Don’t waste time: 10 bowls to watch

By Arthur Staple - Newsday     Dec 19, 2008

Beginning on Saturday with four games, it’s officially bowl season. Let’s not waste time. Here are the 10 bowl games you need to see:

BCS Championship: Oklahoma (12-1) vs. Florida (12-1) in Miami, Jan. 8, 8 p.m.: With all due respect to Texas, this is a national championship worth waiting for. The Sooners’ insane offense, led by Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford, is so good that losing 1,000-yard running back DeMarco Murray may not even hurt them that much. The Gators have the previous Heisman winner, Tim Tebow, and a defense that is vastly underrated. If Florida keeps this game in the trenches, it could be two national titles in three years for Urban Meyer.

Fiesta Bowl: Texas (11-1) vs. Ohio State (10-2) in Glendale, Ariz., Jan. 5, 8 p.m.: The Longhorns and their fans will go into this game still feeling jilted by the BCS system, but they better watch out. OSU’s defense, led by three-time All-America linebacker James Laurinaitis, has had a month to work on shutting down Colt McCoy and Texas’ offense.

Sugar Bowl: Alabama (12-1) vs. Utah (12-0) in New Orleans, Jan. 2, 8 p.m.: An intriguing matchup that may not be the most fun to watch, given that both teams have excelled with only fair offenses. The Crimson Tide’s running game and incredibly physical defense may be too much for the Utes to handle.

Rose Bowl: USC (11-1) vs. Penn State (11-1) in Pasadena, Jan. 1, 5 p.m.: This could easily have been the national title game but narrow losses to lesser teams hurt USC and Penn State. The Trojans bring their NFL-ready defense up the road for a date with the impressive Nittany Lions, who have a quality offensive line that will get a big test.

Cotton Bowl: Texas Tech (11-1) vs. Mississippi (8-4) in Dallas, Jan. 2, 2 p.m.: The Red Raiders were the national darlings for a while before Oklahoma crushed them last month. Ole Miss is the best four-loss team around and could end up laying claim to having beaten the national champ (Florida).

Capital One Bowl: Georgia (9-3) vs. Michigan State (9-3) in Orlando, Jan. 1, 1 p.m.: Watch two of the nation’s best RBs — the Bulldogs’ Knowshon Moreno and the Spartans’ Javon Ringer.

Sun Bowl: Pittsburgh (9-3) vs. Oregon State (8-4) in El Paso, Dec. 31, 2 p.m.: They both could have been BCS bowl schools. Pitt has dynamic RB LeSean McCoy and solid LB Scott McKillop. OSU’s star RB, freshman Jacquizz Rodgers, is questionable.

Alamo Bowl: Missouri (9-4) vs. Northwestern (9-3) in San Antonio, Dec. 29, 8 p.m.: Mizzou QB Chase Daniel closes out a stellar college career against the surprise team in the Big Ten.

PapaJohns.com Bowl: N.C. State (6-6) vs. Rutgers (7-5) in Birmingham, Dec. 29, 3 p.m.: The Scarlet Knights have had a wild ride that, amazingly, ends with a bowl game.

Hawaii Bowl: Hawaii (7-6) vs. Notre Dame (6-6) in Honolulu, Wednesday, 8 p.m.: A little Christmas Eve cheer for the Irish?

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