Bowl Mania

This Tuesday brings the first of 32 College Football Bowl games. While I am not as big a fan of NCAA football as I am of the NFL, it still is fun to follow all these games as they clearly mean much to everyone associated with the schools involved.

What makes it even more exciting is that my alma mater, Northern Illinois will be playing in the first game on Tuesday evening. While they are as big of underdogs as any of the teams playing for a Bowl win, I will certainly be hoping for the best. Two years ago, they won their first Bowl game in over twenty years in winning the last ever Silicon Valley Classic. The success of the NIU football program has been very exciting, especially when I look back to the time when I was a student there and how hard it was for the team to just win a game, period. So, good luck to Coach Joe Novak, NCAA Division 1 leading rusher Garrett Wolfe and the rest of the Huskies!

So, here is a rundown of all the games, and while I will not venture to make predictions, I will highlight who I *want* to win all these games, while keeping in mind that except for the first game, I do not exactly consider myself emotionally invested in the outcome.

And what’s up with two crappy, minor Bowls taking part after New Year’s right before the big BCS Championship game? That isn’t right. The games should get progressively more important.

1. Poinsettia Bowl
San Diego, CA
Northern Illinois Huskies vs. #25 Texas Christian Horned Frogs

2. Las Vegas Bowl
Las Vegas, NV
Oregon Ducks vs. # 19 Brigham Young Cougars

3. New Orleans Bowl
New Orleans, LA
Rice Owls vs. Troy Trojans

4. Papajohns.com Bowl
Birmingham, AL
East Carolina Panthers vs. South Florida Bulls

5. New Mexico Bowl
Albuquerque, NM
San Jose State Spartans vs. New Mexico Lobos

6. Armed Forces Bowl
Fort Worth, TX
Tulsa Golden Hurricane vs. Utah Utes

7. Hawai'i Bowl
Honolulu, HI
Arizona State Sun Devils vs. Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors

8. Motor City Bowl
Detroit, MI
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders vs. Central Michigan Chippewas

9. Emerald Bowl
San Francisco, CA
Florida State Seminoles vs. California-Los Angeles Bruins

10. Independence Bowl
Shreveport, LA
Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. Alabama Crimson Tide

11. Holiday Bowl
San Diego, CA
#21 Texas A&M Aggies vs. #20 California Golden Bears

12. Texas Bowl
Houston, TX
Kansas State Wildcats vs. #16 Rutgers Scarlet Knights

13. Music City Bowl
Nashville, TN
Kentucky Wildcats vs. Clemson Tigers

14. Sun Bowl
El Paso, TX
Missouri Tigers vs. #24 Oregon State Beavers

15. Liberty Bowl
Memphis, TN
Houston Cougars vs. South Carolina Gamecocks

16. Insight Bowl
Tempe, AZ
Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders

17. Champs Sports Bowl
Orlando, FL
Purdue Boilermakers vs. Maryland Terrapins

18. Meineke Car Care Bowl
Charlotte, NC
Navy Midshipmen vs. # 23 Boston College Eagles

19. Alamo Bowl
San Antonio, TX
Iowa Hawkeyes vs. # 18 Texas Longhorns

20. Peach Bowl
Atlanta, GA
Georgia Bulldogs vs. #14 Virginia Tech Hokies

21. MPC Computers Bowl
Boise, ID
Nevada Wolf Pack vs. Miami Hurricanes

22. Outback Bowl
Tampa, FL
Penn State Nittany Lions vs. #17 Tennessee Volunteers

23. Cotton Bowl
Dallas, TX
#22 Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. #10 Auburn Tigers

24. Gator Bowl
Jacksonville, FL
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs. #13 West Virginia Mountaineers

25. Capital One Bowl
Orlando, FL
#12 Arkansas Razorbacks vs #6 Wisconsin Badgers

26. Rose Bowl
Pasadena, CA
#8 Southern California Trojans vs. #3 Michigan Wolverines

27. Fiesta Bowl
Glendale, AZ
#9 Boise States Broncos vs. #7 Oklahoma Sooners

28. Orange Bowl
Miami, FL
#15 Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs. #5 Louisville Cardinals

29. Sugar Bowl
New Orleans, LA
#11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. #4 Louisiana State Tigers

30. International Bowl
Toronto, Ontario- Canada
Western Michigan Broncos vs. Cincinnati Bearcats

31. GMAC Bowl
Mobile, AL
Ohio Bobcats vs. Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles

32. BCS Championship Game
Glendale, AZ
#2 Florida Gators vs. #1 Ohio State Buckeyes