The method to determine the National Champion will look different this season with the addition of the much-anticipated 4-team playoff. Bowl season will also undergo some changes with the creation of 4 new bowl games and several sponsorship/name variations. There are now a staggering 38 bowl games which means 76 teams will go to the postseason. Last year there were 79 bowl-eligible (6-6 or better) teams, but in 2012 there were just 71. What will bowls do without enough eligible teams; will they start rewarding 5-7 seasons with a bowl invite?
Of the 4 new bowl games, 3 are tropical beach destinations, and the other is in Montgomery, Alabama (Camellia Bowl). The Bahamas Bowl will kickoff at noon on Christmas Eve and joins Canada, Ireland, Japan, and Cuba as the only non-American locations to host a Division 1 football game. The Miami Beach Bowl will be played in Marlins Park, while another Florida game, the Boca Raton Bowl, takes place at Florida Atlantic University. These new games all have various mid-major bowl ties (shown in grid below), in addition to BYU’s spot in the Miami Beach Bowl should they earn 6+ wins. 
Several name changes are taking place as well, some more noticeable than others. 3 unlikely sponsors come to college football this December: Bitcoin, the digital currency, Duck Commander, the company from the popular TV series Duck Dynasty, and the Detroit Lions, the historically mediocre NFL franchise. Three bowls axed their sponsors and are looking for new companies: San Francisco Bowl, Birmingham Bowl, and Fiesta Bowl – yes, that means Brent Musberger can’t use his infamous “for all the Tostitos” comment about what’s at stake in the major bowl game in the desert. Speaking of the desert, Tempe, Arizona’s other bowl dropped Buffalo Wild Wings and decided to rename it the Cactus Bowl (cue the Brady Hoke wings jokes). Lastly, it is worth mentioning that rumors point to Capital One looking to take over the Orange Bowl (ESPN looking for $25 Million), meaning its host bowl, the Citrus Bowl, can be revived in the same manner the Chick-Fil-A Bowl returned to being just the Peach Bowl. Now all we need is the Cherry Bowl and the Salad Bowl to return to complete the whole fruit/produce circuit!
Is 38 bowl games too many? Maybe. But will we still watch every single one? Damn right we will.
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2014 PREVIEW
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