Bowl Games Offer Something For Everyone

The 2010-2011 bowl season includes 35 games played over a three week period, more games than anyone can possibly watch though some may try to take most of them in. As expected, Auburn and Oregon will battle for the national championship, with TCU making a consolation visit to the Rose Bowl.

Indeed, unless you’re Oregon or Auburn, your bowl game is a consolation with very little meaning for it other than some bragging rights. Then again, bowl games give alumni an opportunity to meet up at a warm weather destination with a few exceptions including the inaugural Pinstripe Bowl to be played in the Bronx, New York, on December 30.

Most of the best games to watch are played nearest to New Year’s Day, but an excellent contest will be when Utah and Boise State battle in Las Vegas on December 22 at the MAACO Bowl. Both teams were ranked in the top five for at least part of the season with the Broncos a dark horse national championship team until losing to Nevada in the next to last game of the season.

Other games of interest include:

Capital One Bowl — Alabama is the two-time defending national champion while Michigan State earned a piece of the Big Ten title.

Rose Bowl — Wisconsin shared the Big Ten title with Michigan State and Ohio State and will represent the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl. TCU, ranked #3, gets the guest nod and will seek to extend its unbeaten season by knocking off the Badgers.

Orange Bowl — Finishing 11-1 means the Cardinal earns a trip to the Orange Bowl where they’ll face off against Virginia Tech one of the hottest teams in the country.

Sugar Bowl — Ohio State will battle Arkansas in New Orleans on January 4, in a game that has little meaning other than giving each team the chance to prove that a playoff system of some kind makes sense.

This year, there seems to be a high number of absolutely worthless bowl games. Sorry, having BYU and UTEP kick things off on December 18 in New Mexico just doesn’t make for an exciting start to the bowl season. Both teams finished at 6-6, with UTEP having a losing record in Conference USA.

See Also — ESPN: 2010-11 College Bowl Games

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•