College football bowl season is here.
Despite several bowl games being canceled and many teams opting not to participate due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we bring you the best of the rest, from the Myrtle Beach Bowl through the College Football Playoff National Championship presented by AT&T on Jan. 11 (ESPN/ESPN App).
This is your go-to guide for analysis, predictions, big plays and the most memorable moments. And make sure to read these stories to ensure you sound smart on your family’s holiday Zoom calls.
Check back every day as this gets updated with each of the 28 bowl games and the national championship.
Jump to a section: Must-see moments | Bowl Season MVP | Bowl game analysis | Upcoming schedule
Must-See Moments
Who can resist a fry bath?
To celebrate winning the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Nevada players dumped french fries on head coach Jay Norvell before giving him a more traditional Gatorade bath.
FRY BATH TIME 🍟 pic.twitter.com/lsaS3MBCOB
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) December 23, 2020
Beach brawl and … a golden plunger?
As most of them are, it was an interesting day in Myrtle Beach on Monday. Our beloved Marty & McGee were working the sidelines and enjoying the local flavor, while things got a little chippy on the field. In the end, North Texas was no match for Appalachian State and its, uh, unique sideline prop. Learn more about the plunger here.
1:29
North Texas quarterback Jason Bean gets hit late by an Appalachian State defender, and a scuffle breaks out between the teams.
0:29
The Appalachian State sideline waves their golden plunger after Camerun Peoples breaks free for a 62-yard touchdown.
Bowl Season MVP so far
BYU quarterback Zach Wilson
Wilson was in the Heisman running for most of the season and showed why in the RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl. The BYU quarterback threw for 425 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for two scores in the Cougars’ 49-23 rout of UCF.
Bowl game analysis
BYU 49, UCF 23
Oh, what could have been. When BYU agreed to a last-minute game at Coastal Carolina earlier in the season, it did so knowing a loss would take away the team’s nearly-locked-up spot in a New Year’s Six bowl. And that’s what happened. Instead, BYU settled for an appearance in the Roofclaim.com Boca Raton Bowl against UCF, where the Cougars added another lopsided win to a season already full of them.
Quarterback Zach Wilson turned in another brilliant performance that showed why he generated Heisman buzz throughout the year. He completed 26 of 34 passes for 425 yards with three touchdowns, and running back Tyler Allgeier rushed for 173 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.
BYU went up 21-0 in the first quarter and 35-7 in the second to put the game away early. — Kyle Bonagura
Nevada 38, Tulane 27
After losing in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl last year to Ohio, Nevada bounced back with an impressive season that saw the Wolf Pack finish with the Mountain West’s second-best winning percentage. Despite having a better record than Boise State, Nevada didn’t advance to the Mountain West championship as a result of the conference’s tiebreaker rules, setting up a return trip to the Potato Bowl. This time, Nevada got the job done, leading from start to finish in a 38-27 win.
Nevada built a 26-7 lead by early in the second quarter and weathered a brief Tulane comeback as quarterback Carson Strong finished 22-of-28 for 271 yards with five touchdown passes. Both Devonte Lee (105 yards) and Toa Taua (102) rushed for over 100 yards.
For Tulane, which won four of its final five games during the regular season, the bowl appearance was its third straight — the first time it has done that in school history — but the first that ended with a loss. — Bonagura
Appalachian State 56, North Texas 28
Before the season, Appalachian State had its sights set on a New Year’s Six bowl. Fresh off a 13-1 campaign that culminated with a Sun Belt title, the Mountaineers certainly looked the part. But in the year of COVID-19, few things went as expected, and App State lost its second game of the year, against Marshall, then spent the bulk of October dealing with virus concerns.
But if the 2020 season never quite met expectations, the finale at least offered a reminder of how talented this team really was. The Mountaineers thrashed North Texas 56-28 in the Myrtle Beach Bowl, behind 502 yards on the ground, led by Camerun Peoples’ 319 yards and five touchdowns.
That UNT struggled wasn’t a shock. A handful of starters opted out of the bowl game. But the extent to which Peoples and the Mountaineers’ ground game ran roughshod over the UNT defense was still a sight to behold. App State now can turn its attention to 2021, with Shawn Clark comfortable in the head coach’s office, and Peoples set for a return. — David M. Hale
Upcoming bowl schedule
Wednesday’s games
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: Louisiana Tech vs. Georgia Southern
When: 3 p.m. ET
Where: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans
How to watch: ESPN/ESPN App
Montgomery Bowl: Memphis vs. Florida Atlantic
When: 7 p.m. ET
Where: Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, Ala.
How to watch: ESPN/ESPN App