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

Glenn Dorsey and the Tigers are actually favored against No. 1 Ohio State. Chris Graythen/Getty Images

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As I wrote on Sunday night, this year's BCS bowl matchups were particularly disappointing. Not coincidentally, however, there are a whole bunch of compelling games further down the ladder this bowl season.

This is my fifth year ranking the viewing interest of all 32 bowl games. The past couple of years, I must confess, my eyes started glazing over (and my jokes started getting more sarcastic) earlier and earlier on the list. This year, however, you'll notice the drop-off doesn't come for a quite a bit. While unprecedented parity left us with a relatively weak set of teams at the top of the polls, the upside is the overall number of quality teams runs deeper.

And that makes for some good non-BCS bowl games.

Take, for instance, the Cotton Bowl. For years, this once-prestigious New Year's game had seen its profile sink lower and lower. It's been a long time since the Cotton Bowl truly made for must-see TV. This year, however, thanks in part to the Orange Bowl's puzzling selection of Big 12 North runner-up Kansas, the Dallas game gets a highly intriguing matchup between a pair of exciting teams -- Arkansas and Missouri -- led by likely Heisman finalists.

The Cotton Bowl checks in higher this year than it ever has on this list -- higher, in fact, than several BCS games.

1. BCS National Championship Game (Jan. 7): Ohio State (11-1) vs. LSU (11-2). Different year, same storyline: Big Ten brawn vs. SEC speed. It's a safe bet Jim Tressel will have the Buckeyes better prepared this time. The question is, will that be enough?

2. Sugar (Jan. 1): Hawaii (12-0) vs. Georgia (10-2). In his last game against Washington, Hawaii QB Colt Brennan went 42-of-50 for 442 yards, five touchdowns. Can he do it against an SEC defense, away from the islands? Can't wait to find out.

3. Cotton (Jan. 1): Missouri (11-2) vs. Arkansas (8-4). In this corner we have Chase Daniel, 4,000-yard passer. In the other corner, we've got Darren McFadden, in what will likely be his last college game. Sit back and enjoy -- there's going to be some offense.

4. Fiesta (Jan. 2): Oklahoma (11-2) vs. West Virginia (10-2). Two years ago, West Virginia's Pat White and Steve Slaton burst onto the national scene with their Sugar Bowl win over Georgia. This time they need a win over the Sooners just to regain their mojo.

5. Rose: (Jan. 1): USC (10-2) vs. Illinois (9-3). He took the recruiting world by storm. He's righted Illinois' program in a major way. But can Ron Zook really beat both Jim Tressel and Pete Carroll in the same season? This could really be the apocalypse.

6. Orange (Jan. 3): Kansas (11-1) vs. Virginia Tech (11-2). Kansas QB Todd Reesing likes to scramble around and sling it. Virginia Tech's defense likes to sit back and pick it. Either way, someone's going to get burned.

7. Gator (Jan. 1): Virginia (9-3) vs. Texas Tech (8-4). Graham Harrell, meet Chris Long. He wears No. 91 for Virginia, but you won't have trouble recognizing him. He'll be the guy coming after you every time you attempt a pass -- and you attempt a lot of them.

8. Holiday (Dec. 27): Arizona State (10-2) vs. Texas (9-3). It's been four long years since the Longhorns last visited San Diego -- the longest Holiday Bowl drought of the Mack Brown era. He should still remember it well enough to give ASU coach Dennis Erickson a tour.

9. Capital One (Jan. 1): Florida (9-3) vs. Michigan (8-4). Is this a cruel joke? Seriously? It's Lloyd Carr's last game as Michigan's coach. His biggest headache the past 13 seasons has been mobile quarterbacks. So who does he get as a going-away present? Tim Tebow.

10. Chick-fil-A (Dec. 31): Clemson (9-3) vs. Auburn (8-4). My, oh my -- that's going to be a lot of orange. It's also going to be a clash between one of the nation's most dynamic offenses (Clemson) and one of its stingiest defenses (Auburn). But mostly a lot of orange.

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