By Woodrow Carroll
The college football bowl season will get under way Friday, Dec. 16 with two games. First , will be the Bahamas Bowl at 10:30 a.m. that will pit Mid-American Conference (MAC) member, Miami (Ohio), against UAB (Alabama-Birmingham). About the time the Bahamas Bowl concludes, will be the Cure Bowl, a game in which Northern Illinois lost, 47-41, to Coastal Carolina, last year.
From Friday, Dec. 16 through January 9, 2023, when the national championship game will be played in SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., there will be a withering array of college football games.
Miami (Oho) was one of the first teams to wrap up a bowl assignment. The RedHawks were only 6-6 this season, however, the Bahamas Bowl is an ‘offshore bowl such as the Hawaii Bowl and first up on the bowl schedule. Thus, teams for the Bahamas Bowl get things rolling early.
Head coach Jerry Kill, formerly at Southern Illinois (2001-2007) and at Northern Illinois (2008-2010), will return to Ford Field in Detroit when his New Mexico State Aggies play Bowling Green in the Quick Lane Bowl, 1:30 p.m., Monday, Dec. 26.
In 2010, Kill coached Northern Illinois in the MAC championship game played at Ford Field. The favored Huskies lost to Miami (Ohio), 26-21.
Getting New Mexico State eligible for a bowl game this season took considerable maneuvering by Kill and others.
To begin with, New Mexico State had a home game with San Jose State scheduled for October 26 canceled after the tragic death of a San Jose State player. However, bowl eligibility did not figure into the San Jose State picture. The Spartans, playing an 11-game schedule instead of their scheduled 12 games, ended up with a 7-4 won-loss record and achieved bowl eligibility.
Only by closing strong down the stretch was a bowl game there for New Mexico State and coach Kill. Given the situation, the NCAA gave New Mexico State a waiver to play Valparaiso and get that sixth victory. The Aggies probably were better off taking on Valparaiso than San Jose State.
Kill has a demon to exorcize: No bowl victory! Kill has coached in five bowl games, two at Northern Illinois, and three (2011-2015) at the University of Minnesota and has come short each time. It would be most fitting for Kill to win a bowl game at Ford Field where he suffered a MAC championship defeat a dozen years ago.
Big Ten Conference success opened a spot for Kill and New Mexico State!
The Quick Lane Bowl initially was to feature a Mid-American Conference team against a Big Ten team, however, with both Michigan and Ohio State in the Final Four of the NCAA playoffs this season, there were fewer Big Ten schools’ berths available after the other bowl games had dried up in the Quick Lane Bowl.
The Big Ten had nine bowl-eligible teams this season. In spite of the apparent strength of the Big Ten East Division with Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State, the Big Ten West had five-bowl bound teams to just four for the East Division. After Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State, only Maryland of the Big Ten East will be in a bowl game. From the West, will be Purdue, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
The vagaries of scheduling may play a big part in bowl eligibility.
The Big Ten goes with a nine-game conference schedule and three non-conference games. The MAC plays eight league games with four non-conference opponents.
Probably more fun to contemplate is the showing of the various conferences in their bowl games. Conference bragging rights are always fun to toss around. Stay tuned!