The best time of year for College Football fans kicked off this weekend, as Bowl Season got underway. With all the focus on the College Football Playoffs (CFP), let’s not forget that 39 other games are being played across FBS. The Playbook is here to give you a deep dive into some of the best bowl games outside the CFP to watch (don’t worry, we’ll break those down too separately).

Wednesday, 27 Dec.

DirectTV Holiday Bowl – University of Southern California vs Louisville

Petco Park (San Diego) | 8 p.m., Fox

Two great offensive minded coaches face off in USC’s Lincoln Riley and Louisville’s Jeff Brohm. USC had a disappointing season falling out of playoff contention early. It would be a surprise if former Heisman winning quarterback Caleb Williams plays for USC, but their offensive roster is talented enough to warrant a watch regardless. Don’t sleep on the ACC runner-up Louisville to put up a fight as the Cardinals have rebuilt quickly and look to make a statement win.

Thursday, 28 Dec.

Valero Alamo Bowl – Oklahoma vs Arizona

Alamodome (San Antonio) | 9:15 p.m., ESPN, ESPN+ and the ESPN App

Oklahoma made vast improvements under second year head coach Brent Venables. Transfer quarterback Dillon Gabriel from Oklahoma led a resurgent offense with 30 passing touchdowns to only 6 interceptions.

The Sooners’ signature win came against rival Texas in a 34-30 win, but Oklahoma couldn’t hang on to the momentum and fell just out of the playoff picture. Arizona Wildcats have one of the most exciting young quarterbacks in the league and surprised a lot of fans. Tune in to say you saw quarterback Noah Fifita play before he was a household name.

Friday, 29 Dec. 

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl – Clemson vs Kentucky

EverBank Stadium (Jacksonville, Florida) | Noon, ESPN, ESPN+ and the ESPN App

Clemson losing four games seems like a wasted season after the high bar coach Dabo Swinney established for his Tigers. However, it was a rough start for a young team but there may not be a hotter team in the country after Clemson won their final four games, including wins over Notre Dame and North Carolina.

The Tigers play a fierce defense and are 24^th in the Nation allowing only 19.9 points per game. Kentucky stunned a few ACC fans already when they beat Louisville in the penultimate week of the season. The Wildcats play a tough style of football and will look to challenge the Tigers with running back Ray Davis who rushed for over 1,000 yards and 13 touchdowns this season.

Goodyear Cotton Bowl – Missouri vs Ohio State

AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas) | 8 p.m., ESPN, ESPN+ and the ESPN App

The overachievers versus the underachievers. Shocking, I know, to consider a one loss Buckeyes team as underachievers, but staying out of the College Football Playoffs will be a disappointment for OSU fans. Their quarterback has already entered the transfer portal so head coach Ryan Day will have his hands full evaluating new talent and building momentum for next year. The Missouri Tigers probably over achieved to all but their die hard fans.

This is a must watch to see one of the best wide receivers in the Nation, Luther Burden III who had 83 receptions for 1,197 yards and 8 touchdowns. If Missouri pulls this off they may continue to challenge Georgia for the SEC East title.

Saturday, 30 Dec.

Chick–fil–A Peach Bowl – Ole Miss vs Penn State

Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) | Noon, ESPN, ESPN+ and the ESPN App

This matchup is between the perennial best two-loss teams. Penn State has vastly improved under coach James Franklin, but never enough to beat Michigan or Ohio State. Same can be said about the Rebels of Ole Miss with Lane Kiffin, who has an explosive offense but can’t seem to topple Alabama or Georgia. Despite never making it to the top, these teams are uber talented and worth the watch. Rebels quarterback Jaxon Dart accounted for 27 total touchdowns and only 5 interceptions. The Nittany Lions are up for the challenge fielding the number three scoring defense in the country allowing 11.4 points per game. Strength versus strength will be fun to watch.

Capitol One Orange Bowl – Georgia vs Florida State

Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida) | 4 p.m., ESPN, ESPN+ and the ESPN App

The “just missed it” Bowl feature the #5 and #6 teams in the country, first two out of the playoffs. Florida State has the most to argue about as they finished the season 13-0 and won the ACC Championship. Their Heisman candidate quarterback was lost late in the season, but Freshman Tade Rodemaker kept the Seminoles on track. They have the most to prove to stick it to the playoff committee.

Who’s going to stop them from claiming the National Championship with a win here? The Georgia Bulldogs were the best team in the country for most of the year, but fell in the SEC Championship to Alabama. If the Bulldogs show up to play, they were top ten in both scoring offense and scoring defense. Good luck finding a weakness with this back-to-back National Champion.

Monday, 1 Jan.

ReliaQuest Bowl – LSU vs Wisconsin

Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida) | Noon, ESPN2 and the ESPN App

A must watch for fans of great offensive play. The LSU Tigers won their second Heisman in 4 years as QB Jayden Daniels lit up college football with 3,812 passing yards, 1,134 rushing yards and 50 total touchdowns. Wisconsin remains dedicated to power football and has another star running back in Braelon Allen, who had 181 carries and 12 touchdowns. These are two teams who are always capable of turning in a great season and challenging a playoff spot. See if this is the catalyst for one team to break into the playoffs next year.

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl – Iowa vs Tennessee

Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida) – 1 p.m., ABC and the ESPN App

Tennessee has looked really good with coach Josh Heupel despite 2023 being a down year for them. Iowa was one of the worst offensive teams in the country, but made it to the Big Ten Championship behind a legendary defense.

Tennessee knows how to score points and averaged over 30 points per game, but Iowa holds opponents to 13.2 points per game. For history buffs, tune in to this one to watch the best punter in the nation try to extend his record season with 4,119 punting yards, most ever in a single season. There is a reason Iowa only lost 3 games this year: punting.

VRBO Fiesta Bowl – Liberty vs Oregon

State Farm Stadium (Glendale, Arizona) | 1 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App

Despite their tremendous record, Liberty had a relatively weak schedule compared to other ranked teams. Still, it is impressive to finish 13-0 no matter who is on your schedule. Liberty Flames’ running back Quinton Cooley led the team with 1,322 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground. He’ll need all the offensive help he can get to keep pace with an Oregon Ducks team led by Heisman finalist Bo Nix at quarterback. Now there is a good chance Nix doesn’t play in the game and prepares for the NFL draft, but with or without him, the Ducks will not slow down their 2^nd leading scoring offense (44.2 points per game).