Saturday marked the beginning of one of the best times of the year: college football bowl season. it is a time where records don't matter and fans can just really enjoy the game. With games on almost everyday it's hard to not be entertained 24/7, and the first day definitely set the tone for the next month of college football.
The day started off with the Gildan New Mexico Bowl that pitted Arizona and New Mexico against each other. In what was basically a home game for New Mexico, this game came down to the very last drive. Down eight with only a few minutes left, New Mexico was driving to try and tie up the game. The game was capped by an interception by Arizona to seal the 45-37 win for the Wildcats. Next up was the Royal Purple Las vegas Bowl where intense rivals BYU and Utah met once again. after a 35-0 start for Utah, they were shutout for the rest of the game. Freshman Tanner Mangum almost led an improbable comeback but came up just short as Utah prevailed 35-28.
The night games didn't have the big name colleges like the first two games did, but they were just as entertaining. Appalachian State came back from a 17-7 deficit against Ohio to win 31-29 by a field goal in the final seconds. The Autonation Cure Bowl was close until San Jose State was able to score two big touchdowns in the fourth to defeat Georgia State 27-16. The final game of the night was the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. History was made in this game as LA Tech's Kenneth Dixon became the NCAA leader for career touchdowns with 86 total TDs. The game entered halftime with LA Tech and Arkansas State tied at 17. LA Tech ran away with it in the second half as the went on to win 47-28.
These games were not the sexy match-ups that fans love, but the first day of bowl season definitely not disappoint. If every game can be like the five on Saturday, then fans are in for another great college football postseason.
