TOP TEN BOWL GAMES -Fiesta # 3

[Blues1]

LINK
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/stewart_mandel/12/05/bowl.rankings/index.html


Bowl rankings
The best and worst of the postseason, from 1 to 32

From the near-weekly grudge matches in the SEC to the Big East's Thursday night thrillers, Ohio State-Michigan and USC-UCLA, the 2006 regular season was inordinately exciting. Hope you enjoyed it -- because this year's bowl lineup looks about as promising as Night at the Museum.

Starting right at the top with the national title game no one's particularly thrilled about (Ohio State-Florida) and the classic Rose Bowl neither team wanted to be in (USC-Michigan), the Blowout on the Bayou (LSU-Notre Dame) and the basketball game disguised as an Orange Bowl (Wake Forest-Louisville), there simply aren't a lot of matchups screaming for your attention like last year's Rose (USC-Texas), Fiesta (Ohio State-Notre Dame) and Orange (JoePa vs. Bobby) bowls did.

And that's just the BCS games.

This particular bowl season as a whole is incredibly lacking in depth. In most years, the Alamo Bowl is one of the better December games; this year it's Texas-Iowa. For this, you can blame conference partnerships, which are locked in before the season is even played. It's because of them that 8-4 Penn State is playing on New Year's in the Outback Bowl while 10-2 Rutgers is playing in the Texas Bowl.

Nevertheless, I dutifully compiled my fourth annual bowl rankings, ranking the 32 postseason games in order of potential viewing interest. Let me know which number you get to before your eyes start flickering ...

1) BCS National Championship Game (Jan. 8): Ohio State (12-0) vs. Florida (11-1). With a month to prepare, expect Florida coach Urban Meyer to draw up every conceivable Tim Tebow/Percy Harvin trick play imaginable. Jim Tressel's plan: Get Troy Smith to the stadium.

2) Rose (Jan. 1): Michigan (11-1) vs. USC (10-2). If anyone was more thrilled than the Gators with the BCS standings, it was the Tournament of Roses committee. Whoever wins will have solid case for No. 1 -- in the 2007 preseason poll.

3) Fiesta (Jan. 1): Boise State (12-0) vs. Oklahoma (11-2). It will be (Adrian) Peterson vs. (Chris) Petersen, assuming Adrian's collarbone heals in time. It will also be OU's Peterson vs. Broncos tailback Ian Johnson, who ran for 24 touchdowns in 11 games.

4) Sugar (Jan. 3): LSU (10-2) vs. Notre Dame (10-2). The game should be a boon to New Orleans' ravaged economy. Not only will Irish fans descend on the city, but there's also a decent chance they'll be hitting the Bourbon Street bars by halftime.

5) Capital One (Jan. 1): Wisconsin (11-1) vs. Arkansas (10-3). By beating Arkansas, Florida earned a national championship invite and gave LSU a BCS berth. The best the Badgers can hope for is the title of best third-place team (in conference standings) in the history of college football.

6) Orange (Jan. 2) : Louisville (11-1) vs. Wake Forest (11-2). Alabama is in the Independence Bowl, Florida State in the Emerald Bowl and Miami in Boise, while the Orange Bowl hosts Wake Forest and Louisville. Someone get Beano Cook a glass of water.

7) Chick-fil-A (Dec. 30): Virginia Tech (10-2) vs. Georgia (8-4). If you're looking for offensive fireworks ... maybe ESPN Classic will replay last year's Sugar Bowl. If you want to see two red-hot, defensive-minded teams scrap it out, however, this is your game.

8) Cotton (Jan. 1): Auburn (10-2) vs. Nebraska (9-4). Nebraska hasn't played in the Cotton Bowl since 1980 and Auburn hasn't been there since Bo Jackson's last season in '86. Don't worry guys -- that stadium looks exactly like you left it.

9) Holiday: Cal (9-3) vs. Texas A&M (9-3). On the list of rare sights in Southern California, a team running the option -- as the Aggies like to do with QB Stephen McGee -- ranks right up there with real breasts and 12 inches of snow.

10) Outback: Tennessee (9-3) vs. Penn State (8-4). A recuperated Joe Paterno returns to the sideline for the first time in two months.

