Over the next two days we’re going to look at the best and the worst of the impending college bowl season. Today I will touch on the six bowl games that I am most interested in watching, then tomorrow we’ll look at the five that I will quite likely take a pass on. Without further ado, the top six (in order):
1. Fiesta Bowl – I’ve touched on this before, but I’m not thrilled with the decision to match TCU and Boise State in the Fiesta instead of matching them up against major conference teams – like Cincinnati and Florida. That being said, this is going to be a great game. The two teams met last year and TCU’s 17-16 was captivating. It’s also the only time in two years that Boise State has lost, so the revenge factor will be high. The teams both have impressive offenses, far from shabby defenses, strong quarterbacks, and both are extremely well coached. This is undoubtedly the best of the bunch.
2. Sun Bowl – I’ve very much enjoyed watching Stanford this year, so I will be watching very closely as they make a bowl appearance again after a long drought. Oklahoma has had a lousy year, but they are still a good team, and Stanford would really be accomplishing something by pulling off the win. It won’t be quite the same if Stanford QB Andrew Luck isn’t able to play – he had finger surgery after the season and is uncertain – but it’s still a chance to see Toby Gerhart one last time, and that alone is worth the price of admission. Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh is wildly competitive and wants to prove that his program is among the big boys, so you know he will be very ready for this one.
3. Holiday Bowl – I can’t put my figure on exactly why, put I am looking forward to this tilt between Arizona and Nebraska. Arizona is coming off a great win against USC and will be looking to build momentum heading into next year. Nebraska still has that bitter taste of the end of the Texas game n their mouths, and that will be a positive thing if they can channel it positively. It’s a last chance to see Ndamukong Suh play in college. That’s good enough for me, but it’s not the only reason to like this one.
4. Championship game – I don’t necessarily think that this is going to be a great game, but as a huge college football fan you have to respect the game that everyone is aiming towards all year. I will have to look at it much closer as the game nears, but for now I think it could be a mismatch, and that means that we’ll see the vile Nick Saban hoisting another trophy. I don’t want to count out Mack Brown by any means, though, so this one will hopefully be worth watching.
5. GMAC Bowl – I’ve made no secret of how much I like Dan LeFevour of Central Michigan, so I wouldn’t miss his last game in college. Beyond that, I find this to be a very interesting matchup. It features two conference champions – Central Michigan and Troy – with talented offenses, respectable defenses, and coaches who can catch opponents off guard. Both of these teams probably deserve more respect than they get, so it should make for a solid game.
6. Armed Forces Bowl – Houston and Air Force come together in what could be an epic clash of styles. Houston QB Case Keenum leads the top passing offense in the country – he is a world class gunslinger. Air Force is a top class pass-stopping team. Only one squad is going to be able to assert themselves, and I have no idea which one that will be. For the sake of entertainment I hope it’s Houston.
