RFC Post-Season's Greeting's: 1997 Liberty Bowl-Southern Mississippi vs. Pittsburgh

(Video #1 courtesy of ESPN.)

(Video #2 courtesy of ESPN.)

The final installment of "RFC Post-Season's Greetings" turns the clock to New Year's Eve, December 31, 1997. That was when the University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles did battle with the University of Pittsburgh Panthers at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee. Behind two early touchdown catches from wide receiver and eventual MVP Sherrod Gideon, Southern Miss cruised to a convincing 41-7 win over Pitt to finish its 1997 season at 9-3 overall.

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RFC Post-Season's Greetings: 1985 Bluebonnet Bowl-Air Force vs. Texas

(Video courtesy of the Lorimar Sports Network)

The latest installment of "RFC Post-Season's Greetings" turns the clock back to New Year's Eve, December 31, 1985. That was when the Air Force Academy Falcons faced off against the University of Texas Longhorns in the now-defunct Bluebonnet Bowl at Rice Stadium in Houston. The Falcons outlasted the Longhorns 24-16 to finish the 1985 season in the Top 10 of both major polls (5th in the coaches, 8th in the Associated Press), as well as a final record of 12-1 overall.

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RFC Post-Season's Greetings: Liberty Bowl 2000 East Carolina vs. Texas Tech

(Video courtesy of ESPN2.)

The "RFC Post-Season's Greetings" series continues by turning the clock back to December 27, 2000. That was when the East Carolina Pirates took on the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the now-defunct GalleryFurniture.com Bowl at the Astrodome in Houston. Behind a 20-0 first quarter, as well as a 14-7 second quarter, the Pirates rolled past the Red Raiders, 40-27, to finish their season at 8-4 overall.

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RFC Post-Season's Greetings: Liberty Bowl 1995 East Carolina vs. Stanford

(Video courtesy of ESPN.)

After a brief, but unplanned, hiatus, the "RFC Post-Season's Greetings" series resumes by turning the clock back to December 30, 1995. That was when the East Carolina Pirates faced the Stanford Cardinal in the Liberty Bowl at Memphis, Tennessee. The Pirates scored all of their points via four field goals, as well as a "pick-six", in their 19-13 win over the Cardinal. They won their sixth-straight game to end the season after splitting their first six games, as ECU finished 9-3 overall.

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RFC Post-Season's Greetings: The Final Blue-Gray Game 2003

(Video courtesy of ESPN2.)

This special installment of "RFC Postseason's Greetings" turns the clock back to Christmas Day, December 25, 2003. That was when the last-ever Blue-Gray Game was played at was then known as Movie Gallery (now Veterans Memorial) Stadium in Troy, Alabama. The Blue team outlasted the Gray team 31-24 in what turned out to be the final act of this legendary all-star classic, which featured the likes of former Mississippi Valley State University and NFL great Jerry Rice.

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RFC Post-Season's Greetings: 2005 Hawai'i Bowl Nevada vs. UCF Audio Only

(Audio courtesy of the University of Central Florida.)

The "RFC Post-Season's Greetings" series continues with a rare radio broadcast of the 2005 Hawai'i Bowl. In a contest that turned out to be a seesaw battle, Nevada edged UCF, 49-48, in overtime.

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RFC Post-Season's Greetings: North Texas Football 1995

(Video courtesy of University of North Texas Athletics)

The "RFC Post-Season's Greetings" series continues with a look back at the University of North Texas team from 1995. That team was best remembered for returning the Mean Green program to what is now the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly NCAA Division I-A). UNT struggled to an overall record of 2-9 after losing to the eventual national runner-up and fellow FBS Group Of Five member Boise State in the first round of the NCAA Division I-AA (now FCS) playoffs in 1994 when they won the Southland Conference championship.

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RFC Post-Season's Greetings: 2017 Armed Forces Bowl Army vs. San Diego State

(Video courtesy of ESPN.)

The "RFC Post-Season's Greetings" series continues by turning the clock back to December 23, 2017. That was when the San Diego State University Aztecs faced the Army Black Knights in the Armed Forces Bowl. In a high-scoring contest that saw multiple lead changes and ties, the Black Knights held off the Aztecs 42-35. Both teams finished the 2017 season at 10-3 overall.

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RFC Post-Season's Greetings: 2010 Armed Forces Bowl Army vs. SMU

(Video courtesy of ESPN.)

The "RFC Post-Season's Greetings" series continues by turning the clock back to December 30, 2010. That was when the Army Black Knights squared off against the SMU Mustangs in the Armed Forces Bowl. The Black Knights held off a late rally from the Mustangs to finish their season at 7-6 overall, while SMU settled for an overall mark of 7-7 after losing to Army.

