This week’s early bowl games haven’t always been pretty, but they’ve been delightful.
First, on Monday, Memphis and BYU played a terrific, back-and-forth inaugural Miami Beach Bowl that finished 55-48 Tigers in double overtime. But really, it had just started, devolving into a bloody brawl.
Then on Tuesday, San Diego State and Navy treated us to a drama-filled Poinsettia Bowl. The Midshipmen won, 17-16, in a game that featured four turnovers — in the fourth quarter alone — and a missed 34-yard field goal in the final minute.
Wednesday may have trumped both. Western Kentucky took a 49-14 lead against Central Michigan early in the second half in the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl. But the Chippewas “chipped” away at the lead before a late flurry somehow got them within a touchdown.
With one second left, down 49-42, Central Michigan unleashed one of the all-time great FBS plays to end a game:
Unfortunately, the Chippewas went for a two-point conversion for the win, throwing a fade route to the right corner of the end zone that never had a chance.
If the early bowl games are any indication, the SEC is in for a treat starting Saturday when South Carolina faces Miami in the Independence Bowl.
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
