2012 College Football Bowl Intrigue Rankings
Posted by deaconcat08 on December 11, 2012
Every season I publish a ranking of the most intriguing/interesting bowl games so that you have an idea about which games to tune into. It is worth mentioning that while other sportswriters and websites do similar lists this one is unique in that it doesn’t feature the typical bias towards BCS conference teams and games. You will see that many of the smaller bowls are ranked ahead of the traditionally prestigious ones because they will be better games and/or possess more compelling storylines. Keep in mind that these rankings are based on my opinion alone, so there is some subjectivity involved. Without further ado, here is my complete ranking of the 2012 bowl games. Feel free to comment and debate.
| 1 | Jan. 7 | National Title Game | Notre Dame vs. Alabama | 8:30 | ESPN |
| 2 | Jan. 1 | Orange | Northern Illinois vs. Florida State | 8:30 | ESPN |
| 3 | Jan. 3 | Fiesta | Oregon vs. Kansas State | 8:30 | ESPN |
| 4 | Jan. 1 | Outback | South Carolina vs. Michigan | 1:00 | ESPN |
| 5 | Jan. 6 | Godaddy.com | Kent State vs. Arkansas State | 9:00 | ESPN |
| 6 | Jan. 1 | Rose | Wisconsin vs. Stanford | 5:00 | ESPN |
| 7 | Dec. 29 | Alamo | Texas vs. Oregon State | 6:45 | ESPN |
| 8 | Dec. 31 | Chick-fil-a | LSU vs. Clemson | 7:30 | ESPN |
| 9 | Jan. 1 | Gator | Mississippi St. vs. Northwestern | 12:00 | ESPN 2 |
| 10 | Dec. 15 | Famous Idaho Potato | Toledo vs. Utah State | 4:30 | ESPN |
| 11 | Jan. 2 | Sugar | Louisville vs. Florida | 8:30 | ESPN |
| 12 | Jan. 5 | BBVA Compass | Pittsburgh vs. Ole Miss | 1:00 | ESPN |
| 13 | Dec. 27 | Belk | Cincinnati vs. Duke | 6:30 | ESPN |
| 14 | Dec. 31 | Music City | NC State vs. Vanderbilt | 12:05 | ESPN |
| 15 | Jan. 4 | Cotton Bowl | Texas A & M vs. Oklahoma | 8:00 | FOX |
| 16 | Jan. 1 | Capital One | Georgia vs. Nebraska | 1:00 | ABC |
| 17 | Dec. 27 | Holiday | Baylor vs. UCLA | 9:45 | ESPN |
| 18 | Dec. 20 | Poinsettia | BYU vs. San Diego State | 8:00 | ESPN |
| 19 | Dec. 29 | Kraft Fight Hunger | West Virginia vs. Syracuse | 3:15 | ESPN |
| 20 | Dec. 28 | Russell Athletic | Rutgers vs. Virginia Tech | 5:30 | ESPN |
| 21 | Dec. 22 | Las Vegas | Washington vs. Boise State | 3:30 | ESPN |
| 22 | Dec. 15 | New Mexico | Nevada vs. Arizona | 1:00 | ESPN |
| 23 | Dec. 21 | Beef O’Brady’s | UCF vs. Ball State | 7:30 | ESPN |
| 24 | Dec. 26 | Little Caesars | Western KY vs. Central Mich. | 7:30 | ESPN |
| 25 | Dec. 29 | Buffalo Wild Wings | TCU vs. Michigan State | 10:15 | ESPN |
| 26 | Dec. 22 | New Orleans | East Carolina vs. UL-Lafayette | 12:00 | ESPN |
| 27 | Dec. 28 | Meineke Car Care of TX | Minnesota vs. Texas Tech | 9:00 | ESPN |
| 28 | Dec. 29 | Pinstripe | Navy vs. Arizona State | 3:15 | ESPN 2 |
| 29 | Dec. 27 | Military | San Jose St.vs. Bowling Green | 3:00 | ESPN |
| 30 | Dec. 28 | Independence | Ohio vs. UL-Monroe | 2:00 | ESPN |
| 31 | Dec. 24 | Hawaii | Fresno State vs. SMU | 8:00 | ESPN |
| 32 | Dec. 31 | Sun Bowl | Southern Cal vs. Georgia Tech | 2:00 | CBS |
| 33 | Dec. 31 | Liberty Bowl | Iowa State vs. Tulsa | 3:30 | ESPN |
| 34 | Dec. 29 | Armed Forces | Rice vs. Air Force | 11:45 | ESPN |
| 35 | Jan. 1 | Heart of Dallas | Purdue vs. Oklahoma State | 12:00 | ESPNU |