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RAVE- Here are the Advisor's favorite bowl game match-ups:

1. The BCS Title Game: Ohio State vs LSU- Say what you will about who's in and who's out, but the Buckeyes and the Tigers both have pretty good arguments in making the Title game. I really wish this game was in another place other than New Orleans because it is a huge advantage for the Tigers. I went to the 2004 Sugar Bowl, where LSU beat Oklahoma and I'm telling you that place was as psychotic as it should have been. I actually think the Buckeyes can hang with the Bayou Bengals, but with the game in the Queen City it is going to take a monumental effort.

2. The Holiday Bowl: Arizona State vs Texas- Out of all the bowls I think this one is the most evenly matched. I think this is going to be a great ball game and should tell a lot about each conference. If Arizona State wins the Pac-10 will get a very big feather in it's cap. Other than USC this conference hasn't done that great in bowl games and needs another team to step up and get a marquee win. For Texas this season has been less than spectacular and the 'Horns have to win this game in order to build for next year. I think both teams will be excited to play each other and it should be a great game.

3. The Cotton Bowl: Arkansas vs Missouri- This game could have a lot of fireworks, with two Heisman candidates going up against each other. I think Razorback RB Darren McFadden is going to be running hard in what should be his last game in a Hog uniform while Tiger QB Chase Daniel and the rest of his team should feel more than a little slighted that they didn't get a BCS bowl bid. It will also be interesting to see who's coaching the Hogs and if they play hard for him.

4. Outback Bowl: Wisconsin vs Tennessee- I think this could be a great game and should offer a little insight on how the BCS Title Game could play out. The Badgers went out and beat Arkansas last year in the Capital One Bowl and showed they were more than capable of hanging with SEC speed. Tennessee was close to winning the SEC, but couldn't quite get it done. A win in this game would give head coach Phil Fulmer a 10 win season and should shut up a least some of the critics down in Knoxville.

5. Gator Bowl: Virginia vs Texas Tech- You talk about an interesting match up. You have a team that has won all of their games in spite of their defense (in the Red Raiders) and a team that won because of their defense (in the Cavaliers). I think this game is going to be a lot of fun to watch.

RANT- I would just like to ask the BCS bowl committees what they were thinking when they came up with the match-ups. The Rose Bowl really makes me angry. I know they like to have a Pac 10/Big 10 match up, but when there isn't a decent one out there, don't just throw two teams together. It doesn't take a genius to know that USC is a much better team than Illinois. No offense meant to the Illini, but come on, you guys know this is true. The Trojans are a lot better than most teams out there. It would be nice if the Rose Bowl wanted to make a good football game instead of sticking to tradition. How much fun would a USC-Georgia game be or how about a USC-Missouri game?

   I would also like to address the Orange Bowl taking Kansas instead of Missouri. Why would you take a Jayhawk team that lost to Missouri only a couple of weeks ago, over the Tigers? It means their game on November 24 meant absolutely nothing in the scheme of things. So next time I say I want a playoff I don't want to hear anyone tell me how that would diminish the importance of the regular season, because guess what? The Bowl games are doing that too.

    I would also like someone to explain to me why there are 32 bowl games. There are only 119 FBS schools and 64 of them get a bowl game. I know I would feel entitled to a bowl game if my team went 6-6 in the WAC. Any way here is my list of the worst bowl games of the year.

1. New Mexico Bowl: New Mexico vs Nevada- Now here is the real question, "Is going to Albuquerque in December really a reward?" This game puts a 6-6 Nevada team against an 8-4 New Mexico club. Now if that doesn't get your heart racing you might want to check your pulse, because you could be dead.

2. Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl: BYU vs UCLA- Do you know what's a lot of fun? When two teams, that have already played this season, play again in a bowl game that doesn't mean anything. The only reason I can think of to go to this game is that your wife will allow you to go to Vegas with your buddies, while she stays behind. If you are lucky enough to have a wife that does that consider yourself very lucky, go to Vegas and skip this game.

3. The International Bowl: Rutgers vs Ball State- A bowl game in Toronto, who came up with that one? Boy are the Canadians lucky to get this game matching two 7-5 football teams. I'm telling you, if I were Canadian I would rather watch curling.

4. New Orleans Bowl: Florida Atlantic vs Memphis- Alright, a game between the Sun Belt's #1 team and Conference USA's fifth best team. I know I've been wondering if the Sun Belt could really hang with the powerhouses of the C-USA and this should answer my question.

RAVE- Here are my biggest surprises this year:

1. The Kansas Jayhawks - The Jayhawks are 11-1 and were once ranked #2 in the nation. I know this team played a weak schedule, but going 11-1, when you went 6-6 a year ago is still very impressive. KU is now in a BCS Bowl game and has a chance to have their greatest season ever with a win. Head coach Mark Mangino really has things going well in Lawrence and should have this team at the top of the Big 12 North for awhile. I think Missouri should also get a little love as being a surprise, but while the Tigers looked to be improved this season, I'm not sure anyone saw the Jayhawks coming.

2. The Connecticut Huskies- There was a point this season when the Huskies were 8-1 and ranked #13 in the BCS. All of their losses came against teams that are currently in the Top 25 and one of those losses was by 1 point to Virginia. Not bad for a program that has been playing big time college football for 6 years.

3. The Illinois Fighting Illini- Considering this team won 5 more games this year than they had in Ron Zook's first 2 years should tell you a lot. At the beginning of this season Zook was on the hot seat and needed a good season to take some pressure off. Not only did he have a good season, he had a great one. Going 9-3 and heading to the Rose Bowl is incredible. Look out for this team in the future as the Zooksters could become a force in a Big 10 that has been down for several seasons.

