I don’t blame you if you haven’t fully embraced the 2010-11 bowl season as of yet. The Boise State-Utah MAACO Bowl Las Vegas was the one matchup that initially jumped off the page, and even that game ended up being a little bit of a disappointment.
And arguably the two most exciting games — the Little Caesars Bowl and Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl — were likely overlooked based on their names alone.
But after saying goodbye to Christmas, the new year is on the horizon. And that means that the best games of the postseason are yet to come. Let’s take a look at what we have in store for this week and beyond, along with a quick look back at the games already in the books.
And throughout the bowl season I will continue to post my previews of all the games in the Against the Grain section of the NFP.
TODAY — Independence: Air Force vs. Georgia Tech
ICONHow will Missouri QB Blaine Gabbert fare against Iowa's front four in the Insight Bowl?
TUESDAY — Champs Sports: West Virginia vs. NC State; Insight: Missouri vs. Iowa
WEDNESDAY — Military: East Carolina vs. Maryland; Texas: Illinois vs. Baylor; Alamo: Arizona vs. Oklahoma State
THURSDAY — Armed Forces: SMU vs. Army; Pinstripe: Syracuse vs. Kansas State; Music City: North Carolina vs. Tennessee; Holiday: Washington vs. Nebraska
FRIDAY — Meineke Car Care: South Florida vs. Clemson; Sun: Miami vs. Notre Dame; Liberty: Georgia vs. UCF; Chick-fil-A: Florida State vs. South Carolina
SATURDAY — TicketCity: Northwestern vs. Texas Tech; Capital One: Alabama vs. Michigan State; Outback: Penn State vs. Florida; Gator: Michigan vs. Mississippi State; Rose: Wisconsin vs. TCU; Fiesta: Oklahoma vs. Connecticut
Jan. 3 — Orange: Virginia Tech vs. Stanford
Jan. 4 — Sugar: Arkansas vs. Ohio State
Jan. 6 — GoDaddy.com: Miami (OH) vs. Middle Tennessee State
Jan. 7 — Cotton: Texas A&M vs. LSU
Jan. 8 — BBVA Compass: Pittsburgh vs. Kentucky
Jan. 9 — Kraft Fight Hunger: Boston College vs. Nevada
Jan. 10 — BCS Championship: Auburn vs. Oregon
Finals
ICONQB Jake Heaps led BYU to a strong finish to the 2010 season.
Dec. 18 New Mexico: BYU 52, UTEP 24
Dec. 18 Humanitarian: Northern Illinois 40, Fresno State 17
Dec. 18 New Orleans: Troy 48, Ohio 21
Dec. 21 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s: Louisville 31, Southern Miss 28
Dec. 22 MAACO Bowl Las Vegas: Boise State 26, Utah 3
Dec. 23 Poinsettia: San Diego State 35, Navy 14
Dec. 24 Hawaii: Tulsa 62, Hawaii 35
Dec. 26 Little Caesars: Florida International 34, Toledo 32
Email dave.miller@nationalfootballpost.com or follow me on Twitter at Miller_Dave