Top Bowls to Watch

11. Gator Bowl: #35 Mississippi State vs. #27 Northwestern (1 January, Noon ET, ESPN2)

The feisty 9-3 Wildcats give the B1G the best chance of winning a bowl this season. But don't count the Bulldogs out either. Though their 8-4 record is slightly worse than Northwestern's, they had to play Alabama, LSU, and Texas A&M instead of a weak Big Ten.
Line: Mississippi State by 2

10. Orange Bowl: #16 Northern Illinois vs. #9 Florida State (1 January, 8:30 ET, ESPN)

It's nice to see the little guy rewarded. The NIU Huskies have been at or near the top of the MAC for the last couple years and have had successful bowl outings against Fresno State and Arkansas State during that period as well. Florida State, however, is a completely different bowl opponent. Though I suspect a lot of people will be rooting for the underdog, a Seminole team many expected to go to the National Championship will prove too much for the Huskies.
Line: Florida State by 13.5

9. Capital One Bowl: #8 Georgia vs. #21 Nebraska (1 January, 1 ET, ABC)

Call it the Consolation Bowl. After losing their respective conference championships, these teams are here instead of the National Championship or the Rose Bowl. The difference is that Georgia was one play away from beating the mighty Alabama, and Nebraska was exposed by a ho-hum Wisconsin squad.
Line: Georgia by 9.5

8. Rose Bowl: #37 Wisconsin vs. #11 Stanford (1 January, 5 ET, ESPN)

The bowl worries for the Big Ten continue as a Wisconsin team that won the Big Ten on Ohio State's and Penn State's ineligibility (okay, and an impressive revenge win against Nebraska) faces a Stanford team that wrested the Pac-12 title away from Oregon and is considered to be one of the best two-loss teams in the country.
Line: Stanford by 6.5

7. Outback Bowl: #12 South Carolina vs. #26 Michigan (1 January, 1 ET, ESPN)

Both of these teams have had a somewhat disappointing season. Both had a decent chance to go to their conference championships, but a loss to Florida or Nebraska effectively closed the door on them. Both will be playing with something to prove.
Line: South Carolina by 3.5

6. Holiday Bowl: #36 Baylor vs. #24 UCLA (27 December, 9:45 ET, ESPN)

This could prove to be an exciting game, featuring two unpredictable teams with monkey-wrench-throwing seasons. In this corner, Baylor who dealt Kansas State their sole loss, but was also blown out by TCU. In the other corner, UCLA who took control of the Pac-12 South by beating Arizona State and USC, but also lost big to Cal. Which incarnation of each team will show up to San Diego?
Line: Baylor by 0.5

5. Chick-fil-A Bowl: #13 LSU vs. #15 Clemson (31 December, 7:30 ET, ESPN)

The 10-2 Tigers barred from their conference championship simply because their division happens to contain one of the best teams in the country face the 10-2 Tigers barred from their conference championship simply because their division happens to contain one of the best teams in the country.
Line: LSU by 2

4. Alamo Bowl: #23 Texas vs. #14 Oregon State (29 December, 6:45 ET, ESPN)

A great match-up against two teams that started off surprisingly strong before getting visited by Chinua Achebe. All right, it wasn't quite that bad. These are two great teams who just had the misfortune of having to play Kansas State & Oklahoma or Oregon & Stanford.
Line: Oregon State by 4.5

3. BCS National Championship: #4 Notre Dame vs. #1 Alabama (7 January, 8:30 ET, ESPN)

Let's be frank. This game isn't ranked higher on this list because the math and I are still not convinced that Notre Dame is the best team in the country. But who knows? Maybe the luck of the Irish will continue and the crystal football will be going to South Bend. Eugh, I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.
Line: Alabama by 10.5

2. Cotton Bowl: #5 Texas A&M vs. #7 Oklahoma (4 January, 8 ET, Fox)

What a fantastic match-up with fantastic story-lines. Not only will this game decide who the best 2-loss team is, it will also decide what noun we get to put after Johnny Manziel's (AKA Johnny Football AKA Johnny Heisman) name for the next month.
Line: Texas A&M by 1

1. Fiesta Bowl: #2 Oregon vs. #3 Kansas State (3 January, 8:30 ET, ESPN)

Remember that week after Alabama's loss to Texas A&M, when it was an open question whether Oregon or Kansas State should be ranked #1? NOW WE GET TO FIND OUT. The victor of this game gets the bronze in my book, maybe even silver.
Line: Oregon by 5.5