College Football Bowl Games: Arkansas and Best Teams Available Outside of BCS

If you're a bowl commissioner not within the realm of the BCS, you have to like what you're seeing across the college football landscape right now. There are a host of high-caliber teams out there that won't be playing in the Rose Bowl, the Orange Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl, the Sugar Bowl or the National Championship Game and, as such, will make the rest of the 2011-12 bowl season that much more fun to watch.

These three teams will all be excellent choice to spread some holiday cheer over the next month or so.

Arkansas

In this day and age, being the third-best team from the SEC is actually a pretty darn good distinction to have on your résumé.

And that's precisely what Arkansas can claim. The Razorbacks' only two losses came against LSU and Alabama, albeit by 24 points apiece, though victories over Auburn and South Carolina speak to what they're capable of against opponents that aren't thoroughly dominant.

And if you like exciting football, few teams in the SEC can hang with the Hogs' offense, which sports a top-tier quarterback (Tyler Wilson) and corps of receivers that can hang with any other in the country. They should make for an excellent choice to fill out the Cotton Bowl.

Baylor

As for which team Arkansas might face in the Cotton Bowl, Baylor would seem to be an excellent choice.

And not just because of Robert Griffin III, though the Heisman Trophy contender is certainly reason enough to put the Bears in a prominent bowl.

Baylor's resume speaks for itself—wins over TCU (likely headed for the Sugar Bowl), Oklahoma, Texas and Missouri along with a one-point loss to Kansas State.

But let's not kid ourselves here, folks. Who wouldn't want to see Tyler Wilson and RG3 slingin' the ball around the same wad of turf in January? 

Michigan State

There's no team that acquitted itself better in a losing effort on Championship Saturday than Michigan State. The Spartans once again went toe-to-toe with a high-powered Wisconsin squad, at one point storming back from a 14-point deficit to take an eight-point advantage into the fourth quarter.

In-state rival Michigan figures to get all the love from the BCS powers-that-be, but it's Sparty that as far as the quality of a team this year is concerned, should garner greater consideration. After all, Kirk Cousins and company beat the Wolverines earlier this season and came within three points of winning the Big Ten title.

Either way, you can bet the Capital One Bowl will be happy to welcome MSU back into the fray.