The Most Entertaining Bowl Games That Missed the Top Tier
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Not every bowl game can be a classic – especially this year – but out of the 47 postseason games, there were plenty that were worth your time.
Just outside of the top ten in our ranking of all the 2025-2026 bowls, these all had something special – sometimes it was one big late play – to make them among the most entertaining bowl games of the bunch.
CFN Bowl Rankings: These Bowls Were Better Than You Remember
New Orleans Bowl
Western Kentucky vs Southern Miss
CFN Bowl Rank: 25
Final Score: WKU 27, Southern Miss 16
Line: WKU -4, o/u: 55.5
Past Post-Bowl Rankings: 2024: 39, 2023: 4, 2022: 35, 2021: 23, 2020: 25, 2019: 27
How Good Was Your Bowl? This wasn’t bad, and it really was more entertaining than you think, but it wasn’t for the casual bowl fan.
It was a field goal fest for three quarters, and then Western Kentucky finally found its offense with 14 unanswered points to pull away.
CFN Bowl Rankings: 10 Best | Forgettable | 10 Worst
IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl
Troy vs Jacksonville State
CFN Bowl Rank: 24
Final Score: Jacksonville State 17, Troy 13
Line: Troy -4, o/u: 46.5
Past Post-Bowl Rankings: 2024: 27, 2023: 23, 2022: 12, 2021: 27, 2020: 7, 2019: 17
How Good Was Your Bowl? For a Tuesday night – what else was there, the NBA Cup? – it was great.
There wasn’t any offense – just 490 total yards – completing passes was occasionally painful, and there were a few weird coaching decisions with a fourth down call by Troy that would’ve been fine if the receiver had run the route far enough.
But it was close throughout, and it came down to a final Hail Mary that had two real chances of being completed.
68 Ventures Bowl
Delaware vs Louisiana
CFN Bowl Rank: 23
Final Score: Delaware 20, Louisiana 13
Line: Louisiana -3, o/u: 57.5
Past Post-Bowl Rankings: 2024: 17, 2023: 42, 2022: 39, 2021: 34, 2020: 23, 2019: 37
How Good Was Your Bowl? Neither offense worked too well, Louisiana turned it over three times, and even though the effort was there, it was a tough watch … and then the Ragin’ Cajuns had one last throw into the end zone with a chance to tie it up late, or go for two and the win.
It was a misfire, and the game was just sort of over, but the last five minutes made it (almost) worth a Wednesday night watch.
XBOX Bowl
Arkansas State vs Missouri State
CFN Bowl Rank: 22
Final Score: Arkansas State 34, Missouri State 28
Line: Arkansas State -1.5, o/u: 56.5
Past Post-Bowl Rankings: (Bahamas), 2024: 46, 2023: 2, 2022: 10, 2021: 42, 2020: NA, 2019: 24
How Good Was Your Bowl? Don’t let the final score fool you. Arkansas State was up 31-7 in the fourth, and even though Missouri State scored late to pull within six, a recovered onside kick ended that.
There were 24 penalties and lots of rocky parts, but well over 600 combined passing yards kept it entertaining.
Go Bowling Military Bowl
East Carolina vs Pitt
CFN Bowl Rank: 21
Final Score: East Carolina 23, Pitt 17
Line: Pitt -13.5, o/u: 51.5
Past Post-Bowl Rankings: 2024: 13, 2023: 34, 2022: 36, 2021: T40, 2020: NA, 2019: 33
How Good Was Your Bowl? It was close, but it wasn’t all that great.
Pitt never got going, but give East Carolina credit for cranking up the defense with four takeaways against a flat team. The Pirates took over the last 20 minutes, pushed ahead with field goals, and Pitt stalled for most of the last 20 minutes.
With all of that said, it always seemed like Pitt was one big play from pulling this off – but there wasn’t any payoff.
Bush’s Boca Raton Bowl
Louisville vs Toledo
CFN Bowl Rank: 20
Final Score: Louisville 27, Toledo 22
Line: Louisville -8.5, o/u: 45.5
Past Post-Bowl Rankings: 2024: 30, 2023: 43, 2022: 39, 2021: 21, 2020: NA, 2019: NA
How Good Was Your Bowl? It was ugly, but Toledo made it fun late because Louisville had an impossible time landing the plane. The Rockets were down 11 late, but eight unanswered points made things tense. The Cardinals were this close to gagging it away until the very end.
Duke’s Mayo Bowl
Wake Forest vs Mississippi State
CFN Bowl Rank: 19
Final Score: Wake Forest 43, Mississippi State 29
Line: Mississippi State -3, o/u: 52.5
Past Post-Bowl Rankings: 2024: 35, 2023: 36, 2022: 16, 2021: 24, 2020: 9, 2019: 4
How Good Was Your Bowl? Mississippi State might have been a five-win addition, and it turned out to be a bit of a blowout, but lots of fun stuff happened along the way.
Wake Forest appeared to be in control for most of the game, but the Bulldogs made a big push to make it 30-27 in the fourth. The Demon Deacons took over the last 11 minutes, but overall, it was worth the watch.
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl
Missouri vs Virginia
CFN Bowl Rank: 18
Final Score: Virginia 13, Missouri 7
Line: Missouri -4, o/u: 43.5
Past Post-Bowl Rankings: 2024: 40, 2023: 6, 2022: 7, 2021: 35, 2020: 12, 2019: 15
How Good Was Your Bowl? It wasn’t for those who enjoy the whole scoring points thing, but it sure did pack a wallop of an ending.
