Bowl Schedule 2012-13: Overrated Games That Won't Live Up to Hype

Bowl season always has a couple clunkers. Games that fans around the country thought would be worth watching, but end up falling well south of the hype they created. It's bound to happen when there are 35 games spread out over a month.

This season surely won't be any different. The national title game featuring Alabama and Notre Dame is generating the most hype, but that should actually be an intriguing battle. The same can't be said for some secondary bowls.

With that in mind, let's examine three marquee matchups that will fall short of expectations during bowl season. There were several to choose from, but these stood out.

Louisville vs. Florida, Sugar Bowl

The biggest problem with this game is the obvious blowout potential. Florida went 7-1 against SEC competition, losing only to Georgia, while Louisville lost two games in Big East play and only earned a BCS spot thanks to a tiebreaker.

Florida's third-ranked defense, which is giving up just 13 points per game, should have no problem slowing down a Louisville offense that ranked 48th despite not playing a single ranked opponent. It's a complete mismatch.

That's the difference between SEC and Big East. The SEC prepared teams for these type of games, and the Gators should benefit greatly from it in an easy win. Making matters worse, the game lacks the major star power needed to attract casual fans.

South Carolina vs. Michigan, Outback Bowl

Even though South Carolina and Michigan are a part of a jam-packed New Year's Day slate, the popular programs are stealing a lot of the attention. In reality, both teams failed to reach their ultimate goal this season and the Outback Bowl is basically a consolation prize.

For two teams that entered the season with high hopes, it's often hard to get up for that type of game. Both the Gamecocks and Wolverines had their eyes set on the BCS, and potentially even a national title game appearance.

Furthermore, neither team plays an exciting style of football. They rely on strong defenses to carry their average offenses to victory. Marcus Lattimore being out and Denard Robinson failing to match his dynamic performance from last season doesn't help, either.

Wisconsin vs. Stanford, Rose Bowl

Any time there's a matchup between two teams ranked outside the top 50 in scoring, fans need an additional incentive to tune in. Defense wins championships, as Alabama has shown, but shootouts are what attract the mainstream fans.

Wisconsin and Stanford are going to lean heavily on their running backs, Montee Ball and Stepfan Taylor, to carry the offensive load. It's going to be a grind-it-out game that lacks any type of sustained excitement.

Normally, having the Rose Bowl name attached would save the game, but fans have become overwhelmed by all the different bowls nowadays. The matchup itself matters more than the bowl or its history. That makes it tough to imagine these teams living up to the hype.

Complete Bowl Schedule

Bowl	Team 1	Team 2	Stadium: Location	Date: Time	TV
New Mexico	Nevada	Arizona	University Stadium: Albuquerque, N.M.	12/15: 1 p.m.	ESPN
Famous Idaho Potato	Toledo	Utah State	Bronco Stadium: Boise, Idaho	12/15: 4:30 p.m.	ESPN
Poinsettia	BYU	San Diego State	Qualcomm Stadium: San Diego	12/20: 8 p.m.	ESPN
Beef 'O' Brady's	Ball State	UCF	Tropicana Field: St. Petersburg, Fla.	12/21: 7:30 p.m.	ESPN
New Orleans	East Carolina	Louisiana-Lafayette	Superdome: New Orleans	12/22: 12 p.m.	ESPN
Las Vegas	Boise State	Washington	Sam Boyd Stadium: Las Vegas	12/22: 3:30 p.m.	ESPN
Hawaii	SMU	Fresno State	Aloha Stadium: Honolulu	12/24: 8 p.m.	ESPN
Little Caesars	Central Michigan	Western Kentucky	Ford Field: Detroit	12/26: 7:30 p.m.	ESPN
Military	Bowling Green	San Jose State	RFK Stadium: Washington, DC	12/27: 3 p.m.	ESPN
Belk	Duke	Cincinnati	Bank of America Stadium: Charlotte, N.C.	12/27: 6:30 p.m.	ESPN
Holiday	Baylor	UCLA	Qualcomm Stadium: San Diego	12/27: 9:45 p.m.	ESPN
Independence	Lousiana-Monroe	Ohio	Independence Stadium: Shreveport, La.	12/28: 2 p.m.	ESPN
Russell Athletic	Virginia Tech	Rutgers	Florida Citrus Bowl: Orlando, Fla.	12/28: 5:30 p.m.	ESPN
Meineke Car Care	Minnesota	Texas Tech	Reliant Stadium: Houston	12/28: 9 p.m.	ESPN
Armed Forces	Rice	Air Force	Amon G. Carter Stadium: Fort Worth, Texas	12/29: 11:45 a.m.	ESPN
Pinstripe	Syracuse	West Virginia	Yankee Stadium: Bronx, N.Y.	12/29: 3:15 p.m.	ESPN
Kraft	Navy	Arizona State	AT&T Park: San Francisco	12/29: 4 p.m.	ESPN2
Alamo	Texas	Oregon State	Alamodome: San Antonio, Texas	12/29: 6:45 p.m.	ESPN
Buffalo Wild Wings	TCU	Michigan State	Sun Devil Stadium: Tempe, Ariz.	12/29: 10:15 p.m.	ESPN
Music City	NC State	Vanderbilt	LP Field: Nashville, Tenn.	12/31: 12 p.m.	ESPN
Sun	Georgia Tech	USC	Sun Bowl: El Paso, Texas	12/31: 2 p.m.	CBS
Liberty	Tulsa	Iowa State	Liberty Bowl: Memphis, Tenn.	12/31: 3:30 p.m.	ESPN
Chick-fil-A	Clemson	LSU	Georgia Dome: Atlanta	12/31: 7:30 p.m.	ESPN
Gator	Northwestern	Mississippi State	Everbank Field: Jacksonville, Fla.	1/1: 12 p.m.	ESPN2
Heart of Dallas	Oklahoma State	Purdue	Cotton Bowl: Dallas, TX	1/1: 12 p.m.	ESPNU
Outback	Michigan	South Carolina	Raymond James Stadium: Tampa, Fla.	1/1: 1 p.m.	ESPN
Capital One	Nebraska	Georgia	Florida Citrus Bowl: Orlando, FL	1/1: 1 p.m.	ABC
Rose	Stanford	Wisconsin	Rose Bowl: Pasadena, Calif.	1/1: 5 p.m.	ESPN
Orange	Northern Illinois	Florida State	Sun Life Stadium: Miami	1/1: 8:30 p.m.	ESPN
Sugar	Florida	Louisville	Superdome: New Orleans	1/2: 8:30 p.m.	ESPN
Fiesta	Oregon	Kansas State	U. of Phoenix Stadium: Glendale, Ariz.	1/3: 8:30 p.m.	ESPN
Cotton	Oklahoma	Texas A&M	Cowboys Stadium: Arlington, Texas	1/4: 8 p.m.	FOX
Compass	Pittsburgh	Ole Miss	Legion Field: Birmingham, Ala.	1/5: 1 p.m.	ESPN
GoDaddy.com	Kent State	Arkansas State	Ladd-Peebles Stadium: Mobile, Ala.	1/6: 9 p.m.	ESPN
BCS National Championship	Notre Dame	Alabama	Sun Life Stadium: Miami	1/7: 8:30 p.m.	ESPN