2010 Bowl Preview Extravaganza (Part 2)

The Bowl Preview Extravaganza continues….

Be sure to read Part 1 for everything you need to know about the worst bowls.

I liked my intro from Part 1 so much, that I’m thinking I might just repeat it. Yep, I’m gonna do it. Try and stop me! Here goes…

You get some weird matchups, some traditional matchups, some teams fired up to play in them, other teams that couldn’t give a rat’s ass (Nebraska fits the mold), big-time upsets, confidence rankings, internal debates about what new coaches mean to their respective teams, gatorade showers (including this beauty right to Nick Saban’s temple), annual Florida St. academic suspensions (hopefully not just a Bowden thing), false rape allegations from crazed fans (I got your back, Ell),Joe Paterno sprinting across the field with a turtle head poking (wait, not a bowl game, but still great), overanalyzing Florida International’s schedule (weak non-con), wandering why the New Mexico Bowl isn’t held on a red field, deciphering the silliest name for a bowl game (Beef O’ Brady’s St. Petersburg Bowl narrowly edges the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl), and last but not least, the overjoying feeling of watching 5 bowl games at the same time in a euphoric-hungover-daze on New Year’s Day.

I’ll present you with a compacted preview of each of the bowl games, in descending order of the matchups I am most excited for. That means least excited to most excited. This ain’t your grandfather’s rankings though, so g’ready….

19. Hawaii Bowl, Dec 24, Hawaii vs. Tulsa: This game always come down to a question of motivation. How motivated is Hawaii to be playing just another home game? And how focused is the opposing team on the game coming all the way to Hawaii? I mean, you’re in Hawaii. This game got downgraded a bit because I liked it when it used to be held on Christmas Day (and was called the Aloha Bowl).

18. Texas Bowl, Dec 29, Illinois vs. Baylor: Both quarterbacks are the intrigue of this game that wraps up the worse half of the bowl slate. RGIII (Baylor’s Robert Griffin III) is one of the most exciting players in the nation, and I haven’t gotten to enjoy a full game of his yet this year. Illinois’ signal caller, Nathan Scheelhaase, not only has a kick-aase name, he also hails from Rockhurst, a Kansas City high school. This is also one of the closest games according to Vegas, with Baylor favored by a single point.

17. Peach Bowl, Dec 31, South Carolina vs. Florida St: If Chick-Fil-A were open on Sundays, then I would call this bowl by its preferred name, but no dice. It will be interesting to see the old-balls coach, Steve Spurrier, going up against his old foe, the Seminoles. Personally, one of the toughest games to pick this season.

16. New Orleans Bowl, Dec 18, Ohio vs. Troy: Always a joy to watch ol’ Franky Solich in his bowl games (which he seems to make every year). However, the Bobcats have yet to win a bowl game in their team history, which you might think would detract me from picking them every year. But, I like ol’ Franky. He didn’t get the job done for Nebraska, and I believed firing him was the right move, but I will always support him.

15. Pinstripe Bowl, Dec 30, Kansas St vs. Syracuse: Really missed a good opportunity to call this the Fuhgeddaboutit Bowl. Kansas Citians might see it as more of the Nick Wright Bowl. Wright has really become the voice of the town, and is a Syracuse alumni. On top of that, he rarely talks about K-State, driving the Wildcats fans crazy. Hopefully, he gives this game the necessary amount of hype when the time comes. Would make it a fun watch.

14. Fiesta Bowl, Jan 1, Oklahoma vs. UConn: The weakest aspect of the BCS right now is the fact that the Big East still gets an automatic bid into one of the BCS games. Oklahoma has lost their last 5 BCS bowl games, a fact that all but ensures an OU beatdown of UConn. The only chance for an upset would be motivation, but Stoops will dangle that stat over his players like a hamster running a wheel for some cheese.

13. Capital One Bowl, Jan 1, Michigan St vs. Alabama: What does Vegas think of the best 3-loss team in the nation squaring up against the worst 1-loss team in the nation? BAM, 9.5 points! How’s that humble pie taste Michigan St? Don’t worry, the whole nation will be rooting for you over your former coach, THEE Nick Saban, who is a modest 6-6 in bowl games for his career.

12. Cotton Bowl, Jan 7, LSU vs. Texas A&M: The traditionalist in me feels the Cotton Bowl should always be played on New Year’s Day at 10 AM, at a time when I can barely comprehend what’s happening. However, this game might just be good enough to justify full attention. This could be the final bowl in the way of what many people are predicting to be a perfect bowl season for the Big 12. I disagree.

11. Poinsettia Bowl, Dec 23, Navy vs. San Diego St: Now here are two teams that I have always rooted for. Navy because they have always run the option, and oftentimes unleash a samoan-like QB that’s impossible to root against. Combine that with the uniforms of San Diego St when I was growing up (back when it was ok to cheer for Marshall Faulk), and these are two of my favorite teams to cheer for in bowl games.

10. Insight Bowl, Dec 28, Missouri vs. Iowa: A matchup between Nebraska’s soon-to-be-former pest on their side and their soon-to-be biggest rival. Should provide an interesting transformation of time for Husker fans. Unfortunately, Iowa will be short-handed due to a number of players slinging (not the fun kind like Todd Reesing, or the gun kind like Brett Favre), but the drug kind. Hawkeye players must be watching too much of The Wire. Fortunately, Adrian Clay(Davis)Born isn’t one of the players suspended. He’s the next Tyson Jackson (no good?).

Thanks for reading, be sure to check back for the rundown on all the best bowl games coming at you tomorrow.