Capital One College Bowl

Matt Roush says...

As someone who proudly captained my It’s Academic team in high school, the College Bowl format is one of my favorite aspirational TV franchises. In a prime-time revival, NFL pro Peyton Manning (who knows his way around a Bowl) hosts a new version, with his older brother Cooper as his wisecracking sidekick. (Why a show like this needs a sidekick to act dumb is a question maybe better left unanswered.) Teams of brainiacs from 12 top colleges and universities face off to compete for big scholarship money, often in classic rivalries like Auburn vs. Alabama and Minnesota vs. Michigan in the opener. Each round builds to the tense “Two-Minute Drill,” which typically decides the winner. The two teams scoring the most points move on to the quarterfinals, with the others vying for a Wild Card position. And while there are no cheerleaders, each team gets a video pep talk from a famous alum, like Michigan’s Tom Brady—who uses the opportunity to needle his former gridiron opponent. They’re all good sports.

What's Worth Watching (Jun 22)