2025 College Football: Bowl Game Takeaways
If your team is playing in one of these bowls, congratulations! Normally I’d say “your team is at least 6-6”, but so many schools disturbingly opted out of these games, more 5-7 squads than usual made the cut. If your love football like me, then you’ll appreciate the teams that did show up instead of acting like children. I’m providing bowl game takeaways for every bowl, and I’ll update this page whenever games occur (most recent bowl first), so check back often. I’ll try to discuss each game within 24 hours of it going final. The CFP first-round and semifinal games will be discussed in separate posts. Read on for the takeaways!
Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl: NC State 31, Memphis 7
Neither bowl game today was particularly competitive. I suppose we should’ve seen this one coming. Memphis lost HC Ryan Silverfield to Arkansas, but even before that, the Tigers had lost their final 3 games to go from the AAC’s likely playoff representative to 8-4. Still, I expected more from 6th-year senior QB Brendon Lewis (14/25, 106 yards, TD, INT; 11/51 rushing) in his final game for his 4th school. Memphis managed just 1 score in the 2nd quarter. The running game was actually fine, but Lewis short-circuited in the critical moments. His worst faux pas was a telegraphed INT that got returned inside his team’s five.
You may have expected NC State to struggle on offense without RB Hollywood Smothers (transfer portal). Backup Jayden “Duke” Scott (19/108) was more than competent though, and QB CJ Bailey (14/25, 221 yards, 2 TDs, rush TD) had a really good game. The completion percentage only looks low because Bailey attempted so many deep shots, and they were hitting at a nice clip. Even K Kanoah Vinesett had a highlight with a 52-yard FG: he had only 8 total attempts on the season and 0 beyond 40 yards. The Wolfpack defense earned 2 sacks but a stellar 12.5 TFLs, shutting down any drives that got any momentum.
And that was it for this game. NC State took a 31-7 halftime lead and neither team scored a single point from then on. Memphis tried their hardest but couldn’t do it, while the Wolfpack seemed content to just burn the final 30 minutes. Despite being on opposite sides of this result, both teams are facing a bit of uncertainty. Memphis will have a new coach in Charles Huff, but he seems like a mercenary after spending just 1 season at Southern Mississippi. Meanwhile, Bailey isn’t a sure bet to return, as he’s considering a transfer. Maybe after a game like this, he’ll decide that the grass isn’t necessarily greener on the other side.
Myrtle Beach Bowl: Western Michigan 41, Kennesaw State 6
Fun fact: this is the only bowl game featuring 2 conference champions (pending any CFP matchups). I wrote that I wanted the Bucked Up LA Bowl to be our least-competitive matchup. That game has been outdone. Western Michigan scored on the very first offensive snap with a 65-yard run by RB Jalen Buckley. The star back earned 174 yards on just 8 caries and didn’t have to play any of the second half. WMU DE Kershawn Fisher returned a fumble by KSU QB Amari Odom for a TD just a few plays later. The Owls had no clue what hit them, and the Broncos took full advantage of their seemingly dazed state of mind.
Western Michigan used a dominant rushing attack (RB Devin Miles also contributed 68 yards and a TD), a pair of TD passes from QB Broc Lowry (12/19, 120 yards, 2 TDs, INT; 6/23 rushing) and a smothering defense to take a 27-0 lead…in the first quarter. Their only mistake was a shanked PAT. Special teams did step up though with a blocked punt in the second quarter. WMU tallied 5 sacks, including 2.5 from Rodney McGraw, and did so without MAC DPOY Nadame Tucker (injured, draft prep). Unlike Arkansas State last night, Western Michigan pressed their advantage and never let up, particularly with their smothering defense.
Due to a missed FG before the half, Kennesaw State didn’t score until 4:10 remained in the 3rd quarter and the Broncos’ defense got sloppy. Their only points came on an 82-yard TD catch by WR Javon Rogers (3/111/1), but naturally KSU missed the PAT. Only RB Chase Belcher (16/148) deserves a shoutout for the Owls. Odom (18/35, 209 yards, TD, 2 INTs) was a dud. KSU’s second FBS season has been a smashing success, but they laid a real egg here. Western Michigan finished off the second 10-win season in school history with a MAC title and a bowl win. HC Lance Taylor is really doing wonders with this program.
