Bowl Game Rankings. How Good Were All The Bowls From
How good were all of the games in the 2022-2023 bowl season? Ranking all the bowl games from the worst to the best.
You spent the time to watch them – or at least have them on in the background at work, holiday parties, and everywhere in between.
How good were the bowl games? Which ones were worth your while, which ones were instantly forgettable, and which bowls made the finish to the college football season great?
This year we’ll do the rankings on the fly and adjust after each day of bowl games up until the final whistle of the College Football Playoff National Championship.
So far …
CFN Bowl Game Rankings 2022-2023
– 2022-2023 Bowl Schedule, Scoreboard, Predictions, Game Previews
8. SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl
Oregon State 30, Florida 3
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 20
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 31, 2020: NA, 2019: 15
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 17, 2020: NA, 2019: 36
There were players out there wearing Florida Gator uniforms, but that was about it for this looking like a big-time SEC school against a solid Pac-12 program having a strong year.
How bad was it? The Gators kicked a field goal in the final minute down 30-0 just to find something positive – the program is on a record-setting non-shutout streak. But give credit to an Oregon State team that came to play on both sides of the ball to make this a snoozer from the start.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
7. Wasabi Fenway Bowl
Louisville 24, Cincinnati 7
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 34
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 41, 2020: NA, 2019: NA
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 36, 2020: NA, 2019: NA
This was every bit as meh as expected. Both teams put up a fight with great effort, but Cincinnati just didn’t have enough to do anything offensively, the two teams combined for six turnovers, and there was little drama.
Scott Satterfield left one team and was waiting in the wings to coach the other, major parts weren’t present, there were about 19 fans in the stands outside of friends and family, and the novelty of the game being played in a baseball stadium wore off quickly.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
6. Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl
Fresno State 29, Washington State 6
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 16
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 18, 2020: NA, 2019: NA
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 21, 2020: NA, 2019: NA
You know it’s an awful bowl when the guy it’s named after goes into the booth and can’t stop yapping about how boring it was. It didn’t help that this was going on about the same time as Indianapolis was in epic meltdown mode against the Vikings.
There was some redeeming value in Fresno State’s combination of QB Jake Haener and RB Jordan Mims going off against a Washington State defense missing a slew of key players, but there wasn’t much offense on the other side to make this competitive.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
5. Frisco Bowl
Boise State 35, North Texas 32
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 33
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 37, 2020: NA, 2019: 32
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 22, 2020: NA, 2019: 8
This probably deserves more credit than it’s getting here. It was supposed to be a dud of a blowout – Boise State was a double-digit favorite – and it turned out to be entertaining.
It wasn’t quite as good as the close final score might indicate, but there was offense – Boise State was great on the ground and the North Texas offense kicked it in after halftime. It just never quite seemed like the Mean Green were going to get over the hump – they were always stuck on their side of the field – after pulling within three midway through the fourth.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
4. New Mexico Bowl
BYU 24, SMU 23
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 24
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 43, 2020: ,21 2019: 36
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 19, 2020: NA, 2019: 24
Considering most of the dud bowls on this list were because of a missing star player or five, give BYU credit for finding a way to get this done. Stylistically there wasn’t much pretty about this.
BYU QB Jaren Hall was out with an ankle injury, and fill-in Sol-Jay Maiava-Peters – who ran well – didn’t complete a pass in the second half. Even so, BYU’s defense held on … got a big pick six to take the lead … and held on. As ragged as it was for the first 50ish minutes, it brought a thrilling finish with SMU coming up short on a two-point conversion with eight seconds to play.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
3. Duluth Trading Cure Bowl
Troy 18, UTSA 12
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 9
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 14, 2020: 1, 2019: 28
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 5, 2020: 1, 2019: 24
Get past all the mistakes UTSA made and the lack of overall scoring pop. The only battle of two conference champions was expected to be one of the most interesting bowls of the season, and it absolutely delivered.
No, it wasn’t the sharpest UTSA could be, but the Troy defense was fantastic as it held on time and again. The hitting and intensity from both sides was there throughout.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
2. HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl
UAB 24, Miami University 20
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 40
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 10, 2020: NA, 2019: 28
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 42, 2020: NA, 2019: 24
This is why bowl season is so great. This should’ve been awful, and it really, really wasn’t.
Miami University was missing a slew of players, UAB was waiting to get the Trent Dilfer coaching era off and running, and anytime there’s a double-digit spread in a bowl game you should assume the worst.
The game was a bit ragged for a while, but when it came to fantastic finishes, the first bowl game of the season set the bar obnoxiously high. UAB scored a touchdown on a do-or-die 4th-and-1 run to take the lead, and the D held on for dear life as Miami’s final pass was stopped at the two.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
1. Cricket Celebration Bowl
North Carolina Central 41, Jackson State 34 OT
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 35
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 41, 2020: NA, 2019: NA
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021:36, 2020: NA, 2019: NA
This was absolutely everything you want a bowl game to be.
It was expected to be a Jackson State coronation to finish off a perfect season as Deion Sanders rode off into the new gig at Colorado. But North Carolina Central was here because it could play, too.
The intensity on both sides was off the charts, both sides were physical, there were tremendous momentum swings throughout, and even in defeat, Coach Prime’s team – especially his son Shedeur Sanders – put on a phenomenal, dramatic show.
Sanders was brilliant on the must-have desperation 81-yard scoring drive, culminating in the final moments of regulation with a touchdown pass with no time left to send it into overtime. NC Central QB Davius Richard and his side did just a little bit more.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
– 2022-2023 Bowl Schedule, Scoreboard, Predictions, Game Previews