Let’s Go Bowling

The bowls have been announced, the teams have accepted and below is the lengthy list of bowl games and the participants.

In addition, I have selected my top 4 games I like and dislike at the bottom. See if you agree or disagree...

Gildan New Mexico Bowl, Sat., Dec. 15, 1:00 p.m. EST, ESPN
Nevada vs. Arizona (Played in Albuquerque, NM)

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Sat., Dec. 15, 4:30 p.m. EST, ESPN
Toledo vs. Utah State (Played in Boise, ID)

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, Thur., Dec. 20, 8:00 p.m. EST, ESPN
BYU vs. San Diego State (Played in San Diego, CA)

Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl, Fri., Dec. 21, 7:30 p.m. EST, ESPN
UCF vs. Ball State (Played in St. Petersburg, FL)

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, Sat., Dec. 22, Noon EST, ESPN
East Carolina vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (Played in New Orleans, LA)

MAACO Bowl Las Vegas Bowl, Sat., Dec. 22, 3:30 p.m. EST, ESPN
Washington vs. (19)Boise State (Played in Las Vegas, NV)

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, Mon., Dec. 24, 8:00 p.m. EST, ESPN
Fresno State vs. SMU (Played in Honolulu, HI)

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, Wed., Dec. 26, 7:30 p.m. EST, ESPN
Western Kentucky vs. Central Michigan (Played in Detroit, MI)

Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman, Thur., Dec. 27, 3:00 p.m. EST, ESPN
San Jose State vs. Bowling Green (Played in Washington, DC)

Belk Bowl, Thur., Dec. 27, 6:30 p.m. EST, ESPN
Cincinnati vs. Duke (Played in Charlotte, NC)

Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl, Thur., Dec. 27, 9:45 p.m. EST, ESPN
Baylor vs. (17)UCLA (Played in San Diego, CA)

AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl, Fri., Dec. 28, 2:00 p.m. EST, ESPN
Ohio vs. Louisiana-Monroe (Played in Shreveport, LA)

Russell Athletic Bowl, Fri., Dec. 28., 5:30 p.m. EST, ESPN
Rutgers vs. Virginia Tech (Played in Orlando, FL)

Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas, Fri., Dec. 28, 9:00 p.m. EST, ESPN
Minnesota vs. Texas Tech (Played in Houston, TX)

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, Sat., Dec. 29, 11:45 a.m. EST, ESPN
Rice vs. Air Force (Played in Fort Worth, TX)

New Era Pinstripe Bowl, Sat., Dec. 29, 3:15 EST, ESPN
West Virginia vs. Syracuse (Played in Bronx, NY)

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, Sat., Dec. 29, 4:00 p.m. EST, ESPN2
Navy vs. Arizona State (Played in San Francisco, CA)

Valero Alamo Bowl, Sat., Dec. 29, 6:45 p.m. EST, ESPN
(23)Texas vs. (13)Oregon State (Played in San Antonio, TX)

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, Sat., Dec. 29, 10:15 p.m. EST, ESPN
TCU vs. Michigan State (Played in Tempe, AZ)

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl, Mon., Dec. 31, Noon EST, ESPN
NC State vs. Vanderbilt (Played in Nashville, TN)

Hyundai Sun Bowl, Mon., Dec. 31, 2:00 p.m. EST, CBS
USC vs. Georgia Tech (Played in El Paso, TX)

AutoZone Liberty Bowl, Mon., Dec. 31, 3:30 p.m. EST, ESPN
Iowa State vs. Tulsa (Played in Memphis, TN)

Chick-fil-A Bowl, Mon., Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. EST, ESPN
(8)LSU vs. (14)Clemson (Played in Atlanta, GA)

TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl, Tue., Jan. 1, Noon, ESPN2
Mississippi State vs. (20)Northwestern (Played in Jacksonville, FL)

Heart of Dallas Bowl, Tue., Jan. 1, Noon, ESPNU
Purdue vs. Oklahoma State (Played in Dallas, TX)

