That's just what we get with this year's Fiesta Bowl

Mississippi (8-4, 4-4 SEC) Why I should watch: Call this the "Underachievement Classic," as both these teams were shooting for the top, only to fall flat before anyone could even spell B-C-S. The Pokes were riding high after beating Georgia, even making the cover of Sports Illustrated; but immediately fell to Houston at home, then lost out on a BCS bid after getting embarrassed by Oklahoma in the finale.Ole Miss was hearing talk of being a darkhorse for the national title; but that ended in only week three at South Carolina. The Rebels finished up their disappointing season with a loss in the Egg Bowl Still, this game offers plenty of talent on two good teams Give'em: Miss (-3) On paper, this game gets a.. 3 out of 5 Papajohns Bowl Jan 2 / 2 p.m. South Carolina (7-5, 3-5 SEC) vs. Connecticut (7-5, 3-4 Big East) Why I should watch: Two great coaches go up against each other, in one of the last retro-sounding "dot-com" bowls. UConn's five losses this season were by a combined 15 points, with many being decided in the final minutes.Coach Randy Edsall and the Huskies were forced to battle through the loss of a teammate when Jasper Howard was shot and killed mid-season. UConn is a greatly underrated squad.South Carolina is still waiting for Steve Spurrier's team to finish a season strong, as the Gamecocks dropped four of six to finish the season, after starting 5-1 Give'em: USC (-4) On paper, this game gets a.. 2 out of 5 Liberty Bowl Jan 2 / 5:30 p.m. Arkansas (7-5, 3-5 SEC) vs.

East Carolina (9-4, 8-1 C-USA)Why I should watch: Who knows where Bobby Petrino might coach this time next year While he seems to have finally found his place, it's been a tough transition for Arkansas from the run offense of Houston Nutt to the pass offense of Petrino.Still, with big-arm quarterback (and former Michigan Wolverine) Ryan Mallett, the Razorbacks are always good for a show. The Pirates of East Carolina aren't exactly pushovers, though.ECU is one year removed from shocking the college football world with back-to-back upsets of Virginia Tech and West Virginia. Michigan State's pass defense has been atrocious (108th nationally), and we all know about Texas Tech's passing offense (second nationally).I really like what Mark D'Antonio is doing in East Lansing, but this bowl game might have been put out of reach with the suspension of key players following a recent fight.The only reason I'm rating this game so high is because it's a Big Ten game, and I try to watch all of each of them Give'em: TT (-8) On paper, this game gets a.. 3 out of 5 Fiesta Bowl Jan 4 / 8 p.m. No 6 Boise State (7-5, 3-5 SEC) vs No. 4 Texas ChristianWhy I should watch: It's not often you can watch two undefeated teams in a bowl game that's not for the national title. That's just what we get with this year's Fiesta Bowl.As one writer put it, the Fiesta crew "fell on the sword" for the rest of the BCS; meaning the Fiesta took the plunge and risked poor ratings to match up these two teams.I don't care how you put it, these are two great teams, and should provide a great game Give'em: TCU (-7) On paper, this game gets a.. 4 out of 5 Orange Bowl Jan 5 / 8 p.m. No 10 Iowa (10-2, 6-2 Big Ten) vs No. 9 Georgia Tech (11-2, 8-1 ACC)Why I should watch: Big Ten teams don't face the triple option all that often When it did, Navy scared the crap out of Ohio State.

Troy (9-3, 8-0 Sun Belt) Why I should watch: Playing this bowl on Jan. 6, I think, does it a great disservice, as no one is going to care about a low-level game this late into the bowl season. When the bowls first get going, fans are raring to watch anything , even the crappy bowl games.But the night before the national title game Not so much. Central Michigan only lost to Arizona and Boston College, on its way to a MAC title.Troy is the perennial upstart that analysts like to peg as the team everyone should "watch out for." These are two in-conference undefeated champions Give'em: CMU (-3) On paper, this game gets a.. 2 out of 5 BCS Championship Jan 7 / 8 p.m. No 1 Alabama (13-0, 9-0 SEC) vs No.

2 Texas (13-0, 9-0 Big 12) Why I should watch: Fans can at least look forward to the BCS Championship Game featuring two undefeated teams this year. Whichever team comes out on top, it will feel like a breath of fresh air, particularly to those who remember the terrible two-loss 2007 "national champion" LSU.What's a bit odd here is that it's not just the media analysts that are falling into the what have you done for me lately trap The line now is set at five to Texas. A bit steep, no "Well," you say confidently, "Texas almost lost to Nebraska!"Really, then you will agree with me that Alabama should be equally ragged on for nearly losing at home to Tennessee, or needing a miracle comeback drive to beat Auburn... rightI'm not going to pick Texas to win this game, but that doesn't mean I'll be shocked if the Longhorns dispatch the Crimson Tide. Colt McCoy is a much better passer than Tim Tebow; Florida didn't have Jordan Shipley catching passes or returning kicks.But on the other side, Alabama has Terrence Cody, and a blueprint on how to use him against Texas...the Big XII title game tape.