Winners and losers from the first Saturday of bowl season

The first Saturday of college football's bowl season is in the books. From Ohio's outstanding freshman to a torrential downpour in Orlando, here are the day's winners and losers.

Winner

Ohio running back Rickey Hunt: The Bobcats freshman turning in a record performance after barely playing during the regular season. Entering Ohio's 41-21 win over Georgia Southern, Hunt had seven touches for 22 yards. He finished Saturday's game with 133 total yards and five touchdowns, tied for the most in bowl game history, setting him up for a large role in 2024.

Loser

Sun Belt: The conference has the most bowl teams this year (12) but got off to a rough start to its bowl season. It went 1-2, including Georgia Southern's ugly loss to Ohio and Louisiana's 34-31 overtime loss in the New Orleans Bowl despite winning the turnover battle 4-0. The only positive was Appalachian State's rain-soaked 13-9 win in the Cure Bowl over Miami (Ohio).

Winner

Jacksonville State: The Gamecocks showed how absurd the NCAA's rule blocking first- or second-year FBS programs from qualifying for a bowl game is in their overtime New Orleans Bowl win. Rich Rodriguez's team outgained the Ragin' Cajuns 526-247, proving it belonged despite its struggles to protect the ball. Per Game On Paper, Jacksonville State had a higher explosive play rate, defensive stop rate and dominated the "Middle 8," or the last four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half. Because of the NCAA's rule, Jacksonville State – which will enter its second FBS season in 2024 – could find itself in the same position next season. 

Loser

Myrtle Beach Bowl: It's been four years since the inaugural Myrtle Beach Bowl and the bowl is still searching for its first competitive game. Including Ohio's win over Georgia Southern on Saturday, the average margin of victory in the four games in the bowl's history is 18.8 points. The attendance this year also dipped from a high of 12,023 in 2022 to 8,059, a sign people are wising up to the worst bowl game on the schedule.

Winner

Florida A&M: The Celebration Bowl turned into a thriller after Florida A&M was installed as a 7.5-point favorite over Howard pregame. The Bison jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first five minutes and led 26-24 following a fourth-quarter pick-six lead, but the Rattlers avoided the upset with a flea-flicker touchdown midway through the fourth and a pair of interceptions (including one with under two minute) to ice the 30-26 win.