Navy vs. Louisiana Tech, Armed Forces Bowl 2016: Bulldogs win 1 of the best bowls of the year so far

On Wednesday, I wrote that no one in the midmajor universe punches its weight as well as Western Kentucky. You could say the same thing about Skip Holtz.

In his last six years of leading a Conference USA school, Holtz has won nine games five times. He did it at East Carolina in 2008 and 2009, left for USF, then landed back in C-USA, at Louisiana Tech, in 2013. After a first-year reset, he’s gone 9-5, 9-4, and 9-5.

Louisiana Tech beat Navy, 48-45, in an offense-packed Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas, on Friday. Tech kicker Jonathan Barnes hit a 32-yard field goal as time expired to cap a really excellent bowl game.

The bowl was on 100-point watch for a while. The teams combined for 55 points in the first half, then treated us to one of the best finishes of the year.

Both sides are right. Bowls are a cynical money-making exercise, an excuse for ESPN inventory, and an outdated way for all the wrong people to maintain some semblance of control over college football. They’re also happy, bonus football.

We are at both extremes in 2016. We once again had 80 bowl bids to give out and fewer than 80 bowl-eligible teams, a sure sign of bloat and excess. We’re also loaded with perhaps more interesting bowl matchups than we’ve ever seen.

This year’s Armed Forces Bowl between Louisiana Tech and Navy, which falls on the day before Christmas Eve, should be a pretty entertaining one. Both teams enter this game looking to cap off impressive seasons that had disappointing endings. Louisiana Tech finished the year 8-4 but had a disappointing last two games, with back-to-back losses to Southern Miss and Western Kentucky.

Navy’s season didn’t end as planned, either. The Midshipmen let a 14-game win streak over Army come to an end with a 21-17 loss to the Black Knights. Still, these two teams, as most in the country who get bowl berths, should be excited to play football one last time in 2016, and enjoy being rewarded for positive seasons.

All wagers at -110 odds unless otherwise noted. Visit Odds Shark for updated lines throughout each game week.

College football bowl games are a different beast for bettors. Sure, the typical handicapping elements apply. Offense and defense matter. But there are some key elements at play that don’t apply as much during the regular season.

College football’s bowl season is upon us. A full schedule is here.

There are 40 bowl games spread from Dec. 17 to Jan. 2, with the National Championship on Jan. 9. Unless you’re watching on multiple monitors and are really committed, you won’t catch all of them. (If that is your plan, more power to you.)

Also, head over here for the fully updated bowl season calendar as it fills in, from the New Orleans Bowl through the Rose Bowl. We’ll also add picks, scores, and more to that calendar over time.

This year’s Armed Forces Bowl is set for two days before Christmas in Fort Worth. It’ll be the 14th year of a game that’s brought us some fun moments before, including Houston’s raucous comeback against Pitt in 2014 and a few other dramatic games that have come down to the very final moments.

The college football world avoided a week of bowl drama when Temple rocked No. 19 Navy, 34-10, to win the American Athletic Conference title.

This is 10-3 Temple’s first conference title since 1967 in the Middle Atlantic and continues an astounding turnaround that started under Al Golden and continues under Matt Rhule. The Owls have three 10-win seasons ever, two of them in back-to-back years by Rhule, who’s also 14-2 over the last two years in the country’s top mid-major conference.

College football’s powers are supposed to answer all of our burning questions on Sunday afternoon. That’s when the Playoff’s selection committee makes public the identities of four teams (OK, Alabama and three other teams) who will get a chance to play for the national title, via the Peach Bowl and Fiesta Bowl semifinals.

And that’ll still happen. Most other bowls will still be able to announce their bids later Sunday, too.