All that’s left of this year's college football season is the National Championship this Monday. While we wait to watch the two best teams in college football square off (sorry UCF, you can’t repeat as self proclaimed champs again), let's take a look how each conference made out this year during bowl season.
NCAAF: DEC 15 Cure Bowl - Tulane v Louisiana
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American Athletic Conference (AAC)
Wins: Tulane, Cincinnati
Losses: South Florida, Memphis, Houston, Temple, UCF
Record 2-5
The two bright spots for the AAC; Tulane showed up with a convincing win over a decent Louisiana team, and Cincy pulled out a last minute win against Virginia Tech.
Now the bad. South Florida, Houston, and Temple lost by a combined total of 164-61. Led by a disastrous 70-14 loss to Army, Houston took the worst of it by surrendering 507 rushing yards. THAT IS NOT A TYPO. I can spell that out for you. Five hundred and seven yards. Still not getting it? That’s half of what Washington St. rushed for in 13 games this year (1010 yards). That’s pure insanity. Memphis lost to a 6-6 Wake Forest team, and Temple gave up 42 unanswered points to Duke after having an early lead. Lastly, UCF’s undefeated streak ended at 25 after they lost a tough game to LSU.
All in all, it was a bad showing for the AAC. Usually very competitive and fun to watch, let’s hope the AAC can do better next year.
NCAAF: DEC 29 CFP Semifinal - Clemson v Notre Dame
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Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)
Wins: Wake Forest, Duke, Syracuse, Virginia, Clemson
Losses: Georgia Tech, Miami, Virginia Tech, Pitt, North Carolina State
Record: 5-5
The ACC split so far going 5-5. Boston College had their game cancelled and Clemson still has the National Championship game to play. Wake held off a great Memphis offense and got a close three point victory, while Duke went on a tear and couldn't be stopped, scoring 42 in a row to coast to a victory. Syracuse took care of West Virginia without Will Grier, and Virginia pitched a shutout against South Carolina. Most impressively, Clemson put a hurting on Notre Dame holding them to only three points all game, advancing them to the College Playoff finals.
Georgia Tech disappointed as a favorite by losing to Minnesota. Miami and NC State got embarrassed, losing 35-3 and 52-13. Pitt lost a tough defensive battle to Stanford by one, and VT lost in the final minutes to a good Cincy team.
It’s a mixed bag here, with some big wins and disappointing losses. If Clemson can win the Championship, the ACC will obviously look a lot better, but they just aren’t the conference they used to be.
NCAAF: DEC 26 Cheez-It Bowl - California v TCU
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Big 12 Conference
Wins: TCU, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Texas
Losses: West Virginia, Iowa State, Oklahoma
Record: 4-3
With their College Playoff hopes in Oklahoma, the Big 12 went 4-3 in the bowls this year. Here’s some stats for you: 7-20, 27 yards and 4 interceptions. These were the numbers for Grayson Muehlstein of TCU, the WINNING quarterback. In a defense battle for the ages, TCU won 10-7 against Cal in a game that featured 9 interceptions. Texas also had a big win over Georgia who were still salty about being left out of the playoffs. Baylor had a nice win over Vandy and Oklahoma St. won as underdogs behind the mullet of Mike Gundy.
West Virginia lost without Will Grier, and Iowa St. missed a two pointer that would have brought them to OT. Unfortunately Oklahoma ran into Alabama, and couldn't outlast the platoon of future NFL players Nick Saban put on the field.
I actually think the Big 12 fared very well this year. Grier sat, OK ran into the buzzsaw that is Alabama, and Iowa St. lost by two to a better Wash St. team. If Grier plays and Iowa St. gets the two pointer at the end of the game, we could have seen the BIG 12 sitting at 6-1.
NCAAF: JAN 01 Rose Bowl - Washington v Ohio State.
