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Counting down the bowls: Gators-Buckeyes is better than rematch
(Orlando Sentinel, The (FL) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) ORLANDO, Fla. _ This being the holiday season, we're in a giving mood. Feel free to use this ranking of the bowls as a guide when you prepare your holiday shopping, dining and party plans.
32. New Mexico Bowl, Dec. 23: San Jose State (8-4) at New Mexico (6-6). New Mexico is playing at home. Coach Dick Tomey has done a great job at San Jose State. Neither is a reason to watch.
31. Independence Bowl, Dec. 28: Alabama (6-6) vs. Oklahoma State (6-6). We can see the last-minute marketing campaign now: "We're the only bowl matching two 6-6 teams!"
30. Motor City Bowl, Dec. 26: Central Michigan (9-4) vs. Middle Tennessee State (7-5). The Big Ten didn't have enough bowl-eligible teams, so Middle Tennessee State _ which gagged when it had a chance to win the Sun Belt title _ is the beneficiary.
29. International Bowl, Jan. 6: Cincinnati (7-5) vs. Western Michigan (8-4). The first game for this bowl, which is in Toronto. Cincinnati's coach (Mark Dantonio) has left for Michigan State, but we doubt that will spur ticket sakes.
28. GMAC Bowl, Jan. 7: Ohio U. (9-3) vs. Southern Miss (8-5). The next-to-last bowl game, so we'll watch. But that doesn't mean you have to.
27. Insight Bowl, Dec. 29: Minnesota (6-6) vs. Texas Tech (7-5). Maybe Texas Tech can learn how to run the ball by watching Minnesota game film.
26. New Orleans Bowl, Dec. 22: Rice (7-5) vs. Troy (7-5). The only reason this bowl ranks this high is it's the first time Rice has been in a bowl in our lifetime. The last time the Owls went bowling? Try 1961.
25. Poinsettia Bowl, Dec. 19: Northern Illinois (7-5) vs. TCU (10-2). Two (minor) selling points for this one: It's the first bowl of the season and NIU TB Garrett Wolfe is the nation's leading rusher.
24. Alamo Bowl, Dec. 30: Iowa (6-6) vs. Texas (9-3). Had the Longhorns not lost to either Kansas State or Texas A&M, they'd be in a much better bowl. Call it the "Mack Brown Returns to Earth Effect." Iowa is one of the nation's biggest disappointments.
23. Papajohns.com Bowl, Dec. 23: East Carolina (7-5) vs. USF (8-4). This bowl loses a few points for having the worst name. USF was the second-best team in this state this season. Can Coach Jim Leavitt keep that going? ECU was a big surprise under second-year Coach Skip Holtz.
22. Meineke Car Care Bowl, Dec. 30: Boston College (9-3) vs. Navy (9-3). BC's going to be real psyched for this one. But as long as the Eagles play good run defense against the one-dimensional Middies, they'll win.
21. Bell Helicopters Bowl, Dec. 23: Tulsa (8-4) vs. Utah (8-4). This used to be called the Fort Worth Bowl. Two offensive-minded teams should produce an entertaining game.
20. Music City Bowl, Dec. 29: Clemson (8-4) vs. Kentucky (7-5). Clemson faded down the stretch. UK is fun to watch because it has a good offense and a rancid defense.
19. Texas Bowl, Dec. 28: Kansas State (7-5) vs. Rutgers (10-2). Three weeks ago, Rutgers was being talked about as a BCS team. Instead, the Scarlet Knights will play a Big 12 also-ran in Houston. Whoopee.
18. Champs Sports Bowl, Dec. 29: Maryland (8-4) vs. Purdue (8-5). Purdue has a good offense. Maryland doesn't wow you with stats, but the Terps generally make plays when they're needed.
17. MPC Computers Bowl, Dec. 31: Miami (6-6) vs. Nevada (8-4). Larry Coker's final game as UM's coach comes on the blue field in Boise, Idaho.
16. Chick-Fil-A Bowl, Dec. 30: Georgia (8-4) vs. Virginia Tech (10-2). It'll be a tough ticket, and it will be a close game. Exciting? Well, if you've seen these two offenses, you can answer that yourself.
