The bowl game guide for the casual college football fan

December 8, 11:11 PMCollege Sports ExaminerJacob Osterhout

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This man obviously watched the BCS selection show.

I know exactly where you were on Sunday afternoon. You were obviously glued to the TV, breathlessly awaiting the start of the BCS Selection Show. The suspense! The drama! Which teams would receive BCS bowl invitations? Who would be playing for a national championship?

Wait, what's that? You missed the BCS Selection Show? How can you consider yourself a college football fan and NOT watch the most anticlimactic hour of TV of the year?

I kid. I kid.

I don't blame you for missing the BCS Selection Show, and to prove it, here's a nice run down of all this year's bowl games for the casual college football fan who can't handle the inconclusive nature of the BCS system.

December 20th

St. Petersburg Bowl, South Florida vs. Memphis - It'd be funny if this game were in Russia, but to the delight of USF, it's in Florida. The Bulls lost five of their last seven games. Memphis finished with a .500 record in Conference USA. Tough way to kick off the bowl games.

EagleBank Bowl, Navy vs. Wake Forest - Navy beat the Demon Deacons by a touchdown earlier in the season and the three week layover would seem to benefit the Midshipmen since I'm guessing they're kept on a tighter leash over in Annapolis. Although, revenge can be a powerful motivator.

New Mexico Bowl, Fresno State vs. Colorado State - Here's what the two teams are competing for. Via Wikipedia: "The game trophy is 20-inch piece of Zia Pueblo pottery, painted with Pueblo symbols, the New Mexico Bowl logo, football players, and the logos of the competing teams. Zia Pueblo is an Indian tribe from New Mexico." Also, you get to see Kevin Goessling, he of the mighty left leg.

Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl, Arizona vs. BYU - This game used to be called the California Raisin Bowl until 1992 when it moved to Las Vegas. It also holds a unique place in college football history books. In the 2002 Las Vegas Bowl, New Mexico's Katie Hnida became the first woman to play in a Division I football game. She attempted an extra point and missed.

December 21st

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, Southern Miss vs. Troy - Ah, the Sun Belt's only guaranteed bowl game. Enough said.

December 23rd

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, Boise State vs. TCU - This is Boise State's reward for going undefeated during the regular season? The Broncos don't even get a BCS conference team. Okay, the Horned Frogs have a good defense and only lost to Utah and Oklahoma, but there's no energy in the match up. Remember when Boise State played Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl? Now that was energy.

December 24th

Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl, Hawaii vs. Notre Dame - It's the first thing Fighting Irish fans have had to cheer about all season. They get to go to Hawaii. Hooray for mediocrity! Hooray for Charlie Weis!

December 26th

Motor City Bowl, Central Michigan vs. Florida Atlantic - Is there anything better than Detroit in the winter? Not for Central Michigan. This is the third year in a row that the Chippewas will play in the Motor City Bowl.

December 27th

Meineke Car Care Bowl, North Carolina vs. West Virginia - The Tar Heels had a shot at winning the ACC this season but stumbled against Maryland and North Carolina State. Neither of those opponents has a quarterback as dynamic as Pat White. And let's not forget that West Virginia coach Bill Stewart got the job because he won a bowl game. So even though the game is in Charlotte, which obviously benefits UNC, West Virginia should run away with this one.

Champs Sports Bowl, Florida State vs. Wisconsin - Two once-great programs limping to the end of their respective seasons. The Badgers were lucky to beat Cal Poly in their season finale and Florida State looked like a high school team against in-state rival Florida in its final game of the season. Of course, there's always Jen Sturger. Here's when Brent Musberger discovered her.

Emerald Bowl, Miami vs. Cal - Hey, look at that, the U is back in a bowl game and this could get dangerous. Because AT&T Park is not normally used for football - it is, after all, a baseball stadium - both teams stand on the same sideline, separated by a barrier at the 50-yard line.

December 28th

PetroSun Independence Bowl, Northern Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech - Neither the SEC, nor the Big 12 had enough bowl-eligible teams to fill these spots, so you get what we have here...which is the way he wants it. I'll leave it at that.

December 29th

PapaJohns.com Bowl, Rutgers vs. NC State - Wait, why is Papa Johns still doing the dot com thing and how did these teams make it to a bowl game? At one point this season, the Scarlett Knights were 1-5 and the Wolfpack were 2-6.

Valero Alamo Bowl, Northwestern vs. Missouri - This should be a good game that pits an over-achieving Northwestern squad against an under-performing Missouri team. Maybe we'll have an ending like the 2005 Alamo Bowl that featured Nebraska vs. Michigan.

December 30th

Roady's Humanitarian Bowl, Nevada vs. Maryland - If Ball State had acquiesced, Boise residents would've been able to see their Boise State Broncos play at Bronco Stadium. But the Cardinals wanted to play in Boise about as bad as I want a colonoscopy and so Boise residents will have to settle for a mid-level WAC-ACC match up. For Maryland, this is the reward for squandering the ACC title by losing their last two games of the season.

