A preview of all 32 bowl games ... SIOC style

By Eric Horowitz

Bowl season kicks off on Tuesday as the mighty Horned Frogs of TCU take on Garrett Wolfe and the Northern Illinois Huskies. In case you haven't read up on this game -- or the 31 other bowl games taking place in the next three weeks -- SIOC's got all the information you need in our super-special bowl preview.

Oregon fans should have their run of the Sin City when the Ducks take on BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl. Robert Beck/SI

Poinsettia Bowl
TCU vs. Northern Illinois
San Diego, Cal.-- Dec. 19

The game that kicks off this year's bowl season. Nothing says smashmouth football like a game named after a small pink-leafed shrub.
Pick: Northern Illinois

Las Vegas Bowl
BYU vs. Oregon
Las Vegas, Nev. -- Dec. 21

Nice work by whoever decided it was a good idea to send a 98% Mormon school to play its bowl game in "Sin City." As for Oregon and its fans, this one is a mixed blessing. The bad news is that the Ducks will have to deal with BYU's dangerous passing game. The good news is that they should have the Vegas strip clubs all to themselves.
Pick: Oregon

New Orleans Bowl
Rice vs. Troy
New Orleans, La. -- Dec. 22

ESPN hopes to attract viewers to this game by making them think it's a classic 1990's matchup between Jerry Rice's 49ers and Troy Aikman's Cowboys.
Pick: Rice

PapaJohns.com Bowl
South Florida vs. East Carolina
Birmingham, Ala.-- Dec. 23

Papa Johns' slogan is "better ingredients, better pizza." Unfortunately, their bowl game was able to get only the fifth-best ingredient in Conference USA and the fourth-best in the Big East.
Pick: South Florida

New Mexico Bowl
New Mexico vs. San Jose State
Albuquerque, N.M.-- Dec. 23

You really have to feel bad for San Jose State. They worked hard all year to qualify for a bowl game and a chance to prove themselves against a big-time football school. However, instead of playing a Miami or UCLA, they have to tackle New Mexico in New Mexico's stadium in a game called the "New Mexico Bowl." Michigan fans can complain all they want, but at least the Wolverines don't have to play a bowl game in their opponent's home stadium. (The Rose Bowl is a good 15 minutes from USC's campus.)
Pick: New Mexico

Armed Forces Bowl
Utah vs. Tulsa
Fort Worth, Texas -- Dec. 23

The Armed Forces Bowl halftime show will feature special guest Kellen Winslow Jr. recreating his famous "football is war" speech.
Pick: Utah

Hawaii Bowl
Hawaii vs. Arizona State
Honolulu, Hawaii--Dec. 24

Arizona State didn't beat a ranked team all season and lost a big game to USC. If only ASU had also been crushed by Michigan, the Sun Devils could have earned a BCS berth just like Notre Dame.
Pick: Hawaii

Motor City Bowl
Central Michigan vs. Middle Tennessee
Detroit, MI. -- Dec. 26

This game has been one the of hottest tickets in Motown, mostly due to the fact that residents are desperate to see a football game that does not include the Lions.
Pick: Central Michigan

Emerald Bowl
Florida State vs. UCLA
San Francisco, CA. -- Dec. 27

Because of money issues, Florida State will not send its 400-person marching band to the game, and will likely hire a local band as it did earlier this season against N.C. State. FSU administrators say they're already spending too much money sending people who will not directly help the team win -- such as the offensive line.
Pick: UCLA

Independence Bowl
Oklahoma State vs. Alabama
Shreveport, La. -- Dec. 28

Alabama is encouraging people to donate tickets to military personnel so they will be able to watch this game between two teams that are a combined 5-11 in conference play. I guess the school hopes the fact that these two teams were able to qualify for a bowl game will demonstrate that any bad situation, even the one in Iraq, can have a positive outcome.
Pick: Oklahoma State

Holiday Bowl
California vs. Texas A&M
San Diego, CA.-- Dec. 28

Former Texas A&M president and new U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recently confessed that he is a frequent poster on an Aggie football message board. I guess if Cal running back Marshawn Lynch is mysteriously spirited away to Guantanamo Bay we'll know who is responsible.
Pick: Cal

Texas Bowl
Rutgers vs. Kansas State
Houston, TX -- Dec. 28

Rutgers got some good news this month when coach Greg Schiano turned down the Hurricanes' head coaching job. Schiano is believed to be one of the first people to ever turn down a higher-paying job in Miami to stay in New Jersey.
Pick: Rutgers

Music City Bowl
Clemson vs. Kentucky
Nashville, TN.--Dec. 29

According to Bobby Bowden, his son Jeff was fired from the Florida State coaching staff because of "Ebay." The firing left Clemson's Tommy Bowden as the only Bowden brother still coaching in college football. A win here should ensure that Wikipedia wont be able to get him fired.
Pick: Clemson