This game features two teams that played well enough this season that their head coaches were hired by bigger universities.
The 2013 FCS National Championship will feature the same two teams that played in the 2012 FCS National Championship. The Sam Houston State Bearkats (11-3) take on the North Dakota State Bison (13-1) to decide the FCS (formerly knows as Division I-AA) champion. The Bearkats finished 2011 with a 14-1 record. Their one loss came in the FCS National Championship to the Bison. North Dakota went 14-1 en route to being the FCS champions.
One of Bowl Season’s marquee matchups this year is the Cotton Bowl Classic, to be played at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington between the 10-2 Oklahoma Sooners of the Big 12 and the SEC’s 10-2 Texas A & M Aggies. The two schools are quite familiar with each other, with the Aggies in their first year of play in the SEC after leaving the Big 12 and Oklahoma’s division. The game will feature two of the nation’s marquee quarterbacks in Oklahoma’s Landry Jones and Texas A & M’s Johnny Manziel, who became the first freshman to win the Heisman last month.
The 2013 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl may be the most highly anticipated game this bowl season. Oregon (11-1) takes on Kansas State (11-1) Thursday night in Glendale Arizona.
It most definitely will be an ole-fashioned shootout in the desert.
The 2013 Rose Bowl features two identical teams. Wisconsin (8-5) and Stanford (11-2) are two physical teams that have surprising names at quarterback and a strong running game to compliment them. Kevin Hogan and Curt Phillips were both backups coming into the season but will now lead their teams in the “Granddaddy of Them All.”
The 2012 Heart of Dallas Bowl pits Purdue (6-6) against Oklahoma State (7-5). The game will be played in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas at noon est.
LSU LB Kevin Minter will have his work cut out for him, as he attempts to slow down Clemson's fleet-footed RB Andre Ellington. Minter has recorded 10 or more tackles in four games this season, while Ellington has rushed for 141 yards when he's touched the ball 20 or more times in a game. Check out De'Angelo Bryant's key match-ups and team factors for this year's Chick-fil-a Bowl.
The 2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl features two “Nasty” defenses. The Michigan State Spartans (6-6) battle the Texas Christian Horned Frogs (7-5) at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona on Saturday night.
Formerly known as the Texas Bowl, the Meineke Car Care Bowl will be played at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas between the Big Ten’s Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-6, 2-6) and the Big 12’s Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-5, 4-5).
The 2012 Independence Bowl features two teams that pulled off big upsets during the opening week of the season. Ohio defeated Penn State while Louisiana-Monroe defeated #8 Arkansas. The Ohio Bobcats (8-4) and the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks (8-4) will face off in Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana on Friday afternoon.
