With Thanksgiving over and Christmas approaching, it must be time for all the college bowl games. Starting with the Gildan New Mexico Bowl on December 15th, and ending with the BCS Championship Game between Notre Dame and Alabama on January 7th. 35 games in total, featuring teams slightly under .500, all the way up to undefeated Notre Dame. A veritable smorgasbord of college football for 3 1/2 weeks. Personally, I will make every attempt to see as many of these games as I can. It doesn’t matter who is playing, or how good or bad they are, it’s college football.
Of course, most of the focus during bowl season is on the BCS games, especially the national championship game. As I look at the 5 BCS games, only 3 of them look to be very interesting, but it doesn’t mean I will skip the other 3. On January 1, the Rose Bowl kicks off the BCS games with 11-2 Stanford against Wisconsin, who is 8-5. A five loss team in the Rose Bowl seems so wrong. Ohio State won the Leaders division of the Big Ten, but they are on probation. Penn State was second, but they are also on probation. So a team with a 4-4 conference record will represent the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl, against Pac 12 Champion and 6th ranked Stanford. Wisconsin did crush Legends division winner Nebraska in the Big Ten Championship game, 70-21, so maybe they are better now than they were earlier in the season. Wisconsin never lost a game by more than 7 points, so let’s hope it’s a competitive game.
Later on New Year’s Day, the Orange Bowl has Florida State playing MAC Champion Northern Illinois. Somehow a team from a non-BCS conference, with a loss, managed to make it into the top 16, which gets them into a BCS bowl game. I saw them win the MAC Championship, and they do have a great quarterback in Jordan Lynch. It just doesn’t seem like a spectacular game on paper. The next day, Florida will play Louisville. My first thought when I saw this match-up was that Florida will win in a blowout. Florida was 7-1 in the SEC, Louisville was 5-2 in the Big East. Enough said.
On January 3rd is one of the games I am looking forward to. Oregon will take on Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl. This looked like a possible national championship game a few weeks ago, before both teams were upset on the same day. They were ranked #1 and #2 at that time. The next day, in the Cotton Bowl, Texas A&M will play Oklahoma. This isn’t a BCS game, but it looks better than 3 of the 5 BCS games. Heisman trophy favorite Johnny Manziel is the Texas A&M quarterback. This could be his first game after being the first redshirt freshman to win the award.
Last and not least, is the BCS Championship game, in Miami on January 7th. Alabama is the defending champion and the SEC champion. Notre Dame finished 12-0, as the only undefeated team, other than Ohio State, who is ineligible for postseason play. Alabama is a big favorite, since they won the all powerful SEC, even though they lost to Texas A&M on November 10th. This game matches 2 of the best defenses in college football. It should be a great game, to determine the national championship. After 34 other games, I’m still waiting for this one the most. I can’t wait.
Just enter your email address in the box on the top right side and hit subscribe, to be emailed future commentaries – http://frankcthomas.com