[AlbqSooner]

[QUOTE=Blues1]The best the Badgers can hope for is the title of best third-place team (in conference standings) in the history of college football.QUOTE]
In the final standings after the '71 season Colorado was the third place team in the Big 8 Conference. Oh yeah, they were also the third place team in the nation.

[swardboy]

4) Sugar (Jan. 3): LSU (10-2) vs. Notre Dame (10-2). The game should be a boon to New Orleans' ravaged economy. Not only will Irish fans descend on the city, but there's also a decent chance they'll be hitting the Bourbon Street bars by halftime.

Now that's funny stuff....

[King Crimson]

screw Wisconsin. they played Western Illinois, SDSU, Buffalo and some other east popcorn state OOC. and didn't play Ohio State in conference this year.

[OklahomaTuba]

I cannot believe the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl didn't make the list.

SCREW YOU CNN!

[Blues1]

They Did --- Number 12 ---- :)

12) Poinsettia (Dec. 19): TCU (10-2) vs. Northern Illinois (7-5). The Poinsettia lucked into this one. The nation's leading rusher, NIU's Garrett Wolfe, goes up against the nation's No. 4 rushing defense.

[Blues1]

Last but not least --- If I was New Mexico I'd have my own Bowl too...:)


32) New Mexico (Dec. 23): San Jose State (8-4) vs. New Mexico (6-6). In these troubled times, it's reassuring to know the Lobos will never be homeless at Christmas -- so long as they're bowl eligible and this game somehow stays in business.

[#1-Erin-Higgins-Fan]

The Capital One Bowl is better than the Orange Bowl. Now that's funny!

[King Crimson]

I cannot believe the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl didn't make the list.

SCREW YOU CNN!

more proof the liberal media are in bed with the multinational corporations who hate freedom.

[King Crimson]

[QUOTE=Blues1]The best the Badgers can hope for is the title of best third-place team (in conference standings) in the history of college football.QUOTE]
In the final standings after the '71 season Colorado was the third place team in the Big 8 Conference. Oh yeah, they were also the third place team in the nation.

that's right. morons who do sports media today think the world began with ESPN in 1992 or some shizz or whatever happend today is the "best ever".

[OUmillenium]

LINK
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/stewart_mandel/12/05/bowl.rankings/index.html


Bowl rankings
The best and worst of the postseason, from 1 to 32

From the near-weekly grudge matches in the SEC to the Big East's Thursday night thrillers, Ohio State-Michigan and USC-UCLA, the 2006 regular season was inordinately exciting. Hope you enjoyed it -- because this year's bowl lineup looks about as promising as Night at the Museum.

Starting right at the top with the national title game no one's particularly thrilled about (Ohio State-Florida) and the classic Rose Bowl neither team wanted to be in (USC-Michigan), the Blowout on the Bayou (LSU-Notre Dame) and the basketball game disguised as an Orange Bowl (Wake Forest-Louisville), there simply aren't a lot of matchups screaming for your attention like last year's Rose (USC-Texas), Fiesta (Ohio State-Notre Dame) and Orange (JoePa vs. Bobby) bowls did.

And that's just the BCS games.

This particular bowl season as a whole is incredibly lacking in depth. In most years, the Alamo Bowl is one of the better December games; this year it's Texas-Iowa. For this, you can blame conference partnerships, which are locked in before the season is even played. It's because of them that 8-4 Penn State is playing on New Year's in the Outback Bowl while 10-2 Rutgers is playing in the Texas Bowl.

Nevertheless, I dutifully compiled my fourth annual bowl rankings, ranking the 32 postseason games in order of potential viewing interest. Let me know which number you get to before your eyes start flickering ...

1) BCS National Championship Game (Jan. 8): Ohio State (12-0) vs. Florida (11-1). With a month to prepare, expect Florida coach Urban Meyer to draw up every conceivable Tim Tebow/Percy Harvin trick play imaginable. Jim Tressel's plan: Get Troy Smith to the stadium.

2) Rose (Jan. 1): Michigan (11-1) vs. USC (10-2). If anyone was more thrilled than the Gators with the BCS standings, it was the Tournament of Roses committee. Whoever wins will have solid case for No. 1 -- in the 2007 preseason poll.

