EagleBank Bowl Wake Forest29 vs. Navy19 When: Dec 20, 2008 Where: Washington, DC Time: 11:00 AM EST TV: ESPN
It isn't often a college football team gets an opportunity to avenge a loss in the same season, but Wake Forest has been provided the chance to exact revenge with its date with Navy in the inaugural EagleBank Bowl in Washington, D.C…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
New Mexico Bowl Colorado State40 vs. Fresno State35 When: Dec 20, 2008 Where: Albuquerque, NM Time: 2:30 PM EST TV: ESPN
A majority of college football fans seem to think that a 6-6 record is not worthy of a bowl berth. Just try tempering the excitement of the Colorado State football team. The Rams earned their first bowl bid in four years, accepting an invitation…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
St. Petersburg Bowl Memphis14 vs. South Florida41 When: Dec 20, 2008 Where: St. Petersburg, FL Time: 4:30 PM EST TV: ESPN2
Memphis faces former Conference USA rival South Florida in the inaugural magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl on Dec. 20 at Tropicana Field, located a short distance from the Bulls' campus. The Tigers (6-6) are playing in the postseason for…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
Las Vegas Bowl (16) BYU21 vs. Arizona31 When: Dec 20, 2008 Where: Las Vegas, NV Time: 8:00 PM EST TV: ESPN
It's hard to say what BYU thinks about trip No. 4 to the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl. Yes, the Cougars should have a lot of fans in tow -- just like the last three consecutive years. But after finishing 10-2 for a third consecutive regular season…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
New Orleans Bowl Troy27 vs. Southern Miss30 When: Dec 21, 2008 Where: New Orleans, LA Time: 8:15 PM EST TV: ESPN
The Trojans (8-4, 6-1) opened the season with a dominant 31-17 victory at Sun Belt foe Middle Tennessee. They secured their first outright conference championship by whipping Arkansas State 35-9 in the season finale…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
Poinsettia Bowl (11) TCU17 vs. (9) Boise State16 When: Dec 23, 2008 Where: San Diego, CA Time: 8:00 PM EST TV: ESPN
Without a BCS bowl game to go to, TCU's getting the next best option: face undefeated Boise State in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl on December 23 at Qualcomm Stadium. Sure, it's not the most intriguing bowl on the list, but it's definitely the most intriguing matchup among the non-BCS bowl games…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
Hawaii Bowl Hawaii21 vs. Notre Dame49 When: Dec 24, 2008 Where: Honolulu, HI Time: 8:00 PM EST TV: ESPN
The Warriors got quite the reward for fighting their way out of a 1-3 hole to start this season -- a date with Notre Dame at Aloha Stadium in the Hawaii Bowl. And since the Fighting Irish are 6-6, the Warriors have a good shot to post one of the highest-profile wins in school history. Hawaii had to scrap just to get into the postseason, where neither team has…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
Motor City Bowl Central Michigan21 vs. Florida Atlantic24 When: Dec 26, 2008 Where: Detroit, MI Time: 7:30 PM EST TV: ESPN
Central Michigan coach Butch Jones is on the fast track to success. However, the second-year CMU coach found himself in awe recently at the press conference for the Motor City Bowl. Flanked by former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, who is serving on the advisory board for the Motor City Bowl, and Florida Atlantic coach…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
Meineke Car Care Bowl West Virginia31 vs. North Carolina30 When: Dec 27, 2008 Where: Charlotte, NC Time: 1:00 PM EST TV: ESPN
West Virginia's bowl date with North Carolina in the Meineke Car Care Bowl holds more meaning than one might imagine. The Mountaineers came into the season ranked No. 8 in the preseason polls and thinking of a national championship. By the time the final whistle blew on the regular season they…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
Champs Sports Bowl Florida State42 vs. Wisconsin13 When: Dec 27, 2008 Where: Orlando, FL Time: 4:30 PM EST TV: ESPN
For a team coming off a miserable game in its regular-season finale, the Seminoles (8-4) and their fans seem energized about a bowl game two days after Christmas. People are buying tickets at a rapid pace for the Dec. 27 matchup against Wisconsin in the Champs Sports Bowl at Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
Emerald Bowl California24 vs. Miami17 When: Dec 27, 2008 Where: San Francisco, CA Time: 8:00 PM EST TV: ESPN
If the Pac-10 coaches had waited to vote on the league's all-conference team, there might have been a different winner for Offensive Player of the Year. Cal sophomore Jahvid Best finished with a school-record 311 rushing yards in a 48-7 victory over Washington on Dec. 6. By then -- when several…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
Independence Bowl Louisiana Tech17 vs. Northern Illinois10 When: Dec 28, 2008 Where: Shreveport, LA Time: 8:15 PM EST TV: ESPN
Louisiana Tech, in its first bowl game since 2001, is looking to take the next step in the growth of the program and is playing against one of those gritty MAC teams. Two good things have happened to Louisiana Tech since the last time the Bulldogs played a football game…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
