The 2016 college football season has come to a close and the headlines of the NCAA’s bowl schedule sum up the bowl games: dominates and crushes. It’s safe to say this season’s bowl games were quite boring and some of the bigger games didn’t deliver as expected.
The rematch battle of two Southern football powerhouses, Alabama Crimson Tide and the Clemson Tigers, finished with a new winner — the Tigers came out on top defeating the Tide 35–31. The Tigers were announced National Champions Jan. 10, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. The 35-year drought for Clemson is now over and the Tigers are the national champions for the first time since 1981.
By halftime, viewers had a feeling the game would be over as Alabama was in firm control; however an upset occurred in the second half and the Tigers took the lead with 4 minutes and 38 seconds left in the fourth quarter. That’s when the game grew interesting. Last season, Alabama met its match in Clemson, but conquered, and, this time, Clemson made sure the sequel had a different ending.
As far as the other bowl games were concerned, these were the winners.
Dec. 17
Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl: Grambling defeats North Carolina Central 10–9
Gildan New Mexico Bowl: New Mexico defeats UTSA 23–20
Las Vegas Bowl presented by Geico: San Diego State defeats Houston 34–10
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl: Appalachian State defeats Toledo 31–28
AutoNation Cure Bowl: Arkansas State defeats UCF 31–13
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: Southern Mississippi defeats Louisiana-Lafayette 28–21
Dec. 19
Miami Beach Bowl: Tulsa defeats Central Michigan 55–10
Dec. 20
Boca Raton Bowl: Western Kentucky defeats Memphis 51–31
Dec. 21
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl: BYU defeats Wyoming 24–21
Dec. 22
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Idaho defeats Colorado State 61–50
Dec. 23
Popeyes Bahamas Bowl: Old Dominion defeats Eastern Michigan 24–20
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl: Louisiana Tech defeats Navy 48–25
Dollar General Bowl: Troy defeats Ohio 28–23
Dec. 24
Hawai’i Bowl: Hawai’i defeats Middle Tennessee 52–35
Dec. 26
St. Petersburg Bowl: Mississippi States defeats Miami (Ohio) 17–16
Quick Lane Bowl: Boston College defeats Maryland 36–30
Camping World Independence Bowl: NC State defeats Vanderbilt 41–17
Dec. 27
Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl: Army defeats North Texas 38–31
Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman: Wake Forest defeats Temple 34–26
National Funding Holiday Bowl: Minnesota defeats Washington State 17–12
Motel 6 Cactus Bowl: Baylor defeats Boise State 31–12
Dec. 28
New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Northwestern defeats Pittsburgh 31–24
Russell Athletic Bowl: Miami defeats West Virginia 31–14
Fosters Farm Bowl: Utah defeats Indiana 26–24
AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl: Kansas State defeats Texas A&M 33–28
Dec. 29
Birmingham Bowl: South Florida defeats South Carolina 46–39
Belk Bowl: Virginia Tech defeats Arkansas 35–24
Valero Alamo Bowl: Oklahoma State defeats Colorado 38–8
Dec. 30
AutoZone Liberty Bowl: Georgia defeats TCU 31–23
Hyundai Sun Bowl: Stanford defeats North Carolina 25–23
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl: Tennessee defeats Nebraska 38–24
Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl: Air Force defeats South Alabama 45–21
Capital One Orange Bowl: Florida State defeats Michigan 33–32
Dec. 31
The Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl: LSU defeats Louisville 29–9
TaxSlayer Bowl: Georgia Tech defeats Kentucky 33–18
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, semifinal: Alabama defeats Washington 24–7
PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, semifinal: Clemson defeats Ohio State 31–0
Jan. 2
Outback Bowl: Florida defeats Iowa 30–3
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic: Wisconsin defeats Western Michigan 24–16
Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual: USC defeats Penn State 52–49
Allstate Sugar Bowl: Oklahoma defeats Auburn 35–19
Jan. 9
National Championship Presented by AT&T: Clemson defeats Alabama 35–31
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