Five reasons to watch the Boca Raton Bowl

Okay, listen, we get it. Most likely, you think bowl season starts on New Year's Eve. Maybe slightly earlier depending on when your team is playing. But regardless of whether or not you're aware of them, the bowls have already started, and there's plenty of college football action to get you through to the main events around New Year's.

A Memphis team on the rise against the high-powered offense of Western Kentucky? Don't let anyone tell you the early bowls are not worth bothering with when the Boca Raton Bowl could be the most fun we have all week.

Boca Raton Bowl
Western Kentucky (10-3, Conference USA) vs. Memphis (8-4, American Athletic Conference)
Location: FAU Stadium, Boca Raton
Time: Tuesday, Dec. 20, 7 P.M. ET/ 4 P.M. PT
Channel: ESPN

• Let's start with this: Memphis has been averaging nearly 40 points per game, and Western Kentucky has averaged 45. Offense is fun to watch. Enough said.
• The Memphis Tigers were the team to finally knock Houston out of the national rankings back in November. They're legitimately scary, and should be fun to watch.
• Western Kentucky will be missing their former head coach Jeff Brohm, as he has just left to coach the Purdue Boilermakers. New head coach Mike Sanford will be looking to establish himself quickly by upsetting Memphis here.
• Keep an eye on the Hilltoppers' Taywan Taylor. He's second in the league in receiving yards, with 1,586 so far this season.
• Speaking of receivers, it'll be fun to watch Memphis' Anthony Miller as well. Getting him involved early will be key if Memphis wants to avoid an upset.

Mascot edge: Sorry Memphis Tigers, this isn't even a fair match. No one beats WKU's Big Red, mostly because no one is quite sure what the full superpowers of a giant, fuzzy red... whatever Big Red can do. It could belong to another dimension for all we know.