Top Five Must See Bowl Games
With 35 bowl games on the NCAA football schedule between December 21 and January 6, football fanatics and bettors will enjoy a pigskin feast. Here are the top 5 bowls not to miss on the upcoming bowl schedule.
1.     Florida State Seminoles vs. Auburn Tigers – January 6 BCS National Championship
This will be the last BCS National Championship and features the powerful and fast defense of FSU against the strong, high-octane offense for Auburn. The Tigers attempt to extend the Southeastern Conference’s consecutive national championship streak to eight, while FSU is seeking its first national championship in 15 years. Redshirt freshmen quarterback Jameis Winston the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy leads the Seminoles offensive attack.
2.    Ohio State vs. Clemson – January 3 Orange Bowl
Ohio State is playing in this bowl after their loss to Michigan State in the Big 10 Championship. Clemson reached this bowl after Auburn jumped up to the BCS championship thanks to the Buckeyes’ loss. The Tigers even lost their last game of the season to South Carolina and still reached a BCS Bowl. This will be a matchup of two great quarterbacks – Tajh Boyd for Clemson and Braxton Miller for Ohio State.
- 3.    Michigan State vs. Stanford – January 1 Rose Bowl
This game could finish 6-3 as both teams have strong defenses and rushing attacks that eat time of the game clock. Michigan State leads the nation in overall defense giving up just 248 yards a game and is fourth in scoring defense at 12.8 points a game allowed. Stanford is No. 14 in overall defense and will attempt to win consecutive Rose Bowls for the first time in 43 seasons.
4.    Alabama vs. Oklahoma – January 2 Sugar Bowl
Alabama came up short in its bid for a third straight national championship when it lost to Auburn in a heartbreaker 34-28. The Tide gave up a 100-yard return on a missed field goal to lose the game as time ran out. The one question mark going into this matchup is will the Alabama players be motivated to win this game. It brings back memories of their let down in New Orleans for the 2009 Sugar Bowl when Utah defeated the Tide 31-17. The Sooners head coach Bob Stoops has called the SEC overrated and will get his chance to see firsthand.
5.    Missouri vs. Oklahoma State – January 3 Cotton Bowl
The two are former rivals in the Big 12 until Missouri moved to the SEC. The two also lost huge games that knocked each out of a BCS Bowl. Missouri may have been in the BCS Championship game if they had beaten Auburn for the SEC championship. Oklahoma State lost to Oklahoma last week in the Big 12 championship game to fall into this matchup. Oklahoma State defeated Missouri in three straight head-to-head matchups before Missouri left the Big 12 for the SEC in 2012.
The bowl season begins in just 10 days and will make the holiday season a great time to watch NCAA football.