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RFC Post-Season's Greetings: 2004 Las Vegas Bowl Wyoming vs. UCLA

(Video courtesy of ESPN.)

The "RFC Post-Season's Greetings" series continues by turning the clock back to December 23, 2004. That was when the University of Wyoming Cowboys faced the UCLA Bruins in the Las Vegas Bowl. Behind a performance of more than 300 yards passing and two touchdowns from quarterback Corey Bramlet, the Cowboys rallied from a double-digit deficit by back-to-back touchdowns in the fourth quarter to stun the Bruins, 24-21. Wyoming finished the 2004 season at 7-5 overall with the win over UCLA.

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RFC Post-Season's Greetings: THE DEBUT-2005 Liberty Bowl Tulsa vs. Fresno State

(Video courtesy of ESPN.)

Editor's Note: Effective with this post, this is the debut of a new feature at Real Football Central called "RFC Post-Season's Greetings" (formerly "The 12 Days of Bowl Games"). The purpose of this series is to post at least one postseason game per day, between now and New Year's Eve, involving programs that are currently members of FBS Group of Five conferences or below. That also includes the FCS, as well as the NCAA Division II, Division III, and NAIA ranks.

The debut video above features highlights from the 2005 Liberty Bowl between Fresno State and Tulsa. In a close contest, the Golden Hurricane held off the Bulldogs, 31-24, to finish their season at 9-4 overall, while Fresno State finished its season at 8-5 overall.

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RFC Throwback Thursday: NAIA Division II National Championship Game-1989

(Video #1 courtesy of Image Video Teleproductions/WXOW-TV La Crosse, Wis.)

(Video #2 courtesy of Westminster College [Pa.] Athletics)

This week's installment of "RFC Throwback Thursday" turns the clock back to a cold, snowy  December day in 1989. That was when the Westminster College Titans from New Wilmington, Pa. faced the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Eagles for the NAIA Division II National Championship at historic Fawcett Stadium in Canton, Ohio. The Titans defeated the Eagles 51-30 to not only win their second-straight national championship but also finish the 1989 season unbeaten at 13-0 overall. Both programs have since moved up to the NCAA Division III ranks, with Wisconsin-La Crosse winning two national championships at that level in 1992 and 1995.

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RFC Weekly Predictions: Week Of December 18, 2021-FCS Semifinal And Small College Championship Predictions, Plus The Celebration Bowl

Last Week: 5-4 (.556)

This Year: 966-451 (.681)

Editor's Note: With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to affect college football at all levels, any games that are postponed or canceled will not count toward the final percentage of correctly predicted games. As always, continue to visit RFC at realfootballcentral.blogspot.com, as well as follow on Twitter @realfootball for the latest developments and details.

KEY: Projected winners marked in RED.

Featured games in BOLD type.

FCS Semifinals

Interactive Bracket

Friday, December 17 (9:15 p.m. EST/8:15 p.m. EST on ESPN2.)

James Madison (12-1) at North Dakota State (12-1)

Saturday, December 18 (2 p.m. EST/1 p.m. CST/noon MST on ESPN2.)

South Dakota State (11-3) at Montana State (11-2)

NCAA Division II Championship Game at McKinney, Texas 

Saturday, December 18 (9 p.m. EST/8 p.m. CST on ESPNU.)

Ferris State (13-0) vs. Valdosta State (12-1)

NCAA Division III Championship Game (Stagg Bowl) at Canton, Ohio 

Friday, December 17 (7 p.m. EST/6 p.m. CST on ESPNU.)

North Central (14-0) vs. Mary Hardin-Baylor (14-0)

NAIA Championship Game at Durham, N.C.

Saturday, December 18 (6 p.m. EST/5 p.m. CST on ESPN3.)

Grand View (13-0) vs. Morningside (13-0)

Celebration Bowl at Mercedes Benz Stadium-Atlanta

Saturday, December 18 (noon EST/11 a.m. CST on ABC.)

South Carolina State (6-5) vs. Jackson State (10-1)

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RFC Group Of Five Bowl Predictions Special 2021

Editor's Note: Only the bowl games involving at least two teams from any two of the FBS Group Of Five Conferences (American Athletic, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, and Sun Belt) are eligible for inclusion in this post, with more games added to it as more match-ups are confirmed. As always, this schedule is subject to change due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with any canceled games not counting towards the overall winning percentage. Having said that, let's get started.

KEY: Projected winners marked in RED.

Friday, December 17

Bahamas Bowl at Nassau, Bahamas 

Middle Tennessee State (6-6) vs. Toledo (7-5)

Cure Bowl at Orlando, Fla.

