If you are a real fan of college football, this is the week you have been waiting for.
It’s the high point of the bowl season, and fans throughout the Tri-State Area will be especially interested in several games.
A lot of attention across the region will be directed on Friday’s Cotton Bowl, when Cincinnati (13-0) will take on Alabama (12-1) at 3:30 p.m. in the first of two College Football Playoff semifinals. The Bearcats, who for now call the American Athletic Conference home, became the first member of a Group of Five conference to earn a spot in the playoffs. That, and the region’s significant number of alumni of the school who live in the area, will make that game one of interest.
At stake will be a spot in the national championship at 8 p.m. Jan. 8 against the winner of the other semifinal game, Friday’s 7:30 p.m. Orange Bowl matchup between Michigan (10-2) and Georgia (12-1).
The school’s recent success under coach Luke Fickell made it attractive to the Big 12 — and Cincinnati is expected to join the Power Five conference no later than the start of the 2024-25 season.
There will plenty of interest in our area in several other bowl games that will be played this week, beginning Tuesday when West Virginia (6-6) takes on Minnesota (8-4) in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix. WVU had to win its last two games of the regular season to become bowl-eligible while the Golden Gophers also won their last two games to set up the battle between the Big 12 and the Big Ten.
Pitt, meanwhile, will carry an 11-2 record and Atlantic Coast Conference championship into Thursday’s 7 p.m. Peach Bowl against Michigan State (10-2.) The Panthers will be playing without Kenny Pickett, who was a Heisman Trophy finalist and has opted to sit out the game and prepare for the National Football League draft, where it is expected he will be among the first quarterbacks selected.
Saturday’s highlight will come when Ohio State (10-2) takes on Utah (10-3) at 5 p.m. in the Rose Bowl. It’s a matchup that takes the Granddaddy of Them All back to its classic Big Ten vs. Pac 12 format.
Earlier that day, Arkansas (8-4) will meet Penn State (7-5) at noon in the Outback Bowl, while Notre Dame (11-1) will take on Oklahoma State at 1 p.m. in the Fiesta Bowl.
Many argue that the bowl season, which began Dec. 17 and will end Jan. 8, is too long and includes too many games. Others, on the other hand, are happy to have the opportunity to have more games to watch.
Wherever you fall in that spectrum, we hope you will sit back and enjoy the games.