In The News

DALLAS, TEXAS (October 23, 2020) -- The Football Bowl Association is getting a new name and brand: Bowl Season. The debut of the name change, logo and website for the organization is part of a major brand overhaul announced today by Executive Director Nick Carparelli.

The new Bowl Season tagline, “A Celebration of College Football,” embraces the grand tradition of the bowl system and its enduring value to student-athletes. Highlighting the broader university community, including spirit squads, marching bands, student athletic staff and fans, Bowl Season will work with all existing bowls to promote the benefits of the entire bowl system.

Carparelli has collaborated over the last six months with leaders of the 44 bowl games, each of the 10 FBS conferences, media partners and other stakeholders to build consensus and solidify plans for the new brand.

“For four decades, the Football Bowl Association has served as a staunch advocate of the bowl system,” said Carparelli. “But until now, it’s been a behind-the-scenes organization designed to facilitate conversation among bowl leadership and stakeholders. Since joining the organization last spring, I’ve listened to our membership’s clear desire for a new identity-- to rebrand the FBA to speak directly to those who love this sport.”

“The stretch from mid-December through the first week of January marks one of the most endlessly entertaining times on the sports calendar,” Carparelli continues. “Footballs are flying morning, noon and night. It creates an opportunity to honor teams that have put in the work and provides an unforgettable victory lap for student-athletes. We’re excited to build up ‘Bowl Season’ as a true celebration of college football.”

The Bowl Season logo consists of a centrally-placed, collegiate-style football inside an overhead view of a stadium or bowl, from which the term “bowl game” was derived. The logo is also evocative of the top of championship rings, which are often awarded to teams that play in bowl games. The stadium contains 10 sections, each representing a conference member of the Football Bowl Subdivision: American Athletic Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12, Big 10, Conference USA, Mid-American Conference, Mountain West Conference, PAC 12, Southeastern Conference and Sun Belt Conference.

The new name and visual identity were developed by Connecticut-based 1919 Productions and Joe Bosack & Co. Tony Fay Public Relations, based in Dallas, was hired to oversee communications efforts for the organization.

“Our goal was to create a new brand that is distinctive, ownable and clearly defines what Bowl Season is,” said Marc Jacobson, Owner, 1919 Productions. “The new name and logo taps into the passion and emotion of college football, which we think will resonate well with all parties involved.”

More information can be found at www.bowlseason.com.

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About Bowl Season
Bowl Season is the collective coalition of the 44 bowl games played in the traditional college football postseason. Dubbed “A Celebration of College Football,” Bowl Season promotes the grand tradition of the bowl system and its endearing value to student-athletes. It also highlights the broader university and college communities, including spirit squads, marching bands, athletic staff and fans. A nonprofit, Bowl Season spotlights the distinctiveness of each of the bowl games along with their histories and traditions, embracing and honoring the bowl experience for present and future generations.

Week 6 of college football finally brings us to one of the rivalries that we’ve been waiting for! No. 22 Texas takes on Oklahoma in what is sure to be a defining moment of the Big 12 this season. Our top four games to watch this weekend are:

(22) Texas vs OU

Kansas State at TCU

(4) Florida at (21) Texas A&M

(14) Tennessee at (3) Georgia

Think you can predict the outcome? Guess all four correct and you’re entered to win an Academy gift card!

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Here’s what we think will happen:

(22) Texas vs OU

OU is in desperate need of a big game. While they’re young QB has shown a ton of promise in the passing game when the line can give him time, the run game still has a few kinks to shake out after losing key members to opt-outs and transfers. Texas, on the other hand, has had no problems scoring points—leading the nation with an average of 51 points per game—but similar to OU, their defense is nothing special. No matter what the outcome, this game is sure to be a high-scoring thriller.

Our pick: Texas

Kansas State at TCU

Another nail biter this week, Kansas State and TCU feel pretty evenly matched in this upcoming game. Kansas State is known for winning the possession battle to force their opponents to play their style but TCU still ranks in the top five for possession minutes and may give the Wildcats a run for their money in this category. Kansas State has also been able to take advantage of their opponents by forcing turnovers and converting with seven takeaways so far this season and no turnovers of their own. But, will this change now that their starting QB is banged up from their game against Tech? TCU’s offense has been aggressive and efficient so far this season and they’re coming off a big upset win against Texas. In this case, we think TCU’s momentum and steady production will take the cake.

