With the bowl season among us, college football fans circle games that are “must sees” and secretly try to schedule our holiday trips and appearances around the contests that interest us most. Picking winners is good fun, and I’m sure many of us will be competing in bowl pick ‘em contests on various websites. Check out our forums to get involved with The Sports Jury’s bowl pick ‘em contest.
At the beginning of the year, The Sports Jury published the preseason top 25 sing-a-long, and I thought the bowl season was a wonderful opportunity to build on that idea. Just as the games range from good to bad, from compelling to uninteresting, the songs chosen range from rock to rap to R&B. For every style of play, there is a style of music to match.
New Mexico Bowl
December 18- Albuquerque, New Mexico — BYU vs. UTEP
Song: *Independence Day *by Martina McBride
Comment: BYU will start their football program as an independent team, free from conference affiliation after they play (and most likely beat) UTEP.
Humanitarian Bowl
December 18- Boise, Idaho — Fresno State versus Northern Illinois
Song: *Cold as Ice *by Foreigner
Comment: Welcome to Boise, Idaho for your bowl game. Enjoy the weather.
New Orleans Bowl
December 18- New Orleans, Louisiana — Troy vs. Ohio
Song: (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones
Comment: And you won’t get any satisfaction by watching this bowl game either. Spend time with the family, and catch the “highlights” on Sportscenter. Or just be satisfied with catching the score on the scroll bar while watching ESPN later that night.
Beef ‘O’Brady’s Bowl
December 21- St. Petersburg, Florida — Louisville vs. Southern Miss
Song: Feeling Stronger Everyday by Chicago
Comment: It was a real shame that Charlie Strong was not given a real shot at the Florida position. Florida’s loss is Louisville’s gain. They have themselves a good one, and I expect Strong and the Cardinals to get a bowl win in Florida to build momentum for next year.
Las Vegas Bowl
December 22- Las Vegas, Nevada — Utah vs. Boise State
Song: Wannabe by the Spice Girls
Comment: Both schools did nothing but prove they were BCS wannabes this year despite being ranked in the top 5. Utah got hammered twice, and Boise lost to Nevada. So tell me what you want, what you really, really want? I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want. I want Boise to schedule some tougher opponents. That’s what I want.
Poinsettia Bowl
December 23- San Diego, California — San Diego State vs. Navy
Song: *In the Navy *by The Village People
Comment: Navy has played a pretty impressive schedule and still came away with nine wins. It’s basically a home game for the Aztecs, but look for the Naval Academy to pull an upset here.
Hawaii Bowl
December 24- Honolulu, Hawaii — Tulsa vs. Hawaii
Song: Shotgun by Jr. Walker and the All-Stars
Comment: Both teams will be in the shotgun for most of the game and sling the ball around the Island…a lot.
Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl
December 26- Detroit, Michigan — Toledo vs. FIU
Song: Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel
Comment: That silence is people not talking about this bowl game. I bet Pizza Hut could have paid for a better matchup.
Independence Bowl
December 27- Shreveport, Louisiana — Air Force vs. Georgia Tech
Song: Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen
Comment: Both teams love their option attack. There could be upwards of 500 yards rushing combined at the end of this one.
Champs Sports Bowl
December 28- Orlando, Florida — West Virginia vs. North Carolina State
Song: Breakdown by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Comment: Expect a ton of breakdowns on defense by both squads, especially NC State.
Insight Bowl
December 28- Tempe, Arizona — Iowa vs. Missouri
Song: Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac
Comment: Remember when Missouri thought they were going to join the Big Ten and then the conference embarrassed Missouri by telling them to go their own way? I have a feeling Mizzou sends Iowa on their way in an unhappy fashion.
Military Bowl
December 29- Washington D.C. — East Carolina vs. Maryland
Song: Give Me One Reason by Tracy Chapman
Comment: Just one reason why this game should interest me…just one.
Texas Bowl
December 29- Houston, Texas — Illinois vs. Baylor
Song: Hard Knock Life by Jay-Z
Comment: It’s been a hard knock life for both Illinois and Baylor in football recently. Now they both get into a bowl game and a chance to get some treats instead of tricks.
Alamo Bowl
December 29- San Antonio, Texas — Oklahoma State vs. Arizona
Song: Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper
Comment: Oklahoma State will probably find the end zone time after time after time.
Armed Forces Bowl
December 30- Dallas, Texas — SMU vs. Army
Song: Mustang Sally by Wilson Pickett
Comment: Ride, Sally ride. Hard to imagine the SMU Mustangs not winning this football game.
Pinstripe Bowl
December 30- Bronx, New York — Syracuse vs. Kansas State
Song: Hard Day’s Night by the Beatles
Comment: Could be a hard day’s night for Syracuse. When Kansas State plays at their best, they are a very tough football team to beat.
Music City Bowl
December 30- Nashville, Tennessee — Tennessee vs. North Carolina
Song: It’s Alright by The Impressions
Comment: And this matchup is just alright, not much better. Tennessee is coming in hot, winning their last three, and North Carolina is just 7-5.
