Football 2014: Bowl Games

The post-season bowl games have been underway for several days, but none of them have interested me enough to watch them on TV. That'll soon change because starting Saturday, there will be at least one game that I want to see nearly every day:

• Independence Bowl: Miami vs South Carolina. Update: The Gamecocks begin an SEC winning streak 24-21.
• Holiday Bowl: Southern Cal vs Nebraska. Update: I didn't see much of the game. The Trojans held off a late rally by the corn people and won 45-42.
• Liberty Bowl: West Virginia vs Texas A&M. Update 4:52 PM on Monday 29 December: About 2:30 remaining in the 4th quarter, and the Aggies have the ball and an 8-point lead. One more first down will allow them to run out the clock, and they just picked it up with a short pass to Kennedy. The SEC racks up a 45-37 win against the Big 12 Minus 2 with Sumlin's third consecutive bowl victory. Best thing is, Texas A&M resembled an SEC team with an effective running game and enough defense to prevent West Virginia from building and maintaining a substantial lead.
• Russell Athletic Bowl: Oklahoma vs Clemson. Update: The Big 12 Minus Two is having a shitty day. Clemson routs the Sooners 40-6.
• Texas Bowl: Arkansas vs Texas. Update: Why the fuck was Texas in a goddamned bowl game anyway? Arkansas makes it an 0-3 day for the BDF, steamrolling the not-so-Stronghorns 31-7 (and it really wasn't as close as the score indicates). The Stronghorns ended the game with 59 yards of total offense... really, 59 yards.
• Music City Bowl: Notre Dame vs LSU. Update: They slugged it out all afternoon, but the Irish finally won 31-28 with a short field goal on the last play of the game.
• Belk Bowl: Georgia vs Louisville. Update: Charlie Strong's former team got the same kind of ass-whipping (37-14) from the Bulldogs that his current team received last night from the Razorbacks.  
• Peach Bowl: Ole Miss vs TCU. Update 12:46 PM Wednesday 31 December: The Christians are beating the crap out of Ole Miss in the first half, and I find that inexcusable. Second update 7:32 PM same day: Ole Miss lost 42-3, and might've lost to Texas A&M if they'd played the same way that night. The worst part of the loss is that all the fans of the Big Dumpster Fire will misinterpret TCU's win as proof that the BDF is a legitimate power conference instead of a refuge for stray mutts like Kansas and Iowa State.
• Orange Bowl: Mississippi State vs Georgia Tech. Update: What the hell happened to the two Mississippi teams in the SEC West that looked so formidable for most of the season? Like Ole Miss, the Bulldogs cratered in their bowl appearance, losing 49-34 tonight, and leaving the SEC bowl record a mediocre 4-3.
• Citrus Bowl: Missouri vs Minnesota. Update: The one SEC team I hoped would lose is headed for a win. Minnesota, like Texas, shouldn't be playing in a bowl game. Final score 33-17 in favor of Mizzou.
• Outback Bowl: Wisconsin vs Auburn. Update: Wisconsin is one of the best running teams I've seen this year, and they beat Auburn 34-31 in OT with about 300 rushing yards. Wisconsin made their field goal in OT, and Auburn didn't. 
• Cotton Bowl: Michigan State vs Baylor. Update: I planned to watch this game, but the Auburn-Wisconsin game was too good to skip. By the time I switched to the Cotton Bowl, Baylor was ahead by 20 points late in the third quarter, so I didn't stick with it. Too bad for me because Michigan State made a great comeback and won the game 42-41. Fuck the goddamned Bears.
• Rose Bowl: Oregon vs Florida State. Update: I haven't seen much Oregon football, but today they proved they're the real deal. They probably could've beaten FSU without any help from the Seminoles, but with all those turnovers in the 2nd half, this turned into a 59-20 blowout. I enjoyed every minute of it.
• Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs Ohio State. Update 9:42 PM. Alabama is leading the Buckeyes 21-20 at the half. I hate Ohio State, so this shit is too close for comfort. Update 11:44 PM: Ohio State got better in the second half, and Alabama got worse. It was a heavyweight slugfest all the way, with the Buckeyes winning 42-35. The killer was an interception returned for a touchdown that provided the winning margin. The national championship game will be Oregon vs Ohio State, and I'll pull for Oregon on January 12th.
• Alamo Bowl: Kansas State vs UCLA. Update: The Bruins led 31-6 at the half, but lost interest and almost let the game get away. Final score 40-35, and we can add Kansas State to the list of BDF teams that lost bowl games. Earlier in the day, Tennessee knocked off Iowa 45-28, bringing the SEC bowl record to 6-5 with one game remaining.
• Birmingham Bowl: East Carolina vs Florida. Update: The Gators got a good lead in the first half then held on to win 28-20. The SEC finishes bowl season 7-5. All five East teams won, as well as the bottom two West teams. The top five West teams, considered the strength of the conference, all lost. To be fair, three of the losses (Auburn vs Wisconsin, LSU vs Notre Dame, and Alabama vs Ohio State) were in extremely close games that could easily have gone the other way. In the Big 12 Minus Two, TCU's big win over Ole Miss was the only bright spot, although Oklahoma State also won the Who Gives a Fuck Bowl. Texas, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Kansas State and Baylor all lost. 

I'll usually be pulling for the SEC teams and against the teams from the Big 12 minus 2 (aka the Big Dumpster Fire). The exception: I hope Minnesota knocks off Missouri. In the Rose Bowl, I want Oregon to roll up Florida State.