3) Fiesta (Jan. 1): Boise State (12-0) vs. Oklahoma (11-2). It will be (Adrian) Peterson vs. (Chris) Petersen, assuming Adrian's collarbone heals in time. It will also be OU's Peterson vs. Broncos tailback Ian Johnson, who ran for 24 touchdowns in 11 games.

4) Sugar (Jan. 3): LSU (10-2) vs. Notre Dame (10-2). The game should be a boon to New Orleans' ravaged economy. Not only will Irish fans descend on the city, but there's also a decent chance they'll be hitting the Bourbon Street bars by halftime.
5) Capital One (Jan. 1): Wisconsin (11-1) vs. Arkansas (10-3). By beating Arkansas, Florida earned a national championship invite and gave LSU a BCS berth. The best the Badgers can hope for is the title of best third-place team (in conference standings) in the history of college football.

6) Orange (Jan. 2) : Louisville (11-1) vs. Wake Forest (11-2). Alabama is in the Independence Bowl, Florida State in the Emerald Bowl and Miami in Boise, while the Orange Bowl hosts Wake Forest and Louisville. Someone get Beano Cook a glass of water.

7) Chick-fil-A (Dec. 30): Virginia Tech (10-2) vs. Georgia (8-4). If you're looking for offensive fireworks ... maybe ESPN Classic will replay last year's Sugar Bowl. If you want to see two red-hot, defensive-minded teams scrap it out, however, this is your game.

8) Cotton (Jan. 1): Auburn (10-2) vs. Nebraska (9-4). Nebraska hasn't played in the Cotton Bowl since 1980 and Auburn hasn't been there since Bo Jackson's last season in '86. Don't worry guys -- that stadium looks exactly like you left it.
9) Holiday: Cal (9-3) vs. Texas A&M (9-3). On the list of rare sights in Southern California, a team running the option -- as the Aggies like to do with QB Stephen McGee -- ranks right up there with real breasts and 12 inches of snow.

10) Outback: Tennessee (9-3) vs. Penn State (8-4). A recuperated Joe Paterno returns to the sideline for the first time in two months.


Gold Jerry, Gold!

[CobraKai]

29) Independence (Dec. 28): Oklahoma State (6-6) vs. Alabama (6-6). Ladies and gentlemen, it's the first .500 Bowl. The stakes are higher than for most games: Someone's "bowl season" is about to become a "losing season."

nm

[Blues1]

Something tells me Okie state is gonna send Bama home hurting real bad....But what do I know...???

(A&M will beat texas) ---- :)

[Fraggle145]

Bruce Feldman's from ESPN top ten

http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=2688543&name=feldman_bruce


Must-see TV for bowl games

posted: Wednesday, December 6, 2006

Bruce Feldman ESPN

Since all the bowl pairings have been announced, this week's list is of the most compelling games.
1. Tostitos BCS Championship Game (Jan. 8)
Ohio State (12-0) vs. Florida (11-1): OK, an obvious choice. Jim Tressel is great in bowl games (4-1) and I think because of that whole sweater vest vibe, he isn't given the credit as a masterful big-game coach. I think the Gators will be especially fired up to prove that they do belong in this game. Ultimately, the talk will settle on whether OSU can neutralize Florida's supposed speed edge, featuring Percy Harvin. It'll be interesting to see whether there really is a speed edge here. That was the talk when OSU played Miami in the Fiesta Bowl (there really wasn't one) and this is a faster Buckeye team than that one. Rumor has it that this is going to be the last game for a few Gators underclassmen who are leaning toward jumping to the NFL.

2. Tostitos Fiesta (Jan. 1)
Boise State (12-0) vs. Oklahoma (11-2): I love seeing the upstart Broncos getting a chance to prove themselves against a traditional powerhouse. Beat Bob Stoops' squad and I think the Broncos deserve to finish in the top three. This one should be a gritty, physical battle since the Sooners seem to run the ball well no matter who is playing at tailback, while Boise's Ian Johnson should be a great matchup for Rufus Alexander and the Big 12's second-best run defense. Boise, meanwhile, is the WAC's runaway leader in run defense.

