, January 1 [FuboTV, noon CT, ESPN]
State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ; Line - Notre Dame - 1.0; over/under - 45.5
Earlier this month, KillerFrogs wrote a detailed preview of each NY6 bowl that was not a CFP semifinal game. Read the Fiesta Bowl preview here.
Rose Bowl Game: #6 Ohio State (10-2) vs. #11 Utah (10-3)
Saturday, January 1 [FuboTV, 4:00 p.m. CT. ESPN]
Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, CA; Line - Ohio State - 4.0; over/under - 64.0
In addition to the Fiesta Bowl preview, KillerFrogs wrote a detailed preview of the Granddaddy of Them All - The Rose Bowl. Read it here.
Allstate Sugar Bowl: #8 Ole Miss (10-2) vs. #7 Baylor (11-2)
Saturday, January 1 [FuboTV, 7:45 p.m. CT. ESPN]
Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, LA; Line - Ole Miss - 1.5; over/under - 57.0
Read the KillerFrogs preview of the Big 12 Conference Baylor Bears matchup versus Ole Miss here.
Enjoy the next round of College Bowl Season! The remaining two games will be previewed in future articles.
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