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The Sugar Bowl kicks off shortly after 4 p.m. eastern time today and the Gator Bowl follows from Jacksonville. After that, we are down to the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl and the Duke's May Bowl on Friday, followed by the Bahamas Bowl on Saturday.
Once those games are in the books, 100% of the attention will be placed on the College Football Playoff.
We already know the Cotton Bowl will be welcoming the home-state Texas Longhorns against Ohio State on Friday night, January 10. What's left to be determined today is whether it will be Notre Dame or Georgia battling Penn State in the Orange Bowl on Thursday night, January 9.
At the time of this writing on Thursday morning, Notre Dame is favored by 1.5 over Georgia after being on the opposite side of that spread for days. The 'Dawgs opened as 1.5-point favorites themselves.
We have t believe the the biggest, if not only reason, for the flip is that Carson Beck will not be playing after having UCL surgery on his right elbow and Gunner Stockton will take his place. But that news has been known for awhile and Stockton had a decent, if underwhelming, outing against Indiana as he completed 12-of-16 throws for all of 71 yards with an interception.
But one of the biggest advantages Notre Dame might have in this game is Jeremiyah Love at running back who has proven to be very explosive and demonstrated it with a 98-yard TD run against the Hoosiers while only totaling 10 more yards on 7 other carries.
The National Championship game will be in Atlanta on Monday, January 20.
Other than Texas's 39-31 double-overtime victory over Arizona State, the playoff games have lacked drama. Even Ohio Ste was a 20-point winner over Oregon, 41-21, in a rematch of a regular season game that was decided by a single point in the final seconds with the Ducks prevailing 32-31 as time simply ran out on the driving Buckeyes. This one was all about time, too, as Ohio State opened a can in the first 21 minutes and 13 seconds of the game by scoring 31 points on 24 plays.
But many of the other bowl games have been tightly contested and featured top quality performances.
Here's a look at some of the top performances last week.
The Maxwell Football Club honors the nation’s best defensive player with the Maxwell Award. Here’s a look at last week’s standout defenders. The 2024 winner was running back Ashton Jeanty of Boise State.
The Cyclones have won 11 games in a season for the first time in school history, courtesy of a thrilling 42-41 defeat of Miami in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Becht was instrumental in the comeback, leading his team back from a 10-point deficit in the second half. The young face of Iowa State threw for 270 yards and three touchdowns on 22-of-36 passing. And when the Cyclones needed to punch it in on fourth-and-goal in the final minute, Becht scored from a yard out to complete his fourth game-winning drive of the season.
Kansas State has won at least nine games in three straight years. Midway through the third quarter of the Rate Bowl, that ninth win seemed like a distant longshot. The Wildcats trailed Rutgers, 34-17, in Phoenix before furiously rallying back for a 44-41 victory. Edwards provided the offensive spark with 196 rushing yards, a new school record in a bowl game, a pair of receptions for 27 yards, and three total touchdowns.
It was fitting that the man who delivered one of the greatest seasons ever by a tight end would cap his career with one of the greatest bowls ever by a tight end. Even by his high standard, Fannin was unstoppable in Bowling Green’s 68 Ventures Bowl loss to Arkansas State. The 6-4, 230-pound weapon had 17 receptions for 213 yards and a spectacular TD grab that showcased his ball skills and eye-hand coordination. Fannin broke multiple records in the process, including the single-season tight end marks for receiving yards and receptions.
For a program that dismissed its head coach midway through the season, ECU sure did finish with a flurry. The Pirates won four straight regular season games under then-interim coach Blake Harrell to become bowl-eligible, and then knocked off instate rival NC State in Saturday’s Military Bowl to finish 8-5. Harris erupted for 220 rushing yards, most by any player so far this postseason, on just 17 carries. And his explosive 86-yard TD run through the Pack defense late in the fourth wound up being the winning score.
McCord opted-in to excellence in Friday night’s rout of Washington State. The senior put on a show for NFL scouts while leading the Orange to its 10th victory in Fran Brown’s debut season as the head coach. McCord picked apart the Cougar secondary for 453 yards and a Holiday Bowl-record five scoring strikes on 24-of-34 passing. He also now holds the ACC single season mark with 4,779 yards, passing former Clemson Tiger DeShaun Watson.
It looks as if Pavia will be back in Nashville in 2025, and that is great news for Commodores’ fans. The Albuquerque native capped a terrific season by leading Vandy to its first bowl victory and first winning season since 2013. He accounted for five TDs, two on the ground and three through the air, and 244 total yards as the Dores held off Georgia Tech’s late charge, 35-27.
On Christmas Eve, South Florida and San Jose State battled for five overtimes, the longest game in bowl history. Just two days later, Toledo and Pitt raised the bar in a six-OT thriller won by the Rockets. The Rockets survived the GameAbove Sports Bowl, 48-46, behind a passing game that produced 336 yards against the Panthers. Vanderdoss starred with a career-high 12 receptions for a career-high 194 yards and the game-winning TD catch from QB Tucker Gleason.
