The opening week of bowl season featured seven matchups, and a couple of teams made school history.

In addition to memorable wins for James Madison and Sam Houston, two more college football teams matched or set program records. These weren't marquee games, true, but they're all plenty meaningful.

Now, there were negatives, too. While the disappointments of a mid-December bowl can be quickly forgotten, they're still fair to note.

These takeaways are subjective and focus on the seven FBS bowls played from Dec. 14 through Dec. 20.

Note: Takeaways from the CFP first round are available here.

Winner: South Alabama's Offense

South Alabama needed a late-season upset of Louisiana to spark a rise to bowl eligibility, and the Jaguars made it count.

Bishop Davenport passed for 271 yards, scampered for 85 and totaled three touchdowns in a 30-23 victory over Western Michigan. Kentrel Bullock rushed for 130 more, and South Alabama's offense ultimately racked up 537 yards in the Salute to Veterans Bowl.

In both total yards and average gained per snap, it was South Alabama's second-best performance of the campaign.

Plus, after not winning a bowl through 11 seasons in the FBS, the program now boasts postseason victories in consecutive years.

Loser: Defense in Frisco

If you like points, well, the Frisco Bowl was awesome!

Memphis and West Virginia combined for more than 1,000 yards in a back-and-forth 42-37 triumph for Memphis.

As physics has taught, however, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. That wasn't a wonderful day of defense. At one point, Memphis and WVU rattled off eight scoring drives in a row, each tallying three touchdowns and a field goal in that stretch.

Neither team managed a sack, and both defenses ceded seven yards per play. There was just defense in Frisco.

West Virginia—which is ready to begin the second Rich Rodriguez era—ended the season at 6-7, while the victory gave Memphis its second-best record (11-2) in school history.

Winner: First-Time Bowl Champs

I feel like a broken record sometimes, but bowls are meaningful when you embrace the tradition of the postseason.

The sport has evolved, and introducing a championship tournament in the form of the College Football Playoff—while imperfect—is a good thing. However, the focus has shifted so heavily to a national title-or-bust mentality that the charm of bowl season is slipping.

That's the long version of imploring you to not overlook the details that are truly memorable to players, coaches, fans and programs.

James Madison joined the FBS in 2022, and Sam Houston followed in 2023. Both schools had been successful at the FCS level, but rising to the highest division means a chance for new firsts.

Both of them picked up their first-ever FBS bowl victories this year.

JMU toppled Western Kentucky 27-17 in the Boca Raton Bowl, closing its campaign at 9-4. The next evening, Sam Houston beat Georgia Southern 31-26 in the New Orleans Bowl to lock in a 10-3 record.

Loser: Cal's Short-Handed Offense

As soon as Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza went into the transfer portal, the outlook of the LA Bowl changed.

Chandler Rogers, the first-choice backup, ultimately didn't play because of a leg injury. That meant Cal turned to third-stringer CJ Harris, who at least offered some experience from his time at Ohio but had only played in the second half of a November loss to SMU this season.

But it gets worse.

No. 2 receiver Nyziah Hunter also entered the portal, and No. 3 target Trond Grizzell (illness) missed the game. Left tackle Nick Morrow was unavailable due to injury, too.

And it gets worse again.

Harris left the LA Bowl in the third quarter with an unspecified injury, shoving fourth-stringer EJ Caminong into action. He went 6-of-19 for 57 yards, an entirely understandable line for a freshman QB making his unexpected college debut against a good defense.

Cal's defense kept it competitive, but UNLV won 24-13 and matched a school record with 11 victories on the season.

Winner: Ohio's Record Year

Head coach Tim Albin accepted a job at Charlotte after the season, but he left the Ohio program in a tremendous spot.

When the Bobcats hammered in-state foe Miami in the MAC Championship Game, they reached double-digit wins for the third consecutive season. Then, in the Cure Bowl, they set a program record.

Ohio clawed out a 30-27 victory over Jacksonville State to reach 11 wins for the first time in school history.

Parker Navarro capped his breakout season with 254 passing yards, 111 rushing and four total scores. The performance lifted him past 1,000 rushing yards for the season. (Navarro is also expected to return in 2025, which is massive news for a MAC program in the transfer era.)

Soon after the record-breaking game, Ohio removed the interim tag from Brian Smith and promoted the offensive coordinator to head coach.

Winner: Florida's Late Surge

The defense? Outstanding all game.

In a 33-8 win at the Gasparilla Bowl, Florida surrendered just 194 yards to a short-handed offense. Tulane quarterback Darian Mensah had transferred to Duke, and the Gators were awfully unkind to Ty Thompson. He finished 11-of-29 for 125 yards with three interceptions.

Through one half, though, the offense had been mediocre. Star freshman DJ Lagway threw a pair of interceptions, and Florida headed to the locker room holding just a 6-0 lead.

But the final 30 minutes were considerably better for UF.

Aided by that stingy defense, the Gators quickly made it a blowout. They put together three scoring drives in a row to begin the third quarter and ultimately put up 27 points on six second-half possessions. Lagway set a Gasparilla Bowl record with 305 passing yards, which nicely overshadowed an unimpressive first 30 minutes from him.

Florida was on the verge of a miserable year in mid-November, but the outlook of the program is far more stable after the Gators rattled off four straight wins to finish 8-5.