Down six, Missouri had one final shot into the end zone. Starting quarterback Matt Zollers had to sit out for a play after getting banged up, and coming off the bench cold, backup Brett Brown threw a perfectly arched ball that safety Devin Neal slapped away at the final moment to save the game for the Cavaliers.
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl
Michigan vs Texas
CFN Bowl Rank: 17
Final Score: Texas 41, Michigan 27
Line: Texas -4.5, o/u: 50.5
Past Post-Bowl Rankings: 2024: 11, 2023: 39, 2022: 6, 2021: 15, 2020: 19, 2019: 12
How Good Was Your Bowl? Considering how many key players were missing on both sides, and the 21 combined penalties, it wasn’t bad.
Normally, a game like this between uniforms wouldn’t have mattered too much, but this was the official start to the Arch Manning 2026 season.
Down 27-24, the Longhorns scored 17 unanswered points, highlighted by a 60-yard dash from Manning and a deep shot dime for a touchdown pass.
Kinder’s Texas Bowl
LSU vs Houston
CFN Bowl Rank: 16
Final Score: Houston 38, LSU 35
Line: Houston -1.5, o/u: 41.5
Past Post-Bowl Rankings: 2024: 22, 2023: 11, 2022: 15, 2021: 33, 2020: NA, 2019: 14
How Good Was Your Bowl? LSU was missing way too many parts, and all things Lane Kiffin took over the narrative, but it was still a decent battle deep into the fourth quarter.
With the score tied at 28 with just under eight minutes to go, Houston finally took over, LSU got a late score to make the final count look good, and … it wasn’t nearly as bad a game as it was supposed to be.
College Football Playoff First Round (Friday)
Alabama at Oklahoma
CFN Bowl Rank: 15
Final Score: Alabama 34, Oklahoma 24
Line: Oklahoma -1.5, o/u: 40.5
Past Post-Bowl Rankings: 31 (Notre Dame-Indiana)
How Good Was Your Bowl? As double-digit wins go, it was among the most fascinating College Football Playoff games over the last two seasons.
Oklahoma got up 17-0 and was on the way to a blowout, faceplanted triple-hard, never got it back, and Alabama ripped off 27 straight points to take over.
It got instantly lost in the narrative that OU came back and pulled within three, but the great defense couldn’t hold up as Bama powered through for a touchdown midway through the fourth.
The Sooners – thanks to two missed field goals by the Lou Groza-winning kicker Tate Sandell – were knocked out way too early.
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl
Clemson vs Penn State
CFN Bowl Rank: 14
Final Score: Penn State 22, Clemson 10
Line: Clemson -2.5, o/u: 47.5
Past Post-Bowl Rankings: 2024: 26, 2023: 22, 2022: 23, 2021: 25, 2020: NA, 2019: 24
How Good Was Your Bowl? Both teams were missing massive numbers of key players, but the fight was there. It was ugly, ragged, and … it got better in a big way for a 6-3 game going into the fourth quarter.
If you stuck with it, there was a payoff with both teams trading haymakers over the last 13 minutes before Penn State finally put it away.
Pop-Tarts Bowl
Georgia Tech vs BYU
CFN Bowl Rank: 13
Final Score: BYU 25, Georgia Tech 21
Line: BYU -3.5, o/u: 55.5
Past Post-Bowl Rankings: 2024: 9, 2022: 7, 2021: 29, 2020: 6, 2019: 5
How Good Was Your Bowl? Beyond all the ridiculous marketing/infomercial aspects, the game went from dry and blah to amazing in a late snap.
Georgia Tech had BYU down, BYU came back with a brilliant late run – scoring 15 points in the fourth – and Yellow Jacket QB Haynes King almost pulled the game out of the fire in the final moments. The payoff was tremendous.
ReliaQuest Bowl
Iowa vs Vanderbilt
CFN Bowl Rank: 12
Final Score: Iowa 34, Vanderbilt 27
Line: Vanderbilt -5.5, o/u: 46.5
Past Post-Bowl Rankings: 2024: 20, 2023: 5, 2022: 8, 2021: 3, 2020: 8, 2019: 4
How Good Was Your Bowl? Everything happened that you were hoping for.
Did you expect Iowa to dominate the tempo? Yeah, it did.
Did you expect Diego Pavia to look amazing and crank up the offense when needed? Yeah, he did.
Did you expect a blast of a fight between these two? Yeah, and you got it. To sound like a corny announcer, this is what Big Ten vs SEC is all about.
Isleta New Mexico Bowl
North Texas vs San Diego State
CFN Bowl Rank: 11
Final Score: North Texas 49, San Diego State 47
Line: North Texas -7.5, o/u: 54.5
Past Post-Bowl Rankings: 2024: 45, 2023: 33, 2022: 15, 2021: 19, 2020: NA, 2019: 24
How Good Was Your Bowl? Everything about this was insanely fun for a random late December bowl game. As long as you didn’t have any financial interest here, you couldn’t have enjoyed yourself more.
North Texas kept ripping it up, San Diego State never went away, and nothing stopped until, literally, the final second, even though the outcome – but not the point spread – was already decided.
The two combined for way over 1,100 yards of total offense, including 794 rushing yards. No, seriously, how wild was this? The two went 8-of-12 on fourth downs.
Part 2 of CFN’s complete ranking of all 47 bowl games from best to worst.
CFN Bowl Rankings: 10 Best | Forgettable | 10 Worst
This story was originally published by College Football News on Jan 14, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add College Football News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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