2010 Bowl Schedule: 15 Teams Angry or Disappointed With Their Bowl Game

Otto Kitsinger III/Getty Images

The 2010 bowl schedule contains plenty of goodies, as it always does.

First and foremost, the BCS national championship game between Oregon and Auburn should be a barn-burner for the ages. And the other BCS bowls have their share of appeal as well.

But as with every other season, there are some teams that just don't seem right for the bowl they'll be playing in. And because they're not likely to admit it, it falls on us to admit it for them.

So with that goal in mind, here are 15 teams that should be angry or disappointed with their bowl game.

15. Syracuse: Pinstripe Bowl

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Syracuse hasn't played in a bowl since 2004 and now it has the honor of playing in a novelty bowl that seems to exist for no other reason than to allow the Steinbrenner family to stuff its pockets full of cash.

But I suppose if they can look past the politics, the Orange will probably figure out that there are worse places to play than the new Yankee Stadium. Hence the reason why they're barely on this list at all.

14. Northern Illinois: Humanitarian Bowl

The Northern Illinois Huskies seemed like a lock to beat Miami of Ohio in the MAC championship game, which would have netted them a spot in the GoDaddy.com Bowl.

But they lost and they instead have to go to Boise to play in the Humanitarian Bowl against Fresno State, a program that was essentially a doormat for the superior teams of the WAC in 2010.

13. Miami (OH): GoDaddy.com Bowl

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

If Northern Illinois has it bad, then Miami of Ohio has it even worse. While the MAC runner-up gets to play Fresno State, the Redhawks are forced to play Middle Tennessee, one of the less impressive Sun Belt Conference teams.

If I'm them, I'm thinking a conference champion deserves better than to play in a game nobody's going to watch.

12. Baylor: Texas Bowl

Brian Bahr/Getty Images

While one suspects that the Baylor Bears are thrilled with the prospect of playing in their first bowl game since 1994, you also have to think that maybe they feel they could have done better than the Texas Bowl, which has only been around since 2006.

This is a team that beat the Texas Longhorns, dammit! And it has to play an Illinois team that couldn't even beat Fresno State in a bowl that's only four freakin' years old?

OK, I admit I made that Texas Longhorns remark in jest, but I still think Baylor deserves better than the Texas Bowl.

11. Oklahoma State: Alamo Bowl

Tom Pennington/Getty Images

The Pokes enjoyed their first 10 win season since 1988 and they were very much in contention for the BIg 12 championship for most of the season.

But their loss to Oklahoma landed them in the Alamo Bowl. In the last three years, they've been to the Insight Bowl, the Holiday Bowl and the Cotton Bowl. All three games have been around for more moons than the Alamo Bowl.

They also have the pleasure of playing an Arizona team that barely deserves to be playing in a bowl at all, given the way it played in the final month of the season.

10. Maryland: Military Bowl

The Terrapins enjoyed a fine season in 2010 and probably could have won the ACC Atlantic if a few things had gone their way.

And while I'm sure they're fine with playing in the Military Bowl, one suspects that they can't be too thrilled about being matched up against the East Carolina Pirates of the mighty Conference USA.

The Pirates lost four of their last five games and basically stumbled into bowl eligibility. They've also won just one bowl game in the last decade.

Maryland deserves better.

9. Pittsburgh: BBVA Compass Bowl

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Connecticut may be getting the Big East's BCS bid, but they are just one of three co-champions in the Big East. One is West Virginia, the other is Pittsburgh. And the Panthers' bowl is a far bigger disappointment than West Virginia's.

Pittsburgh has the honor of playing in the BBVA Compass Bowl, which has been in existence for all of four years. And it has the honor of playing the Kentucky Wildcats, a team that went 6-6 and finished fifth in the SEC East.

It's true. There is no justice in this world, Dave Wannstedt.

8. LSU: Cotton Bowl

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

While I'm sure the Tigers are fine with playing in a time-honored bowl like the Cotton Bowl, one suspects that one of their members would go red in the face if you were to walk up to him and say, "Dude, you guys could have been playing in the Sugar Bowl!"

Indeed, this is a very proud program and I don't think it takes a genius to realize that it would rather be playing in a BCS Bowl, which is something the Tigers haven't done since 2007.

7. Washington: Holiday Bowl

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

The Washington Huskies had to fight tooth and nail just to become bowl eligible, and it took a three-game win streak to end the season to get the job done.

So imagine how they must feel knowing that their matchup in the Holiday Bowl is with a Nebraska team that nearly won the Big 12 Championship, and that beat them soundly on their own turf in mid-September by a final score of 56-21.

Surely they would rather play somebody easier.

6. Nevada: Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

If I'm Nevada, I'd want to trade places with Boise State right now.

But instead of the Las Vegas Bowl, they have to go to San Francisco to play in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (easily the worst bowl name) to play Boston College. Given the number of Boston transplants living in the Bay Area, the crowd isn't likely to be very friendly.

Besides, I'm going to be at the game and I don't mind saying I'd rather see Boise State.

5. BYU: New Mexico Bowl

Tom Pennington/Getty Images

The BYU Cougars have had the happy fortune of going to five consecutive Las Vegas Bowls and they have won at least 10 games each of the past four seasons.

So I think it goes without saying that they'd rather be in Las Vegas than Albuquerque. And I'm sure they'd rather be playing prestigious programs like Cal, Oregon, UCLA or Oregon State, rather than UTEP, which is playing in its first bowl since 2005.

4. West Virginia: Champs Sports Bowl

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Let's see, the Mountaineers are the Big East co-champions and the team with the best record in the conference.

Sounds to me like a team that should be playing in a BCS bowl.

Instead, it's the Champs Sports Bowl for them.

Need I say more?

3. Stanford: Orange Bowl

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

By no means do I think you could get a Stanford player or coach to admit that the Orange Bowl is a rotten prize for an 11-1 season that saw it climb as high as No. 4 in the final BCS rankings.

But come on, the Cardinal would rather be in the Rose Bowl. They haven't been since 2000 and it's only because of a technicality that they're not in it this year.

2. Michigan State: Capital One Bowl

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

The last time the Spartans could claim the title of Big Ten champions was in 1990, but you have to go back to when they won the conference title in 1987 to find the last time they played in a Rose Bowl.

The Spartans played in the John Hancock Bowl in 1990 and have once again been screwed out of the Rose Bowl in 2010 by the unfortunate reality that they weren't the only team in the Big Ten that had a great season.

The Capital One Bowl, formerly the Tangerine Bowl and the Florida Citrus Bowl, is a more traditional bowl game, but it's no Rose Bowl. If you're a Michigan State Spartan, that's just not cool.

1. Boise State: Las Vegas Bowl

Otto Kitsinger III/Getty Images

Two weeks ago, the Boise State Broncos were still very much in the discussion for the BCS national championship. And if they won out, the worst they were going to get was probably going to be a spot in the Rose Bowl.

Instead, they lost a very winnable game at Nevada, and have been relegated to the Las Vegas Bowl. Make no mistake, they know that this is a fate that they deserve. But one also suspects that they would have at least preferred a more traditional bowl game, like maybe the Cotton Bowl.

But hey, at least they get a weekend in Vegas.