Some Bowls Almost As Sweet As Sugar Even Before Games Begin, Winners And Losers Abound

The Bowl Alliance met its goal of matching the two highest-ranked teams available. Unfortunately, No. 2 Arizona State wasn’t one of them.

And because of that, a bit more intrigue has been injected into the bowl season. While the national title won’t be decided until No. 1 Florida State plays No. 3 Florida in the Sugar Bowl Jan. 2, the Rose, Cotton, Outback, Citrus and Holiday bowls offer welcome diversions.

Take the Rose, for example, where the Sun Devils (11-0) play No. 4 Ohio State (10-1) Jan. 1. A win and Arizona State can lay claim to the national title.

If Florida (11-1) avenges its regular-season loss to the Seminoles, then Arizona State would become the clear-cut champion.

Before the big day, though, there are other matchups worth watching.

In the Holiday Bowl, where there’s no WAC champ involved for a change, it’s No. 13 Washington and running back Corey Dillon vs. No. 8 Colorado.

In the Cotton, No. 5 BYU, passed over by the Alliance despite a 13-1 record, plays on New Year’s Day for the first time when it meets No. 14 Kansas State (9-2).

In the Citrus, it’s Peyton Manning and No. 9 Tennessee vs. Darnell Autry and No. 11 Northwestern, underrated all year but still co-Big Ten champs.

In the Outback, Gene Stallings coaches his final game as Alabama plays Michigan.

Even before the major postseason begins, there already are winners and losers:

Among the winners:

The Big 12 Conference placed two teams - Nebraska and Texas - in top Alliance games (each team receives $8.5 million).

BYU may have lost out on $8.5 million when it was snubbed by the Alliance, but still receives the sympathy award.

Navy lost another heartbreaker to Army, but an 8-3 record got the Middies a trip to Honolulu for the Aloha Bowl.

Among the losers:

Army posted its first 10-win season and gets to play Auburn at Shreveport, La., in the Independence Bowl. Why couldn’t Army go to Hawaii?

Notre Dame lost to Southern Cal in what turned out to be coach Lou Holtz’s final game, then the Irish rejected invitations to two minor bowl games.

Wyoming finished 10-2 but was not invited to a bowl game.

Here are the picks:

Today

Aloha Bowl

California (minus 1) vs. Navy (at Honolulu): Middies’ first bowl mission since ‘81 … NAVY 20-13.

Dec. 27

Liberty Bowl

Houston (plus 16) vs. Syracuse (at Memphis, Tenn.): Sour Orangemen have tough time with thrilled Cougars … SYRACUSE 32-28.

Carquest Bowl

Miami (minus 3-1/2) vs. Virginia (at Miami): Cavs are 0-7 in Florida, including 0-3 in bowl games there … MIAMI 31-20.

Copper Bowl

Utah (plus 7-1/2) vs. Wisconsin (at Tucson, Ariz.): Badgers’ fans fill the place to watch Ron Dayne run … WISCONSIN 31-21.

Dec. 28

Peach Bowl

Clemson (plus 6-1/2) vs. LSU (at Atlanta): LSU goes for second straight bowl win under coach Gerry DiNardo … LSU 28-20.

Dec. 29

Alamo Bowl

Iowa (plus 3-1/2) vs. Texas Tech (at San Antonio): Remember Byron Hanspard, the 2,000-yard rusher who plays for a bowl team? … TEXAS TECH 31-24.

Dec. 30

Holiday Bowl

Washington (plus 5) vs. Colorado (at San Diego): Can Huskies’ Corey Dillon run against a tough defense? … WASHINGTON 27-24.

Dec. 31

Sun Bowl

Stanford (plus 7) vs. Michigan State (at El Paso, Texas): Loser ends up with .500 record … MICHIGAN STATE 35-24.

Independence Bowl

Auburn (minus 9) vs. Army (at Shreveport, La.): Cadets just keep on rollin’ … ARMY 27-21.

Orange Bowl

Nebraska (minus 17) vs. Virginia Tech (at Miami): Looks like a mismatch, but Hokies familiar with Huskers … NEBRASKA 31-24.

Jan. 1

Outback Bowl

Alabama (plus 1) vs. Michigan (at Tampa, Fla.): Can Tide lose in Stallings’ finale? … ALABAMA 24-21.

Gator Bowl

North Carolina (minus 6) vs. West Virginia (at Jacksonville, Fla.): Tar Heels’ tough defense dominates … NORTH CAROLINA 24-10.

Citrus Bowl

Northwestern (plus 8) vs. Tennessee (at Orlando, Fla.): Don’t overlook Wildcats … NORTHWESTERN 35-28.

Cotton Bowl

Brigham Young (plus 3-1/2) vs. Kansas State (at Dallas): BYU’s Steve Sarkisian puts on a show … BRIGHAM YOUNG 31-28.

Rose Bowl

Arizona State (plus 2) vs. Ohio State (at Pasadena, Calif.): Sun Devils too fast for Buckeyes … ARIZONA STATE 27-24.

Fiesta Bowl

Penn State (plus 1) vs. Texas (at Tempe, Ariz.): Lions averaging over 40 points in last three bowl games … PENN STATE 35-27.

Jan. 2

Sugar Bowl

Florida State (plus 3) vs. Florida (at New Orleans): Seminoles defense rolls … FSU 35-24.

Games of Dec. 7: 3-1 (straight); 2-1-1 (spread).

Season: 196-51 (straight); 114-119-7 (spread).