4. The Virginia Cavaliers- Virginia won 6 games by 5 points or less and became the kings of close calls. I'm still not sure what happened in the first week when the Cavs were destroyed by Wyoming 23-3. If they had won that game this team would be 10-2 and maybe play in a BCS bowl game. Al Groh was feeling the heat coming into this season, especially after that butt-kicking the Cowboys gave his team, but I think he is quite safe right now.

5. How about all of these upsets that happened? This season was the craziest I can ever remember. Top teams were falling every week and it wasn't against the best competition. Oklahoma lost to 2 unranked teams, LSU lost at home to an unranked team, USC lost at home to Stanford, West Virginia lost at home to Pittsburgh, Michigan lost at home to Appalachian State and the list goes on and on. I think this will be the norm for college football from here on out. With all of the limits on recruiting and early departures to the NFL the playing field has been leveling off for awhile now. With college football evolving it is time the NCAA philosophy evolves also. The bowl system is just not capable of giving the country a true national champion. Right now there are 8 teams that on any given day could win the national title. This season has been fantastic to watch, but in the end it left the entire nation scratching its head. There really is no way to justify the present bowl system and anyone that tries really doesn't have a leg to stand on. I know you want to keep the season important and controversy keeps college football interesting, but trust me if you only have a 4 or 8 team playoff there will still be plenty of controversy to go around. Also having a small number of teams make the postseason matchups will keep the season important.

RANT- It seems there have been a ton of disappointments this year. I will only give you my top 5, but I will also list some honorable mentions.

1. Notre Dame- I'm telling you there were times this season the Irish looked like the worst team I have ever seen. The only saving grace of this team was a very underrated defense that actually kept games closer than they should have been. The offense was painful to watch. At the beginning of the year the Center and Quarterback couldn't even hike the ball properly. After the first three games ND still had negative rushing yards on the season and in the end, ND ranked dead last in total offense. I really didn't think this team was going to be that good this year, but I wasn't expecting the Keystone Cops either.

2. Louisville's Defense- So how bad was the Cardinal's defense this season? Let me say this, I think if Notre Dame played this team they would score 30 points. Okay maybe not, but they were still bad and cost this team dearly. Whenever Syracuse scores 38 points on you, there has to be something wrong. Middle Tennessee State and Utah each put up over 550 yards on U of L, while South Florida swatted these guys like it was their 100th birthday. I think major changes will be made in the off-season and a whole new defensive scheme will be put in place.

3. California's Offense- The Bear's offense should have been one of the most potent units in the country. I mean if you can't score with WR DeSean Jackson, WR Lavelle Hawkins and RB Justin Forsett you simply aren't trying. In the end Cal finished ranked 59th in both total offense and scoring offense nationally. QB Nate Longshore simply didn't have a good year and really held this team back. It's hard to believe the Bears were once ranked as the #2 team in the country and now are 6-6, losing 6 out of their last 7 games. Head coach Jeff Tedford's reputation took a huge hit this year.

4. UCLA Bruins- This was one of the hardest teams to figure out this season as they would surprise you one week and then play terrible the next. A lot of people had the Bruins picked as a sleeper for the Pac-10 title. They had a lot of talent coming back, particularly on defense, and the offense looked to improve this season. While injuries did play a part in this season, they still don't explain some of the losses. For instance Notre Dame got their first win against UCLA in the Rose Bowl. Utah beat these guys 44-6 and Washington State won 27-7. Karl Dorrell is out and it's time to get a big name guy in there.  I'm thinking Texas Tech's Mike Leach might have the magic.

5. Florida State Seminoles- Here's the deal. This season was suppose to be a big step up for the 'Noles. Big Papa Bowden went out and got these big time assistants. He got offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher and O-Line coach Rick Trickett. These guys were going to whip FSU's offense into shape and get back that swagger this team has been missing the last couple of years. So what were the results? A 7-5 season with the nation's 82nd ranked offense in total yards. This offense was bad and there's no way around it. If Bowden wasn't the icon that he, there is a good chance he wouldn't be back next year. Things have to change in Tallahassee in a hurry or else it could get nasty at FSU.

Honorable mention: South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Oregon QB Dennis Dixon getting injured, Rutgers, Kansas State, Alabama.

RAVE- I would just like to go ahead and congratulate Florida QB Tim Tebow on being the first sophomore ever to win the Heisman. I'm sorry, if he doesn't win it then this award loses a lot of its credibility. Tebow's season is one for the record books and he has been the most consistent candidate all season long. I know Arkansas RB Darren McFadden has had a great year, but it's not even comparable to the Gator QB. In the end Tebow's 51 tds and 3,970 total yards is impossible to overlook.

RANT- Can someone please explain to me why Arkansas was so hot and heavy for Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden? And then can someone tell me why Clemson did all they could to keep him? The last thing the Razorbacks want is Bowden. This guy is coaching what should be one of the premiere programs in the ACC and simply can't win the big game. Here is an interesting stat, Wake Forest has 1 ACC title while Clemson hasn't even been in the running for the crown since 2000. Do you think Bowden will come into a tougher conference and all of a sudden figure out how to win big games. As far as Clemson rushing to give their head coach 2 million, I would have said if the Hogs want to pay him more than what we're paying, have at it. I really don't think Bowden is worth all that money and it would have allowed the Tigers to get rid of him without being the bad guy.

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