The best and worst of the postseason, from 1 to 32

	Troy Smith will try to give Jim Tressel his second national title in five seasons as they play Florida on Jan. 8 in Glendale. Bob Rosato/SI
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From the near-weekly grudge matches in the SEC to the Big East's Thursday night thrillers, Ohio State-Michigan and USC-UCLA, the 2006 regular season was inordinately exciting. Hope you enjoyed it -- because this year's bowl lineup looks about as promising as Night at the Museum.

Starting right at the top with the national title game no one's particularly thrilled about (Ohio State-Florida) and the classic Rose Bowl neither team wanted to be in (USC-Michigan), the Blowout on the Bayou (LSU-Notre Dame) and the basketball game disguised as an Orange Bowl (Wake Forest-Louisville), there simply aren't a lot of matchups screaming for your attention like last year's Rose (USC-Texas), Fiesta (Ohio State-Notre Dame) and Orange (JoePa vs. Bobby) bowls did.

And that's just the BCS games.

This particular bowl season as a whole is incredibly lacking in depth. In most years, the Alamo Bowl is one of the better December games; this year it's Texas-Iowa. For this, you can blame conference partnerships, which are locked in before the season is even played. It's because of them that 8-4 Penn State is playing on New Year's in the Outback Bowl while 10-2 Rutgers is playing in the Texas Bowl.

Nevertheless, I dutifully compiled my fourth annual bowl rankings, ranking the 32 postseason games in order of potential viewing interest. Let me know which number you get to before your eyes start flickering ...

1) BCS National Championship Game (Jan. 8): Ohio State (12-0) vs. Florida (11-1). With a month to prepare, expect Florida coach Urban Meyer to draw up every conceivable Tim Tebow/Percy Harvin trick play imaginable. Jim Tressel's plan: Get Troy Smith to the stadium.

2) Rose (Jan. 1): Michigan (11-1) vs. USC (10-2). If anyone was more thrilled than the Gators with the BCS standings, it was the Tournament of Roses committee. Whoever wins will have solid case for No. 1 -- in the 2007 preseason poll.

3) Fiesta (Jan. 1): Boise State (12-0) vs. Oklahoma (11-2). It will be (Adrian) Peterson vs. (Chris) Petersen, assuming Adrian's collarbone heals in time. It will also be OU's Peterson vs. Broncos tailback Ian Johnson, who ran for 24 touchdowns in 11 games.

4) Sugar (Jan. 3): LSU (10-2) vs. Notre Dame (10-2). The game should be a boon to New Orleans' ravaged economy. Not only will Irish fans descend on the city, but there's also a decent chance they'll be hitting the Bourbon Street bars by halftime.

5) Capital One (Jan. 1): Wisconsin (11-1) vs. Arkansas (10-3). By beating Arkansas, Florida earned a national championship invite and gave LSU a BCS berth. The best the Badgers can hope for is the title of best third-place team (in conference standings) in the history of college football.

6) Orange (Jan. 2) : Louisville (11-1) vs. Wake Forest (11-2). Alabama is in the Independence Bowl, Florida State in the Emerald Bowl and Miami in Boise, while the Orange Bowl hosts Wake Forest and Louisville. Someone get Beano Cook a glass of water.

7) Chick-fil-A (Dec. 30): Virginia Tech (10-2) vs. Georgia (8-4). If you're looking for offensive fireworks ... maybe ESPN Classic will replay last year's Sugar Bowl. If you want to see two red-hot, defensive-minded teams scrap it out, however, this is your game.

8) Cotton (Jan. 1): Auburn (10-2) vs. Nebraska (9-4). Nebraska hasn't played in the Cotton Bowl since 1980 and Auburn hasn't been there since Bo Jackson's last season in '86. Don't worry guys -- that stadium looks exactly like you left it.

9) Holiday: Cal (9-3) vs. Texas A&M (9-3). On the list of rare sights in Southern California, a team running the option -- as the Aggies like to do with QB Stephen McGee -- ranks right up there with real breasts and 12 inches of snow.

10) Outback: Tennessee (9-3) vs. Penn State (8-4). A recuperated Joe Paterno returns to the sideline for the first time in two months. The Nittany Lions' offense, feeling inspired, decide they will try to score two touchdowns.