Hi, friends. We interrupt your Bowlapalooza viewing (and we do hope you’re enjoying the early bowl games!) for, well, something that we’ve never done before on The Carla & Crappy Show. And that’s because these games have never been played before … in some cases, literally in multiple ways.

Welcome to our first-ever #CnCShow CFP First Round preview.

Because we have just four games to evaluate, Carla, Crappy, and AJ take some time to recap a few of the interesting happenings since the end of the regular season, including Navy’s impressive win over Army, Marshall’s forfeiture of its bowl spot, and how Louisiana Tech found its way into a bowl game (AJ breaks this down and it’s wildly entertaining). We also look at other portal and coaching news and how we think Bill Belichick will adapt to the college game.

But then, it’s time to get down to business.

No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame (8 ET Friday, ABC/ESPN): The knock against both of these teams has been that they haven’t played anyone. But Notre Dame tends to get the benefit of the doubt, while Indiana gets questioned. Do the Hoosiers have a chip on their shoulder? We’ll see.

No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State (Noon ET, TNT): The game that should have been Friday night gets the Noon treatment. Penn State will have its hands full with Brashard Smith and the SMU offense. Look for heavy doses of Tyler Warren, especially without the services of Beau Pribula, who entered the portal.

No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas (4 ET, TNT): Believe it or not, this is the first-ever meeting between these two teams, and boy, do we have questions. Does Clemson have enough to topple the Horns in Austin? Which version of Texas do we get in this game?

No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State (8 ET, ABC/ESPN): Speaking of questions, we have lots of them for Ohio State. Can a patched-up offensive line fend off a stellar Tennessee front seven? Can the Bucks put that huge season-ending loss behind them? The Vols would love to capitalize on the road.

With reminders about the FCS semifinals and DII and DIII playoff schedules (because you absolutely should watch those, too!), we wish you all a very merry and happy holiday. We’ll be back just before the new year to break down the CFP quarterfinals … which are four of the New Year’s Six bowl games. (Yeah, we know. It’s confusing. But it’s going to be a fun ride.) Cheers, yinz.

The conference championships have been decided. The College Football Playoff field is set. And so that can mean only one thing: It’s time to debate which coach we’d like to see get doused in mayonnaise.

Yes, friends, it’s time for the 11.5th Annual Carla & Crappy Show Bowlapalooza.

This year, in addition to being joined by long-time Bowlapalooza staples Jake Rose and Braden Gall, we add two newcomers to the frivolity: Steve Cavendish, editor of the Nashville Banner and college football aficionado, and Dan Eschenfelder, instructor in the MTSU School of Journalism & Strategic Media and the person responsible for Carla’s live guest picking appearance on Blue Raider Extra Point earlier this season.

The raucous conversation that follows may result in audible laughter and occasional bleeping. Consider yourselves warned.

In chronological order of kickoffs, the official Bowlapalooza 2024 game selections are:

The Art of Sport LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk - Cal vs. No. 24 UNLV (9 ET Dec. 18, ESPN): Steve’s pick gives us all the opportunity to learn what Art of Sport is. Also, it’s an excuse to talk about the Calgorithm and Barry Odom’s career trajectory.

StaffDNA Cure Bowl - Ohio vs. Jacksonville State (Noon ET Dec. 20, ESPN): Crappy (obviously) takes this game for his Bobcats, but this is yet another interim coaching situation … possibly for both teams by the time this game kicks off. Also, what’s StaffDNA?

DirectTV Holiday Bowl - No. 21 Syracuse vs. Washington State (8 ET Dec. 27, FOX): Carla takes this one because the Holiday Bowl is the gift that keeps on giving every year. Do you like points? Watch this game.

Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop - Miami (OH) vs. Colorado State (4:30 ET Dec. 28, The CW): Jake takes this game because … well, sometimes the jokes write themselves. It’s on The CW. It’s Colorado. It’s southwest Ohio. It’s Snoop. It’s … just so much bowl goodness.

Valero Alamo Bowl - No. 17 BYU vs. No. 23 Colorado (7:30 ET Dec. 28, ABC): The Big 12 buffet continues in a bowl game, and Braden is all over this one. Will Travis and Shedeur play? Deion says they will; we’re not so sure about that. Also, what’s fun to do in San Antonio?

Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl - Marshall vs. No. 22 Army (9:15 ET Dec. 28, ESPN): Army veteran Dan takes this game as we know two things for certain: The Army roster won’t be changing and Bryson Daily is a delight. As for Marshall? What. A. Mess. #Understatement

ServPro First Responder Bowl - North Texas vs. Texas State (4 ET Jan. 3, ESPN): This game has AJ written all over it: A Fun Index in the upper 60s being played in the middle of the afternoon on a Friday. Just let this game wash over you.

Just for funsies, we talk about other Bowlapalooza staples and ponder some very important questions:

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl - Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State (2:30 ET Dec. 23, ESPN): Are waffle fries fries?

