College Bowl Preview

Courtesy University of Southern Mississippi

USM tailback Damion Fletcher

by Doctor S
December 24, 2008

Among the many sins of Bowl Championship Series is the fact that the BCS renders all but one bowl game meaningless, unless you have a rooting interest in one of the teams. Doctor S still watches many of the games—it’s his job, after all—but it’s just not as much fun as it was back in the pre-BCS days.

If you haven’t watched any of the games played so far, you didn’t miss much. In his exclusive bowl preview for the JFP, Doctor S tells you who’s playing and whether you should watch:

MUST SEE
• New Orleans Bowl, Southern Miss vs. Troy: Did you miss the Golden Eagles’ 30-27 victory over the Trojans?
• Cotton Bowl, Ole Miss vs. Texas Tech (Jan. 2, 1 p.m., Ch. 40): This game has a national-title tie-in: Ole Miss was the only team to beat Florida; Oklahoma was the only team to beat Texas Tech. If the Rebel defense can slow down the Red Raider offense, the Rebels have a chance.
• BCS National Championship, Florida vs. Oklahoma (Jan. 8, 7 p.m., Ch. 40): The last two Heisman Trophy winners play for the title in a flawed championship game.
• Sugar Bowl, Alabama vs. Utah (Jan. 2, 7 p.m., Ch. 40): Residents of two distant outposts will roll into the Big Easy. The Bama fans will be much more entertaining than the game.

WORTH WATCHING
• Chick-fil-A Bowl, LSU vs. Georgia Tech (Dec. 31, 6:30 p.m., ESPN): Georgia Tech beat Mississippi State by a bigger margin than LSU did, so the Yellow Jackets should win.
• Capital One Bowl, Georgia vs. Michigan State (Jan. 1, noon, Ch. 16): This isn’t what preseason No. 1 Georgia had in mind. Michigan State fans are just glad to escape the cold.
• Rose Bowl, Southern California vs. Penn State (Jan. 1, 3:30 p.m., Ch. 16): The Trojans aim to take out their frustrations on a Big Ten punching bag.
• Fiesta Bowl, Texas vs. Ohio State (Jan. 5, 7 p.m., Ch. 40): The Longhorns aim to take out their frustrations on a Big Ten punching bag. Is there a theme developing here?

DEFINITE MAYBE
• Meineke Car Care Bowl, North Carolina vs. West Virginia (Dec. 27, noon, ESPN)
• Holiday Bowl, Oregon vs. Oklahoma State (Dec. 30, 7 p.m., ESPN)
• Music City Bowl, Vanderbilt vs. Boston College (Dec. 31, 2:30 p.m., ESPN)
• Outback Bowl, South Carolina vs. Iowa (Jan. 1, 10 a.m., ESPN)
• Gator Bowl, Clemson vs. Nebraska (Jan. 1, noon, Ch. 16)
• GMAC Bowl, Tulsa vs. Ball State (Jan. 6, 7 p.m., ESPN)

PROBABLY NOT
• Champs Sports Bowl, Florida State vs. Wisconsin (Dec. 27, 3:30 p.m., ESPN)
• Emerald Bowl, California vs. Miami, Fla. (Dec. 27, 7 p.m., ESPN)
• Armed Forces Bowl, Air Force vs. Houston (Dec. 31, 11 a.m., ESPN)
• Sun Bowl, Oregon State vs. Pittsburgh (Dec. 31, 1 p.m., Ch. 12)
• Orange Bowl, Virginia Tech vs. Cincinnati (Jan. 1, 7:30 p.m., Ch. 40)

NO WAY
• Motor City Bowl, Central Michigan vs. Florida Atlantic (Dec. 26, 6:30 p.m., ESPN)
• Independence Bowl, Louisiana Tech vs. Northern Illinois (Dec. 28, 7:15 p.m., ESPN)
• Papajohns.com Bowl, Rutgers vs. N.C. State (Dec. 29, 2 p.m., ESPN)
• Alamo Bowl, Northwestern vs. Missouri (Dec. 29, 7 p.m., ESPN)
• Humanitarian Bowl, Maryland vs. Nevada (Dec. 30, 3:30 p.m., ESPN)
• Texas Bowl, Rice vs. Western Michigan (Dec. 30, 7 p.m., NFL Network)
• Insight Bowl, Kansas vs. Minnesota (Dec. 31, 4:30 p.m., NFL Network)
• International Bowl, Connecticut vs. Buffalo (Jan. 3, 11 a.m., ESPN2)