3. Nebraska vs. #22 Georgia, Jan. 1, 12:00 p.m. EST, Gator Bowl: Yes, I'm in love with the SEC and the LSU-like season played by Georgia (impressive wins and tough losses). The Bulldogs, however, had even more drama than the Tigers, highlighted by the insanely-unlucky play at the end of the Auburn game. Bounces and misreads like that change seasons. For fans, it changed this year for the better. Now we get to watch Auburn ride unprecedented momentum into the championship game (consecutive wins over Georgia, Alabama, and Missouri) and possibly watch Georgia unleash their frustrations on Nebraska. The Bulldogs, who crushed Kentrucky (2-10) after the Auburn game, only beat Georgia Tech in overtime the next week, so maybe this game will be close. Still, they clearly possess elite-level talent. Watch for it.
2. #19 Wisconsin vs. #9 South Carolina, Jan.1, 1:00 p.m. EST, Capital One Bowl: If you've been following the times, all three games mentioned are either on at the same time or within an hour of each other (this one starts at the same time as Georgia's game and an hour after LSU's game). Casual SEC fans like myself won't mind, for we can flip through games depending on competitiveness, but stricter followers might be a little perturbed, similar to the way Steve Spurrier and his Gamecocks felt after being excluded from a major bowl. At least they drew a ranked opponent. South Carolina's year has basically been a better version of Georgia's and LSU's. Since losing to Tennessee, 23-21, on Oct. 19, they've won their last five games, one an overtime thriller against Missouri, the other a clean win over Clemson, 31-17. Of the three ranked SEC teams not in a BCS game (besides Texas A&M), a win here will warrant their season a relative success, and potentially drive them into the top five in the final poll.
1. There is no number one: Instead, I'd rather point out the flaws in the potential candidates, such as 10 Oregon vs. Texas. The nation, for this year at least, is tired of both, Oregon for comments a player made about not wanting to play in the Rose Bowl at the expense of the national championship (they didn't end up making either game) and their potentially played-out uniform switches, and Texas for grabbing the head coaching headlines for weeks even though their program hasn't been elite in years. As a big Johnny Manziel fan, it pains me to exclude his Aggies, but they've failed to win too many big games for their matchup vs. Duke to mean much. I've already mentioned the Missouri-Oklahoma State game, Teddy Bridgewater isn't that fun to watch, and only the top teams in the PAC-12 are news-worthy, even if its other teams, like #17 UCLA and #14 Arizona State, had great years.