Our pick: TCU

(4) Florida at (21) Texas A&M

The Gators have put on a solid performance so far in 2020, averaging 7.8 yards per play and 44.5 points per game but this match-up against the Aggies will be their first test of 2020 against a ranked team. On the other hand, Texas A&M’s Kellen Mond has been disappointingly flat coming out against the top and bottom of the SEC, taking home the victory against Vanderbilt but doing little to oppose No. 2 Alabama.  Texas A&M’s opportunity will come at the expense of the Gators defense who has gotten off to a rocky start in 2020, giving up an average of 5.85 yards per play. If Mond and the Aggies offense can finally find a rhythm, they may just be able to take the day. For this week, we are going to hang our hat on the Gators offense continuing to roll. Mond showed us he can turn it on and lead his team in 2019, but we aren’t so sure this is the game he will do so.

Our pick: Florida

(14) Tennessee at (3) Georgia

The Vols are running on an eight-game winning streak leading into this weekend’s match-up. While they look way better than they have in previous years, they have yet to consistently establish the run game despite their star-studded offensive line. This weekend they’ll face their toughest opponent since that last loss against Alabama in 2019 in a Georgia Bulldogs team that—despite uncertainty at the QB position—looks to be firing on all cylinders coming off of their 27-6 win against Auburn. Despite Tennessee’s positive momentum thus far in 2020, our bet stays with the Bulldogs who are hungry to stay on top of the SEC East.

Our pick: Georgia

Think you can predict the outcome? Guess all four correct and you’re entered to win an Academy gift card!

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It’s the weekend everyone has been waiting for—the beginning of Big 12 and SEC conference play! It finally feels like college football is starting in earnest. After a choppy start with a few non-conference games, we’re expecting big things from college football this weekend.

Read on for this week’s key match-ups and predictions and make sure to tell us your picks by replying to our post @TexasBowl on Twitter.

Big 12

Kansas at Baylor | 8:30 p.m. | ESPNU

Iowa State at TCU | 1:30 p.m. | FS1

Kansas State at No. 3 Oklahoma | 12 p.m. | FOX

West Virginia at No. 15 Oklahoma State | 3:30 p.m. | ABC/ESPN

No. 8 Texas at Texas Tech | 3:30 p.m. | FOX

Key Match-ups:

Iowa State at TCU

Ok so they’re calling it Week 3 but let’s be real, it’s not Week 3. Especially for TCU whose opening game against SMU on September 11 was postponed indefinitely due to positive COVID testing. We have high hopes for the returning sophomore quarterback Max Duggan in this first match-up against Iowa State. The young QB is undoubtedly talented but while he completed 181 of his 339 attempts with 2,077 total passing yards in his freshman debut, we will just have to see if this tumultuous off season has helped him--and the rest of his young offense--mature past the 10 interceptions he also threw in 2019.  

Iowa State is once again, considered one of the more underrated teams in the Big 12. We will have to see if they can finally reach their underdog potential behind head coach Matt Campbell. If we only looked at their preconference game against the Ragin’ Cajuns, the answer would be no—they aren’t reaching any type of potential this year. However, we might be able to chalk their 31-14 loss to a just opening weekend jitters. Quarterback Brock Purdy, who set 18 school records last season including for total passing yards (3982 yards), only threw for 145 yards in the contest. Fluke or new norm?

Ultimately, we are taking the team who has had a week to work out some kinks before this weekend. Our prediction: Cyclones take home the W.

Kansas State at No. 3 Oklahoma

We know what you’re thinking—it’s going to be a blow out. BUT let’s go back to last October when the Wildcats upset the Sooners 48-41 in Manhattan. Anything can happen. With coach Chris Klieman with an expectation shattering debut 8-win season in 2019 and a returning QB in Skylar Thompson, who has way more big-game experience than OU’s Spencer Rattler, the Wildcats could have a chance.

All underdog, upset talk aside, the Sooners are stacked. They have key all-stars returning on both sides of the ball in 2020, while we always love a good upset story, we are still taking OU for the win this weekend but expecting the Wildcats to keep things interesting.