The Maxwell Football Club honors the nation’s best defensive player with the Chuck Bednarik Award. Here’s a look at last week’s standout defenders. The 2024 winner was Travis Hunter of Colorado.
The Horned Frogs will have the wind at their backs entering 2025, winning six of their final seven games, including Saturday’s New Mexico Bowl over Louisiana. TCU yielded just 209 total yards Saturday afternoon, its fewest against an FBS opponent in over two years. Elarms-Orr set the tone on D from the second level. He notched a game-high eight tackles, of which 2.5 were behind the line of scrimmage and one was a sack of Cajun QB Ben Wooldridge.
The Black Knights earned their 12th victory for the first time in Academy history, stifling Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl, 27-6. While QB Bryson Daily led the offense, Fortner paced a defense that held the Bulldogs without a touchdown in Shreveport. Fortner chipped in with a team-high seven stops, a tackle for loss, and a pass breakup, and his Pro Football Focus grade of 88.4 was his highest of the season.
Glasker flashed his enormous potential Saturday in the Alamo Bowl as BYU throttled Colorado, 36-14. The athletic 6-5, 235-pounder, who received just two offers coming out of high school, was instrumental in holding Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter, and the Buffs to a season-low nine first downs and 210 total yards. Glasker’s range and versatility was on full display as he made a team-high eight tackles, one stop for loss, and a fully extended diving interception.
The Aggies could not hold on versus USC in the Las Vegas Bowl, but Howell played one of his best games of the year in the loss. The Bowling Green transfer was a problem off the edge, helping to force three Trojan interceptions. Howell had five tackles, a sack, a pick of his own, and a pass breakup. His six total pressures and 90.6 pass rush grade were both season-highs, according to Pro Football Focus.
Playing in a bowl game for the first time in five years, Navy held off Oklahoma, 21-20, with a two-point conversion stop in the waning seconds. It was an exclamation point on a stellar season for the Midshipmen who finished 10-3. Ramos, playing in his final college game, led the defensive attack with a dozen stops and a tackle for loss while playing nearly every defensive snap for the Mids.
While the offense fueled the Red Wolves’ first bowl win since 2019, the defense contributed as well. Willekes and STAR Justin Parks, in particular, were instrumental in holding Bowling Green to just 46 net yards rushing on 24 carries in the 68 Ventures Bowl. Willekes had 11 tackles, a stop for loss, a forced fumble, and a pass breakup. According to Pro Football Focus, he also had five total pressures and a stellar grade of 91.0 against the run.
The Huskies added an exclamation point to the program’s third-ever nine-win season by handling North Carolina in the Fenway Bowl, 27-14. UConn held the Tar Heels to just 206 total yards and a single offensive touchdown after the game was already out of reach. Yates was the Huskies’ star at the point of attack. His six tackles, all solo stops, included three tackles for loss, and a sack of Michael Merdinger.
As voting for the George Munger College Coach of the Year Award winds down, more than two dozen schools are preparing to break in new head coaches in 2025. Here are the 4 biggest storylines so far from a coaching carousel that likely hasn’t stopped spinning:
After briefly retiring in 2024, Bill Belichick is returning to the sidelines in 2025 to coach North Carolina.
Belichick has been a part of eight Super Bowl champions, six as the New England Patriots head coach and two as a New York Giants assistant. But he has never coached at the college level, and he was 29-38 in his final four seasons with the Pats. The Tar Heels are all in with this hire and are prepared to provide Belichick with extensive NIL capital to improve the roster.
For the first time since 2006, there have so far been no coaching changes in the SEC, an extremely rare period of sideline stability.
Coaches like Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea, Arkansas’ Sam Pittman, Florida Billy Napier, and South Carolina’s Shane Beamer faced significant pressure when the season began. However, all four exceeded expectations by finishing the year with bowl berths and winning records.
Rich Rodriguez is returning to West Virginia after a 17-year sabbatical from the site of his biggest coaching moments. Scott Frost is back at UCF where he led the Knights to a perfect record and a top 10 finish in 2017. Bronco Mendenhall will coach in the state of Utah again, this time at Utah State. And former Delaware coach and Pennsylvania native K.C. Keeler is revisiting his roots as Temple’s new head guy.
Finally, Dan Mullen, the 2014 Munger Award winner, is back in coaching, replacing Barry Odom at UNLV.
The FBS trend of plucking winning coaches out of the FCS is peaking during this hiring cycle.
FIU (Willie Simmons), Fresno State (Matt Entz), Tulsa (Tre Lamb), Rice (Scott Abell), Temple (Keeler), UMass (Joe Harasymiak), Ball State (Mike Uremovich), Kennesaw State (Jerry Mack), New Mexico (Jimmy Eck), and Washington State (Jimmy Rogers) have all hired new head coaches with extensive track records of success at the FCS level.
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Rich Cirminiello is the VP of College Awards at Maxwell Football Club. He can be followed on Twitter at @Rich Cirminiello
CollegeFootballPoll.com's Dave Congrove is a proud, multi-year member of the Maxwell Football Club and voter of multiple awards.