Papajohns.com Bowl Rutgers29 vs. North Carolina State23 When: Dec 29, 2008 Where: Birmingham,AL Time: 3:00 PM EST TV: ESPN
It's been a very strange year for Rutgers. A season that was expected to see the team contend for the Big East title began with big news stories in New Jersey about who would pay for the expansion of the Scarlet Knights' stadium. Now that the team is 7-5 and preparing for North Carolina State in…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
Alamo Bowl (23) Northwestern23 vs. (21) Missouri30 When: Dec 29, 2008 Where: San Antonio, TX Time: 8:00 PM EST TV: ESPN
At Northwestern, where there's great pride in the 90%-plus graduation rate of its football players, not even an ominous Alamo Bowl task can take away from final exams. The Wildcats spent the second week of December taking tests and writing papers instead of focusing on Missouri, though they did meet on their own…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
Humanitarian Bowl Nevada35 vs. Maryland42 When: Dec 30, 2008 Where: Boise, ID Time: 4:30 PM EST TV: ESPN
Nevada will play in its school-record fourth consecutive bowl game when it meets Maryland in the Roady's Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho. The Wolf Pack finished the season 7-5 with a road victory against Louisiana Tech to secure bowl eligibility, in what coach Chris Ault called a turning point for his program...Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
Holiday Bowl (17) Oregon42 vs. (13) Oklahoma State31 When: Dec 30, 2008 Where: San Diego, CA Time: 8:00 PM EST TV: ESPN
You might want to get your calculator ready for the Holiday Bowl matchup with Oklahoma State in San Diego. These are two of the top offensive teams in the country, a pair of teams that love to put all kinds of points up on the board. Consider the following: Oregon has won nine games this season, scoring…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
Texas Bowl Western Michigan14 vs. Rice38 When: Dec 30, 2008 Where: Houston, TX Time: 8:00 PM EST TV: NFL Network
Although it's not as exciting a match-up for Owls fans as Notre Dame, which was widely reported to be Texas Bowl-bound, the Broncos of the MAC should provide plenty of fireworks. Rice and Western Michigan averaged a combined 71 points and 895 yards of total offense per game this season…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
Armed Forces Bowl Houston34 vs. Air Force28 When: Dec 31, 2008 Where: Fort Worth, TX Time: 12:00 PM EST TV: ESPN
The names on the uniforms might be the same, but there is plenty of new information to digest before Houston and Air Force meet for the second time this season. "We're a very different team from what we were earlier in the year," Cougars coach Kevin Sumlin told the Houston Chronicle, "and I assume they are…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
Sun Bowl Oregon State3 vs. (20) Pittsburgh0 When: Dec 31, 2008 Where: El Paso, TX Time: 2:00 PM EST TV: CBS
The matchup with Pittsburgh in the Sun Bowl sends OSU coach Mike Riley up against a longtime friend, if also a competitor, from the NFL. That would be Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt, in his fourth season with the Panthers. Riley first met Wannstedt when the Pitt coach was the defensive coordinator of the Dallas…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
Music City Bowl Vanderbilt16 vs. (24) Boston College14 When: Dec 31, 2008 Where: Nashville, TN Time: 3:30 PM EST TV: ESPN
As the Commodores began Music City Bowl preparations, they discovered their feeble offense will be getting reinforcements. The team's top rusher, Jared Hawkins, will return from a foot injury that kept him out of the regular-season finale at Wake Forest. Hawkins' presence will help against a Boston College run defense…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
Insight Bowl Minnesota21 vs. Kansas42 When: Dec 31, 2008 Where: Tempe, AZ Time: 5:30 PM EST TV: NFL Network
Minnesota coach Tim Brewster insists he is not abandoning his spread. Instead, the Gophers are spreading around what else they can do offensively. The Gophers are using the practices leading up to the Dec. 31 Insight Bowl for a crash course in how to run the football again. New offensive line coach Tim Davis was…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
Chick-Fil-A Bowl LSU38 vs. (14) Georgia Tech3 When: Dec 31, 2008 Where: Atlanta, GA Time: 7:30 PM EST TV: ESPN
LSU coach Les Miles is looking at changes for the 2009 season, but they are going to have to wait until after the Tigers' Chick-fil-A Bowl date with Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Dec. 31. "I'm not going to address other issues at this point," Miles said at a news conference a couple of days after the loss to Arkansas…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
Outback Bowl Iowa31 vs. South Carolina10 When: Jan 1, 2009 Where: Tampa Bay, FL Time: 11:00 AM EST TV: ESPN
Shonn Greene spent last season moving furniture and paying his own way through community college, his penance for letting his grades slip and losing his scholarship at Iowa. Now he is the reigning Doak Walker Award winner, officially recognized as the nation's top tailback, even though he wasn't…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
