Some bowl games are already in the books, but plenty remain, especially the big ones, as the New Year dawns. There will be Horned Frogs, Badgers and Bearcats. There will be five undefeated teams going in, but at least two will not leave that way. Here’s our guide to mustwatch games and players. It all starts in Tennessee.
Dec. 27
Gaylord hotels music city bowl
Kentucky vs. Clemson
Nashville, Tenn., 8:30 p.m., ESPN
Dec. 28
Independence Bowl
Georgia vs. Texas A&M
Shreveport, La., 5 p.m., ESPN2
Dec. 29
Champs Sports Bowl
Miami vs. Wisconsin
Orlando, Fla., 8 p.m., ESPN
It’s ACC finesse vs. Big Ten power in Orlando. QB Jacory Harris leads Miami’s dangerous passing attack against Wisconsin’s thundering ground game in a potential shootout.
Dec. 29
EagleBank Bowl
UCLA vs. Temple
Washington D.C., 4:30 p.m., ESPN Temple will be playing its third bowl game. A win over Rick
Neuheisel’s Bruins would run their bowl winning streak to two after they topped California in the 1979 Garden State Bowl.
Dec. 29
Holiday Bowl
Nebraska vs. Arizona
San Diego, Calif., 8 p.m., ESPN
DT Ndamukong Suh had a performance of a lifetime against Texas in the Big XII Championship, but Nebraska came up short. Now they will go up against Arizona, who put up just under 30 points a game while finishing second in the Pac-10 season.
Dec. 30
Humanitarian Bowl
Bowling Green vs. Idaho
Boise, Id., 4:30 p.m., ESPN
Dec. 31
Armed Forces Bowl
Houston vs. Air Force
Fort Worth, Tx., noon, ESPN
A rematch of last season’s Armed Forces Bowl, which Houston won 34-28. QB Case Keenum and Houston put the nation’s top passing offense against Air Force, who were No. 1 in the country against the pass.
Dec. 30
Sun Bowl
Oklahoma vs. Stanford
El Paso, Tx., 2 p.m., CBS
RB Toby Gerhart might have to carry the load against Oklahoma as Stanford will be without starting QB Andrew Luck.
That shouldn’t be a problem for Gerhart, who amassed 1,736 yards and 26 rushing touchdowns for the Cardinal this season. Win or lose, it will be a disappointing season for Oklahoma. Injuries kept QB Sam Bradford from playing all but one full game as the Sooners stumbled to a 7-5 record with freshman QB Landry Jones under center.
Dec. 31
Texas Bowl
Missouri vs. Navy
Houston, Tx., 3:30 p.m., ESPN
Dec. 31
Insight Bowl
Minnesota vs. Iowa State
Tempe, Az., 6 p.m., NFLN
Dec. 31
Chick-fil-A Bowl
Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee
Atlanta, Ga., 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Jan. 1
Outback Bowl
Auburn vs. Northwestern
Tampa, Fla., 11 a.m., ESPN
Jan. 1
Gator Bowl
West Virginia vs. Florida State
Jacksonville, Fla.; 1 p.m., CBS
Bobby Bowden’s 34-year run at Florida State will come to an end on New Year’s Day. The legendary coach, who won two national titles at Florida State, retired under pressure on Dec. 1, but he wanted to stay on to coach the team in their bowl game. It will give Bowden an opportunity to end his career with a win after the Seminoles lost their regular-season finale against Florida. But it won’t be easy against West Virginia, which just defeated Pittsburgh and Rutgers.
Jan. 1
Capital One Bowl
Penn State vs. LSU
Orlando, Fla., 1 p.m., ABC
This matchup is about as even as it gets with Joe Paterno’s 13th-ranked Penn State squad going against No. 12 LSU.
Jan. 1
Rose Bowl
Oregon vs. Ohio State
Pasadena, Calif., 4:30 p.m., CBS
The season started awfully for RB Legarrette Blount and Oregon, but it can end awful sweet with a win over Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.
