Orange Bowl
The 2004 NCAA National Championship game, like last year, may or may not contain the two best teams in the nation. Two of the three undefeated teams, No. 1 USC and No. 2 Oklahoma, will battle it out in Florida come New Year's Day.
Oklahoma makes its third appearance in a national title game in five years. The Sooners' sixth-year senior quarterback Jason White will try to avoid the mediocrity he accomplished in last year's bowl game, while standout freshman running back Adrian Peterson will try to get votes for next year's Heisman in early.
On the flipside, USC junior quarterback Matt Leinart has performed well while leading a younger squad and overcoming the loss of wide receiver Mike Williams. USC will have a chip on their shoulder when they try to capture their second disputed National Championship in as many years.
Sugar Bowl
Orange Bowl snub No. 3 Auburn (12-0 overall) gets its shot at a Sugar Bowl win by being paired up against No. 9 Virginia Tech. Other than the Orange Bowl, this game has the two highest-ranked competitors, but that will not trouble senior running back Cadillac Williams one bit.
Aside from an opening day loss to the Trojans, Tech has not stumbled all season. They are easily the hottest team in college football. Look for a big play from freshman returner Eddie Royal and the special teams and expect Auburn to bring a little anger to this game and try to roll on Williams' wheels.
Fiesta Bowl
Ah, the Fiesta Bowl... what to say? Head Coach Urban Meyer led No. 6 Utah to a fantastic undefeated season, garnered a new job in the Florida swamp and, some say, earned a Bowl Championship Series game. The biggest issue in this game will not be football but the BCS system itself. Needing to find a Big East team worthy of a Bowl Game, the BCS settled on No. 20 Pittsburgh (8-3).
Both teams are striving to show themselves as able to compete on the big stage against a big time foe-unfortunately neither got their wish. At least the matchup between junior quarterbacks Alex Smith and Andy Palko will be decent, as both passed for over 2,500 yards this season.
Rose Bowl
The Rose Bowl means more BCS controversy. The No. 5 Texas Longhorns slid above the No. 4 California Golden Bears on the last day of BCS polling and earned a spot in the Rose Bowl.
Texas and Heisman hopeful senior running back Cedric Benson will take on the No. 12 Wolverines-a team that started the season looking young and inexperienced, especially against Notre Dame, but have improved throughout (except at Ohio State). Big plays should be the motif in this game. Making those big plays for Michigan will be senior wide receiver Braylon Edwards and freshman running back Michael Hart. For Texas it will be Benson and sophomore quarterback Vince Young.
