Welcome back all! The holidays have come to a close and 2020 has arrived! Which means the college football season is quickly coming to a close. With just a couple of minor Bowl games left, starting with today's Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, and then tomorrow's Armed Forces Bowl & LendingTree Bowl, we'll have just the National Championship game left on January 13th. So with 'Bowl' season coming to a close, let's check-in on how each of the conferences stacked up amongst each other with a quick bowl season recap.
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It's not much of a surprise to find the SEC at the top of this list. The conference was easily rated along side the Big TEN as the toughest in the country, and they did not disappoint, going 7-2 in bowl games. The conference's .778 winning % is easily the best of any out there. Thanks to dominate blowout victories from Alabama in the Citrus Bowl & LSU in the Peach Bowl, along with big-time performances from both Florida & Georgia in New Year's Six Bowls, the SEC was the cream of the crop this bowl season. The conferences' only losses - Mississippi State falling to Louisville in the Music City Bowl, and Auburn falling to Minnesota in a terrific Outback Bowl.
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Meanwhile, the perception of the Big XII may have took the biggest hit during the 2019-20 Bowl season. First, Oklahoma took an absolute beating from LSU in the Peach Bowl National semifinal, Iowa State was blown out by Notre Dame on the same day, and both Oklahoma State & Kansas State lost as favorites to Texas A&M and Navy, respectively. The only team that salvaged anything for the Big XII during Bowl season was ironically, the Texas Longhorns, who were amongst the conferences' biggest disappointments. UT came into the season highly-ranked with playoff aspirations, but limped to a lackluster 7-5 regular season. They were able to completely dominate what proved to be an overrated Utah team, 38-10, in the Alamo Bowl for the Big XII's lone victory, however. The conference finishes up with the worst record of any conference this bowl season at just 1-4.
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The Mountain West & Pac-12 were the only other conferences to post a winning record this bowl season, with the MWC next behind the SEC at 4-2, and the Pac-12 finishing up 4-3, thanks to a number of close victories, including Oregon's 1-point squeaker over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. With Oregon's Rose Bowl victory being the high point for the Pac-12, USC's complete domination at the hands of Iowa, and Utah's lousy showing against Texas, were certainly low-points.
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Independents managed to post a winning record & go 2-1 as well, thanks to victories by Notre Dame & then Liberty getting their first-ever bowl victory.
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The ACC and Big TEN sent 10 & 9 teams bowling, respectively. The ACC was down this year, and their Bowl results pretty much followed suit as they went just 4-6 in Bowl games. Take Clemson out, and the rest of the conference was a dismal 3-6, with the low point being a 14-0 shutout loss by Miami FL to Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl. Yes, that is correct the once-mighty Miami Hurricanes were shutout by Louisiana Tech in a bowl game. Maybe the only other highlight for the ACC besides Clemson's dramatic win over Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl was UNC's 55-13 beatdown of Temple in the Military Bowl.
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The Big TEN was routinely rated as the best in the country from top-to-bottom this year, and the Bowl results were a bit mixed. It's tough to fault Wisconsin for their 1-point loss to a very good, top 5 or 6 Oregon team in the Rose Bowl, but Michigan's New Year's Day stinker against Alabama in the Citrus Bowl left much to be desired. Minnesota got an exciting victory over Auburn in the Outback Bowl, and Michigan State snuck one out against Wake Forest in the Pinstripe Bowl. Credit Iowa for their blowout of USC in the Holiday Bowl & Penn State for taking care of a very good Memphis team in the Cotton Bowl. Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Michigan were all unable to get it done, however.
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With just three Bowl games, and the National Championship game remaining, let's take a look at how the conferences have stacked up this bowl season:
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[Respective conference, followed by Bowl record, and winning % in ( )]
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SEC 7-2 (.778)
Mt. West 4-2 (.667)
Ind. 2-1 (.667)
Pac-12 4-3 (.571)
AAC 3-3 (.500)
Sun Belt 2-2 (.500)
Big TEN 4-5 (.444)
ACC 4-6 (.400)
MAC 2-3 (.400)
Conf USA 3-5 (.375)
Big XII 1-4 (.200)
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As always, I appreciate the support, and would love to hear your thoughts on the 2019-20 Bowl season in the comments section below. Good luck to both Clemson & LSU as they prepare for what should be one heck of a Nat'l Title game, and a very happy 2020 to all of you!
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