Getty ImagesThe 2012-13 bowl season starts in 11 days, and if you haven’t seen by now, we’ve created a nifty landing page with links to our horrifically inaccurate guesses predictions for all 35 bowl games.
I wrote about the BCS slate earlier this week, but now it’s time to gauge your feelings on the best and worst non-BCS bowls this holiday season. From the New Mexico Bowl to the GoDaddy.com Bowl and everything in between, there’s a lot of football still to be enjoyed while you coast at work for the next few weeks.
We’ll start with the best non-BCS bowls. Since we value your opinion (when you agree with us), we decided to pose the following question: which non-BcS bowl is the best matchup? Not that anyone asked, but I’m personally looking forward to the Holiday Bowl (Baylor vs. UCLA) and the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Toledo vs. Utah State) because I like a little #MACtion with my mashed potatoes.
But we’ve selected a handful of games for you to vote on below. And if you don’t like the choices we’ve offered? Voice your opinion in the comments section.
No comments because nobody cares!
Cotton Bowl or Chick Fil A Bowl but I am biased so…
Cotton Bowl. 10-2 Aggies try to beat old conference foe 10-2 OU in a stadium where they are 0-4…
This is going to be a pretty weak bowl season…
Outback bowl all the way! I love clemson but after last year I can’t say they won’t lay an egg. Cotton bowl should be good too
Okay, I’ll go out on a limb here: Just like the regular season some of these will be blowouts and some will be close. Good luck figuring out in advance which will be which. The most anticipated games might end up not being as compelling as one or two that many thought would be lousy….
Cotton Bowl, hands down. In fact, that’s the best bowl second to the championship game. K-State and Oregon would probably be the third best game. LSU and Clemson might be a good game, but I’m having trouble thinking Clemson will be as good a match for the Bayou Bengals in person as they are on paper. Georgia/Nebraska has possibilities.
The real crime among the bowl games is Florida/Louisville. That pairing is absurd. Florida should have met a worthy opponent. I don’t care what formulas they’re required to use, the best game would have been Florida/Oregon.
Cotton Bowl best choice Deb.
Either LSU / Clemson or TAM / Oklahoma… Both should be decent games. Agree on Florida / Louisville being ridiculous. Same for FSU / NIU.
SC vs. Michigan is gonna be a replay of the Bama / Michigan game.
I voted Cotton with Chick Fil A getting strong consideration. To me these have the potential to be the 3rd and 4th best games overall after NC and Fiesta.
The Cotton Bowl will be the best match up. Hands down. Oregon and K State will be an interesting game. The Sugar and Orange should just cancel this year. Give Florida and Florida State a bye and just pay them the winners share. They won’t be competitive, at all.
Other games that are worth watching will be the Chick-Fil-A and Holiday. The Alamo will be interesting to see if Texas can actually win nine games this year. The others with six loss teams participating should forfeit. Bowl games are a reward for a good season not just a way to pay those teams good money for showing up.
Congrats Arkansas on founding your new Head Coach … Brett Bielema
New Orleans Bowl! UL Lafayette Ragin Cajuns vs ECU Pirates
absolutsaints says:
Dec 4, 2012 3:48 PM
New Orleans Bowl! UL Lafayette Ragin Cajuns vs ECU Pirates
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I’m down with any school who’s nickname is ULaLa!
Go Cajuns…. I guess…
The Alamo Bowl would have been a great match up if Texas were playing Mexico.
Thanks imaduffer…..LOL…..I needed that. Even though I’m a Longhorn fan, I gotta agree.
@imaduffer….I tip my cap, sir.
Bulls (or rather, BEVO)-Eye, imaduffer…but I have a question, though: Would that historical game have to be aired on the Longhorn Network? We Northerners don’t subscribe to it…just can’t find that one tv station on the map, I guess….damn it!
Here are my top 4 non-BcS Bowls, in order:
Chick-Fil-A Bowl: Clemson v. LSU – the best non-BcS offense v. the best non-BcS defense… Could it get any more entertaining?
2. Bridgeport Education Holiday Bowl: UCLA v. Baylor – both teams were playing their best ball at the end of the year. Each team has a human highlight reel RB with Franklin (UCLA) and Seastrunk (Baylor). This could be a repeat of the great game between Baylor & Washington last year.
3. Outback Bowl: South Carolina v. Michigan – regardless of where he’s playing, I expect Denard Robinson to put on a show, ending one of the most electrifying careers in NCAA history. This game would be #2 if he was playing QB because it would be something other-worldly to see Jadaveon Clowney chase him around the field all game.
4. AT&T Cotton Bowl: Texas A&M v. Oklahoma – these two teams are giving us a rebirth, albeit temporary, of a good Big XII rivalry. Neither team is very good at stopping the run, and both teams can run the ball very well. On paper, looking at the names & the players – Landry Jones v. Johnny Manziel; Old v. New – you would automatically think this will be the best non-BcS game. Well, when that happens & we all predict a great game it very rarely lives up to the hype, thus my #4 ranking. These are two teams that have a valid gripe with the powers-that-be for not being included in a BcS Bowl. On one hand you have Texas A&M, the only team to beat the #2 team in the nation & a Heisman Trophy Candidate (Winner?); and on the other you have an Oklahoma team whose only 2 losses came to two top-5 teams, albeit at home (Kansas State & Notre Dame). If it weren’t for the stupid 2 team per conference limit & the even more stupid top 16 non-AQ rule, this very well could have been either a Fiesta Bowl or a Sugar Bowl matchup. Therefore, this SHOULD be the best non-BcS game, but it won’t, it’ll be the 4th.
Honorable Mention:
New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Syracuse v. West Virginia
Gildan New Mexico Bowl: Arizona v. Nevada
MAACO Las Vegas Bowl: Washington v. Boise State
Worst Bowl:
Hyundai Sun Bowl: USC v. Georgia Tech – C’mon man, really? USC has been a disappointment, but Tech is going to be lucky to score 10 points this game while Barkley, if he plays, should go off for about 6-7 TDs & 400 yards against Tech’s porous pass defense. The only reason Tech is in this game is because the bowl commissioners needed an ACC team & the 2nd & 3rd best ACC teams are banned from postseason / bowl play. Miami or North Carolina v. USC would’ve been a hell of a lot better, but they did no-no’s & now we all have to suffer as they’re grounded by big daddy Mark Emmert.
@kappy Nice write up. I so agree on the BCS rules… this easily could have been the Fiesta bowl. Cotton Bowl to me has always been the most prestegious Non BCS bowl though… How many national titles have been decided in the Cotton Bowl I wonder… quite a few I bet.
I made the mistake of reading this article by Ben, then reading the posts. So Deb reminded me that Florida plays Louisville. As much as I love the Gators, I might come up with something else to do come game time… like wash my car or something. The “tie-ins” made this bowl season a pretty bad one in my opinion. I mean, of course I’ll watch. After all it is still college football, but man, there could have been some great matchups, and instead we get these. Florida/Oregon, even if we got our @$$es handed to us would have at least been fun to watch.