Holiday Bowl
December 30- San Diego, California — Nebraska vs. Washington
Song: That’ll be the Day by Buddy Holly and the Crickets
Comment: Washington beat Nebraska? Yeah, that’ll be the day…Nebraska already thumped Washington 56-21 this year. There is not a lot of evidence to suggest that Washington can bridge that 35 point gap.
Car Care Bowl
December 31- Charlotte, North Carolina — South Florida vs. Clemson
Song: It Matters to Me by Faith Hill
Comment: That is the feeling of the 7-5 Bulls and the 6-6 Tigers. It really doesn’t matter much to anyone else.
Sun Bowl
December 31- El Paso, Texas — Miami (Fl) vs. Notre Dame
Song: Remember When by Alan Jackson
Comment: As in, remember when this bowl game matchup would have meant something?
Liberty Bowl
December 31- Memphis, Tennessee — Georgia vs. Central Florida
Song: Take the Money and Run by Steve Miller Band
Comment: A.J. Green will declare for the draft before he sells his bowl game jersey this year.
Chick-fil-A Bowl
December 31- Atlanta, Georgia — Florida State vs. South Carolina
Song: *Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag *by James Brown
Comment: Spurrier had a lot of battles against Florida State when he was coaching their state rival in Gainesville. Now, he gets a shot at “Free Shoes University” with a new team.
TicketCity Bowl
January 1- Dallas, Texas — Northwestern vs. Texas Tech
Song: The Gambler by Kenny Rogers
Comment: The Riverboat Gambler, Tommy Tuberville, should have the Red Raiders picking up a bowl win in year one of his tenure there.
Outback Bowl
January 1- Tampa, Florida — Florida vs. Penn State
Song: What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye
Comment: Urban Meyer is 56 years old and retiring. Joe Pa has been the head coach of Penn State since Urban Meyer was two years old and announced he’s returning again next year. What’s going on?
Capital One Bowl
January 1- Orlando, Florida — Michigan State vs. Alabama
Song: Gimme Three Steps by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Comment: Michigan State is going to need a bigger head start than three steps to keep up with Bama in the Capital One Bowl.
Gator Bowl
January 1- Jacksonville, Florida — Michigan vs. Mississippi State
Song: Straight Up by Paula Abdul
Comment: “Straight up, now tell me, is it gonna be you and me together? Oh, oh, oh. Or are you just havin’ fun?” Rich Rod is asking Michigan this question. Mississippi State is asking Dan Mullen.
Rose Bowl
January 1- Pasadena, California — Wisconsin vs. TCU
Song: Purple Haze by the Jimi Hendrix Experience
Comment: A purple haze may be all that’s left once the Wisconsin offense gets through pounding the football into that vaunted TCU defense for an afternoon.
Fiesta Bowl
January 1- Glendale, Arizona — Oklahoma vs. UConn
Song: *Won’t Get Fooled Again *by The Who
Comment: Oklahoma fell flat against Boise State in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. They won’t let that tom-foolery catch them again by a team that is not in their league athletically.
Orange Bowl
January 3- Miami, Florida — Stanford vs. Virginia Tech
Song: Don’t Mess Around With Jim by Jim Croce
Comment: Jim Harbaugh’s Stanford Cardinal team is the favorite to win the Orange Bowl. After that, his tumultuous relationship with the academics at Stanford will likely end with Jim moving on to either Michigan or the NFL. Don’t mess around with Jim Harbaugh. He’s a bad man.
Sugar Bowl
January 4- New Orleans, Louisiana — Arkansas vs. Ohio State
Song: Respect by Aretha Franklin
Comment: Arkansas wants to prove they belong with the elite. Ohio State wants to prove they could win a game in the SEC.
GoDaddy.com Bowl
January 6- Mobile, Alabama — Middle Tennessee vs. Miami (OH)
Song: It Makes No Difference by The Band
Comment: I mean, does it? Who wins?
Cotton Bowl
January 7- Arlington, Texas — LSU vs. Texas A&M
Song: My Way by Frank Sinatra
Comment: Les Miles and the Tigers put together one of the strangest 10 win seasons in the history of the SEC. Despite the critics, he did it his way. I expect him to take care of business his way in the Cotton Bowl as well.
Compass Bowl
January 8- Birmingham, Alabama — Pittsburgh vs. Kentucky
Song: Running on Empty by Jackson Browne
Comment: Both teams are limping into the bowl game. Kentucky lost three of their last four SEC games, while Pitt has been disappointing all year. Someone will run on fumes long enough to win this one.
Fight Hunger Bowl
January 9- San Francisco, California — Nevada vs. Boston College
Song: Wouldn’t It Be Nice by the Beach Boys
Comment: Wouldn’t it be nice if this bowl game wasn’t the precursor to the national championship game? This game should be held before the new year.
BCS Championship Game
January 10- Glendale, Arizona — Auburn vs. Oregon
Song: Life in the Fast Lane by the Eagles
Comment: There could be 150 plays run in this game. The tempo will be fast, furious, and fun.