The Pac-10 champs opened the year with a 19-8 loss to Boise State, but worse than that Blount punched an opposing player after the defeat.
Blount was suspended, but returned for the season finale and scored a touchdown in a win over rival Oregon State that clinched the Ducks’ spot in the Rose Bowl.
Waiting for them is Big Ten power Ohio State, who will be playing in their first Rose Bowl in a dozen years.
Jan. 1
Sugar Bowl
Florida vs. Cincinnati
New Orleans, La., 8:30 P.M., Fox
If Cincinnati hopes to finish off their undefeated season, they must overcome the loss of head coach Brian Kelly, who used his team’s success as a platform to get the Notre Dame job.
Butch Jones, who also proceeded Kelly at Central Michigan, will take over the program and his first game will be tougher than any he faced while coaching in the MAC. Jones and the Bearcats get 12-1 Florida in the Sugar Bowl after the Gators fell short against Alabama in the SEC Championship. Two-time BCS champion Tim
Tebow will try to end his college career on a winning note and end Cincinnati’s season on a sour one.
Jan. 2
International Bowl
South Florida vs. Northern Illinois
Toronto, ON., noon, ESPN2
Jan. 2
Papajohns.com Bowl
South Carolina vs. Connecticut
Birmingham, Al., 2 p.m., ESPN
Jan. 2
Cotton Bowl
Ole Miss vs. Oklahoma State
Arlington, Tx., 2 p.m., Fox
Jan. 2
Liberty Bowl
Arkansas vs. East Carolina
Memphis, Tn., 5:30 p.m., ESPN
Jan. 2
Alamo Bowl
Texas Tech vs. Michigan State
San Antonio, Tx., 9 p.m., ESPN
The Red Raiders’ offense could have a field day against the Spartans, who will be without nine suspended players.
Jan. 4
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
TCU vs. Boise State
Glendale, Ariz. 8 p.m., Fox
It’s the poor man’s national title game. A pair of undefeateds will square off in Arizona in a game that will decide, who is the better of the BCS-busting squads.
The Horned Frogs are led offensively by a trio of running backs — Joseph Turner, Matthew Tucker and Ed Wesley. They are joined by QB Andrew Dalton, who can hurt the Broncos with his legs (522 rushing yards) and arm (2,484 passing yards and 22 touchdowns).
But TCU’s best player is on defense. DE Jerry Hughes will be playing the final game of his impressive college career. Boise State started the season by knocking off No. 16 Oregon and, as usual, dominated their WAC Conference opponents on their way to a 13-0 season. QB Kellen Moore threw 39 touchdowns and Boise averaged a shade over 44 points per game. They have not scored under 40 points in a game since Oct. 14.
Jan. 5
Orange Bowl
Georgia Tech vs. Iowa
Miami, Fla. 8 p.m., Fox
Jan. 6
GMAC Bowl
Central Michigan vs. Troy
Mobile, Al., 7 p.m., ESPN
Jan. 7
BCS National Championship
Alabama vs. Texas
Pasadena, Calif., 8 p.m., Fox
What a great season it has been for Mark Ingram.
Ingram’s three touchdowns propelled Alabama to a 32-13 win over hated Florida in the SEC Championship. A week later Ingram was voted the Heisman Trophy winner. And now Ingram will look to lead the Crimson Tide to their first national title since 1992.
Standing in Alabama’s way is Texas. While Alabama bashed the unbeaten, defending-champion Gators in their conference title game, Texas needed every last second to survive Nebraska in the Big XII Championship Game. Hunter Lawrence’s field goal with :01 left was the difference in the 13-12 game that sent the Longhorns to Pasadena.
The Crimson Tide are the favorites in the battle between the two 13-0 teams. But it would be a mistake to discount the Longhorns and QB Colt McCoy, who before their struggles in the title game had bullied their way through the regular season racking up 43 points a game. One thing is a near certainty: It will take more than 13 points to beat Alabama.
Just ask Florida.
jterranova@nypost.com
