The 2023 NCAA college football bowl season kicked off with one of the busiest Saturdays in bowl history. Seven games filled the slate starting with the Myrtle Beach Bowl in South Carolina before wrapping up with the Independence Bowl in Louisiana. It was a day for the Group of Five teams to shine as the C-USA, Sunbelt, Moutain West and MAC all put multiple teams on the national stage.
Myrtle Beach Bowl: Ohio 41 | Georgia Southern 21
The Bobcats were breaking records left and right en route to the first win of the bowl season. Ohio jumped out to an early lead and held on giving the Bobcats their tenth win of the season. Freshman RB Ricky Hunt rushed for four touchdowns and caught the lone touchdown pass from QB Parker Navarro. Hunt set the school record for total touchdowns in a game with five. Ohio became the first MAC school to win five straight bowl games. It was a tough outing for Georgia Southern. Davis Brin completed 32 of 42 passes for 350 yards and two touchdowns but also tossed three interceptions in the loss.
Cricket Celebration Bowl: Florida A&M 30 | Howard 26
In the only matchup featuring FCS teams, Florida A&M overcame an early deficit to defeat Howard for their 12th win of the season. Howard jumped out to an early lead and recorded a first half safety to put the Rattlers in a deeper hole. But QB Jeremy Moussa overcame his early struggles to lead Florida A&M to victory. Moussa completed 19 of 32 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns. One drive after a pick-six that put Howard back in front, Moussa led the Rattlers down the field for the game winning touchdown giving the SWAC a hard-earned bowl win.
R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: Jacksonville St. 34 | Louisiana 31
Easily the most exciting bowl game of the day, tempers flared in the New Orleans Bowl.
Jacksonville State and Louisiana got chippy in a back-and-forth game that went into overtime. Ron Wiggins rushed for 126 yards and a score, while Zion Webb passed for 156 yards and a touchdown for JSU. What probably should’ve been a blowout turned into a great game thanks to four Gamecock turnovers. The Ragin Cajuns converted three of those into scores of their own. In OT, JSU Freshman kicker, Garrison Rippa drilled only the second field goal attempt of his college career. JSU won the game and ended their inaugural FBS season on a high note and giving C-USA its first win of the bowl season.
Avocados from Mexico Cure Bowl: Appalachian St. 13 | Miami (OH) 9
From a game with a lot of points to a game with very few, Appalachian State and Miami (OH) played the defensive struggle of the day. Redhawks RB Rashad Amos was the star of the day rushing for 180 yards and a touchdown. However, it was the only offense for Miami in the drenching rain. The Mountaineers didn’t have anyone standout like Amos, but the offense did just enough to give App St. the win. This was the Sunbelt’s only win Saturday despite fielding three teams.
Isleta New Mexico Bowl: Fresno St. 37 | New Mexico St. 10
No home state advantage in the New Mexico Bowl as Fresno St. bowled over New Mexico St. Mikey Keene was a touchdown machine for the Bulldogs. He passed for 380 yards and three scores while rushing for a fourth. Meanwhile the defense held the Aggies to 200 total yards as Fresno rolled to the first bowl win for the Mountain West.
After the game, New Mexico St. coach Jerry Kill laid into the athletic director for the University of New Mexico.
The game was played at New Mexico State’s rival stadium. And the New Mexico AD wasn’t playing nice with his rivals, not allowing the Aggies to use the facilities before the game. Kill blamed the decision on QB Diego Pavia‘s caught on camera urination on the New Mexico logo from a previous time New Mexico St. used the facility. If so, Pavia hurt himself and his team, as he only completed 11 of 25 passes for 58 yards and an interception in the loss.
Starco Brands LA Bowl: UCLA 35 | Boise St. 22
The power five jumped into the bowl fray in the final two games of the day. UCLA ended their run in the Pac-12 with an excellent performance against Mountain West perennial power Boise State. UCLA QBs completed 20 of 28 passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns. This game was won in the third quarter when the Bruins outscored the Broncos 21-0. UCLA gives the Pac-12 a going away present with its first bowl win of the league’s final season in its current iteration. The Bruins now head to the Big Ten while questions remains about the Pac-12’s future.
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl: Texas Tech 34 | California 14
In the nightcap, it was the only matchup between two Power 5 schools as Texas Tech and California battled in Shreveport. It looked to be a great game after the first quarter with the Golden Bears leading 14-7. But the Red Raiders took over and never looked back scoring 27 unanswered points. Cal couldn’t match the parting gift UCLA gave the Pac-12. As Cal heads to the ACC, they were also handed the first Pac-12 loss of the bowl season. Meanwhile, Texas Tech ended its up and down season on a high note, finishing 7-6 on the year.
Conference Bowl Records (Must Field 3 Teams Through Entire Bowl Season)
- Big 12 (1-0)
- C-USA (1-1)
- MAC (1-1)
- Mountain West (1-1)
- Pac-12 (1-1)
- Sunbelt (1-2)
- ACC (0-0)
- American (0-0)
- Independents (0-0)
- SEC (0-0)
Next Bowl Matchup
The NCAA is taking Sunday off but the bowls return Monday afternoon with the Famous Toastery Bowl. Western Kentucky will face Old Dominion.
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