3. Allstate Sugar (Jan. 3)
LSU (10-2) vs. Notre Dame (10-2): Hate them all you want, the Irish make for good viewing. Even in blowouts. So, ND gets one last chance to prove they weren't vastly overrated this year. Meanwhile, Les Miles has to show that he can't get out-coached in his own backyard. Both ND and Miles have a lot to prove here.

As I touched on last week, Notre Dame has had huge problems against ranked teams in Charlie Weis' two seasons. Some Irish fans took issue with that, saying that ND was losing to top-five teams. I think the real issue was that they have been getting smoked by those teams this year, losing to Michigan and USC by 26 and 20 points. LSU has a similar profile to Michigan (awesome D-line) and USC (lethal receivers) -- and speed everywhere. I'm curious to see whether Irish defensive coordinator Rick Minter can come up with something to neutralize LSU's speed. The Irish are, as The South Bend Tribune's Eric Hansen wrote today, the worst of the 10 BCS teams in all four major defensive categories (rush defense, pass-efficiency defense, total defense, scoring defense), and in most cases it's not even close. In scoring defense, for example, every team but the Irish is in the top 20. ND is 57th.

4. Rose Bowl presented by Citi (Jan. 1)
Michigan (11-1) vs. USC (10-2): A few weeks ago, this matchup seemed very plausible for the BCS title game. Over the last few years, the supposed "snubbed" teams (Cal a few years back is the best example) came out flat. I doubt Michigan will. On the flipside, USC is trying to avoid losing for the third time in a row in the Rose Bowl.

5. Capital One (Jan. 1)
Wisconsin (11-1) vs. Arkansas (10-3): Two of the best running backs in the country square off, with P.J. Hill going up against Darren McFadden. Both will be Heisman contenders in '07. McFadden, especially if he has a big day against the Big Ten's top-ranked defense, will probably be the front-runner. They alone are worth tuning in for.

6. Outback
Tennessee (9-3) vs. Penn State (8-4): Along with the Capital One Bowl, this should be a pretty good gauge for the depth of the SEC vs. the Big Ten. As with the Sugar Bowl, I'm curious to see how the underdog performs against a supposedly much more talented team. My guess is a Vol rout.

7. Emerald (Dec. 27)
UCLA (7-5) vs. Florida State (6-6): The Bruins are coming off an amazing defensive effort and defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker's stock is soaring. Now, he gets to face one of the more inept offensive operations by any bowl team in the last decade. My hunch is that there will be a lot more turnover on the FSU offensive coaching staff than just Jeff Bowden.

8. MPC Computers (Dec. 31)
Nevada (8-4) vs. Miami (6-6): The 'Canes were hardly riveting television late in the season, but it will be interesting to see how they perform on the blue turf for Larry Coker's last game. It's hardly coming full circle since he opened on a packed Saturday night in State College a few years ago. That 'Canes team, which blew out the Nittany Lions, might've been the most talented team in recent college football history. Now, they're staring at a Nevada team expecting to put the 'Canes down to a sub-.500 season. Given that UM has 18 starters expected back in '07, this might be more of a springboard game that you'd think.

9. Texas (Dec. 28)
Rutgers (10-2) vs. Kansas State (7-5): Everyone in New Jersey had to exhale after Greg Schiano announced this week that he wasn't going anywhere. Now, the Scarlet Knights, who are still a pretty young team, can use this bowl as a showcase game for the future of the program. Of course, K-State, which already has an upset of Texas on its résumé, is thinking the same thing.

10. Sheraton Hawaii (Dec. 24)
Hawaii (10-3) vs. Arizona State (7-5): Dirk's last stand. Forget the clock rules, this game still should be a four-hour deal given all the passes coming. Colt Brennan facing the Pac-10's seventh stingiest defense is as close to must-see viewing as you'll get for a Hawaii Bowl.

[Blues1]

Fiesta #2 -- We are Movin' on UP...... :)

Great to see a lot of National interest in our Bowl Game....
We got to Rock....

OU 52 BS 22 -Boomer Sooner...... :)

[JohnnyMack]

I like the Houston vs. The Visor matchup. Should be a fun game.