With the 2021 NCAA college football regular season in the books, fans are already impatiently looking ahead to Bowl season. It was a campaign with plenty of big games and upsets. There were teams who threatened to dominate but then ran into a brick wall. At one point it looked like the SEC superiority might be fading but in the end Georgia and Alabama will start as favorites in each of the BCS semi final games. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Another big college football story unfolded over the last few months in Ohio. Although they don’t play in one of the prestige conferences, Cincinnati remained the only undefeated team, finishing the year 13-0. Their reward was a #4 BCS ranking and a date with Alabama in the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Eve.

Other teams we followed with interest over the season because of their ties to legal betting states are Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame and Iowa. Michigan finished strongest and enter the BCS playoffs as #2 seed. Notre Dame just missed out at #5 and will play in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Day. Michigan State held on to a top ten finish and will feature in the Peach Bowl on December 30th. Iowa had the most disappointing finale to their regular season when they suffered a 42-3 demolition at the hands of Michigan.

 

National Championship Race Down To 4

Defying the odds, the Cincinnati Bearcats qualified for the BCS playoffs at #4 in the country despite having serious question marks over their strength of schedule. They did manage convincing wins against the #5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (24-13) and the #20 Houston Cougars (35-20). Now, they have the honor of playing the #1 Alabama Crimson Tide in the Cotton Bowl on Friday, December 31st. This will begin the team’s quest to earn the school’s first NCAA FB National Title.

Current line: Alabama -14

In the other BCS semi-final game, the #2 Michigan Wolverines will be playing the #3 Georgia Bulldogs in the Orange Bowl on the same day. The Bulldogs entered the SEC Conference Championship game against the Crimson Tide hoping to finish the season undefeated. It wasn’t to be as the Tide rolled over the Bulldogs 41-24. The Bulldogs were still able to squeeze into the BCS playoffs thanks to a couple of other key losses by top-ranked teams.

Meanwhile. the Wolverines may be the team to watch as they closed out the season with dominant victories over #6 Ohio State 42-27 and #15 Iowa 42-3.

Current line: Georgia -8

 

The Rest of the Bowl Schedule

While the NCAA’s top four teams will be playing for ultimate glory, the rest of the Bowl lineup looks quite intriguing. Let’s take a look at the remaining BCS Top 10’s Bowl schedule:

 

Fiesta Bowl (January 1, 2022) – #5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs #9 Oklahoma State Cowboys

#5 Notre Dame is coming off a fine season with a record of 11-1. While they didn’t play a particularly difficult schedule, the team’s only loss came against the undefeated #4 Cincinnati Bearcats.

The #9 Cowboys (11-2) are coming off a disappointing loss to the #7 Baylor Bears 21-16 in the Big 12 Championship game. Heading into that matchup, Oklahoma State still had a good chance of making the BCS playoffs with a victory.

Current line: Notre Dame -2.5

 

Rose Bowl (January 1, 2022) – #6 Ohio State Buckeyes vs #11 Utah Utes

The #6 Ohio State Buckeyes (10-2) looked like a college football juggernaut heading into the Big Ten Championship game. For some reason, they were a no-show in that one which took them out of contention for the #1 spot in the BCS Rankings.

All season long, the #11 Utah Utes (10-3) were able to fly under the radar before they rattled off 6 straight impressive victories to close out the season and claim the Pac 12 title.

Current line: Ohio State -6.5

 

Sugar Bowl (January 1, 2022) – #7 Baylor Bears vs #9 Ole Miss Rebels

On the back of a solid defense that never allowed more than 28 points, the #7 Bears (11-2) recorded a very good season. They then got the chance to play spoiler in the Big 12 Championship game. The offense wasn’t as potent as in the past, but they got the job done.

If there is a surprise in the Top 10, it’s the #9 Ole Miss Rebels (10-2). Playing in the tough SEC, the Rebels used a potent offense to beat some very good teams. Their only losses came against #1 Alabama 42-21 and away to Auburn 31-20. The latter featured a rare no-show game for the Rebels offense.

Current line: Ole Miss -1.5

 

Peach Bowl (December 30, 2021) – #10 Michigan State Spartans vs #12 Pittsburgh Panthers

The #10 Spartans (10-2) started off the season with eight consecutive wins before suffering a devastating upset loss to the unranked Purdue Boilermakers in early November. The winning streak included a tremendous 37-33 win over #2 Michigan. The only other loss the Spartans suffered on the season was an ignominious 56-7 blowout against #6 Ohio State.

The #12 Panthers (11-2) had the #8 ranked offense in the nation at over 502 yards per game. They were led by Heisman candidate QB Kenny Pickett who threw for 4,319 yards and 42 touchdowns against only 7 interceptions. Also worth noting, the team’s two losses on the season were by a total of 7 points. They did record wins over #17 Wake Forest and #19 Clemson in a relatively weak ACC conference.

Current line: Pitt Panthers -1.5

 

BET OF THE BOWL SEASON? Ohio State to dominate Utah in the Rose Bowl.