LET THE GLUTTONY BEGIN!
Are YOU ready for some football?
If not, then you’re probably in the wrong country. From December 15 through January 7, the spectacle that is college football bowl season will unfold across the United States – as layaway deals on flat screen televisions, excessive beer consumption, an overload of monosodium glutamate and latent repressed homosexuality morph into an orgy of male inaction.
Is your remote control ready? What about your sofa? Are you and your ass ready to show those memory foam makers that y’all know a thing or two about making a lasting impression? Anyway … once again “it’s the most wonderful time of the year.” Thirty-five football games crammed into three weeks – with a day or two off to open your Christmas presents.
For the second year in a row both of the Palmetto State’s major programs have drawn top tier bowl invites, with tenth-ranked South Carolina playing No. 18 Michigan in the Outback Bowl and No. 14 Clemson squaring off against eighth-ranked LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
All told, nine Southeastern Conference squads are going bowling this year – including No. 2 Alabama, which will play undefeated Notre Dame for a shot at its second straight national title (and the SEC’s seventh straight crown). Meanwhile six ACC squads – including lowly 6-7 Georgia Tech – will compete in bowls this year.
The Yellow Jackets received an exemption from the NCAA due to the fact that two other bowl-eligible teams from the ACC – Miami and North Carolina – were serving self-imposed bowl bans this year. Ordinarily, teams playing in bowl games must have a .500 record or better.
Also out of the bowl picture this year? Undefeated and third-ranked Ohio State – which is self-imposing a one-year ban due to violations that took place under former head coach Jim Tressel. Then there’s Penn State – which is prohibited from playing in bowl games for the next four years due to the child sex abuse scandal involving former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.
The Nittany Lions finished the season 8-4.
For your viewing pleasure, below is a rundown of all the 2012-13 college football bowl games (complete with dates, times, records, rankings, conference affiliations and … most importantly, the television network that will be covering the game).
Enjoy …
2011-12 NCAA FOOTBALL BOWL SCHEDULE
*Top 25 Match-up
SEC Teams in Bold Blue
ACC Teams in Bold Red
Gildan New Mexico Bowl
Nevada(8-4) vs. Arizona (8-4)
Mountain West vs. PAC 12
Albuquerque, N.M. (University Stadium)
Dec. 15 – 1:00 p.m. EST (ESPN)
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Toledo (9-3) vs. No. 22 Utah State (10-2)
MAC vs. WAC
Boise, Idaho (Bronco Stadium)
Dec. 15 – 4:30 p.m. EST (ESPN)
S.D. County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
BYU (7-5) vs. San Diego State (9-3)
Independent vs. Mountain West
San Diego (Qualcomm Stadium)
Dec. 20 – 8:00 p.m. EST (ESPN)
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s St. Petersburg Bowl
Central Florida (9-4) vs. Ball State (9-3)
C-USA vs. MAC
St. Petersburg, Fla. (Tropicana Field)
Dec. 21 – 7:30 p.m. EST (ESPN)
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
East Carolina (8-4) vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (8-4)
C-USA vs. Sun Belt
New Orleans (Mercedes-Benz Superdome)
Dec. 22 – 12:00 p.m. EST (ESPN)
MAACO Las Vegas Bowl
Washington (7-5) vs. No. 19 Boise State (10-2)
PAC 12 vs. Mountain West
Las Vegas (Sam Boyd Stadium)
Dec. 22 – 3:30 p.m. EST (ESPN)
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Fresno State (9-3) vs. Southern Methodist (6-6)
Mountain West vs. C-USA
Honolulu (Aloha Stadium)
Dec. 24 – 8:00 p.m. EST (ESPN)
Little Caesars Bowl
Western Kentucky (7-5) vs. Central Michigan (6-6)
Sun Belt vs. MAC
Detroit (Ford Field)
Dec. 26 – 7:30 p.m. EST (ESPN)
Military Bowl Presented By Northrop Grumman
No. 24 San Jose State (10-2) vs. Bowling Green (8-4)
WAC vs. MAC
Washington, D.C. (RFK Stadium)
Dec. 27 – 3:00 p.m. EST (ESPN)
Belk Bowl
Cincinnati (9-3) vs. Duke (6-6)
Big East vs. ACC
