College footballs bowl games are almost here, including 3 in Alabama?

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With the bowls starting up this weekend, once again we can finally say: Here’s what’s happening in college football Until Saturday …

Saturday’s Bowl Guide

Miami (Ohio)-App State, UCLA–Boise State highlight weekend

Here’s a quick look at each bowl game happening tomorrow, including the picks from our staff.

• Myrtle Beach Bowl: Georgia Southern (6-6) vs. Ohio (9-3), 11 a.m. on ESPN (Brooks Stadium, Conway, S.C.): Even the Bobcats have faced plenty of transfer portal turnover, including star QB Kurtis Rourke, who yesterday announced a commitment to Indiana. Georgia Southern is favored by 3.5 points, and 71 percent of our staff picked it to win.
• New Orleans Bowl: Jacksonville State (8-4) vs. Louisiana (6-6), 2:15 p.m. on ESPN (Caesars Superdome): Jacksonville State’s play in its first FBS season has been impressive and lifted the Gamecocks into a bowl despite being technically ineligible (shoutout to the lack of six-win teams). This one’s a unanimous pick for 2.5-point favorite Jacksonville State to win.
• Cure Bowl: Miami (Ohio) (11-2) vs. App State (8-5), 3:30 p.m. on ABC (FBC Mortgage Stadium, Orlando): The RedHawks had an impressive season and capped it with a MAC championship win against Toledo. But QB Aveon Smith, who started in place of injured Brett Gabbert, is in the portal. Still, 57 percent of our game pickers chose Miami (Ohio) to pull off this upset as a 6.5-point underdog.
• New Mexico Bowl: New Mexico State (10-4) vs. Fresno State (8-4), 5:45 p.m., on ESPN (University Stadium, Albuquerque): Aggies’ QB Diego Pavia is in familiar territory. He graduated from Albuquerque’s Volcano Vista High School and is expected to play despite suffering a shoulder injury in his team’s loss to Liberty in the Conference USA title game. Most of our staff picked New Mexico State in this one.
• LA Bowl: UCLA (7-5) vs. Boise State (8-5), 7:30 p.m. on ABC (SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, Calif.): Both teams will be limited at QB as starters Dante Moore (UCLA) and Taylen Green (Boise State) are in the portal. Boise State gets the staff pick as the 4.5-point underdog.
• Independence Bowl: Cal (6-6) vs. Texas Tech (6-6), 9:15 p.m. on ESPN (Independence Stadium, Shreveport, La.): Credit to Cal for winning out against Washington State, Stanford and UCLA to gain bowl eligibility. But Texas Tech is the heavy favorite, and our staff agrees.

Bowl Superlatives

Your votes are in …

We asked for your thoughts on the bowls and got some good ones:

Best bowl name: The Rose Bowl took the majority win. It’s a classic. I get it. But I was disappointed to see minimal love for the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl.

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The Pop-Tarts Bowl came in second, followed by the Avocados From Mexico Cure Bowl, Famous Idaho Potato Bowl and Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

Best food: Unsurprisingly, the mayo dump at the Duke’s Mayo Bowl takes the cake. This year, West Virginia coach Neal Brown or North Carolina coach Mack Brown will do the honors in everyone’s favorite food-themed bowl tradition.

The Cheez-It dump (Cheez-It Bowl) and french fry dump (Famous Idaho Potato Bowl) earned honorary mentions, while one voter wasn’t afraid to vote for a tradition we have yet to see in action: The Pop-Tarts Bowl edible mascot. “It’s new but it’s awesome.” (Yep, the former Cheez-It Bowl has gotten even more ridiculous.)

Best location: More love for the icons! The historic Rose Bowl located in Pasadena, Calif., was the overwhelming favorite. The Hawai’i Bowl in Honolulu received some love with one outlier favoring … Boise, Idaho? I have a few questions there.

For the real diehard fans, a trip to Alabama might be your best bet this season. “The fact there are three separate bowl games in Alabama on the same day just epitomizes the absurdity of bowl season,” one voter wrote.

With the Camellia Bowl (Arkansas State-Northern Illinois in Montgomery) and Birmingham Bowl (Troy-Duke in Birmingham) kicking off at noon on Dec. 23, you can’t get to both. But you could make it to the 68 Ventures Bowl (South Alabama-Eastern Michigan in Mobile) by 7 p.m that night.

Best matchup: This wraps up an almost-complete sweep for the Rose Bowl, which again received the most votes for its Michigan–Alabama matchup. The Sugar Bowl (the other CFP semifinal) between Texas and Washington was next in line followed by Georgia–Florida State (Orange Bowl) and Missouri–Ohio State (Cotton Bowl).

Honorable mentions: James Madison-Air Force (Armed Forces Bowl), NC State–Kansas State (Pop-Tarts Bowl), Ole Miss–Penn State (Peach Bowl) and Texas A&M-Oklahoma State (Texas Bowl).

Opt-Out Roll Call

Who’s moving on?

With bowl season upon us, here are the most notable players who won’t be playing:

Championship Weekend

D-II, D-III title game previews

There are two championship games this weekend!

• Division III: North Central (lll.) vs. Cortland (N.Y.), 7 p.m. on Friday, ESPNU (Salem Stadium in Salem, Va.). North Central is a team I am very familiar with (Chicago suburbs, represent!), and the Cardinal will be competing in their fourth consecutive D-III title game. They enter this game as the defending champs while Cortland is vying for its first title.
• Division II: Colorado School of Mines vs. Harding (Ark.), 1 p.m. on Saturday, ESPNU (McKinney ISD Stadium in McKinney, Texas): This is the title game’s first matchup of undefeated teams since 2018. The Orediggers lost in the championship last year to Ferris State, and neither of these teams has won a championship. Both rank in the top three in scoring offense and scoring defense.

Quick Snaps

The FCS playoffs are down to four teams playing this weekend: UAlbany-South Dakota State; North Dakota State-Montana.

Mitch Sherman updates Nebraska’s QB mess. With Ohio State transfer Kyle McCord reportedly out of the picture, the Huskers have put all their chips in on five-star recruit Dylan Raiola in a decision that could change the program.

How did former William & Mary OL John Pius make the jump from FCS to the Big Ten? And what will his commitment bring to the Badgers? Jesse Temple has another portal behind-the-scenes breakdown today.

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(Top photo of Clay Helton: Steven Branscombe / Getty Images)

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