Northern Illinois (9-4) vs. Coastal Carolina (10-2)

Saturday, December 18

Boca Raton Bowl at Boca Raton, Fla.

Appalachian State (10-3) vs. Western Kentucky (8-5)

New Mexico Bowl at Albuquerque, N.M.

Fresno State (9-3) vs. UTEP (7-5)

Independence Bowl at Shreveport, La.

BYU (10-2) vs. UAB (8-4)

LendingTree Bowl at Mobile, Ala.

Eastern Michigan (7-5) vs. Liberty (7-5)

New Orleans Bowl at New Orleans, La.

Louisiana (12-1) vs. Marshall (7-5)

Monday, December 20

Myrtle Beach Bowl at Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Tulsa (6-6) vs. Old Dominion (6-6)

Tuesday, December 21

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl at Boise, Idaho

Kent State (7-6) at Wyoming (6-6)

Frisco Bowl at Frisco, Texas

San Diego State (11-2) vs. UTSA (12-1)

Thursday, December 23

Frisco Football Classic at Frisco, Texas

Miami (Ohio)-(6-6) vs. North Texas (6-6)

Friday, December 24 (CHRISTMAS EVE)

Hawai'i Bowl at Honolulu, Hawai'i

Memphis (6-6) vs. Hawai'i (6-7)

Saturday, December 25 (CHRISTMAS DAY)

Camellia Bowl at Montgomery, Ala.

Ball State (6-6) vs. Georgia State (7-5)

Monday, December 27

Quick Lane Bowl at Detroit

Western Michigan (7-5) vs. Nevada (8-4)

Friday, December 31 (NEW YEAR'S EVE)

Arizona Bowl at Tucson, Ariz.

Central Michigan (8-4) vs. Boise State (7-5)

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM REAL FOOTBALL CENTRAL!!!!!!

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RFC Throwback Thursday: The Army/Navy Game-1985

(Video courtesy of CBS Sports)

This week's installment of "RFC Throwback Thursday" turns the clock back to December 7, 1985. That was when the Army Cadets (now Black Knights) clashed with the Navy Midshipmen in the annual "Army/Navy Game", at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Behind a near record-setting performance from running back Napoleon McCallum, Navy knocked off Army to finish an otherwise disappointing 1985 season at 4-7 overall. Meanwhile, Army would go to stun Illinois, 31-29, on New Year's Eve to win the Peach Bowl, and finish its season at 9-3 overall.

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RFC Weekly Predictions: Week Of December 11, 2021-FCS/Small College Playoff Predictions, Plus The Army-Navy Game

Last Week: 23-4 (.852)

This Year: 961-447 (.682)

Editor's Note: With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to affect college football at all levels, any games that are postponed or canceled will not count toward the final percentage of correctly predicted games. As always, continue to visit RFC at realfootballcentral.blogspot.com, as well as follow on Twitter @realfootball for the latest developments and details.

KEY: Projected winners marked in RED.

Featured games in BOLD type.

FBS Group Of Five

Saturday, December 11

The Army/Navy Game at East Rutherford, N.J. (3 p.m. EST on CBS.)

Army (8-3) vs. Navy (3-8)

FCS Quarterfinals

Interactive Bracket

Friday, December 10 (7 p.m. EST on ESPN2.)

Montana (10-2) at James Madison (11-1)

Saturday, December 11

East Tennessee State (11-1) at North Dakota State (11-1)

Montana State (10-2) at Sam Houston State (11-0)

South Dakota State (10-3) at Villanova (10-2)

NCAA Division II Semifinals

Saturday, December 11

Colorado School of Mines (12-1) at Valdosta State (11-1)

Shepherd (13-1) at Ferris State (12-0)

NCAA Division III Semifinals

Saturday, December 11

North Central (13-0) vs. Mount Union (13-0)

Mary Hardin-Baylor (13-0) vs. Wisconsin-Whitewater (13-0)

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RFC Throwback Thursday: NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal Playoff Game-Middle Tennessee State at Indiana State-1984

(Video courtesy of NCAA Productions.)

This week's installment of "RFC Throwback Thursday" turns the clock back to December 1, 1984. That was when the Indiana State University Sycamores hosted the Middle Tennessee State University Blue Raiders in an NCAA Division I-AA (now FCS) quarterfinal round playoff game. In a dramatic triple-overtime contest, the Blue Raiders stunned the then-No. 4 Sycamores, 42-41. MTSU advanced to the semifinals the following week, where they fell to eventual national runner-up Louisiana Tech, 21-13. The Bulldogs then lost to eventual national champion Montana State in the national championship game, 19-6.

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