Bowl Season Is Upon Us: A Look at the Best Matchups

I am excited about some of the matchups that were created this bowl season. College Football is filled with good teams this year, and for the first time in a long time, the January bowls might not be the only games worthy of your viewing pleasure.

BYU vs. Arizona in the Las Vegas Bowl is a good matchup. I understand that New Mexico beat the Wildcats, but Zona has been playing solid football and should be in good form on Dec. 20. Let’s just hope Stoops can keep track of his guys down in Las Vegas. The lights, glitz, and glam could be distracting for a first time bowl opponent.

The Cougs—unfortunately—have the routine down. Hopefully the Bowl officials have switched up a few things from the past four years.

As a side note—and I say this as a guy that lived in Tucson—what does it mean when Zona tells their team to “beardown”? I understand the history and the significance, but your mascot is a Wildcat, and the only thing I think about when I hear the word “beardown” is my two-year-old son filling his diaper. *Shoulder shrug* But that’s just me.

I am also intrigued by the TCU vs. Boise St. Poinsettia Bowl. This is a great matchup and should be a very exciting game. I think it’s great that the WAC, MWC, and bowl officials sat down together and got the game done.

One game that I won’t regret missing because I am Christmas shopping would be the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. Notre Dame vs. Hawaii—oh brother, kill me quickly...please. I just hope Weis opts for the board shorts and not the Speedo. Visions of Weis will now plague your mind for the rest of the holiday season.

But congrats to the Hawaii team, who lost everyone from a year ago and still fought themselves into bowl eligibility.

Also congratulations to Colorado St., who overcame a coaching change, close losses to TCU, BYU, and others, and still became eligible for postseason play. But I can still see the chapped look on Fairchild’s face as he screamed at an unconscious BYU player. Let’s hope Fairchild has a little fire left in his belly so Fresno can’t steal a victory. (No pun intended with a Fresno team stealing...I promise.

Other good matchups include West Virginia vs. North Carolina. Both teams were on the fringe all year, and with Pat White healthy, anything is possible.

Wisconsin and Florida State: Honestly, I just hope Florida State makes it to the game without losing anyone else to suspension. Florida State's best chances to win would probably be a spelling bee that matches Myron Rolle against any student in Wisconsin. I would put my money on the Rhodes Scholar. What do you think the spread would be on that matchup?

I neglected to add the Oregon vs. Oklahoma State game to this list. Personally I think OK St. walks away with this one. I also think Texas Tech is getting screwed with having to play an Ole Miss team. Man, that’s a fall from grace.