With Ohio State not playing until New Year’s Eve, Buckeye Nation will have plenty of free time over the next few weeks to take in some football that doesn’t involve a team wearing scarlet and gray. Since
the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals have been awful this year, checking out the NFL is out of the question unless it’s to keep tabs on former Ohio State players currently in the league. Luckily for football fans, there is a plethora of college football between now and the end of the calendar year.
Today we want to know what non-Ohio State college football game you are most looking forward to this year. It could be a bowl game with a catchy sponsor. Who doesn’t love the Pop-Tarts Bowl for all of the entertainment they’ve come with off the field. Then there is the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. Who doesn’t love seeing the winning head coach get doused with mayo? Although some of the tips on how to incorporate mayo with some other foods during the broadcast can be hit or miss.
Then there are the first round College Football Playoff games coming up this weekend. While nobody expects Oregon and Ole Miss to be tested, the Alabama-Oklahoma and Miami-Texas A&M games should be bangers. Of course the tilt between the Hurricanes and Aggies will garner lots of attention from Buckeye fans since it will determine who Ohio State will see in the Cotton Bowl. Who knows, maybe there is an FCS semifinal game coming up that somebody might not want to miss!
With over 40 college football games still left on the schedule, there are tons of great options. Some favorites might be tied in to conference solidarity, while others could be people rooting for fellow in-state schools (looking at you Ohio and Cincinnati!). Don’t sleep on the Hawai’i Bowl since it gives families something to watch on Christmas Eve. We can’t wait to see all the great responses!
Today’s question: Which non-Ohio State college football game are you most looking forward to over the holidays?
We’d love to hear your choices. Either respond to us on Twitter at @Landgrant33 or leave your choice in the comments.
Brett’s answer: Texas vs. Michigan in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl
Ohio State fans have a tremendous appetizer for the Cotton Bowl. The Cheez-It Citrus Bowl will feature the team the Buckeyes beat in their first regular-season game this year, and the team they beat in their final game of the regular season. The Longhorns and Wolverines are battling for the right to have their head coach showered in Cheez-Its. Even though, as a true Buckeye fan, I can’t stand Michigan, I have to admit it would be hilarious to see Biff Poggi in a blizzard of Cheez-Its. Maybe the interim Michigan head coach could get some tearaway sleeves to truly commit to the bit.
I’m sure by the time we get closer to kickoff, Arch Manning will announce he is sitting this game out to prepare for the NFL Draft, but at least for now, it’s fun to think of the preseason unanimous Heisman Trophy winner torching the Michigan defense after Julian Sayin beat the Wolverines in Ann Arbor last month. If Manning were to play in the game, it would be interesting to compare his final stat line to that of what Quinn Ewers was able to do against Michigan last season.
This game has taken on even more intrigue after Michigan fired Sherrone Moore last week. The university will likely want to act quickly and should have a head coach in place by the time this game kicks off. The Citrus Bowl could mean a lot since it will be the last impression a lot of players will be able to make before the new head coach actually takes over. Then there could be players who don’t share the same vision as the new head coach, which could lead to a bunch of Wolverines hitting the transfer portal.
When it comes to a way to pass the last few hours before Ohio State plays in the Cotton Bowl, this is about as good as it gets. Rooting against the Wolverines should only intensify the passion Buckeye fans have in rooting for Ohio State on New Year’s Eve. A perfect close to 2025 would be to see Michigan lose, followed by an Ohio State victory against either Miami or Texas A&M.
Matt’s answer: Pop-Tarts Bowl… I don’t really care who’s playing
One of the things that college football purists have complained about with the expansion of the College Football Playoff is that the bowls have lost their meaning. While not as prevalent a talking point as the oft-heard refrain that the regular season has been devalued, with even more players opting out and now full teams opting out, we are hearing it more and more.
Personally, I do not believe that the regular season has been diminished, but I do agree that the bowls have lost at least two-thirds of their meaning. Sure, there is still value in the extra practices, but the best bowl gifts don’t compare to NIL; most of the non-CFP bowls aren’t in fun locations, but are instead in places like Mobile, Alabama and Boise, Idaho. When you are having to scrounge for sub-.500 teams to fill bowl games, the allure is lost.
So, forgive me if I’m just not super excited about any of these matchups. But you know what I am super excited about? Pop-Tarts. And, thus, I am going with the Pop-Tarts Bowl matchup between….. hold on, let me look it up. Oh, ok, that’s actually pretty good, No. 12 BYU and No. 22 Georgia Tech.
While I do not eat them all that often anymore, from childhood into my 30s, I could crush me some Pop-Tarts. Growing up, I was a strictly Frosted Strawberry guy (my sister was Frosted Chocolate and my brother was Frosted Cinnamon), but then, roughly in my teens, they introduced the Frosted S’mores, and that quickly entered the rotation.
I always preferred Pop-Tarts hot and toasted, but I was also a fan of them untoasted, straight out of their shiny faux-foil wrapping — or “cold” as we called them. Because they were individually wrapped, they were perfect for when I was inevitably running late for school, for an early morning game, for an afternoon practice, or really any time. I could take them in the car, and while the sprinkles on the Strawberry Pop-Tarts might make a bit of a mess, it was worth it to have a fairly substantive — if not sugar-packed — breakfast.
There was a time in the prehistoric 1990s when Toaster Strudels tried to steal Pop-Tarts’ place in the world of mass-produced breakfast pastries. And don’t get me wrong, the simplified laminated crust was great, the more gooey filling was delightful, and the creamy icing was a treat (despite the fact that I could never get all of it out of the packaging to spread on the strudel). But from a convenience and consistency perspective, there was just no beating the OG Pop-Tart.
In adulthood, I have even grown to enjoy the Cinnamon Pop-Tarts, which I was never a fan of as a child. And while I have occasionally experimented with other flavors, I have mostly stayed true to the favorites of my youth, Strawberry and S’mores. The one exception would be the Frosted Hot Fudge Sundae Pop-Tart. Once I tried it, it quickly entered the rotation (especially as it was regularly featured in vending machines where I worked).
So, if you were asking me for my Pop-Tarts Mount Rushmore (and honestly, why wouldn’t you be?) I’d go Frosted Strawberry, Frosted S’Mores, Frosted Hot Fudge Sundae, and Frosted Cinnamon Roll. Surprisingly, I have always found the Frosted Confetti Cupcake Pop-Tarts to be underwhelming, and I wish I had tried the now-discontinued (technically limited edition) Cinnamon Pretzel and Frosted Banana Cream Pie flavors, as those are two of my favorite flavor combinations.
I love Pop-Tarts. I don’t really eat sugar anymore, so I have to love them from afar with the nostalgia of remembering the one who got away. So, watching the Pop-Tarts Bowl is something akin to reliving loves gone by while taking a deep dive on their socials. It’s painful, but ultimately a good reminder of what you once had.
Anyway, give me BYU minus the points.
