Best college football bowl matchups for 2015-2015

The Holy War returns! These heated rivals will restart their rivalry on the first day of bowl games and should draw quite a crowd in Utah. They'll also face one another early in the 2016 season.

Among the games without a school from a Power 5 conference, this one is probably the best matchup. Toledo challenged in the always competitive MAC this season, finishing 9-2. Temple lost in the AAC Championship to Houston and finished the year 10-3.

This would be an intriguing matchup in any other year, but neither mid-major power had a banner year in 2015. Boise State finished 8-4, while Northern Illinois fell in the MAC and finished the year with five losses.

San Diego State finished its season on quite a streak, winning its final nine games for a 10-win season. Cincinnati had five losses but was very competitive in the tough AAC this season.

Washington State head coach Mike Leach has finally started to build up his squad to where fans had hoped, with his offense proving to be elite behind quarterback Luke Falk. Miami finished out its rough year winning four of five and play its last game before the Mark Richt era officially begins.

Virginia Tech was able to send off retiring head coach Frank Beamer with a win that made the team bowl-eligible. The Hokies face a Tulsa squad that did the same by beating Tulane in the final week. Beamer's final game is reason enough to watch.

These two programs both expected much more from this season, but we've seen plenty of upside this year. UCLA freshman quarterback Josh Rosen had a solid first year and will lead the Bruins against Nebraska, the only team to take down Michigan State this year.

Navy's football team is back in the national spotlight with a great season led by record-breaking quarterback Keenan Reynolds. Pitt floundered near the end of the year, though its losses came at the hands of Iowa, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Miami.

Cal quarterback Jared Goff has a chance to be the top pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, so fans of the Browns, 49ers and Rams will certainly want to tune in. The Bears went just 2-5 over their last seven games but should still be able to put up points vs. a shaky Air Force defense.

If not for injuries at quarterback, Baylor could be playing in the College Football Playoff. The Bears still finished the season leading all FBS teams in points per game and face a North Carolina team that also averaged 40.9 points per game. It remains to be seen which quarterback the Bears will start, but this game should be a high-scoring affair anyhow.

Where Texas Tech goes, points surely follow. Tech has shown one of college football's best offenses and worst defenses this season, scoring 46.6 points but allowing 42.6 points per game. LSU's old style of defense and ground-and-pound offense nearly got head coach Les Miles ousted at the end of the season, but it should still be enough to pile up points vs. the Red Raiders' defense behind star back Leonard Fournette.

2015 was a terribly disappointing year for Auburn as the Tigers tried to find their quarterback, but they're still favored vs. Memphis. The battle of the Tigers will feature Memphis quarterback and prime NFL prospect Paxton Lynch in what will likely be his final college game.

Mississippi State had a rough end to its season, losing to Alabama and Ole Miss. The Bulldogs still claimed four games in the SEC and will face an NC State squad that showed big offense for much of the season.

With the help of its schedule, Wisconsin allowed the fewest points of any FBS team this season. USC overcame some major obstacles to appear in the Pac-12 Championship game and has shown a top 30 offense.

Houston was happy to keep head coach Tom Herman and capped off its season by claiming the AAC. Florida isn't in national title contention for the first time since 2012-13 but had a fine year at 10-2.

The No. 1-seeded Clemson Tigers will face the No. 4-seeded Oklahoma Sooners in the first College Football Playoff appearance for both teams. While Clemson goes into the game undefeated, Oklahoma is favored after getting through a brutal late-season schedule in the Big 12.

After claiming the Big Ten, Michigan State was boosted to the No. 3 seed in the College Football Playoff and will take on No. 2 seed Alabama. The Crimson Tide is the only team among the College Football Playoff participants that also made it in last year and goes into this contest heavily favored.

Northwestern got the season started on a great note by beating Stanford, and the Wildcats finished the season on a five-game winning streak. However, the Vols finished their year on a similar winning streak and have displayed an improving defense.

One can make an argument that there isn't a bowl game with more talent on the field, and there certainly won't be a game with more significant fan bases. Notre Dame's season ended with a tough loss to Stanford, while Ohio State rebounded vs. rival Michigan after a disappointing loss to Michigan State. The game will be a rematch of the 2006 Fiesta Bowl.

If you like defense, this will be the game to watch. Michigan allowed only 17.2 points per game this season, while Florida average 16.5 points per game. Both programs were rejuvenated by their new head coaches this season.

Both of these schools were hopeful for a College Football Playoff ticket going into their conference championship games, and they came close to their wishes. Stanford played one of college football's toughest schedules, losing just two games. Iowa's undefeated record came all the way down to the Big Ten Title game.

These teams had College Football Playoff hopes for quite a while. In fact, Oklahoma State was undefeated until Week 12 when it lost to Baylor, followed by a loss to Oklahoma. Ole Miss took down Alabama early in the year, but the Rebels were victims vs. Florida, Memphis and Arkansas.

A game with one of the lowest projected totals features two of college football's most disappointing offenses. Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg had trouble moving the ball from the beginning of the year, while Georgia hasn't been the same after losing star running back Nick Chubb. The two storied programs still should bring some hype to the contest.

These two schools had much higher hopes than the Alamo Bowl when they entered the season. They still had strong seasons and can put up points with the best of them. Oregon quarterback Vernon Adams helped the Ducks finish with the sixth most points in college football, while TCU had the eighth most and is likely to get star wideout Josh Doctson back from a wrist injury for the game.

Both of these teams had a rough go in difficult conferences this season, with the Mountaineers going 4-5 in the Big 12 and the Sun Devils going 4-5 in the Pac-12. Despite disappointing years, both squads are highly capable of putting up points with a game total set at 65.