College football TV schedule and open thread: Holiday week bowls

I hope y’all had a lovely holiday with friends and family.

The Florida Gators will be making their bowl appearance this weekend, and the College Football Playoff will take place as well, but there are some bowl contests during the week to ease everyone towards those more marquee match-ups.

Here’s the bowl schedule for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday this week.

Wednesday, December 26

Servpro First Responder Bowl
Boston College vs. Boise State (1:30 p.m., ESPN): Steve Addazio and his dudes meet the Broncos in this recently rebranded game (formerly known as the Heart of Dallas Bowl).

Bowl gifts: A gift suite, RFID-blocking Ridge wallet, and a Big Game football.

Quick Lane Bowl
Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech (5:15 p.m., ESPN): Paul Johnson’s last ride with the Yellowjackets will be against the Gophers in Detroit.

Bowl gifts: $175 Best Buy gift card, JBL E55BT over-ear wireless headphones, life-sized Fathead decal for each participant of his likeness, backpack, shirts, mini helmet, and a football.

Cheez-It Bowl
California vs. TCU (9:00 p.m., ESPN): Did you know there was a Cheez-It Bowl? I sure didn’t! Turns out this is another rebranded bowl, most recently known as the Cactus Bowl.

Bowl gifts: Fossil watch with engraved caseback, JBL Charge 3 Bluetooth speaker, Baggo bag toss tailgate cornhole set, Yeti Roadie 20 cooler, Yeti rambler, dry duffel bag, RuMe reveal quart bag, Branded Bills cap, and a Dollar Shave Club starter set.

Thursday, December 27

Walk-On’s Independence Bowl
Temple vs. Duke (1:30 p.m., ESPN): Walk-On’s is apparently a Louisiana-based bar restaurant - something which its full name, Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar, clearly gives away.

Bowl gifts: A gift suite, Timely Watch Co. watch, New Era skull cap, and a football.

New Era Pinstripe Bowl
Miami vs. Wisconsin (5:15 p.m., ESPN): Things haven’t been going well for the Hurricanes lately - on the field or on the recruiting trail. We’ll see if they can salvage a bit of their season in a baseball stadium.

Bowl gifts: A variety of New Era products. (Weeee.)

Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl
Baylor vs. Vanderbilt (9:00 p.m., ESPN): The Commodores managed to wring six wins out of this season and scored a trip to Texas.

Bowl gifts: A gift suite, Academy Sports + Outdoors gift card, Adidas backpack, and a belt buckle. ‘Cause it wouldn’t be Texas if they didn’t get a belt buckle?

Friday, December 28

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
Purdue vs. Auburn (1:30 p.m, ESPN): The Tigers play the team-that-beat-Ohio-State in Nashville.

Bowl gifts: A gift suite and a Fossil watch.

Camping World Bowl
West Virginia vs. Syracuse (5:15 p.m., ESPN): The Mountaineers will be without Will Grier - who is opting to skip this game in preparation for the NFL Draft, when they face the Orange in Orlando.

Bowl gifts: A $400 Best Buy gift card, Ogio backpack with luggage tag, and a Fossil watch.

Valero Alamo Bowl
Iowa State vs. Washington State (9:00 p.m., ESPN): Mike Leach returns to the Lonestar State as his Cougars face the Cyclones in San Antonio’s Alamodome.

Bowl gifts: A $425 Amazon gift card, Fossil watch, mini helmet. and a team panoramic photo.

And here are your schedule tables.