any Division I football team is eligible to play in a bowl game if it has won at least 6 games in its regular season and has a winning record. sounds easy, but then again, Northwestern barely made it this year. i'm biased because Oklahoma has gone to a bowl every season since i started being an OU fan, so bowls aren't a big deal to us fans whose teams are consistently good. however, making it to a bowl is apparently a big thing for other teams. like Northwestern.
a lot of people think the bowl system is unfair, since the bowl schedule and system (which team gets to play which team, which bowl they play, etc.) is mostly decided by rankings. that is to say, there is a formula to which team gets to play which bowl. for example, the Outback Bowl is played between the team ranked third in the Big Ten and the team ranked third or fourth in the SEC.
people think instead of a BCS system, college football should implement a playoff system, like they do in the NFL. but then you have the issue of having a season that is ultimately way too long (that's like, four extra games if you make it to the championship) and you're dealing with students who are tryna get their degree, not professional athletes.
i personally like the bowl system. mostly because i think some of the names are funny. example: the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, ah yes, that is a coveted one. also the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl, such a classic.
but anyways, here we go:
the 2011-2012 season bowl schedule
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| via ESPN.com and my shoddy Photoshop skills |
now, this looks like a whole lotta NOTHIN' so let us break it down.
the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) is made up of five bowls: the BCS Championship, the Rose Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl, the Orange Bowl and the Sugar Bowl. these are the five best games a team can play at the end of the season. let's talk about those first. and then let's only talk about the bowls that matter.
Rose Bowl: Pasadena, California, Jan. 2
Big Ten team vs. Pac-12 team
#10 Wisconsin vs. #5 Oregon — it's gonna be a really high-scoring game. Oregon ranks third in offense and Wisconsin ranks fourth, so this game should have lots of action. Heisman finalist Montee Ball, Wisconsin's best running back, is gonna tear this shit up. which is good, because he's planning on declaring for the NFL draft this year, but only if he'll get drafted in the first or second rounds.
pick: Wisconsin. i hate Oregon so much.
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: Phoenix, Arizona, Jan. 2
Big 12 team vs. anyone
#3 Oklahoma State vs. #4 Stanford — ESPN calls it a game between "two evenly matched teams." but i think OSU QB Brandon Weeden and his wide receiver Justin Blackmon can do more damage than Stanford's Andrew Luck. Stanford hasn't played the kind of teams OSU has in its regular seasons; OSU beat teams like Texas, Mizzou, Baylor, and it whomped the shit out of OU. Stanford barely played anyone worth mentioning, beating Notre Dame and Washington, but losing to Oregon. it'll be a good game, though.
pick: Oklahoma State. Big 12 yeeeee. ALSO FUCK YOU STANFORD I'M GLAD I'M AT NORTHWESTERN ANYWAYS
Allstate Sugar Bowl: New Orleans, Louisiana, Jan. 3
SEC team vs. anyone
#13 Michigan vs. #11 Virginia Tech — God, it pains me to think that Michigan had a better record than Oklahoma this season. this is basically the losers' BCS bowl this year, since Virginia Tech lost to Clemson in a blowout and Michigan lost to Michigan State and Iowa, so both teams are their conferences' "surprise" title holders. boring boring boring boring
pick: who caresss okay i'll give it to Virginia Tech
Discover Orange Bowl: Miami, Florida, Jan. 4
ACC team vs. Big East team (for this year only - the Big East rotates into which bowl it goes to. it's like the orphan child no one wanted.)
#23 West Virginia vs. #15 Clemson — DEAR GOD THIS IS GROSS. who's going to even watch this??? what kind of BCS bowl is this? West Virginia? ugh grosssssss. ok ok. here's this: it's Clemson's first Orange Bowl since 1981, interesting. this year, West Virginia lost to LSU (forgivable), Syracuse (WHAT) and Louisville (WHAT WHAT WHAT I DID NOT EVEN KNOW THEY HAD A FOOTBALL TEAM). okay srsly what is this... WORST ORANGE BOWL EVER FUCK THIS
pick: DEFINITELY CLEMSON IS THIS A JOKE
BCS National Championship: New Orleans, Louisiana, Jan. 9
BCS #1 team vs. BCS #2 team
#1 LSU vs. #2 Alabama — ugh, this again? yes, this again. when they played each other earlier in their regular season, LSU beat 'Bama 9-6 in overtime. soooo boring. people are pissed, not only because these guys already played each other, but they're in the same conference! no fair. also, LSU FANS ARE ONLY MILES AWAY FROM THIS BOWL GAME. I WONDER WHO THE MAJORITY OF THE ATTENDEES WILL BE CHEERING FOR? nothing about this game is fair. but i already said i liked the bowl system, can't take that back now. LSU is undefeated, and Alabama has lost only to LSU and has looked solid against every other opponent. yay boring championship game.
pick: LSU, derrrrr
more bowl previews and predictions to come!
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