Xbox Bowl: Arkansas State 34, Missouri State 28
Competing against two 11-win NFL teams playing Thursday Night Football, many people probably didn’t watch this bowl. That’s a shame, as Arkansas State is one of the more entertaining teams fans haven’t seen. They’ve had some crazy finishes, including their 30-29 squeaker over App State to earn their 6th win and reach this game. Missouri State, an FCS team this time last year, just hired a new HC (SMU OC Casey Woods) because their old one (Ryan Beard) lead such a successful transition that Coastal Carolina poached him. As you might imagine, the Bears struggled most of the game without their leader.
Most of the struggles fell on the offensive line. You expect that with mostly FCS-caliber players at scarce positions. ASU teed off for 8 sacks, with 8 different players getting in on the fun. Thanks to the sack yardage, the Bears had just 47 rushing yards and 1.3 YPC. The Red Wolves had no such offensive troubles. QB Jaylen Raylor (17/31, 388 yards, 3 TDs) sizzled early on. He threw 3 first-half TD passes to WRs Corey Rucker (6/166/1), Chauncy Cobb (4/30/1), and Jaylen Bonelli (2/28/1). With another TD early in the 3rd quarter, Arkansas State took a 31-7 lead and put the game out of the Bears’ reach. Or so you might think.
Leave it to the Red Wolves to make things interesting. Their offense shut down for the rest of the game, only scoring one FG. MOST refused to quit, especially QB Jacob Clark. I’d cut a guy some slack for calling it a day after taking 8 sacks, but that’s not what he did. Clark (25/35, 349, 4 TDs, FUM), along with WRs Dash Luke (7/169/2, FUM) and Jmariye Robinson (4/96/1), caught fire in the 4th quarter, scoring 21 points. However, a Clark fumble, a muffed punt by Luke, and penalties (14 for 115 yards) doomed the Bears. One failed onside kick, and ASU celebrated. Based on the first half though, I’m happy with how the game turned out!
68 Ventures Bowl: Delaware 20, Louisiana 13
First off, let’s congratulate both teams for being here. Delaware made it to 6-6 in their first ever FBS season, while Louisiana needed a 4-game winning streak to rise from 2-6 to 6-6. The Ragin Cajuns will rue their missed opportunities early in this game though. Their first two drives ended inside the Delaware 25: a missed 39-yard FG and an end zone INT on 4th and 1. Their QB, Lunch Winfield (21/36, 231 yards, TD, INT, FUM; 14/40 rushing), was hobbled by an early ankle injury, and ULL’s normally dangerous rushing attack managed just 104 yards at 2.7 YPC. Conversely, Delaware’s ground game started out hot.
RB Jo Silver (14/116/1) opened up the scoring with a 61-yard TD dash. That score and one FG by each team basically told the story of the half though. The Blue Hens had an excellent scoring chance after recovering a muffed punt in the second quarter, but they failed on 4th down and scored nothing. Normally, Delaware is a pass-heavy team. In this bowl, they had just 50 first-half passing yards. The coaches must’ve noticed that, because they came out slinging the ball in the third quarter. QB Nick Minicucci (19/30, 176 yards, TD) threw for 70 yards on the first drive of the 2nd half alone, including a TD to WR Sean Wilson (6/81/1) on 3rd-and-15.
To their credit, ULL didn’t go away. Down 3 scores, Winfield led an FG drive and then a TD march (scoring on 4th-and-6) after his teammates blocked a Delaware FG. He lost a fumble on the next drive, but the ULL defense forced a 3-and-out to give the offense one more chance. The Ragin Cajuns went 86 yards and had one short-range shot at the end zone, but the ball bounced off the hands of TE Caden Jensen (4/72) and fell incomplete. We got a great game in the end, and Delaware ended up with a winning season. Not bad after being an FCS school last year! Louisiana gave it all they had though, so they should be proud too.
