The Best College Football Bowl Games You Aren't Thinking About

Semifinals and New Year's Six bowls aside, the 2021-22 College Football Bowl Season is jammed with great matchups.

© Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

Bowl Season is, of course, dominated by the College Football Playoff and marquee New Year's Six bowl games. The culmination of hard-fought seasons is topped by top-10 slugfests and new matchups fans don't get to see often. However, if that's all you're watching, you're missing out.

This year's postseason schedule offers the best end-to-end slate of games in recent memory. Below, I'll lay out five of my favorite bowl matchups that I believe is flying under the radar. There's various reasons for them, from excellent matchups to fun storylines, but they all should be must-watches.

All the following times listed are in Eastern Standard Time.

Roofclaim.com Boca Raton Bowl: Western Kentucky vs. Appalachian State

Saturday, December 18, 11:00 a.m.

If you're hanging around on the first Saturday of Bowl Season, buckle up– this day is jam packed with excellent games. Bright and early to kick the day off is the nation's leading passer Bailey Zappe. He's just four touchdowns away from tying Joe Burrow's season passing touchdowns record (60), a mark he's achieved more times than not this year.

On the other side, you have Appalachian State, who's won a record seven straight bowl games; in fact, the Mountaineers have never lost a bowl game. Their pedigree extends beyond that, too: in eight seasons as an FBS member, App State has made a bowl game in seven of them and would have made a bowl game in their inaugural season if the requirements were the same (they went 7-5).

There hasn't been a defense that's put the brakes on this WKU offense that's top-five in scoring this year. Appalachian State may be the best team to as they field a terrific defense. This game is expected to be a high-flying back-and-forth affair.

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: #21 Louisiana vs. Marshall

Saturday, December 18, 9:15 p.m.

To cap the first Saturday of Bowl Season, Louisiana and Marshall slug it out in New Orleans. The Ragin' Cajuns will be directed by new head coach Michael Desormeaux after Billy Napier took the Florida head job. Desormeaux was the standing offensive coordinator and led Louisiana to be one of the better offenses in the nation. The rapport he has with veterans like Levi Lewis means this team likely won't miss a step.

Marshall quarterback Grant Wells will play in this game after suffering an injury that caused him to miss time last game. A fun fact about Wells, he's been a freshman for three years: his true freshman year he was redshirted, then he got a free year of eligibility in 2020 due to COVID and entered this year as a technical RS freshman.

These two teams matchup really well and is the perfect nightcap to what should be a great day of bowls.

Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl: UTSA vs. #24 San Diego State

Tuesday, December 21, 7:30 p.m.

UTSA is one of the best stories in the nation as they raced to 11-0 and a Conference USA title. Frank Harris led the Road Runners to a top-15 offense in points per drive this season. They match up with San Diego State's stout defense that ranks seventh in points per drive allowed. The fan support for UTSA should be strong in Frisco despite it being over six hours from campus; it's only the third bowl game in school history (2016, 2020). 

After being boat raced in the Mountain West Championship Game, San Diego State is looking to finish their 11-2 season ranked inside the Top 25. They return a swath of players that were out in the conference title game due to a COVID outbreak and will be at full strength. All American pass rusher Cameron Thomas is worth keeping an eye on in this game as he has 10 sacks this year.

Two teams who are having historic seasons clash at Toyota Stadium. They both feature All Americans, with UTSA rostering Sincere McCormick themselves. San Diego State has two All Americans– Thomas and offensive lineman William Dunkle.

AutoZone Liberty Bowl: Mississippi State vs. Texas Tech

Tuesday, December 28, 6:45 p.m.

Mississippi State has a 76.2% implied win probability and 87% of national bowl pools picked the Bulldogs to win. So, why is this on here?

The storyline involving Mike Leach and Texas Tech. There's not a whole lot of explanation needed here, but it's worth glossing over the beef here.

If Mississippi State is able to, they may run up the score in this one.

Wasabi Fenway Bowl: Virginia vs. SMU

Wednesday, December 29, 11:00 a.m.

Speaking of running up scores, if you like points, this is your game. First of all, it has one of the highest implied point totals of any bowl game. Neither team has their head coach, with Bronco Mendenhall announcing his "stepping away" from Virginia and Sonny Dykes leaving SMU to coach TCU. With both teams in limbo, what is there to lose?

It's a wacky game in more ways than who isn't there– it's played at Fenway Park in Boston. The potential for cold and messy weather is there since this is one of few bowl games played outdoors in the northern US. 

Eight Virginia starters announced their intent to transfer, including three of five offensive linemen. SMU has their own total of transfers, including their two leading receivers. If any game is going to go completely off the rails, it's this one. Tune in on Wednesday morning.

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