Charlotte, N.C. (Bank of America Stadium)
Dec. 27 – 6:30 p.m. EST (ESPN)
Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl
No. 17 UCLA (9-4) vs. Baylor (7-5)
PAC 12 vs. Big XII
San Diego (Qualcomm Stadium)
Dec. 27 – 9:45 p.m. EST (ESPN)
AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl
Ohio (8-4) vs. Louisiana Monroe (8-4)
MAC vs. Sun Belt
Shreveport, La. (Independence Stadium)
Dec. 28 – 2:00 p.m. EST (ESPN)
Russell Athletic Bowl
Rutgers (9-3) vs. Virginia Tech (6-6)
Big East vs. ACC
Orlando, Fla. (Florida Citrus Bowl)
Dec. 28 – 5:30 p.m. EST (ESPN)
Meineke Car Care Bowl
Texas Tech (7-5) vs. Minnesota (6-6)
Big XII vs. Big 10
Houston (Reliant Stadium)
Dec. 28 – 9:00 p.m. EST (ESPN)
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl
Rice (6-6) vs. Air Force (6-6)
C-USA vs. Mountain West
Fort Worth, Texas (Amon Carter Stadium)
Dec. 29 – 11:45 a.m. EST (ESPN)
New Era Pinstripe Bowl
West Virginia (7-5) vs. Syracuse (7-5)
Big XII vs. Big East
Bronx, N.Y. (Yankee Stadium)
Dec. 29 – 3:15 p.m. EST (ESPN)
Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl
Navy (7-4) vs. Arizona State (7-5)
Independent vs. PAC 12
San Francisco (AT&T Park)
Dec. 29 – 4:00 p.m. EST (ESPN2)
*Valero Alamo Bowl
No. 23 Texas (8-4) vs. No. 13 Oregon State (9-3)
Big XII vs. PAC 12
San Antonio (Alamodome)
Dec. 29 – 6:45 p.m. EST (ESPN)
Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl
Texas Christian (7-5) vs. Michigan State (6-6)
Big XII vs. Big 10
Tempe, Arizona (Sun Devil Stadium)
Dec. 29 – 10:15 p.m. EST (ESPN)
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
Vanderbilt (8-4) vs. N.C. State (7-5)
SEC vs. ACC
Nashville, Tenn. (LP Field)
Dec. 31 – 12:00 p.m. EST (ESPN)
Hyundai Sun Bowl
Southern Cal (7-5) vs. Georgia Tech (6-7)
PAC 12 vs. ACC
El Paso, Texas (Sun Bowl)
Dec. 31 – 2:00 p.m. EST (CBS)
AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Tulsa (10-3) vs. Iowa State (6-6)
C-USA vs. Big XII
Memphis, Tenn. (Liberty Bowl)
Dec. 31 – 3:30 p.m. EST (ESPN)
*Chick-fil-A Bowl
No. 8 LSU (10-2) vs. No. 14 Clemson (10-2)
SEC vs. ACC
Atlanta (Georgia Dome)
Dec. 31 – 7:30 p.m. EST (ESPN)
Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl
Mississippi State (8-4) vs. No. 20 Northwestern (9-3)
SEC vs. Big 10
Jacksonville, Fla. (EverBank Field)
Jan. 1 – 12:00 p.m. EST (ESPN2)
Heart of Dallas Bowl
Oklahoma State (7-5) vs. Purdue (6-6)
Big XII vs. Big 10
Dallas, Texas (Cotton Bowl)
Jan. 1 – 12:00 p.m. EST (ESPNU)
*Outback Bowl
No. 10 South Carolina (10-2) vs. No. 18 Michigan (8-4)
SEC vs. Big 10
Tampa, Fla. (Raymond James Stadium)
Jan. 1 – 1:00 p.m. EST (ABC)
*Capital One Bowl
No. 7 Georgia (11-2) vs. No. 16 Nebraska (10-3)
SEC vs. Big 10
Orlando, Fla. (Florida Citrus Bowl)
Jan. 1 – 1:00 p.m. EST (ABC)
Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio
No. 6 Stanford (11-2) vs. Wisconsin (8-5)
PAC 12 vs. Big 10
Pasadena, Calif. (Rose Bowl)
Jan. 1 – 5:00 p.m. EST (ESPN)
*Discover Orange Bowl (BCS)
No. 15 Northern Illinois (12-1) vs. No. 12 Florida State (11-2)
MAC vs. ACC
Miami, Florida (Sun Life Stadium)
Jan 1 – 8:30 p.m. EST (ESPN)
*Allstate Sugar Bowl (BCS)
No. 3 Florida (11-1) vs. No. 21 Louisville (10-2)
SEC vs. Big East
New Orleans (Louisiana Superdome)
Jan. 2 – 8:30 p.m. EST (ESPN)
*Tostitos Fiesta (BCS)
No. 4 Oregon (11-1) vs. No. 5 Kansas State (11-1)
PAC 12 vs. Big XII
Glendale, Ariz. (U. of Phoenix Stadium)
Jan. 3 – 8:30 p.m. EST (ESPN)
*AT&T Cotton Bowl
No. 9 Texas A&M (10-2) vs. No. 11 Oklahoma (10-2)
SEC vs. Big XII
Arlington, Texas (Cowboys Stadium)
Jan. 4 – 8:00 p.m. EST (FOX)
BBVA Compass Bowl
Pittsburgh (6-6) vs. Ole Miss (6-6)
Big East vs. SEC
Birmingham, Ala. (Legion Field)
Jan. 5 – 1:00 p.m. EST (ESPN)
GoDaddy.com Bowl
No. 25 Kent State (11-2) vs. Arkansas State (9-3)
MAC vs. Sunbelt
Mobile, Ala. (Ladd-Peebles Stadium)
Jan. 8 – 9:00 p.m. EST (ESPN)
*Discover BCS National Championship Game (BCS)
No. 1 Notre Dame (12-0) vs. No. 2 Alabama (12-1)
Independent vs. SEC
New Orleans (Louisiana Superdome)
Jan. 7 – 8:30 p.m. EST (ESPN)
***
13 comments
Too many bowls
The result has been dilution out the ass.