StaffDNA Cure Bowl: Old Dominion 24, South Florida 10
Here was our first game that was badly affected by an opt-out. USF QB Byrum Brown, who hasn’t decided on his next move, skipped the Cure Bowl. I’d complain about that, but how can I criticize a kid for leaving if coach Alex Golesh already bolted for Auburn? Still, it left a senior making his first career start, Gaston Moore, to lead the offense. That went…not well. Moore (20/28, 236 yards, TD, 2 INTs) did some good things but threw two back-breaking INTs on overthrows. A backup QB got in the game and threw an INT, as did the punter on a fake. WR Chris Neptune (10/102) lost a fumble to give USF a 5-turnover day.
Old Dominion’s offense wasn’t exactly clicking either, which let the Bulls stay in the game for a while. South Florida scored an FG following a fumble recovery and earned their only TD on a short field after the refs ruled a forward pass a fumble and made ODU punt from their own end zone. The Monarchs also botched a hold on an FG attempt before the half. Special teams treated nobody well. Neptune’s fumble came on a muffed punt, and ODU missed the FG they tried following the recovery. Usually reliable Bulls K Nico Gramatica also uncharacteristically missed two FGs. Eventually though, the dam broke on USF’s defense.
ODU ran the ball very well, with RBs Devin Roche (19/100) and Trequan Jones (8/56/1) having big games. Although QB Quinn Henicle (11/25, 127 yards; 24/107/2 rushing), substituting for transfer portal entrant Colton Joseph, didn’t throw well, he ran great. His running actually powered his team to victory. At one point, USF CB De’Shawn Rucker knocked Henicle out of the game via targeting, but he shockingly missed just one play. On ODU’s final non-kneeling drive, Henicle had a strong run that showed him breaking his opponents’ will, and he followed it up with a 51-yard TD sprint to officially put this game to bed.
I’m happy for Old Dominion, who reached the 10-win threshold in a very successful season. Unless Henicle takes a major step forward as a passer, they’ll need a new QB, but that’s tomorrow’s problem. USF can start worrying about their QB situation today, because it’s really the main reason they lost. As we proceed through this new NIL and transfer portal era, get used to seeing things like this. More players are going to opt out than ever before. Sometimes, it won’t make that much of a difference. Unfortunately, in this case, it robbed us of the chance to see a really good team play at the peak of their powers.
IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl: Jacksonville State 17, Troy 13
Two Alabama teams playing in an Alabama bowl. These teams were conference runners-up: Troy from the Sun Belt and Jacksonville State from C-USA. Both of them had major injuries. Gamecocks RB Cam Cook, the leading rusher in the FBS, missed the game because he was “banged up”. Trojans QB Goose Crowder hurt his ankle in the Sun Belt Championship game. Somehow, Crowder (3/6, 13 yards) started this game, but he didn’t last very long due to the injury. Tucker Kilcrease (12/23, 116 yards, 2 INTs) relieved him again and did not play well. We still got a good game because JVST insisted on keeping their opponents in it.
The Gamecocks fumbled on a botched flea flicker, and DT Luis Medina recovered it in the end zone for a TD. They also tried a fake punt with backup QB Gavin Wimsatt, but it fell incomplete and gave Troy possession on the plus side of the 50. Troy had a 10-7 lead without being able to move the ball at all. And they seemed resigned to that offensive fate. Before the 2-minute timeout, facing 3rd-and-8 in the red zone, they ran up the middle for 2 yards and kicked an FG. Up 13-10 in the 3rd quarter, WR DJ Epps (2/18) returned a kick for 79 yards, but the Trojans’ offense went -11 yards, and they missed their FG attempt.
Jacksonville State had the better QB by default in Caden Creel (14/20, 173 yards, TD) and got a 100-yard game out of WR Deondre Johnson (6/101). However, it was a drive with 10 straight runs that gave them the lead following an INT by LB Ian Mitchell. Nobody scored the rest of the way, with the Gamecocks shutting out Troy for the entirety of the second half. This used to be a rivalry matchup, but these teams hadn’t met since 2001. You could tell that both programs were into it, which was nice to see during this particular bowl season. Only JVST got to rebound from their conference title game loss though, making the win even sweeter.