Texas Bowl, Western Michigan vs. Rice - The Owls haven't won a bowl game since 1954, but they're playing at home. Watch out for James Casey. He's multi-talented.

Pacific Life Holiday Bowl, Oregon vs. Oklahoma State - Here's some nice Holiday Bowl trivia: When was the only time that the national championship was decided in December? In the 1984 Holiday Bowl, BYU beat Michigan 24-17 to win its only national title. Also of note, this is the only bowl game associated with a national dachshund racing championship, the Wiener Nationals, which takes place every December as part of the Holiday Bowl.

December 31st

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, Air Force vs. Houston - Air Force likes to run the ball. Houston likes to pass the ball. That's all I got except for this clip of Houston defensive back Phillip Hunt hitting Tulane quarterback Joe Kemp after the whistle had already blown. Kemp broke his collar bone. 

Brut Sun Bowl, Oregon State vs. Pitt - This is the second oldest continuously played bowl game and it is currently sponsored by a brand of men's fragrances and personal care products, which seems strange.

Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl, Vanderbilt vs. Boston College - This will be Vanderbilt's first bowl game since 1982 and the Commodores are going to get run right out of the building. They've lost six of their last seven games, including an ugly 10-7 loss to Duke. Yeah, Duke.

Insight Bowl, Kansas vs. Minnesota - Back in 2006, the Insight Bowl featured the largest comeback in Division I post-season history as Texas Tech came back from a 38-7 third-quarter deficit to defeat Minnesota 44-41 in overtime. And look who's back this season. Let's hope the Golden Gophers don't make the same mistake twice.

Chick-fil-A Bowl, LSU vs. Georgia Tech - Let's just call it the Peach Bowl. About this time last year, LSU was getting ready to play in the national championship game. Now the Tigers have to go into Atlanta and play a team that beat Georgia to end the regular season.

January 1st

Outback Bowl, Iowa vs. South Carolina - Shonn Greene vs. Steve Spurrier. I'm gonna go ahead and take Greene in that fight. Also, South Carolina has won only four bowl games in the long history of its football program.

Konica Minolta Gator Bowl, Clemson vs. Nebraska - There's a lot of history with Clemson and the Gator Bowl. Most notably, in the 1978 Gator Bowl game between Ohio State and the Tigers, Buckeyes coach Woody Hayes lost his cool and punched Clemson nose guard Charlie Bauman on the sideline after an interception. It would be Hayes' last game as OSU's coach.

Capital One Bowl, Michigan State vs. Georgia - Georgia was not supposed to be here, but the Bulldogs season didn't really come together like coach Mark Richt had planned. At least they're playing close to home in Orlando, Florida.

Rose Bowl presented by Citi, Penn State vs. USC - Should Citi really be presenting a bowl game if they can't get by without government help? Regardless, this is a good game. It would be better in the second round of the playoffs, but we'll grin and bear it.

FedEx Orange Bowl, Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech - The BCS' leftovers. Has the Orange Bowl ever been less exciting?

January 2nd

AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, Texas Tech vs. Ole Miss - I know that Ole Miss is the only team to beat Florida this season, but the Rebels are going to get blown out by the Red Raiders' high powered offense. Then again, maybe I shouldn't underestimate the genius of a man with a name like Houston Nutt.

AutoZone Liberty Bowl, ECU vs. Kentucky - Remember when East Carolina was ranked and Skip Holtz was referred to as the next messiah? That didn't last long. Of course, this season Kentucky was never ranked. The Widlcats have also lost four of their last five games. Plus, if you read the news you know pirates are making a comeback.

Allstate Sugar Bowl, Alabama vs. Utah - The Crimson Tide lose to Urban Meyer's Florida Gators and now have to play the school that Meyer's turned into a powerhouse.

January 3rd

International Bowl, UConn vs. Buffalo - Let me get this straight, Notre Dame has a terrible season and gets to play a bowl game in Hawaii while Buffalo wins the MAC and has to play its bowl game in Toronto. On second thought, maybe Buffalo wants to play in Toronto. Compared to Buffalo, it's luxurious. Show me that Hail Mary, Turner Gill, and I'll show you a believer.

January 5th

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, Ohio State vs. Texas - Texas is angry at being snubbed by the BCS. Ohio State doesn't show up for bowl games. This is a recipe for a Longhorn blowout.

January 6th

GMAC Bowl, Ball State vs. Tulsa - How much does Ball State regret passing up on the Humanitarian Bowl? They could've had a chance to ruin Boise State's perfect season. Instead, they'll be playing Tulsa in a consolation game in Mobile, Alabama that is as compelling as the last thirty minutes of Meet Joe Black.

January 8th

BCS National Championship, Oklahoma vs. Florida - The only one of these 34 bowl games that really matters.