Potential Boston College Football Bowl Sites, Ranked

A few days ago, the ACC announced new bowl assignments for the conference. Gone are the days of Shreveport and Detroit, and in are the days of San Diego and… Boston (?).

Here at BCI, instead of just telling you what the bowl games are, we’re instead going to use our uninformed opinions about what is the best destination for BC football to go.

1. All New Year’s Six Bowls/College Football Playoff:

Look, I’m not saying that BC is likely to be in a CFP/NY6 game. But good lord, how awesome would it be to be in a New Year’s Six bowl, or even the College Football Playoff? Imagine the Cinderella run-up to the playoff, and the chance for our underdog Eagles to go up against someone like Alabama. Just the fleeting concept of that happening is enough to propel a potential NY6/CFP bid to the top of this list.

Excitement Level: One Roll Tide, Pawl.

2. Camping World Bowl, Orlando, Fl.

If the Eagles aren’t able to get to a NY6 bowl, this is a perfectly good alternative. This gives the Eagles a chance to play in a marquee bowl on a huge stage, which would be huge for recruiting. Throw in a chance to go to Orlando and the trip sounds even more tantalizing. After going to the bowl game, swing over to Disney World and go to the Rock n’ Roll Roller Coaster. After that, perhaps head over to Universal Studios for some fun there. And maybe, if you’re not busy, you could head over to the home of an inferior MLS team that has never beaten a much better team based in the state north of Florida.

All in all, Camping World would be juuuuuust swell.

Excitement Level: Two Mickey Mouse ears.

3. Gator Bowl, Jacksonville, Fla.

The Gator Bowl is barely edging out the next bowl here because it’s a more marquee bowl game. But let’s give Jacksonville some credit, it is the home of some fantastic golf courses, and some fantastic museums. The weather will be just right as well in January. That said, Jacksonville still leaves a lot to be desired. But, whatever, the bowl game is going to be good so who cares?

Excitement Level: One alligator on an alligator float in a Florida pool.

4. San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl, San Diego, Calif.

YEAH. SAN DIEGO.

Look the Holiday Bowl is by no means the most entertaining bowl game out there by any stretch of the imagination, but it punches way above its weight, checking in at the No. 3 bowl game for the Pac-12 last year. Coming to San Diego from Boston has to be super tantalizing in January, and also there’s Legoland! So there’s that!

Look, if you need me to explain to you why San Diego in January is a good idea, I really can’t help you.

Excitement Level: One big Lego playset, ages 12+.

5. Outback Bowl: Tampa, Fla.

We here at BCI are huge fans of Tampa for Frozen Four’s, and while Raymond James Stadium isn’t directly downtown the way Amalie Arena is, all the trappings of Tampa are still at a fan’s disposal the way they are for Frozen Four’s.

Excitement Level: A chicken tender sub from Publix. (Trust me, it’s delicious)

6. Belk Bowl, Charlotte, N.C.

Look, Charlotte is a perfectly fine city, with a lot going for it to attract businesses, which is why the city has enjoyed such an influx of new commerce. That said, I would be hard pressed to call it a tourist destination.

Well, unless you like NASCAR. In which case, there is a whole lot of fun stuff to do.

That said, the Belk Bowl is still a great game and a marquee bowl, so suck it up, tailgate outside the stadium, pretend that you’re there to see BC compete for the ACC championship, and enjoy yourself, dammit.

Excitement Level: SLIDE JAWB. SLIDE JAAAAWWWWB.

7. Military Bowl: Annapolis, Maryland.

Out of the more “local” bowl games, I tend to think that this one is the one with most appeal. It’s not a particularly familiar venue or town, so it will be far enough to not be too tired for BC fans coming from Boston, but it is still close enough for people who don’t want to spend a ton of money to make the trip. Plus, for those who have never been to Annapolis, the town is well worth the trip.

That said, the bowl game isn’t quite at the level of the others, so points are taken off for that. That said, this would be a perfectly fine bowl game to cap off a 7-5 season.

Excitement Level: One Maryland crab.

8. Pinstripe Bowl, Bronx, N.Y.

Look, I know. The last game was rough. It was way too cold, the field was atrocious, and the play was generally sloppy. That said, as bad as the game against Iowa was, remember how much fun the game against Penn State was, the ending notwithstanding? The Pinstripe Bowl offers BC the opportunity to go up against football programs from the Big 10 in a familiar environment. Throw in a bunch of local alumni, and that game could be a lot of fun, if it weren’t for the terribleness of everything.

Excitement Level: The D train starting to move after sitting for about 15 minutes.

9. Birmingham Bowl, Birmingham, Ala.

Look, I know that I'm going to be in a vocal minority on this point, but Birmingham can actually be kind of fun! There is some very good food in the city, and breweries that rival anything back up North. And as much as Legion Field is old and unappealing, The Gray Lady on Graymont is still a part of college football history, and it would be worth visiting if BC were playing a game there.

Excitement Level: One slab of Dreamland BBQ ribs with a pint of Avondale Brewing’s Spring Street Saison.

10. Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas

meh.

Excitement Level: Too lazy to do any research on El Paso.

11. Gasparlila Bowl, St. Petersburg, Fla.

An intrepid reader would likely point out that everything that was said about the Outback Bowl could be applicable here since the game is in Tampa. And that might be true! Except, one thing, the game isn’t actually in Tampa.

That’s right, this game, instead of being played somewhere civilization exists, is being played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. For those keeping score at home, that’s a stadium that is so terrible its primary tenant doesn’t even want to stay there. People from Tampa don’t want to go there. No one wants to go there.

And it’s a bowl that doesn’t matter. This bowl was created in a flurry of bowl game creation that was simply out of control. No one cares about this bowl. People care about this bowl so little that you probably didn’t even realize that I didn’t spell the name of the bowl correctly.

Don’t go to this bowl game.

Excitement Level: A Publix employee politely and kindly telling you that they are out of chicken tenders and you have to wait thirty minutes for more.

12. Chowder Bowl*, Boston, Mass.

*it’s not actually called the Chowder Bowl.

I’ll be blunt. I don’t know why this bowl game exists. No one in Boston wanted this bowl game. No one in college football wanted this bowl game. This bowl game has everything that is bad about the Pinstripe Bowl, but with a worse stadium configuration, colder temperature, and a worse opponent. And the worst part is that BC will play in this bowl game every chance it gets. I am still not sure why this bowl game exists, but the idea of not being able to travel anywhere seems like a bummer, and the idea of playing in an admittedly cool ballpark that is terrible for football seems like a really bad idea.

Excitement Level: Whatever this is.

[RATING NOT FOUND]. [BOWL GAME NOT FOUND], Dallas, Texas.

[WITTY COMMENTS ABOUT THE BOWL GAME NOT BEING FOUND]