November 7, 2007

Rivals.com Staff

BCS Bowls
BCS Title Game: BCS No. 1 vs. BCS No. 2 (Jan. 7, 8 p.m., FOX)
The Matchup: Ohio State vs. LSU The Buzz: Yep, this is our national-title matchup ? for this week, at least. Video: Ohio State highlights | LSU highlights
ORANGE: BCS game (Jan. 3, 8 p.m., Fox)
The Matchup: Virginia Tech vs. West Virginia The Buzz: A matchup of former Big East rivals ? and of teams whose fans buy a lot of tickets.
FIESTA: BCS game (Jan. 2, 8 p.m., Fox)
The Matchup: Arizona State vs. Oklahoma The Buzz: This essentially would be a home game for the Sun Devils.
SUGAR: BCS game (Jan. 1, 8:30 p.m., Fox)
The Matchup: Auburn vs. Missouri The Buzz: Missouri needs to win the Big 12 North to get a BCS spot.
ROSE: BCS game (Jan. 1, 4:30 p.m., ABC)
The Matchup: Michigan vs. Oregon The Buzz: Oregon still hoping for some help to get to the title game.
Non-BCS Bowls
GMAC: C-USA#2 vs. MAC #1 (Jan. 6, 8 p.m., ESPN)
The Matchup: East Carolina vs. Central Michigan The Buzz: To whet your appetite for the big one, there's this.
INTERNATIONAL: Big East #5 vs. MAC #3 (Jan. 5, noon, ESPN2)
The Matchup: Louisville vs. Ball State The Buzz: If this is the matchup, expect a high-scoring game. There wouldn't be much defense.
CAPITAL ONE: Big Ten #2 vs. SEC #2 (Jan. 1, 1 p.m., ABC)
The Matchup: Penn State vs. Florida The Buzz: Gators would have a sort of home-field advantage. And a speed advantage, too.
GATOR: ACC #3 vs. Big East #2/Big 12 #4 (Jan. 1, 1 p.m., CBS)
The Matchup: Boston College vs. Texas Tech The Buzz: Thought here is that BC won't win its division. Still, the Eagles get a chance to play in Jacksonville after all.
COTTON: Big 12 #2 vs. SEC #4 (Jan. 1, 11:30 a.m., Fox)
The Matchup: Kansas vs. Alabama The Buzz: Kansas still in the hunt for a BCS bid. Alabama also could end up in Cap One, Outback or Chick-fil-A.
OUTBACK: Big Ten #3 vs. SEC #3 (Jan. 1, 11 a.m., ESPN)
The Matchup: Illinois vs. Georgia The Buzz: An 8-4 record probably gets Illinois a New Year's Day game. The Bulldogs remain in the BCS mix but must win out.
INSIGHT: Big Ten #6 vs. Big 12 #7 (Dec. 31, 8 p.m., NFL Network)
The Matchup: Purdue vs. Colorado The Buzz: Purdue likely will have a gaudy record, but Boilermakers really haven't beaten anyone of note.
CHICK-FIL-A: ACC #2 vs. SEC #5 (Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m., ESPN)
The Matchup: Clemson vs. Tennessee The Buzz: A nice regional matchup in Atlanta. It would be a tough ticket.
MUSIC CITY: ACC #5/6/7 vs. SEC #6/7 (Dec. 31, 4 p.m., ESPN)
The Matchup: Florida State vs. South Carolina The Buzz: Think about the coaches for a second. ? Admit it: In this scenario, you'd watch.
SUN: Big East #2/Big 12 #6 vs. Pac-10 #3 (Dec. 31, 2 p.m., CBS)
The Matchup: Connecticut vs. California The Buzz: If Gator Bowl takes a Big 12 team, Sun gets first pick of Big East's non-BCS teams.
HUMANITARIAN: ACC #8 vs. WAC (Dec. 31, 2 p.m., ESPN2)
The Matchup: N.C. State at Boise State The Buzz: Wolfpack getting hot at the right time, and look as if they will qualify for a bowl.
ARMED FORCES: Mountain West #3/4 vs. Pac-10 #6 (Dec. 31, 12:30 p.m., ESPN)
