29 bowl games down; 5 to go.  We’ve previously previewed the pre-New Year’s bowl games in Part I and the New Year’s and post-New Year’s non-BCS bowl games in Part II; now, brace yourself for Part III – The BCS Bowl Games.  This is where we get into the games that matter…well, the game that matters at the least. 

I think I can safely speak for my counterpart here by saying that even though the final scores in the first four games hold no relevance beyond bragging rights, we’re pretty jacked up about most of these matchups.  The BCS title game matchup between Florida and Oklahoma is especially exciting.  This year’s title game will be the first since…ummm, I don’t know when…to feature two Heisman Trophy winners on opposite sidelines, Tim Tebow (2007) and Sam Bradford (2008), and also the first since Texas beat USC and claimed the 2005 national championship to match a Heisman winner, Tebow Bradford, up against a fellow Heisman finalist, Tebow.

Rose Bowl - USC (11-1) vs. Penn State (11-1) - ABC – 1/1 – 4:30PM
Trey: The young v. the old. The trendsetters v. the trendkillers. Hollywood v. Amishville. This is the best game not called the BCS National Championship, you’ll get two great defenses and two decent offenses going head to head on New Years Day afternoon. USC puts it away late.
Miz: I love this matchup…old school vs. new hotness!  Well, as far as head coaches go at least.  Like it or not for the Nittany Lions or Big Televen, this is a statement game with Penn State representing the entire Big Televen conference even moreso that other BCS teams representing their conferences.  Everybody knows how successful Southern Cal has been in the 21st century so far; and, everybody knows the perceived failure of the Big Televen during the same time period.  Ironically, both conferences have the same number of BCS championships (one) and another team has poorly represented their conference in BCS championship games twice, as well (Oklahoma, Big XII).  But, for some reason, especially to the joy of most SEC fans, the Big Televen has taken it on the chin more than any other conference.  Penn State will try to wash the Big Televen’s hands of Ohio State’s “failures” but will come up short against the Trojans.

Orange Bowl - Virginia Tech (9-4) vs. Cincinnati (11-2) - Fox – 1/1 – 8PM
Trey: Wow. This should be a great way to end New Years Day night. The most boring game ever to exist. And while your stomach is full of pork, greens, and hoppin’ john, remember this…Virginia Tech has 4 losses, that should automatically keep them out of the BCS! Also, Cincinnati is a very good team, but they aren’t pulling me to the set. Virginia Tech close, but Fox is the real loser here.
Miz: This game is what I’d like to call the “turn it on while you’re getting ready for an early bedtime because you stayed up too late the night before” game.  The stakes are high since it will be conference champions facing off but the expectations for excitement are low.  Cincinnati reminds Virginia Tech, the ACC, and the rest of the country that yes, the ACC is definitely down.  Cincy by a score and a half.

Sugar Bowl - Utah (12-0) vs. Alabama (12-1) - Fox – 1/2 – 8:30PM
Trey: After Boise State’s thrilling win in 2007 everyone is expecting these non-BCS teams to come out an throw some of the same magic. It’s just not happening every year, Alabama big.
Miz: I feel a little bit sorry for Utah here.  Well, not too sorry since they’re getting the huge payout and national exposure.  But anyhow, they get to face a team that was overlooked the entire season, even while ranked #1 for multiple weeks.  Said team then lost a great, close conference championship game against the potential national champion and is our looking for revenge.  Utah gets served up on a platter for Bammer’s revenge…Bammer by multiple scores.

Fiesta Bowl - Ohio State (10-2) vs. Texas (11-1) - Fox – 1/5 – 8PM
Trey: Big game, check. Top 5 opponent, check. Solo national TV game, check. This has disaster written all over it for Ohio State. A Texas win could earn them #1 honors in the AP and a meaningless split National Championship (I’ll save the AP #1 isn’t the National Champion rant for next week) Still, they’ll keep it close, Texas wins.
Miz: While Penn State will be trying to exorcise the Big Televen’s Ohio State demons, the Buckeyes have problems of their own.  They face a Longhorns team with much to prove.  They beat the team standing in their path towards the conference championship, and ultimately the BCS championship, but were snubbed by voters and left to watch and hope for an upset that never happened.  Then, their fearless leader, Colt McCoy, was voted as less of a player by the same guy leading the previously mentioned team they beat.  Ohio State is a team I see on the rise in the next season or two but Texas is the better team this year.  Texas wins a close one. 

BCS Title Game - Florida (12-1) vs. Oklahoma (12-1) - Fox – 1/8 – 8PM
Trey: This game is a tough call. Both teams are hot, but both still have serious question marks. Can Florida really play defense that well or are the SEC offenses just that bad? Is Oklahoma’s offense really that Arena League or is the Big 12 just that awful defensively? Regardless it’s a good game, but Florida pulls it out in the 4th.
Miz: It’s a matchup between the hottest team period and the hottest team offensively…at least that’s what my brains tells me.  Trey touched on the sentiment above that the SEC-guy says the Big XII offenses were so good becuase their defenses were so terrible while the Big XII-guy says the SEC defenses were so good because their offenses were so terrible.  Well, this one’s for all the marbles and in addition to hopefully settling the defense vs. offense argument, we get a great matchup with a Heisman Trophy winner quarterbacking each offense and a previous national championship-winning coach quarterbacking each team.  Even though not much has been made of it yet, the Gators’ offensive coordinator, Dan Mullen, has already been hired as head coach of Mississippi State and will likely not carry full coordinator duties for the game.  Also, the Gators defensive coordinator, Charlie Strong, is said to be the frontrunner for the UCF job if it becomes available so we’ll see how this brouhaha negatively affects the Gators’ offense and defense, but, I’m predicting there won’t be much, if any, dropoff.  Hopefully, both teams can pick right up where they left off and not show up cold and tight on such a big stage.  The Gators pull away late from the Sooners and win their second BCS national championship in three years.

Bookmark these TWTWCFB bowl previews for future use, such as praising us for our genius picks or lambasting us for missing the obvious.  Either way, stick around these parts and keep your eyes open for more general college football talk and specific bowl game discussion as we finish out the college football season within the next few weeks.

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