COLUMN: Your bowl game viewing guide
It’s the best time of year for college football fans, and not just because Christmas is right around the corner. With 35 games between Dec. 18 and Jan. 10, the weeks-long odyssey of the college football season has a little something for everyone. Here’s the ones you gotta see.
MAACO Las Vegas Bowl
The Mountain West vs. Western Athletic Conference debate will be a moot point come next year when Boise State leaves the former for the latter and Utah heads to the PAC-10, but that doesn’t make the teams’ Dec. 22 match-up any less intriguing. Aside from a loss to Nevada, the Broncos (11-1) have been nothing short of dominant, but will they show up in full force after the disappointment of not making it into a BCS game? It was another good year for the Utes (10-2) but questions remain about how good the team really is after struggles in November. The lack of starter Jordan Wynn at quarterback because of shoulder surgery won’t help the team’s case even if they do get less than a “supreme” effort from Boise.
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
Yes, the name is excessively long, but don’t let the bowl’s corporate sponsor stop you from tuning into this one. Navy is 8-3 on its way to a seventh-straight bowl game, but the feeling around Annapolis is that the team missed a golden opportunity to have a truly memorable year with close losses to Maryland, Duke and Air Force. Meanwhile, the Aztecs are back in the postseason after a 12-year hiatus, but will their virtual home-field advantage be mitigated by the city’s large naval population?
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
If you like the kind of offensive football featuring more aerial displays than the holiday rush at the Airport, than this one is for you. Hawaii (10-3) leads the nation in passing at 403.8 yards a game, but Tulsa isn’t a slouch either, with the Golden Hurricane (9-3) averaging just under 300 yards passing per game. With each team scoring nearly 40 points per game on average, breaking 100 total points in the ballgame is expected on this Christmas Eve showdown.
Hyundai Sun Bowl
Is it just me, or does this game have a new sponsor every year? No matter, the New Year’s Eve day game features two storied programs which have both seen better days. And while the game might not live up to the memories of the infamous “Catholics vs. Convicts” game of October 1988 (in which fourth-ranked Notre Dame defeated No. 1 Miami 31-30) it still carries plenty of storylines. The Irish have rebounded under the unlikely guidance of freshman quarterback Tommy Rees, who has the team to three straight wins. Miami, meanwhile, recently fired head coach Randy Shannon after two straight losses to close out the year.
Rose Bowl
Perhaps the most anticipated BCS bowl game outside of the national championship, Gary Patterson and his undefeated Texas Christian Horned Frogs will attempt to show the nation that they deserved to play in the title during this duel with Wisconsin. TCU has long been known for its incredible defenses, but can the Horned Frogs contained a balanced and physical Wisconsin attack that put up 201 points in the final three games of the season? Don’t forget that this is a Wisconsin team which came within 10 points of going undefeated, and defeated then-No. 1 Ohio State in October.
Sugar Bowl
Bowl season is the best time of year to fan the flames of the Big 10 vs. SEC debate, and where would the debate be if THE Ohio State University (10-1) wasn’t playing an SEC school? As a certain USU professor of sports psychology knows, the Buckeyes are 0-9 all-time in bowls against SEC schools, and will face one of the nation’s top signal callers in Ryan Mallet, who has sparked his team to three wins over Top 25 teams in the past seven games. But this is Arkansas’ first-ever bowl appearance, and you can bet a seasoned and veteran Terrelle Pryor won’t allow his team to go out without a fight.
National Championship Game
You didn’t really think I would gloss over the biggest game of them all, did you? Many people may have their bones with the BCS system, but you have to admit that both the undefeated Ducks and the unscathed Tigers earned the right to be here, the latter having to win an extra game in the SEC title to make it to Glendale. The game features two Heisman trophy finalists, Auburn quarterback Cam Newton and Oregon running back LeMichael James, but for the amount of firepower each offense packs, it could end up coming down to defense. Whichever team comes out on top, they’ll be no disputing the end result this year – the winner of the National Championship game will be the best team in college football, and the winner of this one in particular could be the best team in the sport’s history.
Adam Nettina is a senior majoring in history, and member of the Football Writers Association of America. He can be reached at adam.nettina@aggiemail.usu.edu.