Bucked Up LA Bowl: Washington 38, Boise State 10
Here we had ourselves a meeting of Pac-12 members past and future. Fortunately, this bowl is still Gronky. Otherwise, there wasn’t a whole lot to see. Hopefully this will wind up being our least competitive game of bowl season because after Boise State took a 3-0 lead, they never led again or came close. QB Maddux Madsen (7/16, 51 yards, 2 INTs) had a poor game, looking worse than he has since the Broncos got crushed by Notre Dame. Worse still, he re-aggravated his foot injury and left at halftime. Max Cutforth (15/27, 202 yards, TD, 3 INTS) replaced him and looked abysmal, with a garbage-time TD drive fluffing up his stats.
Conversely, Washington could do no wrong. QB Demond Williams Jr (15/24, 214 yards, 4 TDs), still just 19 years old, showed us the best version of himself as a passer to date. RB Jonah Coleman (12/86/1) and WR Denzel Boston (6/125/1) each flaunted their burst, with the latter catching a 78-yard TD pass on a busted coverage. On defense, the Huskies earned 3 sacks and 5 takeaways (all INTs). They also held the Broncos to just 2.1 yards per carry on the ground. That made them one-dimensional, but that dimension was awful. Washington cruised so easily that their starters all got to sit out the fourth quarter and watch.
I hate to say it, but this is why Group of 6 champs aren’t taken seriously. Washington is a good team. They spent some time at the lower end of the rankings and won 8 games. Three of their losses came against Ohio State, Michigan, and Oregon, all of which are powerhouses. However, Boise State won the Mountain West and is one year removed from reaching the CFP quarterfinals. This was a really sour way to end a still-solid season. For Washington, this is some fantastic momentum to carry into next year. Williams finished on a high note, and the whole team built a ton of confidence. HC Jedd Fisch is cooking something here.
Cricket Celebration Bowl: South Carolina State 40, Prairie View A&M 38 (4OT)
This is the part where I’d say “here’s the only bowl featuring FCS teams”. That’s true this year, but if teams keep opting out of bowl games, you have to wonder if more I-AA schools will be in play. Maybe they should because these two games gave us a show. It didn’t feel like that would be the case in the first half. Just like in last year’s iteration, SC State came out jittery and took some major punches. Prairie View rocketed out to a 21-0 lead behind a great performance from QB Cameron Peters (24/36, 412 yards, 4 TDs; 9/35/1 rushing), who set a Celebration Bowl record for passing yards and led the Panthers in rushing on the day.
The defense was also stout, earning 4 sacks and 9 TFLs. LB Sterling Roberts led all players in both sacks (2.5) and total tackles (11). To top it off, Bulldogs QB William Atkins IV (7/9, 45 yards) left with an arm injury before halftime, so this game looked over. If not for the bands, I might’ve switched to the FCS Playoffs at halftime. It’s a good thing I didn’t, as SC State caught fire behind backup QB Ryan Stubblefield (15/29, 234 yards, 2 TDs, INT, rush TD). Powered by his connection with WR Jordan Smith (9/152/2; 5/28/1 rushing), Stubblefield led the Bulldogs to 21 unanswered 3rd-quarter points to tie the game. PV didn’t roll over though.
Though not as prolific as they were in the first half, the Panthers did add two 2nd-half TDs. It’s just that each time they did, SC State answered in kind. After a conservative series near the end of the game, we headed to OT, where nobody did much of anything right. Both teams scored FGs after failing to earn even a single first down. In the second extra period, Stubblefield threw an INT, but Panthers K Diego Alfaro missed a 38-yard game-winner. He also missed from 26 yards earlier in the game. Neither team converted their two-point try in 3OT, and to be frank, neither attempt came particularly close at all.
Finally, in 4OT, SC State broke through. RB Tyler Smith (8/22/1) dove at the pylon, and the play was ruled a TD on field. I and the announcers thought that he was PROBABLY short, but we all agreed that it was too close to overturn. When Peters’ subsequent pass fell incomplete, the Bulldogs celebrated (pun intended). This was the 10th year of the Celebration Bowl and by far the best one yet. Prairie View A&M was surprise team who almost no one picked to be here, so they put forth a great effort. South Carolina State got the bad taste from last year out of their mouths and took their place as the best team in all of HBCU football.