15. Outback Bowl, Jan. 1: Penn State (8-4) vs. Tennessee (9-3). For whatever reason, Penn State seems unable to do much offensively. But the Nittany Lions' defense is tough. Don't expect many points.
14. Emerald Bowl, Dec. 27: Florida State (6-6) vs. UCLA (7-5). This gained more cachet with the Bruins' upset of USC on Saturday. And after watching the Bruins' defense swarm all over USC's offense, we hope FSU QBs Xavier Lee and Drew Weatherford are ready to get hit. A lot. FSU's defense shouldn't have much trouble with UCLA's pedestrian offense.
13. Liberty Bowl, Dec. 29: Houston (10-3) vs. South Carolina (7-5). Two offensive-minded coaches get together. Can either defense stop the other team's offense?
12. Sun Bowl, Dec. 29: Oregon State (9-4) vs. Missouri (8-4). A nice matchup. Oregon State is hot, and Mizzou sophomore QB Chase Daniel is a rising star.
11. Gator Bowl, Jan. 1: Georgia Tech (9-4) vs. West Virginia (10-2). WVU's defense isn't much, but Tech's offense isn't that good. But the chess match between Tech's aggressive defense and WVU's speedy offense should be excellent. This is WVU's third trip to the Gator Bowl in four seasons. And Tech lost in this same stadium in the ACC title game.
10. Hawaii Bowl, Dec. 24: Arizona State (7-5) at Hawaii (10-3). Hawaii is one of two teams (New Mexico is the other) who will be bowling in its home stadium. This is the final game for Arizona State Coach Dirk Koetter. There should be a lot of offense, which will make for a nice respite from last-minute gift-wrapping.
9. Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 21: BYU (10-2) vs. Oregon (7-5). A nice sub-plot: Oregon offensive coordinator Gary Crowton used to be BYU's coach.
8. Orange Bowl, Jan. 2: Louisville (11-1) vs. Wake Forest (11-2). Wake is inarguably the nation's biggest surprise; the Demon Deacons' appearance in the BCS is akin to George Mason making the Final Four. Wake's offense isn't much, but the defense has been good. It'll be interesting to see if that defense can slow Louisville.
7. Fiesta Bowl, Jan. 1: Boise State (12-0) vs. Oklahoma (11-2). Boise is a nice story, and the Broncos did hammer Oregon State in September. But we don't think the Broncos will be able to handle OU's team speed. At the least, it'll be interesting for a while. OU's mindset is going to be important.
6. Sugar Bowl, Jan. 3: LSU (10-2) vs. Notre Dame (10-2). LSU's speedy defense will be a test for Brady Quinn, Charlie Weis and the rest of the Irish. And you'd think even inconsistent JaMarcus Russell can carve up Notre Dame's "defense."
5. Cotton Bowl, Jan. 1: Auburn (10-2) vs. Nebraska (9-4). Auburn has more speed, but can the Tigers handle the Huskers' brawn? Hopefully, Auburn will show up ready to play. That didn't happen at last season's Capital One Bowl.
4. Holiday Bowl, Dec. 28: California (9-3) vs. Texas A&M (9-3). As usual, this is the best of the pre-Jan.1 games. Both had good records. But questions still remain about both.
3. Capital One Bowl, Jan. 1: Arkansas (10-3) vs. Wisconsin (11-1). Hey, what can we say: We like the color red. Two teams that want to run the ball. Arkansas has sleek TB Darren McFadden. Wisconsin has, uh, un-sleek TB P.J. Hill.
2. Rose Bowl, Jan. 1: Michigan (11-1) vs. USC (10-2). A Big Ten/Pac-10 matchup in the Rose Bowl. All is right in the world.
1.BCS Championship Game, Jan. 8: Florida (12-1) vs. Ohio State (12-0). So, sue us: This is much better than a rematch.
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(c) 2006, The Orlando Sentinel (Fla.).
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Copyright 2006 The Orlando Sentinel
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