Although college football desperately needs a playoff, the bowl system still provides a unique series of games that I find pretty entertaining. Inter-conference games are much more interesting in college football as opposed to college basketball because you only get a few big time (non rivalry) games a season. The Bowl season solves this problem, forcing teams like Florida and Penn State to actually play a half respectable team outside of their respective conferences and states.
Obviously the biggest games are those of the BCS, but I think there are some great games going down in the “lesser bowls.” I’ll be ranking the top 5 most enticing non-BCS contests.
5) Pittsburgh/UNC, Meineke Car Care Bowl: Both teams are looking to rebound after huge disappointments to end the regular season. Pittsburgh found itself within a hair of winning the Big East’s automatic BCS bid, while North Carolina took yet an other one on the chin from Tom O’Brien as Butch Davis dropped to 0-3 against the Wolf Pack. Pitt Freshman Dion Lewis put up some extremely impressive numbers, but his number of carries (297) stands out the most. Does he have enough left in the tank to produce against one of the stoutest run defenses in the country? Carolina has really been a tale of two halves this season. With an 0-3 start to their ACC season, the Heels looked like they were stumbling their way to a disappointing season in which they started just inside the AP top 25. However, Carolina bounced back and won their next 4 conference games, including @ Virginia Tech and vs. Miami. Veteran QB T.J. Yates regressed from last season, although much of that could be blamed on the loss of now NFLers Hakeem Nicks and Brandon Tate. With a running game lacking a true horse, the Heels relied on their stout defense to come up with big stops and timely turnovers. It will have to do its best to bottle up Pitt’s dynamic offense (23 passing TD’s, 24 rushing TD’s) to give UNC a chance to win.
Eric Berry anchors a defense headed by guru Monte Kiffin
4) Virginia Tech/Tennessee, Chick-fil-A Bowl: Lane Kiffin doing anything is entertaining to me. Bottom line is he’s turning things around at Tennessee. The Vols took advantage of a weak SEC East this season going 4-0 vs. teams not named Florida. While much Kiffin’s talent is extremely young, Safety Eric Berry may be the best player in the country. I’m also interested to see what happens when Monte Kiffin gets a month to scheme for a single offense. On the other hand, the Hokies are probably disappointed to not be in a BCS game this year. VT running back Ryan Williams put up one of the best freshman seasons in recent memory with 20 total touchdowns and over 1500 rushing yards. Tyrod Taylor is as dynamic a player as you will see and has really come into his own this season. Throw in the possibility of Beamer Ball producing some highlight reel special teams plays, and this game a must see.
3) Wisconsin/Miami, Champs Sports Bowl: Although not typically looked upon as a prestigious bowl, this game is on the short list of non-BCS games between two top 25 teams. On paper, this looks like a classic speed vs. size match up, but there is definitely much more to it. Wisconsin brings in Big 10 Offensive Player of the Year John Clay (1396 yards, 16 TD’s), but the Badger offense is actually very balanced. Quarterback Scott Tolzien consistently makes good decisions, and playmakers Nick Toon and Garrett Graham provide Tolzien with dangerous targets. Defensively, O’Brian Schofield and Justin Watt anchor a front 7 that has been much better than expected, but the secondary has shown weaknesses throughout the year. Jacory Harris was the talk of the country for the first month of the season as he lead Miami to a fantastic start against a daunting slate of games ( @FSU, GT, @ VT, Oklahoma). If you haven’t seen him, his finesse on deep balls is simply beautiful. However, his affinity for throwing interceptions is what brought this Miami team back down to Earth. Harris threw 17 interceptions this season (tied for the most in FBS), many of which came while under pressure. Miami’s 3 headed running attack lacks a true super star, but Graig Cooper leads the way and keeps defenses honest. Wisconsin’s ability to get consistent pressure on Harris will be the key to the game. If Harris is allowed to sit back in the pocket, he will abuse Wisconsin’s corners for much of the game.
2) Oklahoma/Stanford, Sun Bowl: These two teams came into this season with drastically different expectations. Oklahoma’s National Championship hopes came crashing down early on as stars Sam Bradford and Jermaine Gresham went down with injuries. Oklahoma still has elite level talent, and the beatdown they laid on the Pokes the last week of the regular season points to the ship being righted. Stanford on the other hand came in to the season under the radar, but by the end of the season they found themselves in contention for the Pac 10 title. Running back Toby Gerhart has put together a Heisman worthy campaign as he and electric Freshman quarterback Andrew Luck carried one of the strongest offenses in the nation. Oklahoma’s own freshman quarterback Landry Jones has flown under the radar to put together some impressive numbers considering his experience level. This game previews two of the future stars at the quarterback position and is my 2nd most interesting non-BCS game.
1) Penn State/LSU, Capital One Bowl: Two top echelon programs battling it out on New Year’s Day? Sign me up. Penn State had somewhat of a disappointing season after making a Rose Bowl appearence last year as they clearly lagged behind the Big 10′s top two teams. However, anytime you put Evan Royster and Darryl Clark in the same backfield, you have a chance to win the game. Like Penn State, LSU comes into this game clearly a notch below the two elite teams of their conference. None the less, they find themselves in probably the “best” non-BCS bowl game. Trindon Holliday is possibly the fastest player you’ll ever see on the football field, and it might be worth it to watch this game just to see if Les Miles can manage a clock any worse than he did @ Ole Miss. Much of the shine on this game is due to the programs involved, but I think it’s a very even match-up in a bowl that produces great games annually.
Think I whiffed on these game picks? Feel free to suggest your own favorite non-BCS games. These games often end up being more entertaining than many of the BCS games. Personally, I love the bowl system (even if I think the sport needs a playoff), and think it’s part of what makes College Football great!
I was really disappointed in a lot of the bowl matchups. Neither LSU nor PSU played anyone all year. The teams they did play, they lost to. I would have loved to see them matched up against other teams that played a tough schedule and won some games. For instance, Virginia Tech vs LSU and Penn State vs. Stanford in a 2nd place Rose Bowl. And let’s be honest, Oklahoma has no business being in a good bowl game.
But the biggest disappointment is forcing Boise State to play TCU. TCU should be playing for the national championship. But both teams deserve their shot at an automatic bid team.
I disagree on #3 and #4.
With UTk’s injuries, VT should stomp the Vlols. And I don’t expect the Miami/Wisky game to be close either.
Oregon St/BYU, Central Michigan/Troy, MTSU/So Miss, and OK St/Ole Miss all should be exciting, evenly matched games that may not have the name recognition as some of those listed above, but will be more entertaining to watch.