Your guide to the bowls, from Vegas to the big one

By Berry Tramel

Published: December 18, 2006

TNT bills its NBA playoff coverage as 40 Games in 40 Nights. Big whoopee compared to college football bowls: 32 games in 21 days.

Some decry the glut of bowls. And some of these demented minds don't come from New Hampshire or San Francisco; they come from right here in Gridiron Gulch. Who ever thought they'd hear someone from Oklahoma complain, "too much football”?

Therapy is available for these misguided souls, in the form of today's bowl picks, complete with fascinating angles on every showdown.

TCU vs. Northern Illinois, 7 p.m. Tuesday, ESPN2. Lee Corso coached Northern to a 4-6-1 record in 1984. So go with the Frogs 19-7.

BYU vs. Oregon, 7 p.m. Thursday, ESPN. The Ducks have benched their two best players from the Oklahoma farce, QB Dennis Dixon and Gordon Riese. Brigham Young 30-21.

Rice vs. Troy, 7 p.m. Friday, ESPN2. It could be worse. It could be Montana vs. Novacek. Rice 37-34.

South Florida vs. East Carolina, noon Saturday, ESPN2. True story — an East Carolina player once scored a touchdown and ran in front of a school cannon that was shot off after TDs. Knocked the player to the ground. Took 16 years before they got the cannon reinstated to ballgames. South Florida 24-12.

San Jose State vs. New Mexico, 3:30 p.m. Saturday, ESPN. New Mexico coach Rocky Long's daughter, Roxanne, once was a Sherri Coale sharpshooter. Home squad 26-21.

Tulsa vs. Utah, 7 p.m. Saturday, ESPN. 7-5 Utes sound tough but aren't; their victims are a combined 30-53. Tulsa 28-20.

Arizona State vs. Hawaii, 7 p.m. Sunday, ESPN. Last hurrah for deposed Sun Devil coach Dirk Koetter, who should have taken the O-State post. Hawaii 51-35.

Middle Tennessee vs. Central Michigan, 6:30 p.m. Dec. 26, ESPN. Never thought about it until this matchup, but "Middle” is a goofy name for a school. Central 24-19.

UCLA vs. Florida State, 7 p.m. Dec. 27, ESPN. College football's great untold story is how bad 6-6 Florida State actually is. Seminole victims include Troy, Rice, Duke and Western Michigan. UCLA 29-14.

Oklahoma State vs. Alabama, 3:30 p.m. Dec. 28, ESPN. The Tide lost at Arkansas, Florida, Tennessee and LSU by a combined 18 points. Shreveport will seem like a home game. 'Bama 24-23.

Texas A&M vs. California, 7 p.m. Dec. 28, ESPN. Scary thought: 9-3 Aggies are nine points and an Arrowhead Stadium win from playing Ohio State for the national title. A&M 28-26.

Kansas State vs. Rutgers, 7 p.m. Dec. 28, NFL Network. The K-State of the East vs. the Original. Rutgers 19-14.

Clemson vs. Kentucky, noon Dec. 29, ESPN. This is UK's seventh bowl game since Bear Bryant bolted for Texas A&M in 1954. Kentucky 26-17.

Missouri vs. Oregon State, 1 p.m. Dec. 29, CBS. Beavers had no winning records between 1970 and 1999. Since then, they've beaten Notre Dame twice and have the third-best Pac-10 record. Oregon State 34-24.

South Carolina vs. Houston, 3:30 p.m. Dec. 29, ESPN. Gamecocks have the better name; UH has the better tradition and the better quarterback. Kevin Kolb 33-17.

Texas Tech vs. Minnesota, 6:30 p.m. Dec. 29, NFL Network. Everyone keeps asking why Mike Leach doesn't get a better job; the real question is how Glen Mason keeps his. Mason is a combined 111-110-1 in 20 years at Kansas and Minnesota, with nine winning records. Not bad. But not good. Tech 35-24.

Purdue vs. Maryland, 7 p.m. Dec. 29, ESPN. Maryland finished fourth in a league won by Wake Forest. Purdue finished fourth in a league won by Ohio State. Boilermakers 27-25.

Navy vs. Boston College, noon Dec. 30, ESPN. Could coachless BC be waiting to hire away Navy's Paul Johnson? Eagles could do worse. Navy 21-20.

Texas vs. Iowa, 3:30 p.m. Dec. 30, ESPN. Mack Brown's genius went as quickly as it came. But Hawkeyes stink. Longhorns 28-14.

Georgia vs. Virginia Tech, 7 p.m. Dec. 30, ESPN. Love the Wake Forest story, but V-Tech is the best team in the ACC. V-Tech, 10-2, is one of the eight best teams in America. Hokies 27-0.

Miami vs. Nevada, 6:30 p.m. Dec. 31, ESPN. Strange trip. Miami will be coached by the fired Larry Coker, with his successor, Randy Shannon, running the 'Cane defense. Miami 7-6.

Tennessee vs. Penn State, 10 a.m. Jan. 1, ESPN. The Coaching Stability Bowl. Joe Paterno, you know about. But Phil Fulmer is completing his 15th year as Tennessee's boss, ranking him No. 5 in Division I-A, behind Paterno (41 years), Bobby Bowden (31), Frank Beamer (20) and Jeff Bower (16). Penn State 17-16.

Nebraska vs. Auburn, 10:30 a.m. Jan. 1, Fox. Huskers getting better, Tigers getting worse. Nebraska 17-14.

West Virginia vs. Georgia Tech, noon Jan. 1, CBS. I'm a big Chan Gailey fan, but if you can't beat Wake Forest in Jacksonville, you can't beat West Virginia. Mountaineers 33-7.

Arkansas vs. Wisconsin, noon Jan. 1, ABC. Very gracious of those Razorback parents to allow Houston Nutt to coach the team. Wisconsin 28-21.

USC vs. Michigan, 4 p.m. Jan. 1, ABC. Those in the know say Wolverines are better than Florida. Michigan 27-17.

Oklahoma vs. Boise State, 7 p.m. Jan. 1, Fox. Did you ever notice Oklahoma and Idaho are shaped a lot alike? Just move the Arkansas border to the bottom and fatten out part of the Panhandle, and they're dead ringers. OU 21-13.

Louisville vs. Wake Forest, 7 p.m. Jan. 2, Fox. Wake's Jim Grobe is the best coach in the country, and it's really not very close. Still, Louisville 34-16.

Notre Dame vs. LSU, 7 p.m. Jan. 3, Fox. Hard to feel sorry for the Irish, but I do, having to put up with those crazy LSU fans on Bourbon Street. LSU 39-10.

Cincinnati vs. Western Michigan, 11 a.m. Jan. 6, ESPN2. This one might test that theory about never enough football. Cincy 17-13.

Ohio vs. Southern Miss, 7 p.m. Jan. 7, ESPN. Frank Solich wanted the Army job a few years ago. Maybe he can get Air Force and run Tom Osborne's option. Southern Miss 20-10.

Ohio State vs. Florida, 7 p.m. Jan. 8, Fox. If Buckeyes win, Jim Tressel jumps past Bob Stoops, Lloyd Carr, Mack Brown and all the other coaches with only one national title. He would join Pete Carroll, Bowden, Paterno and Dennis Erickson as the lone active coaches to twice sit atop the mountain. Ohio State 25-14.