Pavlov’s Bell Equivalent in College Football: Bowl Season

Can Florida do it, can they knock off an immense Ohio State squad?
Will Notre Dame be able to show the world that they too can win the big game?
Can Boise State make a name for the WAC in college football?
Who cares...?

As important as the BCS games are not only to schools, but to programs, television networks and of course the alcoholic beverage industry, they are only a piece of the puzzle that creates the Bowl Season. I for one am excited to watch these games, but that doesn't mean that there aren't going to be other games worthy of my attention.

The games to watch are those that are little publicized and are little talked about. Here's three games to salivate over in the coming bowl season:

1. Outback Bowl: One word, "potential." This matchup between Tennessee and Penn State has the potential to be one of the real contests of this bowl season. Upon first sight this matchup seems like it will be a snore-fest that reeks of name recognition. There are two solid reasons this game will be worth watching. First of all, Tennessee has the 71st run defense in the nation and Penn State's Tony Hunt who has racked up over 1,200 yards and 11 TDs on the year is licking his chops. Look for Tennessee to give him the "Garrett Wolfe" treatment and watch to see if Paterno & Penn State QB Aaron Morelli can make it rain on a pretty solid Tennessee secondary. Another thing to look at here is one man, Erik Ainge. Two games into the season I wasn't even looking at Brady Quinn or Troy Smith, this was my Heisman vote. He has since then hit a tail spin (which is a nice way of saying it), but still has the ability to lead the Vols to a win against Penn State who is 37th in pass defense in the nation but probably will not be enough to shut down Erik Ainge and the 13th rated pass offense of the Vols, unless... Unless Paul Posluszny along with the rest of the linebacking core of the Nittany Lions can make life uncomfortable for Ainge. These two teams know how to beat each other, and I believe both can execute, so why watch this defensive battle? These teams have a lot to prove (yes, this is my second reason). Tennessee and Penn State both have played in difficult conferences (SEC and Big Ten respectively) and this is a (much)lesser matchup of the national championship. Tennessee came out with high expectations and got handed some losses in just the same fashion that Penn State did. These teams will be entering into this bowl game with a reason to make an example out of each other. An Outback Bowl victory will be a spring-board to recruiting in the off-season as well as some respect come next year. I like Penn State, 28-24.
   
2. Cotton Bowl: This Auburn v. Nebraska matchup is going to be FUN! I mean this is one of the best matchups of this bowl season. Nebraska has been throwing and running the ball like they belong in the BCS somewhere (18th and 25th respectively) and that is thanks to Bill Callahan which means that their defense is not so hot. Auburn, unlike everyone who was saying weeks ago that they were the best one loss team in the nation, I didn't buy it. That is because they're offense never really got going, it never put up stats that were good against quality opponents or even minimal opponents. The defense of Auburn is what I like though, look for their front four to step up and make Nebraska earn their run yards and then watch for their incredible secondary make it difficult for Zac Taylor to find receivers. While he's in the pocket trying play catch, watch the linebacking core of Auburn make him feel it the next day. The deciding factor will be Auburn's offense, and I just don't think they'll be able to get it done, I like Nebraska 14-10.
   
3. Holiday Bowl: Matching Texas A & M and California is gonna' be great. We're talking about two teams that are masters of ground-based or aerial attacks. Neither of the two defenses are great in dealing with their opponents strengths and so have to compensate to try and and stop them. If California can overload the front line of TAMU and force them to start throwing the ball, their secondary which finished fifth in the nation for interceptions with twenty on the year will have a fun time making Stephen McGee try and play around this Golden Bear secondary. Look for him to go to his great running backs in play actions, tosses to the flat and the like. Now, if the Aggie secondary can shut down Nate Longshore, they will have their hands full, Deshawn Jackson was one of my early picks to go to New York this year and although his play has slowed down, he's going to have some time to recooperate and get ready for a pretty strong Aggie defense. I love the Aggie run game and their ability to keep a game tight, but I don't think their secondary, nor their front four will be able to keep enough pressure on Nate Longshore. I know that they won't be able to keep pressure on Longshore because of the way that they handled Zac Taylor in the Nebraska game, he was able to take the Huskers down the field for a score and the fact is, they didn't do enough to keep the pressure on, well I think they're facing a tougher team here in California. Cal 27-14.

One thing that is beautiful about the rest of the Bowl Season outside of the BCS is that there may be a lot of animosity and build-up to the BCS, but these non-BCS teams really have the chip on their shoulder. These teams especially, we're talking about Tennessee, Penn State, California, Texas A & M, Nebraska and Auburn. If cards were played a little differently, we're talking about a number of these teams possibly playing in the BCS. Victory here is important because it breathes new life into the program.

That's it for now, there are certainly other games worth watching but these are three that are either getting trampled by the national title game, the turmoil surrounding the national title, or are just getting dinged for not being BCS games.