2010 Bowl Schedule: 12 Must-See Games
Seems like yesterday that everybody was counting down the days for the college football season to finally get underway. A few months later, the regular season is over, which can only mean it's time to go bowling.
The best part about the bowl season is you see matchups that normally do not occur. Teams get a chance, regardless of record, to end their year on a positive note and give hope to the following year.
With the final BCS rankings out and the bowl games announced, it is time to take a look at the 12 most intriguing bowl games that you cannot miss.
No. 12: Gator Bowl: Mississippi State Vs Michigan
1 of 12
This game will draw interest because Michigan is finally back in a bowl game. The Wolverines will come into this game with a high powered offense led by Denard Robinson, but will have to outscore the Bulldogs because of their poor defense.
This game will end up drawing a big crowd and TV ratings, but may be the end of the Rich Rod experiment at Michigan.
No. 11: All Three Branches of the Service
2 of 12
For the first time in a long while, all three branches of the military have earned themselves a spot in a bowl game.
The first matchup pits Navy against San Diego State in the S.D. County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. Next up, Air Force is taking on Georgia Tech in the AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl. Army will finish up the year against SMU in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl.
The only thing better than seeing these teams make it to bowls would be to see them win as well.
No. 10: Outback Bowl: Penn State Vs Florida
3 of 12
Two teams with strong national histories will take the field in the Outback Bowl, and it will put the SEC up against the Big Ten. Both teams were hoping for better years, but when these two conferences go up against each other, more than just bragging rights are on the line.
The interesting aspect of this game, like many matchups between teams from the north and teams from the south, will be if Penn State can match the speed of Florida.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
No. 9: Sun Bowl: Notre Dame Vs Miami
4 of 12
Coming into this season, there was a lot of hope for both Notre Dame and Miami. Miami suffered an early season loss to Ohio State and Notre Dame made some strides for improvement, but not to the extent its fans had hoped for.
This game will bring together two rabid fanbases who will be looking for something positive to take into the offseason.
No. 8: Las Vegas Bowl: Utah Vs Boise State
5 of 12
With Utah coming to the Pac-10 next year, they can look to send a message to that conference as they take on Boise State.
The intrigue will be if Boise State can get motivated to put forth a good showing after coming up short of the National Championship once again.
No. 7: Chick-Fil-A Bowl: South Carolina Vs Florida State
6 of 12
Both teams will enter this game coming off a loss. South Carolina had hopes of pulling off the upset over Auburn, but a Hail Mary touchdown at the end of the first half brought them crashing down to Earth.
Florida State took on Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship, but was also unable to finish its year strong. Both of these teams will take the field looking to end the season strong and start off 2011 on the right foot.
No. 6: Cotton Bowl: LSU Vs Texas A&M
7 of 12
Towards the end of the season, Les Miles began to position his opinion in such a way that he believed that a non conference champion could go to the national title game. At that time, LSU was rising in the ranking and still had a chance of Auburn losing.
After a late season loss, that argument went out the window and now the Tigers find themselves in a battle with Texas A&M. This game will showcase great defense and should go down to the wire.
No. 5: Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech Vs Stanford
8 of 12
After rules prevented Stanford from going to the Rose Bowl, the Cardinal still land in a BCS game, and Andrew Luck and company will be out to show the nation that they were the nation's best one loss team.
Virginia Tech will be coming off a big win and ACC championship, but the balanced attack of Stanford will be much different then what it faced with Florida State.
No. 4: Fiesta Bowl: Connecticut Vs Oklahoma
9 of 12
This is a game that could fly under the radar. Oklahoma comes into this game as the Big 12 champion and will be the heavy favorite to win this game. The Big East has been kicked around by the media and Connecticut will not be given a chance, but Bob Stoops has been known to have some big game letdowns, so keep your eyes open in this game.
No. 3: Sugar Bowl: Arkansas Vs Ohio State
10 of 12
This is a very interesting matchup. This game will showcase two of the nation's top quarterbacks with Ryan Mallett and Terrelle Pryor.
The question in this game will be if Ohio State can repeat what it did in last year's Rose Bowl and slow down a high powered offense. You will see the conflicting styles of Arkansas trying to spread it out and throw the ball, and Ohio State trying to run the ball and control the clock.
No. 2: Rose Bowl: TCU Vs Wisconsin
11 of 12
It may not be the game that the Horned Frogs wanted, but here is TCU's chance to prove they belong with the big boys. Wisconsin comes into this game putting up huge offensive numbers, and will be put to the test against a tough TCU defense.
Regardless of the individual matchups, this game comes down to the fact that TCU is being given a chance to prove itself on a big stage, and a win over Wisconsin would go a long way to proving that non-automatic qualifiers can compete on a national level.
No 1: BCS National Championship: Oregon Vs Auburn
12 of 12
The most anticipated game will be the one for it all. Oregon and Auburn will go head to head for the national title, and all we can hope is that the scoreboard can keep up with these two teams.
Oregon's defense will have to find a way to slow down Cam Newton and get some key stops, but on the other hand, Auburn's defense will have to find a way to stop LaMichael James and Darron Thomas.
Make sure you mark January 10th on your calendar, because this is sure to go down as the best bowl game of the season.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
