One More Chance to Call the Whole (College Football) Thing Off

Because someone has to provide this service, each year I rank the college bowl games from best to worst based on (1) the quality of the teams playing each other in the game and (2) how competitive the game appears to be based on the oddsmakers' lines.

For the first time that I've been doing this in the BCS era, the game that is supposed to decide the national championship did not come out No. 1 on my list. And one of the mighty BCS bowls (the Rose, in case you want to know) didn't even make it into the Top 10, although it was close.

This list can also serve as a guide for those of you out there who, like me, like to see as many of these games as possible and must make decisions when two games are on at the same time.

So here's the list of this season's bowl games, ranked from best to worst, with the teams playing in them, the time and date of the game and the television network that will be carrying it. All times listed are Central Standard.

1. Orange: Virginia Tech vs. Kansas, 7 p.m., 1/3, Fox
2. Fiesta: Oklahoma vs. West Virginia, 7 p.m., 1/2, Fox
3. BCS National Championship: LSU vs. Ohio State, 7 p.m., 1/7, Fox
4. Holiday: Texas vs. Arizona State; 7 p.m., 12/27, ESPN
5. Cotton: Missouri vs. Arkansas, 10:30 a.m., 1/1, Fox
6. Sun: South Florida vs. Oregon, 1 p.m., 12/31, CBS
7. Chick-fil-A: Clemson vs. Auburn, 6:30 p.m., 12/31, ESPN
8. Sugar: Georgia vs. Hawaii, 7:30 p.m., 1/1, Fox
9. Capital One: Florida vs. Michigan, noon, 1/1, ABC
10. Music City: Kentucky vs. Florida State, 3 p.m., 12/31, ESPN
11. Rose: Southern California vs. Illinois, 4 p.m., 1/1, ABC
12. Outback: Tennessee vs. Wisconsin, 10 a.m.. 1/1 ESPN
13. Champs Sports: Boston College vs. Michigan State, 4 p.m., 12/28, ESPN
14. Meineke Car Care: Wake Forest vs. Connecticut, noon, 12/29, ESPN
15. Las Vegas: BYU vs. UCLA, 7 p.m., 12/22 ESPN
16. Emerald: Oregon State vs. Maryland, 7 p.m., 12/28, ESPN
17. Gator: Texas Tech vs. Virginia, noon, 1/1, CBS
18. Alamo: Penn State vs. Texas A&M, 7 p.m., 12/29, ESPN
19. Armed Forces: California vs. Air Force, 11:30 a.m., 12/31. ESPN
20. Independence: Alabama vs. Colorado, 7 p.m., 12/30, ESPN
21. Liberty: Central Florida vs. Mississippi State, 3:30 p.m., 12/29, ESPN
22. Insight: Oklahoma State at Indiana, 6:30 p.m., 12/31, NFL Network
23. Humanitarian: Georgia Tech vs. Fresno State, 1 p.m., 12/31, ESPN2
24. Hawaii: Boise State vs. East Carolina, 7 p.m., 12/23, ESPN
25. Poinsetta: Utah vs Navy, 8 p.m., 12/20, ESPN
26. PapaJohns.com: Cincinnati vs. Southern Mississippi, noon, 12/22, ESPN2
27. International: Rutgers vs. Ball State, 11 a.m., 1/5, ESPN2
28. Texas: TCU vs. Houston, 7 p.m., 12/28, NFL Network
29. Motor City: Purdue vs. Central Michigan, 6:30 p.m., 12/26, ESPN
30. New Mexico: Nevada at New Mexico, 3:30 p.m., 12/22, ESPN
31. GMAC: Tulsa vs. Bowling Green, 7 p.m., 1/6, ESPN
32. New Orleans: Fla. Atlantic vs. Memphis, 7 p.m., 12/21, ESPN2