And so it begins... for the last time... in 2012

It’s bowl time. While the FCS and lower levels of college football hold their silly playoffs to determine a champion on the field, the much more logical FBS will stage a 35-game postseason in the court of public opinion, following which one of two teams will be voted as the best in the land. Not officially, mind you; the NCAA recognizes no football champion at the FBS level. But the BCS is what we’ve got.

Aside from the delightful and heartbreaking Army-Navy contest this past weekend there were no games. The Heisman was handed to a freshman, a couple of coaches moved around and the All-American teams were announced. This was all rather boring compared to the actual season the awards were supposed to celebrating. There was minor controversy over the choice of Johnny Manziel, but he had a great year. I wouldn’t have picked him, but there have been worse Heisman winners. Much worse, in fact.

The bowl season is long and largely unwatchable, even for me. However, I’ll still slog through the matchups and give the best preview I can. The guide will include my general predictions along with how viewable each game will be for the average person on a scale of 1-5 (all times Pacific). Here are this week’s games:

Gildan New Mexico Bowl

Nevada (7-5) vs. Arizona (7-5)

December 15, 10:00 a.m.

Arizona and Nevada both rode a wild rollercoaster of a 2012 season. The Wolf Pack upset Cal in their opener and bolted to a 6-1 start, then won only once more the rest of the way. The win was against New Mexico. ‘Zona got the Rich Rod era off to a fantastic start at 3-0 with an upset of ranked Oklahoma State, then lost three straight (two very close) to start conference play. A blowout of Washington and an upset of USC had the Wildcats in position to win the South, but they went 2-2 with wins over lowly Colorado and Utah. Both teams faced a fair amount of disappointment but are also happy to be in the postseason. I doubt either of these weak defenses can slow down talented dual-threat quarterbacks Cody Fajardo and Matt Scott. Arizona is worse statistically, but that comes from playing in the Pac-12. There’s potential for an upset here, as the Wildcats don’t have a great bowl history, but I’m still going with ‘Zona.

Watchability: 3. There will be scoring. Count on it.

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

Toledo (9-3) vs. Utah State (10-2)

December 15, 1:30 p.m.

I can’t believe this game is so early in the schedule. As long as you don’t mind the venue, this is a must-watch. Toledo lost three games by one touchdown, barely missing out on the MAC Championship. USU lost two games by a total of five points. These are two quality mid-majors, among the best in the country. Playmakers abound. The Rockets feature a lighting-quick dual-threat QB in Terrance Owens, perhaps the league’s best tailback in David Fluellen and a great receiving target in Bernard Reedy. The Aggies can counter with sophomore sensation runner-passer Chuckie Keeton and do-everything back Kerwynn Williams. This should be a high-scoring affair and I really have no idea who will win. Toledo is a better passing team, Utah State is better at rushing, but both squads run the spread and run it well. Weather could be a factor in Boise; the Aggies would have the advantage in a wet and cold environment and are closer to home.

Watchability: 4. The schools involved aren’t exactly big-time so this gets a small downgrade.

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsetta Bowl

BYU (7-5) vs. San Diego State (9-3)

December 20, 5:00 p.m.

It was a disappointing year for BYU, who entered 2012 with BCS aspirations and lost four close games en route to a 7-5 record. SDSU lost three games by respectable margins to good teams early on and won its final seven, including an unheard-of upset of Boise State on the blue turf. The Aztecs are probably feeling invincible at this point, but the Cougars remain a formidable foe. In fact, I’m picking BYU in this game. The two offenses are roughly similar – decent in both aspects – but BYU has a big edge defensively. The Cougars have a lot of talent on that side and the Aztecs don’t really have great weapons. QB Ryan Katz is okay, but unspectacular. BYU probably isn’t going to be lighting up the scoreboard so this will be a decent game, but I’m not confident in SDSU’s ability to consistently move the ball.

Watchability: 1. We’re looking at a low-scoring, defensive contest, with a pair of non-marquee teams.

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg

Central Florida (9-4) vs. Ball State (9-3)

December 21, 4:30 p.m.

This is another solid pair of mid-major teams. I originally had UCF as my pick to win the Conference USA before the Knights were banned from the postseason. Then the school won its appeal with the NCAA and nearly made my prediction come true, right up until the heartbreaking loss in the title game. Ball State got hammered by Clemson early, then rebounded to become the third-best team in the MAC. Unfortunately, they lost to the two teams above them and were left out of the conference title game. Ball State has been superior offensively but the Cardinals’ defense is atrocious, allowing at least 22 points in every game. The Knights aren’t spectacular, but rank 29^th overall in scoring defense despite playing in the wide-open Conference USA. While there’s potential for Ball State to explode at any moment, I expect UCF to control this game because of its defense and experience. The Knights have played in a bowl three of the past four seasons and have consistently been a team that scares BCS programs. Ball State is coming off three consecutive non-winning seasons and has gone through two coaches since playing in the postseason. Central Florida should win.

Watchability: 3. These are pretty good mid-majors and UCF’s Storm Johnson might be a future star at RB.

The potential dissolution of the Big East notwithstanding, there was little new news this week. That will surely change as we draw close to the meat of the bowl schedule. The coaching carousel has just begun to spin. Once the NFL gets involved, things will really get topsy-turvy. There is still nearly a month’s worth of pro games before the firings get into full swing.

As for the Big East’s basketball schools, I’m glad they’re finally standing up for themselves. I know it’s not the Big East’s fault that it has been raided multiple times, but at a certain point the league really needed to look at itself in the mirror and definitively decide how it wanted its future to unfold. That never happened; instead the conference always took the easy way out by grabbing at the best and closest mid-major programs, with little regard to how those schools fit into the Big East culturally or academically. Eventually, the strategy was going to bite the Big East. Moreover, eventually it was just going to run out of available schools. It’s no wonder the non-football members got fed up. Perhaps the best thing now is to simply put the whole league out of its misery.

Happy thoughts. See you next week.