Give me the old days of the “Big 4”: Orange,Cotton,Rose & Sugar bowls.
Big yawn as far as I’m concerned.
Don’t worry about me spending ond damn cent of my hard-earned money going to one.
Bowl games have been cheapened/overused – just like the words “patriot” & “hero”.
Every year this comes out just strengthens the case for a playoff system in the FBS just like they have in the FCS, DIV II and DIV III.
I’m not very knowledgeable concerning FCS,Div 2 & 3 but as far as I’m concerned, “March Madness” is much more exciting and worth keeping up with than most college football junk these days.
The days of the real student athlete are gone. College football is nothing more than an NFL farm system. Sadly, so are most college sports as a farm system. Ever wonder what it would be like to have athletes meet the same entrance and progress requirements as other students.
Lets face it, no D1 school, conference or the NCAA has the guts to do it. Conference realignments will implode one day.
You can watch all the “student athletes” you want. Just watch Ivy League games. The rest of us can watch games played at a higher athletic level.
I sincerely doubt most football fans are lamenting the declining SAT scores and GPAs of the average “student athlete,” but good luck trying to change things to suite your preferences.
VoR, do you enjoy an occasional college football game, or are your panties in so much of a twist that you just CAN’T endure it because of your OUTRAGE?
You seem a bit bitchy and tightly wound and not someone with whom I’d enjoy sharing a beer.
umm , excuse me ? you need to read up on the few schools that still do it with academic integrity. theres still several like Stanford,Northwestern and Notre Dame. these and some others graduate their student athletes in the upper 90 percentile. for the first time in history,a school is #1 in football AND #1 in graduation success rates. that would be ND this year. ND has been ridiculed the last 20 years for being irrelevent for not being in a bcs bowl every year. the coach gives the administration a list of recruits he wants to pursue and he gets back 50% of that list. the 50% that DO meet admission requirements. the recruits see academic counselors before they ever see the field. they are told what will be expected of them. they are told its hard and ND isn’t for everybody. ND has not lowered academic requirements for athletes and they have been ridiculed for that also. the media has said ND will never be back on top unless they lower requirements for athletes. they said it couldn’t be done. well , ND has been trying for 24 years now without the success of being on top. they refused to lower admissions for the sake of getting faster and more talented athletes to win more games. ND has fans world-wide for such a small school in a small northern indiana town. student enrollment is around 10,000, yet they have millions of fans world wide and have more successful alumni that are towards the top of donating alumni in the country. a few schools are different and NOT like the sec. Miami(fla) has done a tremeandous job of bringing their graduate rates up compared to years before. they said it couldn’t be done..and it never has..until now. Notre Dame is doing it. If ND beats alabama , it will have accomplished much more than winning a football championship. win or lose , they are already a step above the rest as far as what they accomplished already this year. thats something to be proud of. i don’t think they will be denied this year!
You’re missing the big picture. Who cares about the student athletes? How ’bout them co-eds?
Sure, the SEC Championship was a good football game. But did you get a gander at all that makeup filling the Georgia Dome?
I’d like to hit that Cheerleader in the photo.
Pretty nice stuff. Insect would give her a 95 A. However, i would like to see Mariah Carey replaced with some hot nudes . . .
Doncha just know that Dabo, the team, and allllll the tater fans’ hineys puckered up when they found out they’d be playing LSU?
Lawd, that’s gonna hurt, huh?
Most of Dec. is WASTED…
Could be like March Madness…Let the top 16 teams play a tournament…
You might want to make sure the title of your list matches the year correctly…2011-2012 is not the same as 2012-2013.