2010 Bowl Schedule: The 10 Worst Bowl Matchups
Here we are. The regular season is over with, the bowl schedule is finally complete, and the long wait for the best bowl games has begun. Auburn is sitting at the top ready to face Oregon in the national championship game in Glendale, Michigan State got the boot from the BCS, and Stanford has squeaked their way into an automatic bid for a BCS bowl game.
Oregon-Auburn, TCU-Wisconsin, and Ohio State-Arkansas are all set up to be great games, along with two more hands full of bowl games.
But, what about those games that everyone forgets about, for a good reason? You know, the games that you fall asleep watching after the third play. The games you sit down and watch for about five minutes and wonder, "why is this game on TV? And more importantly, why am I watching this?".
Well, here is your warning--your chance to make sure you do not waste four hours of your life watching the worst bowl games of the year. In advance, your welcome.
New Mexico Bowl (December 18th, 2 P.M. ET, ESPN)
1 of 10
Matchup: UTEP Miners (6-6) vs BYU Cougars (6-6)
Reasons to not watch: The fact that the name of this bowl refers to one of the worst teams in college football already says a lot. UTEP went 3-5 in arguably the worst conference in the country, and still makes it to a bowl game. Their key win comes over... Wait, they do not even have a key win. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, New Mexico State, New Mexico, Rice, Memphis, and SMU were the teams to fall to the mighty Miners of UTEP. In other words, BYU is going to walk out of the stadium with a victory and a bowl title to their name, and even if I am wrong, the game will still be a battle between bad teams.
Prediction: BYU 40, UTEP 7
Beef 'O' Brady's St. Petersburg Bowl (December 21st, 8 P.M. ET, ESPN)
2 of 10
Matchup: Louisville Cardinals (6-6) vs Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles (8-4)
Reasons not to watch: Although Southern Mississippi has a better record, do not let that fool you when picking your team in this matchup. The game will be over by halftime, since Louisville actually plays defense. The most points that Louisville has given up this entire season was 35 points, while Southern Miss has given up more than that in five different games, and that was against opponents in Conference USA. Go ahead, watch the game if you want to, but do not bum out when you have fallen asleep by the second quarter.
Prediction: Lousville 31, Southern Miss 13
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl (December 24th, 8 P.M. ET, ESPN)
3 of 10
Matchup: Hawaii Warriors (10-3) vs Tulsa Golden Hurricane (9-3)
Reasons to not watch: This game consists of a team that is flat out better, playing on their home turf, against a team that lost to Southern Methodist. Enough said? Well, if that does not do it for you, then I must remind you that Hawaii is the only reason that Nevada is not whining for a BCS berth at the moment. You know, the Nevada team that dashed the infamous Boise State's BCS dreams? Yeah, Hawaii beat them. But, then again, Tulsa did have a strong win over Bowling Green...
Prediction: Hawaii 50, Tulsa 13
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Little Caesars Bowl (December 26th, 8:30 P.M. ET, ESPN)
4 of 10
Matchup: Florida International Golden Panthers (6-6) vs Toledo Rockets (8-4)
Reasons to not watch: Have you ever seen a good game between a 6-6 Sun Belt conference team and a 8-4 Mid-American conference team? Me neither. Better question--have you ever actually watched a game between two teams of this caliber? Me neither.
I am thankful for the fact that I had no clue bowl games like this existed until I was 12 years old. It saved me from 12 years of my life devoted to watching a game that is more interesting than QVC.
Prediction: Toledo 35, FIU 21
Military Bowl (December 29th, 2:30 P.M. ET, ESPN)
5 of 10
Matchup: Maryland Terrapins (8-4) vs East Carolina Pirates (6-6)
Reasons not to watch: East Carolina finished the season with a third place finish in arguably the worst conference in the country. They are coming off two losses to end the season to Rice and SMU. They are lucky they have made a bowl game, while Maryland has played in a much tougher conference, against actual D1 athletes all season.
Prediction: Maryland 45, ECU 9
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (December 30th, 12 P.M. ET, ESPN)
6 of 10
Matchup: Army Black Knights (6-5) vs Southern Methodist Mustangs (7-6)
Reasons to not watch: This is the toilet bowl of the year, which means that it does not matter to anyone, for the simple reason that it is two terrible teams playing each other. I have no idea who I would call the favorite, and after thinking about it, this game just might actually be a close one! Even then, no one really cares.
Prediction: Army 28, SMU 24
Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl (December 30th, 10 P.M. ET, ESPN)
7 of 10
Matchup: Washington Huskies (6-6) vs Nebraska Cornhuskers (10-3)
Reasons not to watch: The biggest reason that this game stands out in my mind is that these two teams have already met. On Washington's home field, Nebraska ran a train on them 56-21. It was never a close game, but it sure was fun to watch Nebraska put up the numbers they did on a less talented Huskies team. But, I just do not care to see that happen again. For the fans that did not watch the first meeting, it will not be much different, and could quite possibly be even worse this time around for UW.
Prediction: Nebraska 45, Washington 7
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl (January 1st, 8:30 P.M. ET, ESPN, ESPN3D)
8 of 10
Matchup: Oklahoma Sooners (11-2) vs Connecticut Huskies (8-4)
Reasons not to watch: Although this is the Fiesta bowl, I must warn you that this game will get out of hand. The Sooners present a much better team coming from a much better conference, and Connecticut will not stand a chance. If you take away a loss to Temple, a loss to Michigan, a loss to Louisville, and a loss to Rutgers, then the Huskies are a pretty good team! But, you cannot take away those losses, simply because the Huskies are not that good. They can only hope for luck facing this Sooner team.
Prediction: Oklahoma 51, Connecticut 10
Discover Orange Bowl (January 3rd, 8:30 P.M. ET, ESPN)
9 of 10
Matchup: Stanford Cardinal (11-1) vs Virginia Tech Hokeys (11-2)
Reasons not to watch: The Stanford Cardinal is playing the best football in the country right now, and they can beat anyone. I am extremely bummed out that they get matched up against an ACC team (no offense). Virginia Tech may be on a 10 game win streak, and some people may argue that Stanford does not hold one good victory on their resume, but this game will not be close. Va Tech relies on their QB for the answer to the offense, making them a one-man show. Stanford is too good of a team, and if they get the choice to focus on basically one man, then there is no way Va Tech has a chance.
Prediction: Stanford 38, Virginia Tech 10
GoDaddy.com Bowl (January 6th, 8 P.M. ET, ESPN)
10 of 10
Matchup: Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (6-6) vs Miami (Ohio) RedHawks (9-4)
Reasons not to watch: Mark down another the 5th win in a row for the RedHawks considering they are playing a 6-6 team from the Sun Belt conference who lost to North Texas. But, let's be honest, it doesn't matter. This bowl is happening in the midst of all of the BCS bowls, which means there will be no media talk about it whatsoever, so there is nothing to worry about.
But, if you so happen to turn on the TV on January 6th and wonder why there is a High School football game going on, it is just the GoDaddy.com bowl.
Prediction: Miami (Ohio) 31, Middle Tennessee 14
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
