I miss the days of Boise State and TCU, annoying when it came to declaring two teams to play in the national championship, but intriguing when matched up against a major conference school in a BCS Bowl (besides the year when they played each other). Those two teams entered bowl season with something to prove and most people wanted to see them do it. (Boise State won both of its Fiesta Bowl appearances, one against Oklahoma, 43-42 in overtime, and the other against TCU, 17-10; TCU beat Wisconsin, 21-19, in the 2011 Rose Bowl).

We don't really have any unknowns this year playing in major bowls, besides the two playing in the big game (How good is Florida State and just how hot are the Tigers?) We know how good Ohio State is; we know how good Michigan State is (probably a little worse than the Buckeyes, but hotter); we know Alabama is great, but beatable; we don't know anything about Central Florida, but we don't really expect much from them either; we know Oklahoma doesn't deserve to play Alabama and Clemson doesn't deserve to play Ohio State over Oregon or Missouri or South Carolina; we know Stanford can intimidate west coast teams (at least their matchup with the Spartans has some intrigue because we don't know how well their style will translate to Big Ten play).

What we know but want to see is teams like Clemson and Oklahoma get blown out, and schools like South Carolina and LSU crush their opponents to validate the power of the SEC and (partially) invalidate the BCS system. Or maybe we want to see the opposite: SEC schools struggling on Bowl day and heavy favorites like Alabama and Ohio State lose. Whatever the case, it's all about SEC teams in non-BCS Bowls this season. Below is my top five non-BCB bowl games (the remaining four are in a separate article), and, no surprise, they all involve favored SEC teams (as if the opposite existed). I only didn't include Missouri-Oklahoma State because that game feels too much like a BCS game. Plus, Missouri already had their chance, and, unlike Harry from "Dumb and Dumber," they don't have the opportunity to "totally redeem themselves," only partially.

4.. Iowa vs. #16 LSU, Jan. 1, 1:00 p.m. EST, Outback Bowl: I love the season LSU had and I love their quarterback, Zach Mettenberger (3,000 yards, 22 TDs, and a draft prospect), who unfortunately won't play because of a left knee injury (otherwise this game would have been ranked higher). Mettenberger was unreal during the Texas A&M game, which felt like a culmination of the Tigers' season. He was always calm in the pocket and hit receivers in stride with some accurate touch passes slung from a pleasing throwing motion.

I think the Tigers win this game convincingly, even without their stud taking the every down snaps. If they do, expect them to climb high in the final polls.

For part two, click here.