There’s a lot going on in the college football world, and most of it is super not good.

We’re going to try and focus on the fun stuff today, and in our case that’s the (absurdly early) start to bowl season. A lot of these games don’t really matter anymore, if they ever did, but they’re still happening, and something interesting is going to happen because they’re a part of this strange sport we love.

With the playoffs, and serious football talk returning next Friday, today’s Pregame is going to focus on all the games happening tonight through next Thursday. We’ve got good bowl matchups, a fun set of FCS playoff tilts, the HBCU national championship, and even a title game across the Pacific. Dig in and bite off only as much as you want to.

Everyone should enjoy the holidays however they want to. If you want to put up an inflatable snowman and decorations in October, great. If you want to wait until 8pm on December 24 to get a tree from a church parking lot, awesome. I like to listen to this song on repeat for the couple of weeks leading up to Christmas.

If you’re a fellow Guaraldiphile, here’s a playlist with different covers of this wonderful tune:

Alton Brown has been making excellent cooking videos for nearly 30 years now (fun fact, in a prior life he was the primary cinematographer on a number of music videos, including The One I Love from R.E.M.) and his new YouTube series is a delightful continuation of his past work. You should try this Standing Rib Roast over the holidays.

Cricket Celebration Bowl: South Carolina State vs Prairie View A&M (Noon, ABC)

The annual clash of MEAC and SWAC champions features a clash of styles on both sides of the ball. South Carolina State brings an explosive passing attack, led by quarterback William Atkins IV, that will face a stiff challenge against a Prairie View defense allowing just 128 yards per game through the air. The Panthers rush for over 200 yards a game with a three-back committee, which could offset a Bulldogs defense focused on creating havoc, producing 45 turnovers in just 12 games.

Army–Navy Game: Army vs Navy (3 pm, CBS)

Returning to Baltimore for the first time since 2016, the 126th edition of this game once again pits two teams headed in opposite directions against each other. Navy had a case for playoff inclusion until the final weeks of the season, with quarterback Blake Horvath looking like the next dynamite signal caller for the Midshipmen, but consecutive losses to North Texas and Notre Dame quashed those hopes. Army opened the season with a loss to FCS contender Tarleton State, but largely won the games it should have and lost to more talented teams the rest of the way.

None of that matters in this game, of course, as both teams prioritize this result over all others. If you need a refresher on the storied rivalry, Hardcore College Football History has a great video on the game’s origins and ongoing traditions.

Bucked Up LA Bowl: Boise State vs Washington (8 pm, ABC)

Woah, bowl season is already here! Two good-but-not-great West Coast teams who used to employ Chris Petersen meet up in a game that mostly now appears to be a Rob Gronkowski promotional vehicle.

Washington quarterback Demond Williams is electric, producing 28 touchdowns in Jedd Fisch’s offense. If advanced stats are your thing, the Huskies ranked sixth in offensive success rate and 21st in EPA margin, which suggests that they might’ve been more dangerous than their 8-4 record suggests. On the other side of the Ball, Boise State ranked 13th in defensive success rate, but 117th in points per quality drive – in English, when opponents were able to sustain drives they largely finished with touchdowns.

IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl: Troy vs Jacksonville State (9 pm, ESPN)

G5 conference runners-up meet in Montgomery’s beautiful Cramton Bowl and renew an old rivalry – the Alabama programs have met 64 times, but the last came in 2001.

Troy relies pretty heavily on former Georgia and Mississippi State receiver Rara Thomas, and injuries have forced the Trojans to rotate quarterbacks frequently throughout the year. Jacksonville State, in the first year following Rich Rodriguez’s departure to West Virginia, built a solid offense behind running back Cam Cook’s nearly 1,700 rushing yards but a leaky defense kept them from elevating to a truly dangerous CUSA team.

StaffDNA Cure Bowl: Old Dominion vs South Florida (5 pm, ESPN)

What should be a really fun matchup between two good G5 teams lost a little bit of its luster with coaching turnover and potential transfer portal departures. USF coach Alex Golesh took the Auburn job a few weeks ago, and star quarterback Byrum Brown decided to participate in the game as an assistant coach rather than under center. Meanwhile, ODU quarterback Colton Joseph is also sitting out, depriving the Monarchs of their signal caller and leading rusher.

This is the first of several games where you’re just going to have to shrug and enjoy that there’s college football on TV at all. It’ll probably still be fun, and definitely messy.

68 Ventures Bowl: Louisiana-Lafayette vs Delaware (8:30 pm, ESPN)

One fun quirk of entire teams now opting out of bowl games: as a first-year FBS program, Delaware wasn’t eligible for a bowl game, but once spots opened up they were cleared to participate. 