SEC

No. 23 Kentucky at No. 8 Auburn | 12 p.m. | SEC Network

No. 5 Florida at Ole Miss | 12 p.m. | ESPN

Mississippi State at No. 6 LSU | 3:30 p.m. | CBS

No. 4 Georgia at Arkansas | 4 p.m. | SEC Network

No. 2 Alabama at Missouri | 7 p.m. | ESPN

No. 16 Tennessee at South Carolina | 7:30 p.m. | SEC Network

Vanderbilt at No. 10 Texas A&M | 7:30 p.m. | SEC Network Alternate

Mississippi State at No. 6 LSU

This match-up comes with so many questions. What will LSU look like after losing basically all of their all-stars to the draft? Will Mike Leach be able to put together the legendary offense he’s known for? Who is going to start as the Mississippi State QB? Because we know none of these answers—this game is one to watch this weekend. While LSU is still going to field an unbelievably talented team, they have never played together and many have never played on the college stage. This is something a normal offseason would have helped with but because of the unprecedented times that we’re in, their inexperience as a team puts the LSU Tigers at risk to simply have a ‘rebuilding year’ rather than the successful season many have predicted.

Mike Leach has a lot to prove with his Mississippi State squad. On the defensive side of the ball, the Bulldogs bring more experience and cohesion than LSU and if the offense can live up to the Leach hype, they may become a force to be reckoned with.

We are taking the Tigers in this match-up, but not by much. Regardless of score, this will be an interesting game to watch for LSU and Mississippi State fans.

No. 16 Tennessee at South Carolina

Arguably one of the most even match-ups of the SEC conference play debut, this contest will potentially leave the loser out of the running for the SEC East title chase completely. Now, anything can happen in 2020, but it’s clear that both of these team badly need this win out of the gate to keep their hopes up for a successful season this year.

The Vols lost key playmakers in wide receivers Marquez Callaway and Jauan Jennings, placing a heavy burden on sophomore receiver Ramel Keyton in 2020. While he’s shown potential to make big plays with his limited opportunities in 2019—that’s a lot of pressure for a young wide receiver, especially against a South Carolina defense. Coming off a 2019 season where they held opponents to 20 or fewer points in 5 games, the Gamecocks return nine key defensive players who now how a year of experience or more under their belt.

We are taking upset—predicting South Carolina by a small margin in this match-up.

There has been no shortage of changes to the college football schedule this year but despite all the uncertainty one thing is for sure, college football is BACK! The Big 12 will start their non-conference games this weekend previewing:

Arkansas State at K-State

Missouri State at Oklahoma

Coastal Carolina at Kansas

ULL at Iowa State

Houston Baptist at Texas Tech

UTEP at Texas

Eastern Kentucky at West Virginia

We have our eyes on K-State with returning senior QB Skylar Thompson at the helm.  Since their surprising upset of OU in October of last year, there have been rumblings of a groundbreaking year in 2020 for the returning QB and head coach Chris Klieman. Missouri State will be a good first look for Big 12 fans to see how the Wildcats will stack up against the rest of the field.

Iowa State returns, once again, with a lot of hype this season. The Ragin’ Cajuns will be a good first test for the Cyclones to see if two-time Big 12 Coach of the Year (2017, 2018) Matt Campbell can take his team from “better than before” to an actual conference championship contender.

Keep up with game times and updates for all NCAA games this weekend HERE.

You may know him from the crazy haircuts, off-the-wall antics and outrageous stories but Brian "The Boz" Bosworth is so much more. In the second event of the Texas Bowl Let's Talk Football series, Bosworth sat down with Texas Bowl fans to talk about what it was like growing up playing high school football in Texas, what it was like to transition to the big stage at Oklahoma University and told some fantastic stories about his time as a Sooner.

It may surprise those who only followed his career in college, but Bosworth was not necessarily considered a Texas high school football standout, especially at the beginning of his high school football career. The Boz shared how he was able to stay motivated and always mentally pushing for the next level.

The transition from high school to collegiate football can be a mental challenge for many athletes, Bosworth included. He gave us a glimpse into how he overcame these challenges to become a successful college player.

Reaching your potential as a player takes so much more than just showing up to play the game. Bosworth dove into the mental aspect of learning to prepare to reach and exceed his potential when he was at Oklahoma.

Before we closed our interview with The Boz, we had to ask. What was up with that infamous orange hair during the Orange Bowl. His answer will make your day.

Don't miss the next Texas Bowl Let's Talk Football event! Each virtual chalk talk will feature a different Gridiron Legend and they are open to all Texas Bowl fans!

CLICK HERE to sign up for the College Football Insider to ensure you're on the invite list for our next virtual event!