Low Five: Worst Bowl Matchups Involving BCS Conference Teams

Thanks to the advice of one Robert H. Spain, I give you the second installment of my newly-minted "Low Five" column.

Today's list names the five worst bowl games involving BCS conference teams. 

For every Georgia/Hawaii or Arizona State/Texas, there's a corresponding dud. Here are the five least compelling of these matchups...unless you happen to attend one of the schools in the game, in which case I guess it might hold some meaning for you.

In the interest of full disclosure, I'll probably watch any of these matchups if I'm at home when they occur. 

Without further ado...

1. Motor City Bowl: Purdue v. Central Michigan

If the idea of the bowl system is to create an interesting game in a great location featuring teams that otherwise wouldn't play each other, this matchup is zero-for-three.

Detroit in December is not my idea of a holiday.

And while the two offenses can put up points, these two teams played already this season. Purdue beat Central Michigan 45-22 on September 15th.

Not many people watched it then, and I doubt many more will be ready to spend the night after Christmas glued to their television sets. 

2. Independence Bowl: Colorado v. Alabama

I suppose the idea of a Colorado-Alabama game is something of a novelty, but the on-the-field performances of these two teams leave a lot to be desired. 

Colorado never matched their effort against Oklahoma earlier in the season, and Alabama free-fell at the end of the year. One of these teams will have a losing record at the end of the game.

This matchup would have a little more appeal if it were played a week earlier. December 30th is too late. 

3. Armed Forces Bowl: Air Force v. California 

I like Air Force a lot. I think they're a quality team deserving of a bowl bid. In my opinion, they probably deserved to play a better team than Cal.

Cal's free-fall this season was staggering—from 5-0 to 6-6. The Bears now face a strong Falcon team that posted nine wins on the season.

This has the makings of one of those games in which a BCS conference team gets beat badly by a hungrier team. This game also has the misfortune of falling on New Year's Eve—not a positive for viewership, even with 12:30 PM start.

4. Humanitarian Bowl: Georgia Tech v. Fresno State

This game is very similar to the one above. 

Georgia Tech is 7-5 with an intriguing coaching situation, and is facing a very underrated Bulldog squad that spanked Kansas State late in the season.

It will be very interesting to see how Georgia Tech operates under new coach Paul Johnson, especially given the short amount of time he's been there.

Fresno loves getting its shot at BCS teams, so here's another great chance for the Bulldogs.

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