A week from Friday it all starts with the two bowl games, both at sites any football program would be happy to travel to. The Bahamas Bowl and the Tailgreeter Cure Bowl in Orlando, Florida. This time of the year teams want to end up somewhere where it’s nice and warm. And the second option is to be in an indoor stadium so the weather doesn’t come into play.
The Lonestar State found out Sunday they will have 8 universities playing beyond the regular season. Obviously, some games are bigger than others. But regardless of where you end up, it’s a plus going forward to say your team made it. The Miners, Roadrunners, Mean Green, Cougars, Red Raiders, Mustangs, Aggies and Bears are all part of this exclusive group from Texas. The two obvious teams not to make the cut, The University of Texas in Austin and Texas Christian University. The Longhorns and Horned Frogs have been the teams others have tried to play catch up to in recent times but not this year. UT struggled under first-year head coach Steve Sarkisian and TCU fired Gary Patterson during the season. But this isn’t about them, not this season.
So it’s a moment to recognize the teams that were able to reach their goals, starting with UTEP. They’re off to the PUBG Mobile New Mexico Bowl a week from Saturday where they’ll face Fresno State in Albuquerque. Not a long way to travel for UTEP but you can bet coach Dana Dimel is happy to be going somewhere after losing 3 of the last 4 games.
The University of San Antonio will be traveling up I-35 on the way to Frisco where the Roadrunners will play San Diego State under the lights at Toyota Stadium in the Tropical Smoothies Cafe Frisco Bowl. Frisco will also be hosting North Texas and Miami of Ohio in the Frisco Football Classic. So Toyota Stadium, home of FC Dallas, with two bowl games two days apart. UNT doesn’t have to travel far for the game but is thrilled to still be playing after winning their final 5 games to become bowl eligible.
The Houston Cougars are headed for Alabama where they’ll face Auburn in the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 28th. Houston had a great year before losing to Cincinnati in the American Championship. The Cougars are an up-and-coming program in the state.
Maybe the most intriguing matchup is the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee where Texas Tech will beat playing Mississippi State. The Bulldogs coach is Mike Leach who use to be the coach of the Red Raiders before he was fired. This will be the first time Leach has faced his former team and that storyline is enough to put some sizzle into this battle pitting the Big 12 vs the SEC.
I mention teams like a destination where Mother Nature comes into play. That isn’t the case for SMU. The Mustangs will be traveling to Boston, Massachusetts where they’ll face the Virginia Cavaliers in the home of the Boston Red Sox. SMU in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl. It could be cold in this game on Wednesday, December 29th but playing in a bowl game vs sitting at home is better than dealing with frigid temperatures.
The bar was set pretty high for fans at Texas A&M but when the Aggies lost at Ole Miss and then a couple of weeks later at LSU those hopes were dashed. Still, A&M coach Jimbo Fisher will have his guys fired up when they travel to Jacksonville, Florida on New Year’s Eve to play in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl to face Wake Forrest. Not a bad place to bring in the new year.
And saving the best for last, the Big 12 Champion Baylor Bears will kick off 2022 down in a city where they love to party, down in New Orleans for the Allstate Sugar Bowl. Baylor will go up against Ole Miss where the Bears will face a team that’s known for their offense against a Baylor squad that is really good on defense.
So there you have the 8 programs from Texas that are busy working on game plans to be the opponents they’ll face over the next few weeks. If you’re a college football fan soak it all in because after that National Champion is crowned the book will close on 2021 but with 44 bowl games coming up there’s plenty of football to watch before we turn out the lights in a year where my guess here is Alabama will win another title with Nick Saban.
