Kickoff: Bowl Season Official Newsletter – September 2022

CONSISTENTLY RELIABLE Changes Abound, Bowl Season Remains a Constant in College Football

By KEVIN M c NAMARA

It’s not easy being a college football fan these days. You wake up one morning and discover that your conference rival is pulling up stakes and waving goodbye. The next week you learn that the College Football Playoff (CFP) is considering quadrupling in size and that half your offensive line is entering the transfer portal.

At the same time, a different set of fans are excitedly rallying around a new name, image and likeness (NIL) deal pairing the star running back at Old State U. with their family pharmacy chain. Or maybe happily welcoming a new quarterback via the beforementioned transfer portal.

This is college football in 2022. Fans, school leaders, coaches and student-athletes all adjusting to massive changes. Some are welcome, while others can cause some challenges.

“There has been more changes in college football over the last three years than probably the first 25,” said Penn State coach James Franklin. “That’s prompted great discussions and dialogue.”

The good thing is that, thankfully, the games begin again every September. That’s when the bands start to play, the stadiums fill, the student-athletes do their thing, and the sport shines.

“There seems to be more changes occurring in college athletics now than ever before and I don’t think that’s going to change anytime soon,” said Nick Carparelli, the executive director of Bowl Season. “But while these things evolve, Bowl Season continues to sit prominently at the conclusion of every college football season. It will certainly evolve as well. But sports fans will always be able to look forward to

“There has been more changes in college football over the last three years than probably the first 25. That’s prompted great discussions and dialogue. ”

JAMES FRANKLIN, PENN STATE COACH

watching bowl games during those three weeks in late December and early January each year.”

Carparelli knows all about embracing change. Bowl Season’s 43 partners are always juggling new dates and presenting sponsors but their work extends one of the greatest and longestrunning traditions in American sports. Those traditions surrounding the bowls and college football’s postseason has endured for over 100 years, whether it’s the pageantry of the Rose Bowl, the blue carpet at the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl or the sight of college football players competing at Yankee Stadium in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl.

The impact that each of the bowl games has not only on the players and coaches, but the spirit squads, marching bands and each school’s alumni is palpable. The benefits each bowl game experience generates

for the host communities around the country puts a great cap on each college football season.

“Every bit of this matters,” Tulsa coach Philip Montgomery said after his team’s bowl game win last December. “We just finished up our season on a big win and we are now Myrtle Beach Bowl Presented by TaxAct champions and that means something.”

The opportunity to end a season with a high-level game against a challenging opponent and have the result become a community rallying point for entire program – or an entire state — is a yearly event thanks to Bowl Season.

“Like I said a long time ago, I used to be one of the people in the stands,” said Arkansas coach Sam Pittman in January after his team’s bowl victory. “To me (winning the Outback Bowl) is as big as you can get to our players. We’ve come a long way. We are

“ We just finished up our season on a big win and we are now Myrtle Beach Bowl Presented by TaxAct champions and that means something.”

PHILIP MONTGOMERY, TULSA COACH

really pleased with how the Arkansas people followed us here. I know they spent their hard-earned money to get here and we’re so appreciative of that.”

While the transfer portal shakes up rosters and the advent of NIL deals is altering bank accounts, the most discussed change on the college football landscape is conference expansion. Last summer Oklahoma and Texas dropped a bomb on the sport by announcing a jump to the Southeastern Conference. That move raised eyebrows everywhere with most observers believing more movement was to come. Sure enough, the Big Ten announced this summer that it plans to add UCLA and the University of Southern California.

But interestingly you could make a case that the expansion game has little effect on Bowl Season. Whether the SEC places 10 or 12 teams in bowls, for example, it doesn’t matter much. Those teams, if deserving, need a place to go bowling and the sport’s post-season will be ready to welcome whoever qualifies to compete in meaningful games in Arizona, Florida, California, Michigan and many more locales around the country.

“College football’s postseason consists of two equally important parts — the College Football Playoff and Bowl Season. The sport needs both,” Carparelli said. “While it is important to have a mechanism to crown a national champion, there will never be enough spots in a playoff to satisfy all of the teams deserving of a meaningful postseason experience. Bowl Season is one of the greatest traditions in American sports and continues to play a prominent role on the American sports calendar each year.”

This year’s Bowl Season kicks off on Dec. 16 with the Hometown Lenders Bahamas Bowl and the Duluth Trading Cure Bowl. Seven more games dominate the schedule the very next day.

The College Football Playoff semifinals are scheduled for the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta and the VRBO Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, AZ on New Year’s Eve. The national championship game is set for Jan. 9 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

Welcome back, college football. Time to get the games started and play another great season that will close out, once again, with a fantastic Bowl Season.

SPRINGBOARD TO SUCCESS

Some Teams Use Momentum from Bowl Season as Fuel for the Coming Year

By KEVIN M c NAMARA

Few things in college football can ignite sustained success like a great showing (win or lose) during Bowl Season. A good month of practice during December culminating with a quality performance in the bowl game can provide a springboard of momentum for the following season. Here are a few teams to watch this fall who opened plenty of eyes with their efforts to close out 2021:

The Bears enjoyed a breakout 12-2 campaign, a Big 12 title and the program’s first Sugar Bowl win since 1957. Coach Dave Aranda’s team needs to replace 14 senior starters but the No. 10 ranked Bears are poised to contend for the Big 12 title once again. A strong offensive line and defensive stalwarts like Siaki Ika and Dillon Doyle will lead the way. The program has a lot of positive mojo right now.