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Big Ten Conference
Wins: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Iowa, Ohio State
Losses: Purdue, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State
Record: 5-4
The Big Ten squeezed out a winning record going 5-4. Minnesota won easily as an underdog, while Wisconsin beat up on Miami 35-3. Northwestern won a hard fought game against Utah by 11. Iowa and Ohio St both won close games and beat very good opponents in Mississippi St. and Washington.
Purdue got demolished 63-14 by Auburn and Michigan got manhandled by Florida 41-15. Michigan St. lost a heartbreaking defensive battle 6-7 to Oregon, giving up only 203 total yards of offense in the defeat. Penn St. came up short against Kentucky 27-24 after giving up 17 points in the 3rd quarter.
The Big Ten, although losing four games, had a pretty good bowl showing. Besides two blowouts, they won five and kept the other two games they lost very close. There is a lot of room for improvement here and I wouldn't be surprised to see a much stronger showing next year by the Big Ten.
NCAAF: DEC 20 Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl - Marshall v South Florida
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Conference USA
Wins: UAB, Marshall, Florida International, Louisiana Tech
Losses: Middle Tennessee State, North Texas
Record: 4-2
Conference USA went a solid 4-2 in the bowls. UAB, Marshall, and Louisiana Tech all won while holding their opponents to 20 or fewer points, and FIU upset a good Toledo team.
Both coming in at about 7 point underdogs, Middle Tennessee and North Texas got beat down early and often. It was a 45-13 drubbing of Middle Tennessee by Appalachian St. and besides an early FG, they were trailing the whole game. North Texas also got shredded 52-13. With great recruiting and new facilities, North Texas is an up and comer in the way of UCF, but they still have some work to do.
Conference USA had a great bowl campaign this year with solid victories by way of defense and upsets. I like this conference to be just as good if not better next year.
NCAAF: DEC 19 Frisco Bowl - San Diego State v Ohio
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Mid-American Conference (MAC)
Record: 1-5
Wins: Ohio
Losses: Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois, Toledo, Western Michigan, Buffalo
The MAC went a terrible 1-5 and Ohio’s win over San Diego St. was the only bright spot. They won a 27-0 shutout while holding the Aztecs to under 300 yards of offense.
Buffalo was the biggest disappointment after they had a great year. The lost their final game to Troy by 10. Western Michigan and Northern Illinois got beat by BYU and UAB with ease. Eastern Michigan and Toledo kept it close but couldn't pull it out, losing by a combined total of 5 points.
The MAC put on a poor showing in this years bowl games, and it might not get better next year either.
NCAAF: DEC 29 Arizona Bowl - Arkansas State v Nevada
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Mountain West Conference (MWC)
Wins: Fresno State, Utah State, Nevada
Losses: San Diego State, Hawaii
Record: 3-2
The MWC went 3-2, and added a “no contest” from Boise St. Fresno St. beat a Herm Edwards led Arizona St. by 11. They continued their great defensive play and held a good offense to just 21. Nevada pulled out a close one by three in OT, and Utah St. racked up 52 against North Texas.
Hawaii lost and was held to only 14 points, while San Diego St. got shutout by Ohio. The biggest loss though was the cancelation of the First Responder Bowl. Boise St. played a little over five minutes in the first quarter, and before they knew it their season was over when bad weather canceled the game.
The canceled game was unfortunate, but so were the losses the MWC faced this bowl season. A few decent wins, but all in all I wasn't impressed with the Mountain West.
NCAAF: DEC 31 Redbox Bowl - Michigan State v Oregon
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Pac-12 Conference
Wins: Washington State, Stanford, Oregon
Losses: Arizona State, California, Utah, Washington
Record: 3-4
Although they finished at 3-4, the wins were quality, and the losses were tough. Washington St. held off a late two point attempt by Iowa St. to win by two, and Stanford outlasted Pitt 14-13. Oregon went into the 4th quarter down six and struck for a TD with 11 minutes left in the game. That was the last of the scoring, allowing Oregon to pull out a 7-6 win.