Capital One Bowl (18) Michigan State12 vs. (15) Georgia24 When: Jan 1, 2009 Where: Orlando, FL Time: 1:00 PM EST TV: ABC
Javon Ringer has rushed for 1,590 yards this season and was named a Doak Walker finalist, but his 42-yard day in the finale against Penn State has left him sour. Michigan State was playing for a share of the Big Ten championship, but was flattened by the Nittany Lions, 49-18…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
Gator Bowl Clemson21 vs. Nebraska26 When: Jan 1, 2009 Where: Jacksonville, FL Time: 1:00 PM EST TV: CBS
It's not the bowl that Clemson envisioned and hoped for when the season began, yet the Tigers have to be happy with their trip to Jacksonville for the Gator Bowl. When you are sitting one loss away from postseason elimination, as the Tigers (7-5, 4-4 ACC) were for the final three weeks of the regular season, you tend to…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
Rose Bowl (8) Penn State24 vs. (5) USC38 When: Jan 1, 2009 Where: Pasadena, CA Time: 4:30 PM EST TV: ABC
College football's most decorated coach leads his team back to Pasadena for the first time in 14 years to meet college football's most successful program of the last decade. Penn State, the most balanced team in the Big Ten…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
Orange Bowl (19) Virginia Tech20 vs. (12) Cincinnati7 When: Jan 1, 2009 Where: Miami, FL Time: 8:30 PM EST TV: FOX
Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer tweaked the Hokies' normal bowl-game practice routine this season in hopes of having his players sharper for their Orange Bowl clash with No. 12 Cincinnati on Jan. 1. Normally Beamer gives his players a week off before the start of bowl preparation, but this year he had them…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
Cotton Bowl Classic (25) Mississippi47 vs. (7) Texas Tech34 When: Jan 2, 2009 Where: Dallas, TX Time: 2:00 PM EST TV: FOX
While Texas Tech was hoping for a lot more than the Cotton Bowl, Ole Miss couldn't be more thrilled. Coach Houston Nutt called the focus at practice "outstanding." It's not like he has to come up with any motivational speech. None of the Rebels has ever played in a bowl game…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
Liberty Bowl Kentucky25 vs. East Carolina19 When: Jan 2, 2009 Where: Memphis, TN Time: 5:00 PM EST TV: ESPN
Kentucky, a middle-of-the-pack SEC team, is a small underdog to Conference USA champion East Carolina in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. That's not surprising, considering the Wildcats likely will be without starting quarterback Randall Cobb. Cobb had knee surgery in early December and was still on crutches when the Wildcats opened bowl practice…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
Sugar Bowl (6) Utah31 vs. (4) Alabama17 When: Jan 2, 2009 Where: New Orleans, LA Time: 8:00 PM EST TV: FOX
The task for the Utes as they prepare for Southeastern Conference stalwart Alabama in the Sugar Bowl is to show respect but not apprehension about playing in a Bowl Championship Series game. Utah (12-0) earned its second BCS bid in five years with its run to the Mountain West Conference championship…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
International Bowl Buffalo20 vs. Connecticut38 When: Jan 3, 2009 Where: Toronto, Canada Time: 12:00 PM EST TV: ESPN2
Both Connecticut and Buffalo are in the building-a-tradition phase of their program history, so this a case where both teams are jaded enough to not appreciate the opportunity to play in any bowl game at all. UConn is in a bowl game for the third time…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
Fiesta Bowl (10) Ohio State21 vs. (3) Texas24 When: Jan 5, 2009 Where: Glendale, AZ Time: 8:00 PM EST TV: FOX
It didn't take long for the desert to turn from Ohio State's paradise to a prison. The Buckeyes did four hours of hard time two years ago, during a 41-14 loss to Florida in the national championship game at University of Phoenix Stadium. Now they return for the first time since the collapse, when they entered the game as heavy favorites…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
GMAC Bowl Tulsa45 vs. (22) Ball State13 When: Jan 6, 2009 Where: Mobile, AL Time: 8:00 PM EST TV: ESPN
Going to the same bowl game for a second consecutive season hasn't dampened any of the enthusiasm for Tulsa's players, according to coach Todd Graham. The Golden Hurricane (10-2) face Ball State (12-1) in the GMAC Bowl on Jan. 6 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala. Both programs are coming off upset losses…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
BCS National Championship (2) Florida24 vs. (1) Oklahoma14 When: Jan 8, 2009 Where: Glendale, AZ Time: 8:15 PM EST TV: FOX
When Oklahoma and Florida meet for the national championship Jan. 8 at Dolphin Stadium in Miami, the angles abound. It could be last season's Heisman Trophy winner vs. this season's Heisman Trophy winner. It already is Bob Stoops past vs. Bob Stoops present. But…Draft Scout Bowl Breakdown
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