The 12 bowl games of Christmas-New Years
When I was a school teacher—in the very recent past—I had a couple of holiday themed handouts for students to wrestle with in connection with Christmas and New Year’s Day. Most teachers have such handouts for filling the limited class time in the days preceding the break.
As the holidays settle in on this “budding writer,” I will admit things get a little thin in terms of story content near Christmas. Most folks are making plans for family or vacation or both. Look at the following column as one of those holiday handouts.
Readers are being asked to identify the bowl games associated with the trivial clues provided. Some are easier/harder than others. Have a little fun with this—if you dare.
2022 Bowl Game Trivia Questions
1. This current bowl game was actually started in 1990 with a different corporate sponsor—a sponsor who’s only remaining retail outlet is located in Bend, Oregon. Identify the current name of this bowl as of 2022.
2. Oregon State’s only Heisman Trophy winner scored on an NCAA record 99-yard TD run in what long-running bowl game?
3. The Boise State Broncos stormed onto the national college football stage with a dramatic bowl victory over Oklahoma, capped off by a Statue of Liberty play. What bowl game was this?
4. This long-time plant-inspired bowl game was once held on the West Coast as well as at two locations in the South. It has played host to a long list of teams, including the Linfield College Wildcats of McMinnville, Oregon, in 1961. Name the bowl game.
5. This bowl game—which twice invited the University of Oregon Ducks—was known at the time as the Poulan Weed-Eater Bowl. What is this bowl game known by presently?
6. This international football bowl game is held at a stadium normally used for soccer and even cricket. The first contest held in 2014 had 97 points scored between the two teams. What bowl is this?
7. Brigham Young University won their only national championship with a win in this West Coast bowl game in the mid-1980s. What bowl game was it?
8. Oregon’s Marcus Mariota outdueled Florida State’s Jameis Winston in this bowl game on the way to the national championship contest. What bowl game did these QBs meet in?
9. Known at the time as the GMAC Bowl, this financially-themed bowl game in Mobile, Alabama was the highest scoring of all bowl contests, recording a 64-61 victory for Marshall over East Carolina in the 2001 edition of the game. What is the current name of this bowl game?
10. This bowl game features the coach of the winning team being covered with the game sponsor’s product. Name that bowl.
11. Considered the second-oldest bowl game behind the Rose Bowl (in a tie with the Sugar and Orange Bowls), this game was first played at its namesake stadium in 1963—pitting Oregon against SMU. What is this long-lived bowl game?
12. This prestigious bowl game was temporarily moved to the Georgia Dome in Atlanta after hurricane-force winds and flooding swamped its long-standing game site, home to the contest since 1975. Name this bowl game.
I am sure you will all track down the correct answers in due course. Will wait a few days to share the right responses.