Outback Bowl, Tue., Jan. 1, 1:00 p.m. EST, ESPN
(10)South Carolina vs. (18)Michigan (Played in Tampa, FL)

Capital One Bowl, Tue., Jan. 1, 1:00 p.m. EST, ABC
(7)Georgia vs. (16)Nebraska (Played in Orlando, FL)

Rose Bowl, Tue., Jan. 1, 5:00 p.m. EST, ESPN
Wisconsin vs. (6)Stanford (Played in Pasadena, CA)

Discover Orange Bowl, Tue., Jan. 1, 8:30 p.m. EST, ESPN
(15)Northern Illinois vs. (12)Florida State (Played in Miami, FL)

Allstate Sugar Bowl, Wed., Jan. 2, 8:30 p.m. EST, ESPN
(21)Louisville vs. (3)Florida (Played in New Orleans, LA)

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, Thur., Jan. 3, 8:30 p.m. EST, ESPN
(4)Oregon vs. (5)Kansas State (Played in Glendale, AZ)

AT&T Cotton Bowl, Fri., Jan. 4, 8:00 p.m. EST, FOX
(9)Texas A&M vs. (11)Oklahoma (Played in Arlington, TX)

BBVA Compass Bowl, Sat., Jan. 5, 1:00 p.m. EST, ESPN
Pittsburgh vs. Ole Miss (Played in Birmingham, AL)

GoDaddy.com Bowl, Sun., Jan. 6, 9:00 p.m. EST, ESPN
Kent State vs. Arkansas State (Played in Mobile, AL)

BCS National Championship, Mon., Jan. 7, 8:30 p.m. EST, ESPN
(1)Notre Dame vs. (2)Alabama (Played in Miami, FL)

Top 4 Games To Watch:

1. (1)Notre Dame vs. (2)Alabama - Obviously because this game decides the National Champion, its must see TV. In addition, these two storied programs have two of the best defenses in the country and it would be nice to see a team from outside the SEC win a Championship every now and then.

2. (4)Oregon vs. (5)Kansas State - Outside the National Championship, this is the only other BCS Game that I believe is worth watching and it should be a good Fiesta Bowl. These two teams were undefeated going into week 12 and both had tremendous years. This should be a high scoring affair.

3. (9)Texas A&M vs. (11)Oklahoma - Its a shame that neither one of these teams are in a BCS Bowl however, the Cotton Bowl is right up there. I think Texas A&M could beat anybody in the country right now and they might just be playing this game with a Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback. A old rivalry from the Big12 is renewed in this one...

4. (10)South Carolina vs. (18)Michigan - I'll admit I have Michigan playing the in BCS Championship in my preseason predictions and the Outback Bowl is certainly not that. But it will be nice to see a team from the SEC play a team from the Big10 especially considering how everyone has the SEC as the best conference around and the Big10 being considered down this year.

Top 4 Games to Skip this Bowl Season

1. Pittsburgh vs. Ole Miss - The Compass Bowl features two teams who are not ranked and both finished the season 6-6. Need I say more?

2. (21)Louisville vs. (3)Florida - We've seen some good Sugar Bowl's over the years, however this one will be one to forget. Louisville did end up winning the Big East, but going against arguably the #1 Defense in the country, they will struggle. Florida wins this game running away.

3. (15)Northern Illinois vs. (12)Florida State - The BCS completely got this one wrong by putting Northern Illinois in a BCS Game. Florida State is going to demolish a team in NIU that had a great year. The problem is they play in the MAC and don't play big boy football. The orange bowl wont have a lot of fans and there wont be a lot of viewers after the half.

4. Purdue vs. Oklahoma State - These two teams play in the Heart of the Dallas Bowl. Purdue doesn't have a coach and Oklahoma State might not either by the time the bowl gets here as their coach Mike Gundy is rumored to be interviewing for some of the SEC Coaching Vacancies. Oklahoma State rolls either way and we get another blow out in this one.