Short of an appearance in the National Championship game, it’s always a privilege for a football program to play in the “Grand-daddy of ‘Em All”. Yet, the mere fact that 8-5 Wisconsin is representing the Big Ten in this year’s game, suggests just how zany the Big Ten Conference has been in 2012.
This year’s Orange Bowl is certain to be a fascinating game because it features our resident BCS-buster for 2012, with the Northern Illinois Huskies.
The 2012 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl is going to feature two disciplined teams in the Navy Midshipmen and the Arizona State Sun Devils, but while each team is talented, they’ve also been known to show their weaknesses. This game is worth tuning into, if only to watch the ground game of the Midshipmen.
This intriguing bowl match-up features one of the most dynamic athletes college football has seen in some time (Michigan’s veteran QB/RB threat Denard Robinson) versus a downright nasty defense led by a first-team All-American in the form of South Carolina DE Jadeveon Clowney.
Though Northwestern narrowly missed a shot at a Big Ten title this season in a down year for the conference, the pressure will be grave for the Wildcats to win their first bowl game since 1949. Remarkably, Northwestern has lost nine consecutive bowl games since winning the ’49 Rose Bowl.
With the exception of boasting one of the country’s most electric players in WR Marqise Lee, it has been a bitterly disappointing season in Los Angeles. The vaunted Trojans limped along to a five-loss campaign, punctuated by losses to Arizona and cross-town rival UCLA.
The Military Bowl isn’t the most highly publicized game of the college football bowl season, but this game between the San Jose State Spartans and the Bowling Green Falcons is a matchup between two drastically improved teams. Just two years ago, these two had three combined wins, and last year both finished 5-7.
Although West Virginia jumped ship to the Big 12 this season, a vintage Big East match-up takes place in the (new) House that Ruth Built after Christmas this bowl season with the New Era Pinstripe Bowl.
The Holiday Bowl has a history of playing host to high-scoring football games, and it wouldn’t surprise anybody if that same trend played out Thursday, Dec. 27 between the Baylor Bears and the UCLA Bruins. These two teams combined for 79.2 points per game in the regular season, but the bigger story is that they allowed a combined 64.1. If you like offensive football, tune in for this one.
The Independence Bowl should feel like a home game for the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks, who are clashing in their home state with some visitors from the Midwest – the MAC’s Ohio Bobcats.
In 2012, Virginia Tech has not had a very Virginia Tech season. The Blacksburg squad led seemingly forever by head coach Frank Beamer has a sterling reputation for churning out winning seasons, yet the Hokies limped to a .500 mark this season.
It is rather surprising to see a team like the 9-3 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs not playing in a bowl this season, while the .500 Purdue Boilermakers – sitting at 6-6 in a decidedly underwhelming Big Ten Conference – meet up with a Big 12 opponent on New Year’s Day in Dallas.
The Washington Huskies and the Boise State Broncos have only faced off once before—the team from the Pacific Northwest won 24-10 in 2007—but they’ll face off twice in two games starting with the 2013 Las Vegas Bowl.
Once this game concludes, both teams will begin their offseason, but once fall comes around, they’ll prepare to face each other again in the 2013 season opener.
It’s impressive that Western Kentucky finds its way to a bowl, when the Hilltoppers didn’t become an FBS member until 2009. There is more redemption in the fact that WKU was passed over last year, with an identical 7-5 record on the campaign.
This bowl match-up knocks the rust off an old acquaintance, back from when Central Florida was part of the MAC conference. The Knights left the MAC in 2004.
The Annual Army vs. Navy showdown is one of the oldest traditions in college football. The two teams have played 112 times leading into this week’s matchup, and there’s no shortage of history in this battle. Navy leads the overall series 56-49-7, and they come into this weekend’s contest having won the last 10.
