Bowl Picks, Part 4 (and Bowl Ratings)

As promised, the last round of non-BCS bowl picks, along with corresponding bowl ratings.

These bowls are the appetizers for the more prestigious BCS bowls. These bowls feature conference runners-up as well as teams with recognizable names. New Year’s Day is not what it once was, but it’s still a good day to hang out in front of the tube and watch TV.

Outback Bowl at Tampa: Penn State vs. Tennessee. Penn State had a decent year, but more importantly, has a lot of fans and a coach that coached when Jesus turned water into wine. Tennessee was having a good year, before losing late games to Arkansas and LSU. Tennessee, on paper, should win big. Pick: Phat Phil’s Big Orange
This is a relatively young bowl, having begun in the 80’s. It pays well, is in a great location, and is played in the Pirate Ship, the Bucs’ state-of-the-art NFL stadium. They have the 3rd pick from both the Big Ten and the SEC, giving them quality teams and large traveling fan bases. This is not the best bowl out there, but is far from the worst. Rating: 3.4
AT&T Cotton Bowl at Dallas: Nebraska vs. Auburn. Nebraska comes into this game as champions of the Big XII North. This is better than winning District 8-5A, but is not anywhere close to winning something like the NFC East, or even the Big XII proper. Still, Nebraska will show up. Auburn was picked by many to win the national championship, but got their fannies kicked in a couple of home games by Arkansas and Georgia. If War Eagle shows up to play, they win. There's not a whole lot of excitement for this one, as $95 tickets are selling for as little as $12. Pick: Auburn
This game is a shell, or even a caricature, of its former self. This bowl has a great history, and is one of the original New Year’s Day bowl games. It is now the laughing stock of the Big XII. The breakup of the Southwest Conference accelerated its decline, but the bowl made a devastating choice by staying in the decaying Cotton Bowl stadium in Fair Park. The bowl had a chance to join the original Bowl Coalition, but would have had to move to Texas Stadium. The poohbahs in Dallas nixed that idea. Now, it is a second-banana bowl. It still pays well, and gets the second choice from the Big XII, against an SEC team. It also suffers from an outrageously early starting time, at 10:30 AM local time (formerly 10 AM), mandated by the SEC’s contract with the Capital One Bowl. The SEC has a no-compete clause in their contract with the Capital One Bowl, keeping any other conference team from playing opposite that bowl. The Cotton Bowl is forced to play at breakfast to have a better chance at a decent matchup. Between the stadium, the neighborhood, the unpredictable weather, and the starting time, this bowl has become a joke among fans in the Big XII. Still, the bowl pays well, and has oodles of tradition. They need to get on the phone with Jerry and get into the new Cowboys stadium when it opens. Rating: 3.6
Gator Bowl at Jacksonville: West Virginia vs. Georgia Tech. West Virginia was a contender for the BCS for most of the season, but suffered an inexplicable loss to South Florida late in the season. Georgia Tech won their division in the ACC, but lost an ugly ACC championship game. Now, senior QB Reggie Ball is academically ineligible for the bowl game. West Virginia is celebrating the retention of coach Rich Rodriguez, who is one of the 6,000 coaches to turn down the Alabama job. Pick: West Virginia
This bowl has been around for a long time, and has had many great games. It is played in a quality NFL stadium, and gets a good matchup between the ACC and the Big East. They will get to choose a Big XII team two of the next three years, as well. The bowl is on CBS this year, after a long run on NBC. There are worse places than Jacksonville. Overall, this is a pretty good bowl. Rating: 3.8
Capital One Bowl at Orlando: Arkansas vs. Wisconsin. Great matchup between two high-powered teams. Wisconsin would be in the BCS, but Ohio State and Michigan are there, and BCS rules only allow two teams from the same conference. Wisconsin’s only loss is to Michigan. Arkansas won 10 games in a row, before losing to LSU and Florida at the end of the year. Darren McFadden is the real deal at running back. Wisconsin won this bowl last year, and they win it again. Pick: Wiscy
This bowl has been known as the Tangerine and Florida Citrus Bowls, before losing their sponsorship from the Florida citrus growers. Now, it bears the name of a credit card company/bank. That’s just about the only drawback to this bowl. The stadium is starting to fall apart, but Orlando is a great place to visit. They get the second pick from the Big Ten and the SEC, so they are guaranteed two good teams and two large traveling fan bases. Rating: 4