Bowl Game Rankings. Which Bowls Are the Best From Worst to Best?

What were the best 2022-2023 bowl games? All bowl games ranked from worst to 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.

Which bowl games were great? Which bowls were great, which were forgettable and which made the end of college football season memorable?

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

Oregon State 30, Florida 3
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking20
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 31, 2020: NA, 2019: 15
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 17, 2020: NA, 2019: 36 

While there were players who wore Florida Gator uniforms, that wasn’t enough to make this look like an SEC school. This was against a solid Pac-12 programme having a strong season.

It was terrible! 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. This was a great win for Oregon State, which came out to play both ends of the ball.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

7. Wasabi Fenway Bowl

Louisville 24, Cincinnati 7 
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking34
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 41, 2020NA, 2019NA
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 36, 2020: NA, 2019: NA

It was just as boring as you would expect. 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 Ranking16
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 18, 2020NA, 2019NA
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 Ranking33
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, SMU23
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking24
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 43, 2020: ,21 2019: 36
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 19, 2020: NA, 2019: 24

BYU is to be commended for finding a way. 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. Although it was slow for the first 50 minutes, the game ended with a thrilling conclusion with SMU converting a 2-point conversion with 8 seconds left.
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

Let’s forget all the mistakes UTSA made, and the inability to score pop. It was expected that the only battle between two conference champions would be one of most exciting bowls of the season. And it delivered.

No, it wasn’t the sharpest UTSA could be, but the Troy defense was fantastic as it held on time and again. Each side was able to hit and maintain their intensity 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

Bowl season is great because of this. 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.

Although the game was slow for a while, it ended with some spectacular finishes. This was the first bowl game in the season. 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 35 OT
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 35
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 41, 2020NA, 2019NA
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021:36, 2020: NA, 2019: NA

This was exactly what you would expect a bowl match to be.

Deion Bernie rode off to Colorado, expecting that it would be a Jackson State coronation. North Carolina Central was also there because it could play.

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’s 81-yard scoring drive was a brilliant effort. It culminated in the final seconds of regulation with a touchdown passing with just seconds left to send it into overtime. NC Central QB Davius RICHARD and his team did just a little more.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

2022-2023 Bowl Schedule, Scoreboard, Predictions, Game Previews

Story originally appeared on College Football News

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