Bowl Games Provide Happy Ending and Hope, For Some

As the college football season steamrolls into the moth of December the bowl season is just weeks away. There are 28 bowl games this year. That means 56 teams get to play an additional game and 26 teams get to end their season with a post-season victory.

Teams like Michigan and Oklahoma, who have taken the BCS free fall, can finish with an additional victory that will have fans looking forward to next season with hope.

Penn State is playing in their first ever BCS bowl game. For the Nittany Lions a BCS bowl victory would provide a happy ending in Happy Valley. It would solidify that the Lions really are back.

But what happens if they lose? For teams that go to the post season and lose there is only fuming and frustration for eight months. They still get the extra practices that come with participating in the bowl season but for teams like Michigan and Miami those practices could be wasted because a bowl loss could mean a coaching change.

Lloyd Carr is definitely on the hot seat at Michigan and a bowl loss could be the final nail in his coffin. If Penn State looses it would pour fuel on the “The Big 10 is over-rated fire.” The talks of Joe Pa being out dated and needing to move into retirement would pick back up as well.

No doubt there is a lot to win or lose this bowl season. That is why it is so great to watch. There are a hundred story lines before each game and a hundred more after. The fun begins December 20th.


Bowl Schedule

New Orleans Bowl
New Orleans, LA (at Cajun Field in Lafayette - due to Hurricane Katrin
Tuesday Dec. 20
8 p.m. (ESPN)

GMAC Bowl
Mobile, AL Wednesday Dec. 21
8 p.m. (ESPN)

Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl
Las Vegas, NV Thursday Dec. 22
8 p.m. (ESPN)

Poinsetta Bowl
San Diego, CA Thursday Dec. 22
10:30 p.m. (ESPN2)

Fort Worth Bowl
Fort Worth, TX Friday Dec. 23
8 p.m. (ESPN)

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Honolulu, HI Saturday Dec. 24
8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Motor City Bowl
Detroit, MI Monday Dec. 26
4 p.m. (ESPN)

Champ Sports Bowl
Orlando, FL Tuesday Dec. 27
5 p.m. (ESPN)

Insight Bowl
Phoenix, AZ Tuesday Dec. 27
8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

MPC Computer Bowl
Boise, ID Wednesday Dec. 28
4:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Alamo Bowl
San Antonio, TX Wednesday Dec. 28
8 p.m. (ESPN)

Emerald Bowl
San Francisco, CA Thursday Dec. 29
4:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Holiday Bowl
San Diego, CA Thursday Dec. 29
8 p.m. (ESPN)

Music City Bowl
Nashville, TN Friday Dec. 30
12 noon (ESPN)

Sun Bowl
El Paso, TX Friday Dec. 30
2 p.m. (CBS)

Independence Bowl
Shreveport, LA Friday Dec. 30
3:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Peach Bowl
Atlanta, GA Friday Dec. 30
7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Meineke Car Care Bowl
Charlotte, NC Saturday Dec. 31
11 a.m. (ESPN2)

Liberty Bowl
Memphis, TN Saturday Dec. 31
1 p.m. (ESPN)

EV1.net Houston Bowl
Houston, TX Saturday Dec. 31
2:30 p.m. (ESPN2)

Cotton Bowl
Dallas, TX Monday Jan. 2
11 a.m. (FOX)

Outback Bowl
Tampa, FL Monday Jan. 2
11 a.m. (ESPN)

Gator Bowl
Jacksonville, FL Monday Jan. 2
12:30 p.m. (NBC)

Capital One Bowl
Orlando, FL Monday Jan. 2
1 p.m. (ABC)

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
Tempe, AZ Monday Jan. 2
4:30 p.m. (ABC)

Nokia Sugar Bowl
New Orleans, LA
(in Georgia Dome in Atlanta due to Hurricane Katrina) Monday Jan. 2
8:30 p.m. (ABC)

Fedex Orange Bowl
Miami, FL Tuesday Jan. 3
8 p.m. (ABC)

Rose Bowl
Pasadena, CA Wednesday Jan. 4
8 p.m. (ABC)