Every year there are some interesting angles to the 30 non-BCS bowl games. Or sometimes, not-so-interesting. (Nebraska and Georgia, we're looking at you.) So let's take a look at a few games this bowl season that stand out.
Just eight days until the madness begins.
Running Back Bowl (Arizona vs. Boston College): If you want to see two of the best running backs in the country, the AdvoCare V100 Bowl is your game. Both Arizona's Ka'Deem Carey and Boston College's Andre Williams were Doak Walker finalists, and Williams won the award. He led the nation with 2,102 rushing yards while Carey was fifth with 1,716. Who will get the rock more?
Rematch that No One Requested Bowl (Georgia vs. Nebraska): The Gator Bowl gets last year's Capital One Bowl, and well, not many people are excited about it. That includes Nebraska fans, who aren't exactly making travel plans in droves. Husker fans are at the apathy point after a drama-filled 8-4 season, and Georgia was a certain blogger's preseason pick for the national title. After a bunch of injuries -- including one to senior quarterback Aaron Murray -- that obviously didn't happen.
Big 8 Bowl (Missouri vs. Oklahoma State): Last season's Cotton Bowl was a former Big 12 matchup between Oklahoma and Texas A&M, but this is the first time that two teams from the former Big 8 have met in a bowl game. Missouri leads the series between the schools 28-23 and the teams first met in Columbia, Mo. in 1915. The last time they met was a 45-24 Oklahoma State win in Columbia in 2011.
The Don't Imitate Me Bowl (Virginia Tech vs. UCLA): After his sophomore season, Virginia Tech's Logan Thomas was considered to be a possible first round NFL Draft pick whenever he left school. After throwing for 3,013 yards that season, Thomas has thrown more interceptions in the next two years and taken two sacks. UCLA, Virginia Tech's Sun Bowl opponent, is hoping the same doesn't happen with their sophomore quarterback Brett Hundley. Hundley has thrown for 22 touchdowns and 9 picks. Thomas was at 19 and 10 in his sophomore year.
Matchup No One Fathomed Bowl (Duke vs. Texas A&M): We've written a lot about Duke's rise this season, but who'd have thought they'd end up playing Texas A&M in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl. And did many think that the Aggies and Johnny Manziel would end up in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl themselves? That's what happens when you give up the most yards and second-most points per game in the SEC.
Biggest Mismatch By Record Bowl (Utah State vs. Northern Illinois): Most bowl opponents are within one or two games of each other. Not the Poinsettia Bowl. Northern Illinois is 12-1 and Utah State is 8-5, the biggest gap between records of any of the bowl games. Will this game match the records? While Northern Illinois has Jordan Lynch, there'd be a much better chance of a great game if Utah State had quarterback Chuckie Keeton, who was lost earlier this season to a knee injury.
The 6-6 Bowl (No one): Most every year we're subjected to a bowl matchup between two teams that are 6-6. Not this year, though we'll admit that it's pretty close. The first game of the bowl season is Washington State (6-6) vs. Colorado State (7-6) in the New Mexico Bowl. The Rams have the extra game on their schedule because they traveled to Hawaii to play the Warriors and took advantage of the 13th game provision that's given to teams who make the trek halfway across the Pacific.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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