Thirty-five bowl games seems to many, but hey if you love college football then it is just fine; even though there are throngs of teams that sneaked in with 6-6 records and an unranked Connecticut team that is in a BCS game. The BCS bowl games are typically the most talked about games, but alas there are plenty of other bowl games of interest that are not of the BCS variety. Now, I could go through and make a compelling point in watching each game, but instead I will take a look at the most interesting non-BCS bowl games. This is part two of the non-BCS games, part one can be found here.
All times, mountain.
Sun Bowl Dec. 31st, 12:00 p.m. CBS
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-5) vs. Miami Hurricanes (6-6)
Since everyone is calling this the reformed version of 'Convicts vs. Catholics' I will just roll with it. Miami has fired Randy Shannon after four years of so-so success and is being replaced by Temple's Al Golden, while Notre Dame is somewhat on a hot streak after winning three games in a row by beating Utah, Army and USC. While Miami was to have taken the next step up the ladder in getting to the ACC title game never materialized. This game will be more of nostalgia for those old enough to remember the heated games these two schools encountered in the 1980s and 90s.
Chick-fil-A Bowl Dec. 31st, 5:30 p.m. ESPN
No. 19 South Carolina Gamecocks (9-4) vs. No. 23 Florida State Seminoles (9-4)
This is bowl is historically a good game, however Florida State might be without their signal caller Christian Ponder who has been bothered by an arm injury. According to head coach Jimbo Fisher, Ponder is to resume practice on Dec. 26th. If Ponder can not go then backuo E.J. Manuel will be under center and the South Carolina defense will be ready to attack the backup.
Outback Bowl Jan. 1st, 11 a.m. ABC
Florida Gators (7-5) vs. Penn State Nitany Lions (7-5)
Who knew that the coach retiring would be Urban Meyer who is nearly half of Joe Paterno's age. This game is more of a 'name' game, similar to the Sun Bowl, however Penn State seems to always be predictable during the regular season. During their bowl game they bring out this great offense which provides false hope to the Nitany Lion fans going into the following year.
Capital One Bowl Jan. 1st, 11 a.m. ESPN
No. 15 Alabama Crimson Tide (9-3) vs. No. 7 Michigan State Spartans (11-1)
Michigan State fans are just a little ticked about not going to the Rose Bowl and are showing their frustration via billboards with the final score over Wisconsin which the Spartans won, 34-24. Alabama is somewhat disappointed by going to the Capital One Bowl since they had BCS title game aspirations. Lets see how many catches, yards and touchdowns Alabama wide receive Julio Jones can accumulate, because he is the best player on the field.
Cotton Bowl Jan. 7th, 6:00 p.m. FOX
No. 11 LSU Tigers (10-2) vs. No. 18 Texas A&M Aggies (9-3)
Texas A&M is a completely different team ever since they benched turnover machine Jerrod Johnson for Ryan Tannehill who lead the Aggies on a six game winning streak. We all know LSU is the most fortunate team in the nation by winning a few games on some trick plays and opposing team misfortunes. This could turn out to be the best matchup outside of the BCS Bowls, well the Cotton should be better then the Fiesta Bowl.
Fight Hunger Bowl Jan. 9th, 7:00 p.m. ESPN
No. 13 Nevada Wolf Pack (12-1) vs. Boston College Eagles (7-5)
If you have never seen or even somehow have not heard of Nevada's Colin Kaepernick now is the time. He joined Tim Tebow and Cam Newton as the only quarterbacks in NCAA history to score 20 rushing and 20 passing touchdowns in a year. The Nevada pistol offense is explosive and very fun to watch. However, Boston College comes in boasting the nation's best rush defense by only allowing 80 yards per game. Expect Nevada to pass that mark, but they may struggle doing so.