Four bowl games to watch outside the College Football Playoff

Outside the extracurriculars, the quarterback matchup this season is one for the ages. Georgia Tech’s Haynes King is wrapping up his sixth year of college, while Bear Bachmeier is concluding his first with BYU. The two possess extremely similar play styles, as neither is afraid to tuck the ball and lower a shoulder.

Their passing numbers are close too. King totaled 2,697 yards and 12 touchdowns, while Bachmeier amounted 2,708 yards and 14 touchdowns. This game should be an extremely physical contest, and it’ll come down to which defense forces the opposing quarterback into a rare mistake.

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl: No. 18 Michigan vs No. 13 Texas

Michigan has made headlines for all the wrong reasons recently. The Wolverines fired head coach Sherrone Moore and are now scrambling for their next hire. If it occurs more than five days before their game against Texas, Michigan players will have a 15-day window to enter the transfer portal. Therefore, it’s unclear which athletes will be in attendance in Orlando.

Meanwhile, the Longhorns have looked nearly unstoppable, winning six of their last seven games. With quarterback Arch Manning likely returning for his senior year, he’ll look to lead Texas to another 10-win season as the team gears up for what could be a special 2026 campaign.

Whether Michigan rallies or falls flat on its face, the outcome will say a lot about the future of the program.

Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl: Penn State vs Clemson

In August, if people knew Penn State and Clemson would square off in December, they would’ve thought it’d be in the playoffs. Instead, the two will duke it out at Yankee Stadium.

Both teams endured disappointing seasons. The Nittany Lions fired head coach James Franklin and witnessed quarterback Drew Allar suffer a season-ending injury. In the meantime, Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik watched his preseason Heisman hopes vanish after a 1-3 start.

This game has the makings of a fight for survival. Penn State hopes to provide new head coach Matt Campbell with momentum heading into the offseason, while Clemson looks to avoid its first six-loss season since 2008. Either way, the loser will be left with a long climb back to the top.

Myrtle Beach Bowl: Kennesaw State vs Western Michigan

The only bowl game pitting conference champions against each other takes place in Conway, South Carolina.

Kennesaw State has experienced a historic turnaround. The Owls went 2-10 a year ago, but are now 10-3 and champions of Conference USA. The program is seeing immediate success at the FBS level, and head coach Jerry Mack is being rewarded.

Western Michigan secured the MAC Championship, the program’s first since former head coach P.J. Fleck was “rowing the boat” in Kalamazoo.

This should be a competitive game as the two teams battle to establish themselves among the top Group of Six programs.