G’s Exploration or We’ve Finished the First Round of Bowl Games

Posted on by G Robert

Happy holidays oh great and wonderful sports fans. It’s Monday yet again (that means one fewer before retirement) and we’ve already seen 10 bowl games! With the Music City Bowl between Iowa (25) and Missouri (54) cancelled due to a Covid outbreak in Columbia, we will have 8 bowls in the next segment. 2 conferences are done with postseason (Conference USA fell on their collective faces going 0-6 and the Sun Belt took an OT loss to finish 4-1). The Power 5 has yet to play (South Carolina would have played UAB, the Conference USA champion and predicted winner) but cancelled due to a Covid outbreak in the other Columbia.

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In the first round, the Independents and the Mountain West were 2-0 with one game left for each. The MAC was also undefeated with Buffalo beating Marshall. The AAC was a combined 1-3 with 2 games left. Here’s a breakdown of conference standings:

Green means upset win and red indicates the sadder side

Liberty (19) upset Coastal Carolina (6) giving the Chanticleers their first loss of the season and the Flames their 10th win – they finished a combined 21-2 with both losses coming on game-ending blocked field goals. Louisiana (9) got their 10th win as well outlasting the UTSA Roadrunners (50) who tied Marshall (34) for closest loss at 7 points for C-USA (the conference averaged losing by 20).

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In round 2, which will carry us from 12/29-12/31, we find some fun matchups. Top 25 matchups (we’ve only seen 1 so far with Liberty/Coastal) include Oklahoma St (21)/Miami FL (7), Colorado (24)/Texas (22), and Florida (15)/Oklahoma (11). We also see the air attack of West Virginia (49) against the triple option/ground control game of Army (27). Not to mention the MAC/MWC champions in the Arizona Bowl where Ball St (29) who gave Buffalo its only loss in the MAC championship faces another undefeated foe in San Jose St (15).

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Here’s one more table, slightly different from the first one with the winners and losers, projected by the GCR, by conference.

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I’ll check back in early on New Year’s Day to set us up for Round 3 (January bowls). Thanks for reading. Be safe out there. Please share with others and send comments/suggestions. G

One Reply to “G’s Exploration or We’ve Finished the First Round of Bowl Games”

  1. Great recap G. Was pulling for the Chanticleers and Thundering Herd to win their bowl games. 😬. Of the upcoming games; got my eye on the Gators vs Sooners.

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