The Matchup: Nevada* at TCU The Buzz: We don't think Pac-10 will have enough bowl-eligible teams. This would be a home game for Horned Frogs.
INDEPENDENCE: Big 12 #8 vs. SEC #8 (Dec. 30, 8 p.m., ESPN)
The Matchup: Texas A&M vs. Arkansas The Buzz: A nice regional matchup. But will either team have a coach?
ALAMO: Big Ten #4 vs. Big 12 #5 (Dec. 29, 8 p.m., ESPN)
The Matchup: Wisconsin vs. Kansas State The Buzz: Badgers fans travel extremely well. And San Antonio is a great place to visit.
LIBERTY: C-USA #1 vs. SEC #6/7 (Dec. 29, 4:30 p.m., ESPN)
The Matchup: Houston vs. Kentucky The Buzz: If you like defense, you wouldn't want to watch this one.
MEINEKE CAR CARE: ACC #5 vs. Big East #3 (Dec. 29, 1 p.m., ESPN)
The Matchup: Wake Forest vs. USF The Buzz: USF better stop its fade, or it won't even get to go here.
EMERALD: ACC #5/6/7 vs. Pac-10 #4/5 (Dec. 28, 8 p.m., ESPN)
The Matchup: Georgia Tech vs. Air Force* The Buzz: A post-Christmas/pre-New Year's trip to San Francisco? Hey, that's a nice reward. And we don't think the Pac-10 will have enough bowl eligible teams.
TEXAS: Big 12 #9 vs. C-USA #6 (Dec. 28, 8 p.m., NFL Network)
The Matchup: Oklahoma State vs. UTEP The Buzz: There wouldn't be much defense, which means it would be an entertaining game.
CHAMPS SPORTS: ACC #4 vs. Big Ten #5 (Dec. 28, 5 p.m., ESPN)
The Matchup: Virginia vs. Iowa The Buzz: There are worse places to be than Orlando in December, and 78-degree days would appeal to fans of these teams.
HOLIDAY: Big 12 #3 vs. Pac-10 #2 (Dec. 27, 8 p.m., ESPN)
The Matchup: Texas vs. USC The Buzz: Oh, my. A repeat of 2005 national-title game would garner big ratings.
MOTOR CITY: Big Ten #7 vs. MAC #2 (Dec. 26, 7:30 p.m., ESPN)
The Matchup: Indiana vs. Miami (Ohio) The Buzz: There would be some emotion involved, as the late Terry Hoeppner coached both teams this decade.
HAWAII: WAC vs. C-USA #5 (Dec. 23, 8 p.m., ESPN)
The Matchup: Hawaii vs. Tulsa The Buzz: If Hawaii wins out, it'll be in BCS. One loss, though, and it will be playing at home in postseason.
LAS VEGAS: Mountain West #1 vs. Pac-10 #4/5 (Dec. 22, ESPN, 8 p.m.)
The Matchup: BYU vs. Oregon State The Buzz: BYU beat Oregon in this bowl last season; this season, they could get shot at the Beavers.
NEW MEXICO: Mountain West #3/4 vs. WAC (Dec. 22, ESPN, 4:30 p.m.)
The Matchup: Fresno State at New Mexico The Buzz: This would be a home game for the Lobos.
PAPAJOHNS.COM: Big East #4 vs. C-USA #3 (Dec. 22, ESPN2, 1 p.m.)
The Matchup: Cincinnati vs. UCF The Buzz: This would be UCF's second-ever bowl and sixth this decade for Bearcats, who still have shot at "better" bowl.
NEW ORLEANS: Sun Belt #1 vs. C-USA #4 (Dec. 21, ESPN2, 8 p.m.)
The Matchup: Troy vs. Southern Miss The Buzz: A nice regional matchup. And, hey, it's a short trip for both to the Crescent City.
POINSETTIA: Mountain West #2 vs. at-large / Navy (Dec. 20, ESPN, 9 p.m.)
The Matchup: Utah vs. Navy The Buzz: If Navy is bowl-eligible, it heads to San Diego for the postseason.

NOTE: A bowl's tie-in with a league doesn't necessarily mean it will get the third-, fourth, fifth-, etc., place team from the league; rather, it means it gets the third, fourth, fifth, etc., selection from that league.