Pop-Tarts Bowl - No. 18 Iowa State vs. No. 13 Miami (3:30 ET Dec. 28, ABC): What’s your favorite Pop-Tart flavor?

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl - No. 15 South Carolina vs. No. 20 Illinois (3 ET Dec. 31, ABC): Which Cheez-It commercial is the most annoying?

Duke’s Mayo Bowl - Minnesota vs. Virginia Tech (7:30 ET Jan. 3, ESPN): Other than PJ Fleck, what coach would you like to see get a mayo bath?

And then, because we’d be absolutely remiss if we didn’t include this one …

Birmingham Bowl - Georgia Tech vs. Vanderbilt (3:30 ET Dec. 27, ESPN): We’re all legit excited about this one. The QB duel between Diego Pavia and Haynes King should be worth the price of admission. Which team caps a really good season with a bowl win … in a game without a sponsor?

Of course, we mention a whole bunch of other games in passing as well because that’s what Bowlapalooza is all about.

So, enjoy the silliness of it all and bask in this year’s bowl season. We certainly will. As always, we are grateful to our guest analysts for joining us. Carla, Crappy, and AJ will be back next week to preview the first round of the playoff. Cheers, yinz and y’all.

It’s Week … oh, you know what? Who cares what week it is? We only care about one thing: It’s Champinchip Week, friends.

The dust has finally settled. (We’re looking at you, Big 12.) The matchups are set … and some are unexpected. And at least five of this weekend’s nine games have playoff implications. It’s gonna be a fun one.

But before we get into breaking down every title game this weekend, we take a look back … which is easier for some of us than others. AJ noted the feistiness of the weekend in general, but in a rare twist of fate, the Big 12 got the simplest possible outcome to its multiverse of options. (Go figure.) Carla learned that her Nittany Lions would be playing the B1G title game … at an IKEA. And Crappy? He has some thoughts about The Game.

After a review of the playoff rankings, we’re off to the races. And we start, naturally, with the Group of 5.

CUSA: Western Kentucky at Jacksonville State (7 ET Friday, CBSSN): It’s a home-and-home for the CUSA title. The Toppers won this game last weekend on their home turf. Can they go to Alabama and win two weeks in a row? Or will the Gamecocks win their first conference title in FBS?

Mountain West: No. 20 UNLV at No. 10 Boise State (8 ET Friday, FOX): You want serious playoff implications on Friday night? This game’s for you. Boise’s looking to punch their ticket to the playoff and a first-round bye, but the Rebs may have something to say about that. The first matchup between these teams this season was a banger; we expect nothing less here.

American: Tulane at No. 24 Army (8 ET Friday, ABC): The Waves have done bad things to the troops this season. Can Army weather the storm? If they can, there’s a (really small) outside chance that they could sneak into the playoff.

MAC: Ohio vs. Miami (Noon ET Saturday, ESPN): A Battle of the Bricks rematch in Detroit has Crappy fired up. Can the Bobcats win their first conference title since 1968? We’re pulling for you, green.

Sun Belt: Marshall at Louisiana (7:30 ET Saturday, ESPN): The Cajuns have been rolling, but Marshall is a formidable foe.

And then, on to the Big Boy games. (But let’s be real; all of this week’s games are Big Boy games.)

Big 12: No. 16 Iowa State vs. No. 15 Arizona State (Noon ET Saturday, ABC): The simplest outcome in the buffet leads to a matchup that we’re pretty convinced will result in #ForksUp and a playoff berth for the Devils. Just as we all predicted at the beginning of the season.

SEC: No. 5 Georgia vs. No. 2 Texas (4 ET Saturday, ABC): The Dawgs won the first meeting between these two convincingly. Has Texas learned anything since then? What we know for sure: Georgia has a lot of work to do to recover from 8 OTs last weekend.

Big Ten: No. 3 Penn State vs. No. 1 Oregon (8 ET Saturday, CBS): The Ducks have been dominant all season. Can James Franklin win a big game that isn’t against Ohio State or Michigan? Carla’s going to be there to find out. (Also, smash that Tyler Warren button, Nits.)

ACC: No. 17 Clemson vs. No. 8 SMU (8 ET Saturday, ABC): This title game could cause the most chaos in the playoff. A Tigers win – and an automatic berth – could wreak havoc on the seedings. While we typically root for chaos, we’re all in on the Show Ponies.

And finally, we throw in one last game for good measure:

Navy vs. No. 24 Army (3 ET Dec. 14, CBS): An interesting wrinkle is that Army is playing for a conference title. They’ve been the stronger academy all year, but with the additional game, does that level the playing field for Navy? (You already know how we all picked in this game.)

There you have it. The 2024 conference season will be in the books by Sunday, and we’ll turn our attention to the most wonderful time of the year: Bowlapalooza. We’ll be back soon with that frivolity … as well as all of the playoff discussion that you can handle. Enjoy the big games this weekend, yinz. Cheers.