Why college football is awesome: Week 2 of Bowl Season

With the College Football Playoffs having a week off, there were fifteen other bowl games to enjoy, beginning with a couple of crackers on Christmas Eve and ending with a 96-point thriller in New Mexico. With an array of new head coaches, misbehaving mascots and unique trophies on the line, here are some of the best bits from bowl season the last seven days.

Pirates, Bobcats & Cougars cause postseason upsets

Bowl games mean more to some than others. In a time of year where coaches may leave for pastures new, or players opt out to prepare for the NFL Draft, many of these showcase events can be unpredictable, and dare I say even a diluted product when many programs are just looking to get to the end of the season unscathed.

For others, however, it’s an opportunity to prove they should be held in higher esteem. Perhaps the best example of this was in Annapolis, Maryland, where the East Carolina Pirates took on the Pitt Panthers in the Military Bowl.

ECU had a raft of offensive starters unavailable, but nobody told their defense that. All game the Pirates took it to their more renowned opponents, forcing Pitt to cough up the football four times as they marched to a 23-17 victory. Repeatedly stuffing the Panthers in the red zone, two huge second-half takeaways sealed the deal for East Carolina, who cruelly had a pick six removed from the scoreboard due to an errant whistle.

Elsewhere, the lowly Ohio Bobcats have had a tumultuous end to 2025, firing head coach Brian Smith for cause amidst accusations of alcohol consumption on campus and an inappropriate relationship with a student. Maybe the last thing they needed right now was a trip to Texas to face UNLV in the Frisco Bowl.

That never factored into the mindset for newly promoted John Hauser, who led the Bobcats to a shock 17-10 win. UNLV have been playing lights out under Dan Mullen, but a mean Ohio ground game proved the difference. MAC football is a force of it’s own - #FlyTheFlag Coach Hauser - you deserve it!

And finally, all Willie Fritz does is win football games. With a 222-127 career record, Fritz secured a 10+ win season for the third time in four years on Saturday, overcoming the wealth and might of LSU 38-35 in the Texas Bowl. QB Conner Weigman was the star of the show with four touchdown passes.

An inconvenience to some is an opportunity to others. No matter the situation, bowl season always delivers.

Seventh Heaven for Fleck & the Gophers

There was one game on the docket where it was evident from the start that both teams wanted to sign off 2025 in style. Perhaps the Rate Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona, doesn’t have the history of some bowl games or the crazy antics of others - but it delivered an entertaining back and forth matchup between Minnesota and New Mexico.

For the Lobos, this was unfamiliar territory. A hard place to win, usually the only bowl game this program gets to is the New Mexico Bowl, a marriage of Albuquerque convenience. But first-year head coach Jason Eck has rebuilt a roster with SEVENTY new additions and enjoyed a satisfying nine-win season.

The ‘misfits’, as they call themselves, were a force in the Mountain West and wanted their tenth victory badly. They battled hard all game, and to the delight of their travelling army of Lobo fans a 100-yard kickoff return from Damon Bankston in the fourth quarter took the game to overtime.

But PJ Fleck boasts a proud postseason record at Minnesota. The Gophers head coach demands his players take these games seriously, and the buy-in from his troops was obvious, with star edge rusher Anthony Smith suiting up, earning the defensive MVP award, and then announcing he was returning for 2026.

In the end, Fleck made it seven wins out of seven bowl game appearances, with a diving touchdown catch from Jalen Smith a worthy way to cap an entertaining matchup. Congratulations to both schools on their successful seasons and affording the Rate Bowl the respect it deserves.

Mestemaker signs off in style

Perhaps the best game of the week was to be found in Albuquerque. Pairing up two teams who both know how to score, fans in attendance of the Isleta New Mexico Bowl were guaranteed fireworks, and the North Texas Mean Green and San Diego State Aztecs made sure they lived up to the billing.

After an incredible season in Denton, it was fitting to see redshirt freshman quarterback Drew Mestemaker play in this game, despite announcing his intent to enter the transfer portal next month. It’s likely Mestemaker will follow his head coach Eric Morris to Oklahoma State after the pair worked so well together in 2025.

Interim head coach Drew Svoboda, keeping the seat warm for newly appointed HC Neal Brown, managed to maintain the year’s momentum. Boosted by the return of running back Caleb Hawkins from injury, the Mean Green put up a jaw dropping 618 yards of offense - enough to bludgeon most opponents.

But San Diego State is not any old adversary. Head coach Sean Lewis knows a thing or two about moving the chains himself, and despite losing their starting quarterback to season-ending surgery, matched UNT stride for stride.

The Aztecs just wouldn’t go away, and despite falling to a 21-6 deficit in the first quarter kept plugging away. Utilising two quarterbacks, Bert Emanuel led the rushing game with 170 yards and two scores whilst Kyle Crum was brought in when the ball needed to be heaved downfield.

Finding themselves in a 15-point hole again in the fourth quarter, two late touchdowns got SDSU back into it once again, only to fail to recover the onside kick for one final chance. North Texas clung on to win 49-47, and got to take home a very special trophy, designed and created each year by husband and wife Elizabeth and Marcellus Medina, from nearby Zia Pueblo.

Just one more reason why college football is awesome.

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