Baylor-Michigan (The Quarterback Bowl)
Two of the most exciting quarterbacks in the country in one game? Yes please. Whether it is through the air or on the ground, Robert Griffin III of Baylor and Denard Robinson of Michigan, make big, exciting plays. Just look at the offense these two players have accumulated. Griffin has 3768 passing yards with a 72.6 percent completion record for 34 touchdowns to just five interceptions. On the ground, Griffin has 612 yards on 149 carries for an average of 4.1 yards per carry and seven touchdowns. Robinson caused more damage on the ground, rushing for 1163 yards on 208 carries for an average of 5.6 yards per carry and 18 touchdowns. His passing numbers weren't as great as Griffin's though as he threw for 2056 yards with a 56.1% completion record with 18 touchdowns to 14 interceptions. Griffin has amassed 4290 yards and Robinson 3219. By himself, Griffin rank as the 86th best offense in the country based on total yards. Go back and watch Griffin's game against Oklahoma and Robinson's game against Ohio State this past weekend and you can see why having these two players on the same field would be so much fun. Neither team has much of a defense to speak of so scoring could up in the 50's with both of these quarterbacks orchestrating a dream of a game.
LSU-Stanford (Honey Badger vs. Luck Bowl)
Andrew Luck came into this season as the Heisman front runner and the favorite to be the number one draft pick in next April's NFL Draft. Actually, he would have been the first draft pick in the 2011 NFL draft as well. Since the beginning of the season another player has captured the hearts and minds of the American public, Tyrann Mathieu. Oh but you don't know him by that name you know him as the "Honey Badger". There hasn't been a player this season that has been more exciting than the Honey Badger. He just makes big plays. This season he has forced six fumbles, had four fumble recoveries and returned two of those for touchdowns, had a punt return for a touchdown, two interceptions, and 66 total tackles. His name is on the Heisman list and he has had one heck of a season. Now this wouldn't really be Luck vs. the Honey Badger as both the Stanford offense and the LSU defense are more than one player, but those are the stars. Stanford's offense comes in ranked 5th in scoring offense and LSU's defense is ranked 2nd in scoring defense. This isn't David vs. Goliath, this is Goliath vs. Goliath.
Florida State-Texas A&M (Disappointment Bowl)
Both of these teams started the season in Top 10 of the AP poll, Florida State at 6th and Texas A&M at 8th. In the latest AP poll, of the two teams only Florida State was ranked and that was at 25th. Combined these teams are 14-10 and neither will be playing for their Conference Championships this weekend, much less a National Championship, which some of the media predicted for these teams. This was supposed to be big years for both teams even without their top 10 rankings. Florida State was supposed to be back and build on their 10-4 record from last year, where they played in the ACC Championship game and beat South Carolina in the Chick-fil-A bowl. But they regressed and now the alumni and fans are getting frustrated with Jimbo Fisher, just 12 months after believing he was the second coming. For Texas A&M, this was their last year in the Big12 before their exit to the SEC. They wanted to make the case they belonged in the SEC by dominating the Big12 in their final season, but instead they were dominated. They only beat one ranked opponent this season, Baylor, and their final game in the Big12 was a huge disappointment in one more, possibly final, lose to Texas at home. This bowl game would be good for at least one of the programs to say, at least we didn't fall as far as those guys.
Ohio State-Florida (Urban Bowl)
When coaches are winning you hear a lot of great stories about them, except for Nick Saban I never hear anything nice about Nick Saban. One coach we have heard a lot about over past five years is Urban Meyer but over the last week we have learned one thing about Urban Meyer, he's just like a lot of other coaches, in that you can't always trust them. In his relatively short career Meyer already has two National Championships. But the end of his career at Florida ended oddly, with Meyer citing health issues and wanting to spend more time with his family as the reasons for leaving. Just a short time later, Meyer takes a job at ESPN, which had him traveling almost as much as a head coaching job would. Less than one year later, Meyer has taken the Ohio State job and the Florida fan base, players and coaches are not happy about it. Meyer won't be coaching in whatever bowl game Ohio State plays in but this would be a great opportunity for the Florida players to prove that Meyer made a mistake in leaving Gainseville. It has been a rough year for both programs but this game could fire up both teams enough to finish the season strong.
Oklahoma State-Oregon (Take the Over on the Over/Under Bowl)
Points on points on points! If you hate defense, then this is the game you want to see. Oklahoma State is ranked 2nd in scoring offense and Oregon ranks 3rd. Both teams are averaging over 45 points a game and the game would have star power on both teams, LaMichael James and Darron Thomas for Oregon and Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon for Oklahoma State. I haven't checked bowl projections but if Oklahoma State loses to Oklahoma this weekend and in turn loses the Big12 BCS bid, this match-up feels like it could happen. If it does, expect it to be one of the most exciting games of the bowl season.
Honorable Mentions:
Wisconsin-NC State: This game would not be close but it would be fun to see Russell Wilson get some revenge on NC State or see if Mike Glennon can prove that Tom O'Brien made the right choice.
USC-Miami: Neither of these teams will play in bowls this off-season because of NCAA investigations. USC has already been found guilty by the NCAA and is in the second season of their two-year bowl game ban. Miami is currently under investigation and is holding themselves out of a bowl game preemptively. This would be a good opportunity for Miami coaches and players to get some advice from USC on what it's like to spend a few seasons under punishment.
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