Holiday Bowl Treats (and Turkeys!)

Only five shopping days left until Christmas. But 34 bowl games left for college football fans dreading another long offseason.

A peek inside those presents under the tree, from best to worst:

'Honey, you shouldn't have'

--Cotton Bowl, Jan. 2: Texas Tech vs. Mississippi. If Houston Nutt can whip Florida in The Swamp, Ole Miss can win in Dallas. Winner — Mississippi.

--Rose Bowl, Jan. 1: Southern California vs. Penn State. Even more classic if Joe Pa wins and retires at midfield. Winner — Southern California.

--BCS National Championship Game, Jan. 8: Florida vs. Oklahoma. The over-under is way too low at 72. Winner — Florida.

Big things in small packages

--Poinsettia Bowl, Tuesday: Boise State vs. TCU. You know the Broncos are good for bowl hijinks, and the Horned Frogs are a slight favorites. Winner — Boise State.

--Meineke Car Care Bowl, Dec. 27: North Carolina vs. West Virginia. Underrated bowl site with good crowds in Charlotte. Winner — North Carolina.

--Humanitarian Bowl, Dec. 30: Nevada vs. Maryland. Hopefully, it will snow real hard. Winner — Maryland.

--Liberty Bowl, Jan. 2: East Carolina vs. Kentucky. Big game for Skip Holtz, and SEC pride. Winner — East Carolina.

The old reliable Lionel train set

--Holiday Bowl, Dec. 30: Oregon vs. Oklahoma State. Traditionally one of the most exciting bowls and another good matchup. Winner — Oklahoma State.

--Sun Bowl, Dec. 31: Oregon State vs. Pittsburgh. The Beavers were a win away from Pasadena. Winner — Oregon State.

--Chick-fil-A Bowl, Dec. 31: LSU vs. Georgia Tech. Interesting to see how LSU does with all this time to prepare the running machine. Winner — Georgia Tech.

--Orange Bowl, Jan. 1: Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech. Looks like a minor bowl matchup but should go down to the wire. Winner — Virginia Tech.

Secret Santas

--Las Vegas Bowl, today: Arizona vs. BYU. Two programs on the rise. Winner — BYU.

--Papajohn's.com Bowl, Dec. 29: N.C. State vs. Rutgers. Tom O'Brien's Wolfpack came on strong down the stretch. Winner — N.C. State.

--Armed Forced Bowl, Dec. 31: Air Force vs. Houston. Watch Troy Calhoun's guys pull the slight upset. Winner — Air Force.

--Outback Bowl, Jan. 1: South Carolina vs. Iowa. Hard to see the Gamecocks stopping Shonn Greene. Winner — Iowa.

--Gator Bowl, Jan. 1: Clemson vs. Nebraska. Tiger enthusiasm should carry over. Winner — Clemson.

Re-gifting

--Eagle Bank Bowl, today: Wake Forest vs. Navy. A rematch. Navy won the regular season game. Winner — Navy (again).

Hey, wanna trade presents?

--Sugar Bowl, Jan. 2: Alabama vs. Utah. Crimson Tide should be motivated for a rout. Winner — Alabama.

--Fiesta Bowl, Jan. 5: Texas vs. Ohio State. Oh, for a Longhorns-Alabama game, and Utah might beat Ohio State. Winner — Texas.

'Uh, thanks for the mittens'

--New Mexico Bowl, today: Fresno State vs. Colorado State. Actually, they might need thermal gloves in Albuquerque. Winner — Fresno State.

--Hawaii Bowl, Wednesday: Notre Dame vs. Hawaii. This is what's wrong with the bowl system: Finish 6-6 and you're penalized with a trip to Oahu. Winner — Notre Dame.

--Champs Sports Bowl, Dec. 27: Florida State vs. Wisconsin. Seminoles can't believe they are not in the Gator Bowl. Winner — Florida State.

--Independence Bowl, Dec. 28: Northern Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech. Shreveport economy suffers from a lack of SEC depth. Winner — Northern Illinois.

--Texas Bowl, Dec. 30: Rice vs. Western Michigan. Hometown Houston edge to the Owls. Winner — Rice.

--Music City Bowl, Dec. 31: Vanderbilt vs. Boston College. The Vandy kids get a bowl trip all the way across Nashville. Winner — Boston College.

--Capital One Bowl, Jan. 1: Georgia vs. Michigan State. Bulldogs need some early energy, and some late energy. Winner — Georgia.

You hope Aunt Susie kept the receipt

--St. Petersburg Bowl, today: South Florida vs. Memphis. St. Petersburg, Fla., not Russia. Which is too bad for former Clemson coach Tommy West's Tigers. Winner — South Florida.

--New Orleans Bowl, Sunday: Troy vs. Southern Miss. Troy Aikman vs. Brett Favre might be more entertaining. Winner — Troy.

--Motor City Bowl, Thursday: Central Michigan vs. Florida Atlantic. Sadly, it might not be Motor City for long. Winner — Central Michigan.

--Emerald Bowl, Dec. 27: California vs. Miami. Football looks so odd in the San Francisco Giants' ballpark. Winner — Miami.

--Alamo Bowl, Dec. 29: Missouri vs. Northwestern. Another reason why the Big 12 was the best league this year. Winner — Missouri.

--Insight Bowl, Dec. 31: Kansas vs. Minnesota. This is where you sneak away to prepare snacks for the other games. Winner — Kansas.

Better never than late

--International Bowl, Jan. 3: Connecticut vs. Buffalo. Buffalo coach Turner Gill has done a fine job. Winner — Connecticut.

--GMAC Bowl, Jan. 6: Ball State vs. Tulsa. Nice pairing, but not worthy of a January kickoff. Winner — Ball State.

Gene Sapakoff, The Post and Courier