The BCS bowls are set up so the best teams in college football can take on each other while the No. 1 and No. 2 teams duke it out in the national championship.
Many teams in BCS bowls this season were worthy of playing in that game, including Oregon and Kansas State, who were matched up to play in the title game until they both lost in the second-to-last week of the season.
The two teams will face off in an alternate-reality national championship in the Fiesta Bowl, while Stanford and Wisconsin will head out to Southern California for the Rose Bowl.
HERE is the full schedule of college bowl games for the 2012 season. The first round of Bowl Predictions from Sports World Report can be found here and includes Toledo and Arizona. The second post of predictions, including Boise State and Ball State, can be found at this link.
ROSE BOWL
Jan 1., 2013 at The Rose Bowl in Pasadena
Wisconsin vs. Stanford
5 p.m., ESPN
The Rose Bowl is called the "Granddaddy of them all" for a reason. As the oldest bowl game in college football, many see it as the most prestigious gridiron game of the season. This year's matchup is a classic battle between two powerhouses, as the Wisconsin Badgers travel out to California to take on the Stanford Cardinal in Pasadena.
Wisconsin really has no reason to be in the game, yet here they are for the third straight season. The past two years the team was dominant, but this season the Badgers finished behind Ohio State (12-0) and Penn State (6-2) in the Big Ten standings. But since both schools are on probation, Wisconsin represented the Legends division in the Big Ten championship game.
The Badgers demolished Nebraska in the conference championship, racking up over 600 total yards in the 70-31 win. Wisconsin rushed for 530 yards in the game and will attempt to do the same thing against Stanford with running back Montee Ball.
The senior had a phenomenal game against Nebraska, rushing for 202 yards and three touchdowns. Ball has been stellar all season, scoring a touchdown in every game but two and rushing for 1,730 yards and 21 scores. He has a streak of four straight games with at least 111 yards and is facing a Stanford defense that is ranked 14th in scoring defense in the nation.
The Badgers were ranked 12th in the country in rushing this year, but has dealt with quarterback issues all season. Senior Curt Phillips started the game against Nebraska and is likely to do the same in the Rose Bowl. He passed for 71 yards and zero touchdowns in the win and has thrown for four touchdowns and one interception of the past four games.
Stanford defeated UCLA two weeks in a row to make it to the Rose Bowl, winning 27-24 in the Pac-12 Championship game on Nov. 30 to clinch a spot in the bowl.
The Cardinal are ranked sixth in the nation and have one of the best defenses in the country, allowing just 17.5 points per game. The team will have its hands full against a Wisconsin offense that rushed for over 230 yards per game and are averaging 30 points on offense.
Stanford opened the season 3-0, but lost two of the next three games, including a 20-13 overtime thriller to Notre Dame, who will play in the national championship against Alabama. The Cardinal finished the season with seven straight wins, including victories over ranked opponents in the last four games.
The team upset the No. 2 Oregon Ducks on Nov. 17 and took the inside track to the Pac-12 championship. Stanford has been one of the most consistent rushing teams in the nation, relying mostly on running back Stepfan Taylor. The senior has rushed for 1,442 yards and 12 touchdowns, including 78 in the final game against UCLA.
Taylor will be the catalyst for Stanford in the Rose Bowl and will help to open things up for freshman quarterback Kevin Hogan, who has started the past five games for Josh Nunes, who was ineffective as the starter.
PREDICTION: Stanford 38, Wisconsin 28. Wisconsin is going to its third straight Rose Bowl, but will find themselves losers once again. This one might end up being even more high-scoring, but Stanford's defense won't totally break down under the pressure of the Badgers. Montee Ball will rush for over 100 yards, but Taylor will match him and find himself in the end zone. It's all Roses for Stanford.
FIESTA BOWL
Jan. 3, 2013 at Univ. of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale
Oregon vs. Kansas State
8:30 p.m., ESPN
The Fiesta Bowl matchup between the Oregon Ducks and the Kansas State Wildcats is like an alternative-universe national championship game.
Both teams played like they were the best team in the nation for most of the year and were ranked No. 1 (Kansas State) and No. 2 (Oregon) with two weeks left in the season. But then both teams lost on the same weekend, opening the national championship game up for Alabama and Notre Dame.
Oregon salvaged the season after their first loss, a 17-14 overtime defeat to Stanford, by defeating Oregon State 48-24 on the road in the final game of the season. The Ducks face one of the toughest defenses in the nation in Kansas State, but have a number of explosive players that should help make the offense exciting.
Running back Kenjon Barner was a Heisman candidate for most of the season and put up 1,624 yards and 21 touchdowns. The senior rushed for 198 yards against Oregon State has scored nine touchdowns in his last five games. Barner's best game of the year came in a 62-51 win against USC in which he rushed for 321 yards and five touchdowns.
For any chance the Wildcats have to win, they will have to shut down Barner and quarterback Marcus Mariota, who has passed for 2,511 yards and 30 touchdowns this season while completing over 69 percent of his passes. He threw for at least one touchdown in every game this season, including six in the team's 59-17 against California.
Oregon has the top-ranked offense in the country and is second in the nation in scoring with 50 points per game. The team gains over 320 rushing yards per game and average over 500 total yards. The team has scored at least 60 points three times this season and had 70 in a win over Colorado.
Kansas State will have its hands full against the Ducks, but will have an explosive quarterback to counter their offensive attack. Collin Klein was a Heisman finalist this season and threw for 2,590 yards and 15 touchdowns with just seven interceptions this season and rushed for 890 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Klein came in third place behind Manti Te'o and Johnny Manziel in the Heisman voting, but he will be the No. 1 option for the Wildcats against Oregon. The Ducks defense is giving up 22 points per game and is thin in the middle, which should give Klein an excellent matchup if he decides to run with the ball.
The Wildcats come into the game following a 42-24 win over Texas that gave the team a share of the Big 12 title. The conference championship was consolation for the week before, when Kansas State lost 52-24 to Baylor to drop out of the No. 1 spot in the BCS and the national title picture.
Kansas State can salvage the season with a BCS bowl win over the Ducks, but they will have to stop a high-powered offense to do so. The defense has allowed only 21 points per game this season and allowed just 10 in a win three weeks ago over TCU.
PREDICTION: Oregon 55, Kansas State 38. The score looks sort of close, but it's not. Oregon will be faster than ever on the turf at University of Phoenix Stadium and will be just too much for the Wildcats. The Ducks will jump out to a quick lead and keep racking up yards as they run their no-huddle offense. Klein will have success against a weak Ducks secondary, but the offense will be just too much to stop. Don't bet the under on this one.
HERE is the full schedule of college bowl games for the 2012 season.