The four losses sound bad, but all the games were close against very good opponents. Arizona St. played hard but lost to a tough Fresno St. team. Cal didn’t want to win the game so they threw five picks on the way to a sloppy 10-7 loss to TCU. Utah was upset by a very good Northwestern team and Washington had the unfortunate task of playing Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes. They kept it close, but lost by five.
I really like the effort put forth here by the PAC-12. The numbers in the win/loss column do not properly represent how they played. Look for them to win a few more bowl games next year.
NCAAF: DEC 29 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl - Florida v Michigan
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Southeastern Conference (SEC)
Wins: Auburn, Florida, Alabama, Kentucky, LSU, Texas A&M
Losses: Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Missouri, Mississippi State, Georgia
Record: 6-5
The SEC disappointed with a 6-5 record. I say disappointed because with all the big names in the conference, I expected more. That being said, they did have some quality wins. Here is my Auburn vs. Purdue storyline: Auburn played Purdue. Auburn scored 56 in the first half. Auburn won. Florida stepped up and beat a favored Michigan team. Alabama and Nick Saban took care of business and casually continued their way to a chance at another title. Kentucky upset an up and down Penn St. team by three, and LSU beat UCF by eight. The game wasn’t as tight as the score suggests though. After falling behind early, they did not relinquish the lead the rest of the game. Texas A&M rattled off 45 unanswered points to route an NC St. team that waslost on D.
All favorites in their bowl games...and all losers. Vandy lost a shootout to Baylor and South Carolina was shut out 28-0 by Virginia. Mizzou and Mississippi St. both lost by five, and Georgia looked uninspired in a loss to Texas.
The SEC always has a strong showing in bowl games, but I was left wanting more from them. Alabama could win another National Championship, but too many upsets here.
NCAAF: DEC 22 Dollar General Bowl - Buffalo v Troy
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Sun Belt Conference
Wins: Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, Troy
Losses: Louisiana, Arkansas State
Record: 3-2
The Sun Belt conference went 3-2, behind solid play of Appalachian St., Georgia Southern, and Troy. App St. has been on the radar since that crazy upset of Michigan in 2007. They have continued to improve and stay relevant, beating Middle Tennessee St. soundly. Georgia Southern struggled but ended up beating Eastern Michigan by two, but the game that surprised me was the Troy win over Buffalo. I followed Buff all year and had high expectations for them. Explosive offense, aggressive defense, I thought it wasn’t going to be a close contest. Well, they proved me wrong. Troy took down Buffalo 42-32 to win the Dollar General Bowl.
Their only losses were by Louisiana and Arkansas St. The Ragin Cajuns were outplayed and were chasing points all day. They came within three with 10 minutes left in the game, until Tulane closed it out with two late TDs. Arkansas St. lost a heartbreaker to Nevada. After they kicked a FG as time expired to push it to OT, they fell short.
I think the Sun Belt fared pretty well. Appalachian St. is still playing great football, Troy had a big win, and Arkansas St, almost pulled out a late upset. Look for them to repeat this performance next year, with a possibility of improving on it.
NCAAF: DEC 21 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl - W. Michigan v BYU. (Photo by Loren Orr/Getty Images)
Independents
Wins: BYU, Army
Losses: Notre Dame
Record: 2-1
The last three games come from the Independents. Finishing at 2-1, the wins were big, but the loss was bigger. BYU won easily against Western Michigan and Army went all Forrest Gump on Houston (did I mention they ran for 507 yards?).
I’ve put it off long enough. We have to talk about it. The luck of the Irish in big games. Just off the top of my head: the Bush push, Ohio St. embarrassing Charlie Weis, Alabama loss for the title (Irish were #1 in nation), Ohio St. again, and now Clemson. Why can’t they win big games when it matters? They are 5-5 in their last 10 bowl games, with two wins coming against Rutgers and Hawaii. The Irish never got started against Clemson and their defense that was too quick and strong for them. Only mustering 248 total yards and three points, this game was tough to watch.
With big wins by Army and BYU, the Independents looked strong until Notre Dame blew it. Hopefully they will be able to bounce back and compete again next year.
By Chris Czaplinski