The Utes didn’t win a Rose Bowl game that will live for the ages, but few teams are better positioned to sustain success at an unprecedented level than Kyle Whittingham’s team. Utah led Ohio State into the fourth quarter before the Buckeyes rallied for 17 points, including a go-ahead field goal with just nine seconds on the clock. Utah (10-4) won its first-ever PAC-12 championship and now wants to return for its second-ever Rose Bowl appearance. The Utes are ranked No. 7 in the preseason Associated Press poll and boast 17 returning starters and nine all-conference selections among 60 veteran letter-winners including QB Cameron Rising and star running back Tavion Thomas.

There’s nothing like winning in Bowl Season and Kentucky is riding a four-year winning streak under Coach Mark Stoops. The Wildcats nearly lost a 10-point halftime lead but quarterback Will Levis and punishing running back Chris Rodriguez helped lead a game-winning touchdown drive in the final minutes. Both players return to Lexington for a UK team that’s picked second in the SEC East and No. 20 in the AP poll. Can they challenge Georgia?

The Bearcats roared into the College Football Playoff (CFP) semis at the Cotton Bowl after their greatest season in school history. A perfect 13-0 run through the American Athletic Conference gave a non-Power-Five school its first-ever CFP appearance. Coach Luke Fickell’s squad is an amazing 22-2 over the last two seasons but will need some newcomers to step up to keep things going. Holdover linebacker Deshawn Pace will be joined by his brother, Ivan, on defense and every offensive line starter from the Cotton Bowl returns for the No. 23 Bearcats.

SEASONED VETERANS:

Jason Taylor II leads an experienced group of OSU Cowboys into 2022 with sights on a Big 12 title.

OKLAHOMA STATE

Cowboy fans will remember their stirring comeback win over the Irish for as long as they play football in Stillwater. OSU pulled off the biggest comeback in school history, storming back from a 21-point deficit to grab a New Year’s Day victory in Glendale, Arizona. Oklahoma State is expected to contend in the Big 12 and is ranked No. 9 in the AP poll. With a quarterback like Spencer Sanders, this is a team that could make a return to a Jan. 1 bowl game.

TENNESSEE

Volunteer fans certainly didn’t appreciate the controversial ending to a thrilling overtime loss in Nashville, but that doesn’t stop them from having some optimistic expectations for 2022. Coach Josh Heupel’s team owns the firepower to challenge Georgia and Kentucky in the SEC East and greatly improve on last season’s 7-6 finish. The Vols averaged an eyepopping 39 points a game and return a possible Heisman candidate in quarterback Hendon Hooker (who has a fleet of skill players alongside him led by receiver Cedric Tillman).

Oklahoma State

Notre Dame

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Purdue Tennessee

NORTH CAROLINA ST.

The Wolfpack were set to tangle with UCLA in the San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl in December and try to cap off a breakout 9-3 season with an important win during Bowl Season. But in what was (hopefully) a final reminder of COVID-19’s impact on the sport, the Bruins had to drop out of the game just hours before kickoff due to a virus outbreak. While Holiday Bowl officials presented N.C. State with the winning trophy, this year’s team is poised to make another splash come Bowl Season and contend for the ACC championship. Quarterback Devin Leary (35 TD’s vs. 5 INT’s) is a player to watch for a Wolfpack team that enters the season ranked No. 13 in the

SOMETHING TO SAY: South Carolina is ready to take the next step in the SEC East in 2022

SOUTH CAROLINA

South Carolina was a double-digit underdog by kickoff, but the Gamecocks ignored the prognosticators and got off to a roaring start in the contest. Quarterbacks Dakereon Joyner and Zeb Noland both helped spark a running game that racked up 301 yards on the ground in a convincing win in this Border War Battle in Charlotte. The victory capped off a stirring first season for coach Shane Beamer as the Gamecocks registered wins over Florida, Auburn and UNC down the stretch and are seen as a team to watch in the loaded SEC this season.

South Carolina

North Carolina

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2021-22 Bowl Season

By the NUmbers

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BOWL GAMES

Bowl Challenge Cup

Experienced by:

4K+

STUDENT-ATHLETES PARTICPATED

37K+Avg.GamePer

1.45M FANS IN ATTENDANCE

Presented by:

The Bowl Challenge Cup is awarded annually to the conference with the best win-loss record during Bowl Season. The Mountain West came out on top this year with a 5-1 record. Alltime, the Mountain West (2004-05, 2007-08, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2021-22) has won the cup the most at five times. Of the Power Five Conferences, the SEC has won the cup three times (2013-14, 2015-16, 2019-20). The Bowl Challenge Cup began in 2002.

2021-22 BOWL CHALLENGE CUP FINAL STANDINGS

4.7M Avg. Per Game

183M TELEVISION VIEWERS

34M

The cumulative number of people reached over the 16 game broadcasts of Bowl Season Radio this year.

The Official Podcast of Bowl Season is Ready to Roll on Season Two

33.25K

The number of total listens/views (through 2/28) of the inaugural season of Bowl Season Stories podcast, featuring 57 great guests throughout the first installment.

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING SPONSORS

Bowl Season Stories is back for its second season. The official podcast of Bowl Season, it garnered national attention in 2021-22, hoisting itself into the top five percent of first-year podcasts. With more than 33,000 downloaded episodes, Bowl Season Stories took a trip down memory lane with stories from legendary players such as Reggie Wayne, Tony Dorsett, Rocket Ismail and Roman Harper, among others. Key college football analysts from across the country such as Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe and Christine Williamson gave their hottest takes and predictions surrounding the college football landscape, and touched on their favorite Bowl Season moments. Executive directors from 20 bowl games last season talked up how important their bowl game’s impact is to the studentathletes, community and games. With a new college football season ready to kick off, Bowl Season Stories is returning with many more of the magical moments and matchups on all streaming platforms. Season two is ready to roll, and Bowl Season Stories will continue to pull back the curtain on personal stories from athletes, insights from lead analysts on the college teams that may make a big move in 2022, while reminiscing the best bowl game traditions.