Alcorn State vs. North Carolina A&T (12 p.m. — ABC) Gildan New Mexico Bowl
Arizona vs. New Mexico (2 p.m. — ESPN) Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl
BYU vs. Utah (3:30 p.m. — ABC) Raycom Media Camellia Bowl
Ohio vs. Appalachian State (5:30 p.m. — ESPN) Cure Bowl
San Jose State vs. Georgia State (7 p.m. — CBSSN) R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Arkansas State vs. Louisiana Tech (9 p.m. — ESPN) While you watch the rest of the games, try this gumbo recipe from Paula Deen for the nightcap in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Larry Crowe)
AP Photo/Larry Crowe
Western Kentucky vs. South Florida (2:30 p.m. — ESPN) What better way to take in a midafternoon game from Miami than with this scallop ceviche recipe? You need only six ingredients to make this delicious, restaurant-quality appetizer. See the video above for ingredients and instructions. (AP Photo/Larry Crowe)
Akron vs. Utah State (3:30 p.m. — ESPN) The loaded mashed potato bowl! This is a spin on a KFC classic — yeah, no one said it was healthy. Layer in your favorite ingredients (we did mashed potatoes, bacon, fried chicken tenders, cheddar cheese, scallions and sour cream), or try this recipe. Marmot Boca Raton Bowl
Toledo vs. Temple (7 p.m. — ESPN) (WTOP/Rachel Nania) (AP Photo/Larry Crowe)
Boise State vs. Northern Illinois (4:30 p.m. — ESPN) Eat this walking taco bowl from the bag or the bowl! Try this recipe for ‘Walking Taco’ from The Associated Press. GoDaddy Bowl
Georgia Southern vs. Bowling Green (8 p.m. — ESPN) (AP Photo/Matthew Mead)
AP Photo/Matthew Mead
Middle Tennessee vs. Western Michigan (12 p.m. — ESPN) Hawai’i Bowl
San Diego State vs. Cincinnati (8 p.m. — ESPN) A bowl game in Hawai’i gives us the opportunity to introduce you to one of the heartiest breakfasts around, the Loco Moco. This island specialty is a great hangover dish to soak up the remnants the morning after your holiday party. See the video above for our recipe. (AP Photo/Matthew Mead)
Connecticut vs. Marshall (11 a.m. — ESPN) Hyundai Sun Bowl
Miami vs. Washington State (2 p.m. — CBS) Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl
Washington vs. Southern Miss (2:20 p.m. — ESPN) What’s better on a cold winter day than a little hot fried chicken? Try Bon Appétit’s recipe for hot fried chicken. New Era Pinstripe Bowl
Indiana vs. Duke (3:30 p.m. — ABC) Camping World Independence Bowl
Tulsa vs. Virginia Tech (5:45 p.m. — ESPN) Foster Farms Bowl
UCLA vs. Nebraska (9:15 p.m. — ESPN) (AP Photo/Matthew Mead)
AP Photo/Matthew Mead
Pittsburgh vs. Navy (2:30 p.m. — ESPN) Navy getting a home bowl game in Annapolis? This calls for crabcakes, and they better be seasoned with Old Bay. See this highly-rated recipe from McCormick. Quick Lane Bowl
Central Michigan vs. Minnesota (5 p.m. — ESPN2) (Thinkstock)
Thinkstock
Cal vs. Air Force (2 p.m. — ESPN) Russell Athletic Bowl
North Carolina vs. Baylor (5:30 p.m. — ESPN) North Carolina pulled pork is a wonderful thing, but not normally served in a bowl. Enter this New England seven layer dip full of pulled pork. Yes, please. NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl
Nevada vs. Colorado State (7:30 p.m. — Campus Insiders) AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl
LSU vs. Texas Tech (9 p.m. — ESPN) (AP Photo/Matthew Mead)
AP Photo/Matthew Mead
Auburn vs. Memphis (12 p.m. — ESPN) Belk Bowl
NC State vs. Mississippi State (3:30 p.m. — ESPN) Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
Texas A&M vs. Louisville (7 p.m. — ESPN) National Funding Holiday Bowl
USC vs. Wisconsin (10:30 p.m. — ESPN) Wisconsin has to travel all the way to Southern California to face USC basically in its own backyard. Here’s a simple recipe from MomsWhoThink.com to make the Badgers feel at home — a little cheese-curd heavy poutine. (Thinkstock)
Thinkstock
Houston vs. Florida State (12 p.m. — ESPN) Capital One Orange Bowl (CFP Semifinal)
Oklahoma vs. Clemson (4 p.m. — ESPN) An Orange Bowl and a Chick-fil-A Bowl? Split the difference with Food Network’s Ree Drummond’s recipe for orange chicken. You can find it on FoodNetwork.com. Goodyear Cotton Bowl (CFP Semifinal)
Michigan State vs. Alabama (8 p.m. — ESPN) (Thinkstock)
Thinkstock
Northwestern vs. Tennessee (12 p.m. — ESPN2) Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl
Michigan vs. Florida (1 p.m. — ABC) Sure, the Rose Bowl may be “the granddaddy of them all,” but the wings/citrus combination was too good to pass up. Find a great recipe for chili lime wings on this food blog. BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl
Notre Dame vs. Ohio State (1 p.m. — ESPN) Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual
Stanford vs. Iowa (5 p.m. — ESPN) Allstate Sugar Bowl
Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss (8:30 p.m. — ESPN) (AP/Matthew Mead)
AP/Matthew Mead
Penn State vs. Georgia (12 p.m. — ESPN) AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Kansas State vs. Arkansas (3:20 p.m. — ESPN) Valero Alamo Bowl
Oregon vs. TCU (6:45 p.m. — ESPN) Motel 6 Cactus Bowl
West Virginia vs. Arizona State (10:15 p.m. — ESPN) A 10:15 p.m. ET kickoff? Now that calls for a drink. You can drink this from a glass or a bowl — this margarita is the perfect pairing for your football fare. The pear adds a nice flavor (and a few bubbles) without being too sweet. Squeeze the juice from 1 1/2 fresh limes into a glass. Add in about four drops of raw agave. Add in 6 oz of a natural pear soda, 1/2 shot of triple sec or an orange-flavoured liqueur and 1 shot of tequila. Transfer the contents to a cocktail shaker and shake over ice. Strain the liquid and pour into a salted-rim glass. Enjoy! (WTOP/Rachel Nania)
WTOP/Rachel Nania
WASHINGTON — There is a good argument to be made that bowl season has run completely amok, that the very meaning of making a bowl has been irreparably reduced.
There are 41 games this year — forty-one — which is a number so high that there aren’t actually enough teams clearing the already low bar of six wins to fill them.
The AutoNation Cure Bowl, which I assure you is a real thing, pits 6-6 Georgia State against 5-7 San Jose State. It will take place in Orlando on Saturday. Now you know.
But our cynicism over unnecessary bowls proliferating like an invasive plant species across our great land doesn’t have to take away from our enjoyment of the final installations of college football for the year. In fact, we’re here to do just the opposite — to enhance your viewing experience with a bowl of delicious food for every day of bowl games.
Scroll through the gallery above for a schedule of the games and a recipe to match.