Blue Hens quarterback Nick Minicucci is the player to watch. He had a stellar FBS debut, throwing for over 3,500 yards with 22 touchdowns and adding another ten scores on the ground, which is great news because Delaware cannot run the ball at all. They also give up over 32 points per game, which might give the Ragin’ Cajuns some room to operate their strong rushing attack, led by Bill Davis and Zylan Perry.

Xbox Bowl: Missouri State vs Arkansas State (9 pm, ESPN2)

Another first-year FBS program eligible for a bowl because of opt outs, the Missouri State Bears have a fun offense that spreads the ball around and ranks 22nd in passing yards per game. Arkansas State, still coached by our old friend Butch Jones, probably has more talent up and down the lineup but rarely put together a comprehensive stretch of games this season. This is a great game to be aired at 9pm on a weekday, is what we’re saying.

The spectacular Sonic Boom of the South won’t be appearing in this year’s Celebration Bowl after an upset in the SWAC Championship to Prairie View A&M, so enjoy their Beyonce tribute from last year’s halftime performance.

This is the most wide-open bracket we’ve seen in the FCS in years, thanks to upsets of both Dakota States last weekend.   

No. 7 Stephen F. Austin at No. 2 Montana State (9 pm Dec. 12, ESPN)

The Bobcats have had 12 months to think about last year’s title game, where they imploded in the first half but rallied to nearly knock off NDSU. They lost a ton of talent from that team, but return a rock-solid run game and a defense that has allowed under 12 points per game after opening the season 0-2.

SFA is the best defense Montana State will have seen, with five all-conference picks on that side of the ball – the Lumberjacks average nearly nine TFLs per game and just 3.5 yards per carry. Former Montana quarterback Sam Vidlak has provided a spark on offense to spur their current 11-game winning streak.

Maybe the most fun matchup in this game comes from the names (and production) of the punt returners. Montana State’s Taco Dowdler and SFA’s Bugs Mortimer might be the two best returners in the division.

No. 12 Villanova at No. 4 Tarleton State (Noon, ESPN)

Tarleton has come on quickly as a program, becoming a DII power before moving to FCS a few years ago, and is firmly in rumors to be the next FCS power to make the jump to FBS. The Texans have acquitted themselves fittingly on the field, beating Army early this year and leading the division with 44.1 points per game.

Villanova will be a big underdog in this game, and will need to rely on ball control and a strong defense to stay in touch. Running back Ja’briel Mace, averaging 7.4 yards per carry, will have to be a factor for the Wildcats to pull an upset.

No. 11 South Dakota at No. 3 Montana (3:30 pm, ABC)

Last Dakota standing, the Coyotes enter this game as heavy underdogs, having just barely made the playoff field. They seem to be rounding into form, fresh off stomping No. 6 Mercer 47-0.

Montana is led by quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat, and it might be surprising to see “Hometown: Honolulu, Hawai’i” on a Montana roster, but he’s simply following in the footsteps of his father Brian Ah Yat – who led Montana to the 1996 national championship game. The Grizzlies spent most of the season as the No. 2 team in the country until a rivalry loss to Montana State. They’re eager to win this game and get revenge in a likely rematch next week.

Illinois State at No. 8 UC Davis (5 pm, ESPN+)

Maybe the two shakiest defenses remaining in the field, the Redbirds and Aggies will probably be comfortable turning this game into a track meet. Illinois State sprung the upset of the year (decade? Millennium?) in last week’s win over North Dakota State, despite throwing five interceptions in the Fargodome, setting up what should be a really fun tilt. 

Look, you’re running out of nights with college football on your TV. We’re not going to say that you have to watch these games, but we are going to leave them right here on the table and we aren’t going to make any judgement about what you do with them while we’re gone.

DII: No. 16 Newberry at No. 1 Ferris State (Noon, ESPN+)

DIII: No. 19 Berry at No. 8 John Carroll (Noon, ESPN+)

DIII: No. 11 Johns Hopkins at Susquehanna (Noon, ESPN+)

DIII: No. 3 Bethel at No. 1 North Central (1 pm, ESPN+)

DIII: No. 4 Wisconsin-River Falls at No. 20 Wheaton (3 pm, ESPN+)

DII: No. 2 Harding at No. 3 Kutztown (3:30 pm, ESPN+)

Koshien Bowl: Ritsumeikan Panthers vs Kwansei Gakuin Fighters (11 pm Dec 14, Streaming)

Yes, this is a real thing and it rocks. r/CFB has a detailed explanation of why this game exists, what happened this season, and storylines to look out for.