The College Football Bottom 25 Capital None Fictional Bowl Week + The Coaching Carousel


         (Deming Community College's famous Jose Snedeker Memorial Stadium, home of the Desert Southwest Arid Bowl)

For reasons unknown to me at this time, I did not create a Fictional Bowl Week last year, so this will be the first one since 2021. 

The good news, looking back, is that being in this poll is not a permanent death sentence to your program. Twelve of the 2021 B25 "bowl" teams are playing in a real bowl just two seasons later, which is nearly half of the group. Let us take a moment to congratulate Georgia Tech, Georgia Southern, Northwestern, Kansas, Duke, Tulane, Ohio, New Mexico State (Jerry Kill can flat coach!!!), Arizona, the University of South (really West!) Florida, UNLV and Arkansas State on their success this year! And especially Arizona, who went from football nowhere-ism 2 years ago to being ranked #14 in all three major polls at the end of this season.

The Capital None Fictional Bowl Week

This year’s Lower Alabama Pest Control Association Palmetto Bug Bowl features a 16 vs 17 matchup, with the Baylor CareBears taking on the UTEP Minors. Perhaps this year’s game should be moved to Midland, Texas.

What could be better than having two teams travel 2500 miles to re-ignite their annual minor rivalry game, the Shula Bowl, at The Flagstaff Turkey Ranchers Council Pine Tree Bowl? Nothing, that’s what! So, welcome #23 Florida International and #24 Florida Atlantic to Arizona, everybody! All the better, because as the Jowls moved out of Conference USA this year and are no longer conference mates with the Panters, the Shula Bowl was not played this year for the first time since 2002!

The Vinnie Barbazza Memorial Brooklyn Bowl traditionally features two Northeastern squads. This year’s edition has western New Yorkers, #9 Buffalo playing as the home squad against #7 Temple. The Hold Steady will play the halftime show!

The Greater Murfreesboro John Deere Dealer's Lawn Bowl gets the #10 Southern Mississippi Golden Favres as visitors against fellow Southerner hosts, the #6 East Carolina Pyrites. This game features the best grass field that mowers can cut!

The Wisconsin State Fair Fried Cheese Curd Bowl has MAC conference locals #4 Akron hosting visitors the #19 Virginia Cabriolets, marking their WSFFCCB debut.

The Peachtree City Golf Cart Bowl specializes in rematches, this time a replay of a Northeastern Bummer Bowl from just 2 weeks ago featuring #22 Connecticut, this time as the hosts, taking on #8 Massachusetts. The Fusskies beat the Minute-men in the earlier game, 31-18.

The Circle K Convenience Bowl is back again at Terre Haute’s famed Diet RC Cola Dome. This year’s game is a matchup featuring FBS newbies Sam Houston, #21 this year, as the road team against local hosts, the #13 Indiana Loosiers.

The Farm Bureau Meet In The Middle Bowl always features an East versus West matchup. The western entrant is the #18 Arizona State Stunned Devils hosting the eastern squad, the #5 Vanderbilt Commode-doors. The game will take place in a grass covered parking lot as near as possible to where the Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska borders meet. Those who can find the place based on a series of internet clues get free admission. Both teams will be forced, as always, to wear their road uniforms. 

The Desert Southwest Arid Bowl, played yearly at Deming Community College's famous Jose Snedeker Memorial Stadium will pit our two teams tied at #25, the Colorado Beefalos and Middle Tennessee State’s Blue Faiders.

The Tupelo Elvis Bowl is the battle to claim the famed Golden Sideburn Trophy. Biff Poggi’s Charlotte 3-9ers, #11 in the poll and the #20 Louisiana Tech Dulldogs will try to grab the mic for that Hip Shakin’, Rump Rattlin’ trophy.

The Delaware Professional Fisherman's Fund Quahog Bowl will return with a matchup between a coastal team, #12 Stanford hosting a decidedly non-coastal team, #3 Nevada. It will be the 3rd straight DPFFQ Bowl for the Marginal.

The Chick-Fil-A O’ Beef O’ Brady’s Tilted Kilt Restaurant Battle Bowl has found a new permanent home (seems to happen every year!) inside the Mall Of America, where the former home of the Minnesota Vikings, Metropolitan Stadium, once stood. This year’s matchup is between #15 Cincinnati and #14 Pittsburgh, will be for the coveted Grilled Buffalo Cheesesteak Salad Cup trophy as well as the early lead in the National League Central Division.

The Dr. Scholl’s Unchampionship Relegation Bowl, the second Black Sheep Cousin Of All Bowl Games, features relegation to the FCS for the loser each year. Number one, the Kent State Golden Bashed host #2, the UL Monroe Marhawks to determine who gets relegation to the FCS, where they likely would go 6-6 next season.

       (Terre Haute’s famed Diet RC Cola Dome, home of the Circle K Convenience Bowl)

The Coaching Carousel

School                   Coach Fired           Date Fired          Replacement Hire (HC Experience)

New Mexico          Danny Gonzalez      11/25/23              Bronco Mendenhall (BYU, UVA)

Indiana                 Tom Allen               11/26/23              Curt Cignetti (JMU)

Houston                Dana Holgorsen      11/26/23              Willie Fritz (Tulane, Ga. Southern)

UTEP                    Dana Dimel            11/26/23              Scotty Walden (Austin Peay)

MTSU                   Rick Stockstill          11/27/23              Derek Mason (Vanderbilt)

Nevada                 Ken Wilson             12/1/23                Jeff Choate (Montana State)
   
UL Monroe            Terry Bowden          11/26/23              TBD

November 26, 2023 has to be a unique date in history because there simply cannot be another day ever in which two head coaches with the first name of Dana were fired on the same day. In ANY sport!


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