The 2013 BCS National Championship Game is just hours away. We’re sure you have so many questions. We’re here to help. (For an X’s and O’s breakdown, click through to our BCS preview hub.)

• What’s all this, then? Ready for a seventh consecutive national title for an SEC team? What about Notre Dame’s return to glory finally materializing in full? What about the possibility of Alabama holding a legitimate and pretty irrefutable dynasty claim? You’re not ready for any of these? That’s TOO DANG BAD, Lulabelle. The sidewalk ends here.

• Where will this game be played? The national title game rotates into the Orange Bowl location this year, which means Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, home field of the Miami Dolphins and Miami Hurricanes, and beloved by us because it was once Land Shark Stadium, named for a Jimmy Buffett-branded beer.

• Didn’t Nick Saban coach here that one time? We don’t recall. We don’t know what you’re talking about. Don’t look us in the eyes when you ask us that. Just in case.

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Dri Archer could be off to the pros soon. Take this time to appreciate him, America. (AP)

The 2013 GoDaddy.com Bowl is just hours away. We’re sure you have so many questions. We’re here to help. (For an X’s and O’s breakdown, click through to R.J. Rico’s game preview.)

• What’s all this, then? The very last bowl game that’s not The Big’n. The MACtion before the SECtion. The amuse-bouche to the swingin’ meatball subs of Monday night. We’re not great at metaphors. This is the GoDaddy.com Bowl, one of just two remaining college football postseason games named after a d0t-com, and a frankly unworthy linguistic successor to the nicely-cadenced GMAC Bowl that preceded it. But say this for the GDDC: It’s unwieldy to pronounce, but has delivered unto us an extremely compelling matchup of non-AQ luminaries. Don’t hate.

• Where will this game be played? Ladd Peebles Stadium in Mobile, where the South Alabama Jaguars play their home games. This stadium also hosts the Senior Bowl.

• When is it on television? Nightcap game! Coverage begins at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN, featuring Mark Jones, Brock Huard and Jessica Mendoza. The game will also be streamed on WatchESPN.

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Tino Sunseri, rest assured you are not alone in making this face every time you have to go to Legion Field. (AP)

The 2013 BBVA Compass Bowl is just hours away. We’re sure you have so many questions. We’re here to help. (For an X’s and O’s breakdown, click through to R.J. Rico’s game preview.)

• What’s all this, then? The BBVA Compass Bowl is an annual postseason college football contest against which we hold a very small grudge because it is no longer named after a nasty pizza chain’s website.

• Where will this game be played? Birmingham’s Legion Field, home to the UAB Blazers and former home of the Birmingham Barracudas, a short-lived CFL expansion team. What is it with Birmingham-based teams and outstanding mascot choices? Perhaps it is the universe’s way of making up for them having to play at Legion Field.

• When is it on television? Coverage begins at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN, with streaming on WatchESPN. Eamon McAnaney, David Diaz-Infante and Paul Carcaterra will call the game.

• Whom does it feature? The Big East and SEC are the bowl’s current conference tie-ins.

• What about this year? It’s a battle of middle-of-the-packness, as the 6-6 Pitt Panthers travel to meet the 6-6 Ole Miss Fightin’ Ackbars.

• Does the bowl have a social media presence? Quite a helpful one, when it’s up and running:

Don’t want to drive while you’re in town? Take a complimentary shuttle everywhere you go. For shuttle information ow.ly/gguL5

— BBVA Compass Bowl (@BBVACompassBowl) December 20, 2012

Will this shuttle drop me off at Highlands for a grits fix? Somebody try this and report back to us?

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Here is the Cotton Bowl. The Cotton Bowl will not be played here. College football! (AP)

The Cotton Bowl is just hours away. We’re sure you have so many questions. We’re here to help. (For an X’s and O’s breakdown, click through to Thayer Evans’ game preview.)

• What’s all this, then? Today we’re down to a very special moment in the postseason: the final postseason game of the season that isn’t played in the stadium named after it. This is the Cotton Bowl, not played in the Cotton Bowl. Isn’t bowl season grand?

• Where will this game be played? This will be the fourth Cotton Bowl game played in Arlington’s Cowboys Stadium, named for the NFL team it houses. Won’t that interfere with NFL playoff games? WE MAKE THE JOKES HERE.

• When is it on television? Coverage is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET on FOX, and will feature Gus Johnson and Charles Davis in the booth.

• Whom does it feature? Big 12 versus SEC.

• What about this year? A Big 12 versus Big 12 game, of a sort. In one of the most highly anticipated postseason matchups this year, SEC team Texas A&M will face former Big 12 conference rival Oklahoma.

• Does the bowl have a social media presence? Right this way:

The weather forecast for the @attcottonbowl tomorrow is 72 degrees & sunny! In other words, the roof @cowboysstadium will be closed. #attcbc

— AT&T Cotton Bowl (@ATTCottonBowl) January 3, 2013

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The return of the Oregon Ducks to the Fiesta Bowl means one thing: the return of more Oregon Duck-versus-Tostitos photo ops. (Steve Dykes/Getty Images)

The Fiesta Bowl is just hours away. We’re sure you have so many questions. We’re here to help. (For an X’s and O’s breakdown, click through to Stewart Mandel’s game preview.)

• What’s all this, then? This is the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, the last BCS football contest we’ll see before Monday night’s championship game. It has a kid brother, the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl. It sounds like it used to be a pretty fun place to work. How can I become a bowl tycoon? Because that sounds like the best job. The easiest way seems to be by starting a bowl game yourself. There have to be at least two or three stadiums in Florida that aren’t already being used for a bowl this week. If we just showed up at one with Louisiana Tech and Middle Tennessee State in tow and said we were there for the bowl game, would anybody really ask too many questions?

• Where will this game be played? Glendale’s University of Phoenix Stadium, home to the Arizona Cardinals.

• When is it on television? Tonight’s game is scheduled for 8:30 ET, and will feature the top-tier vocal stylings of Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge and Holly Rowe on ESPN. The game will also be shown on ESPN Deportes and streamed on WatchESPN.

• Whom does it feature? The Fiesta Bowl takes the Big 12 champ, if that team is not in the title game, versus an at-large selection.

• What about this year? Two 11-1 squads in the Oregon Ducks and Kansas State Wildcats.

• Does the bowl have a social media presence? It is real, and it is saucy:
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Charlie Strong and Will Muschamp share a moment with the Sugar Bowl trophy. Swapping alligator tail recipes? (AP)

The Sugar Bowl is just hours away. We’re sure you have so many questions. We’re here to help. (For an X’s and O’s breakdown, click through to Andy Staples’ game preview.)

• What’s all this, then? The Charlie Strong bowl, essentially. The former Florida assistant will once again share the field with the Gators, this time as an adversary.

• Where will this game be played? New Orleans’ Mercedes-Benz Superdome, which also houses the New Orleans Saints, Tulane Green Wave and the New Orleans Bowl. Remember that time Tulane beat SMU in the Superdome and then SMU got to play in a bowl game anyway, which it also won? Do we ever!

• When is it on television? The Sugar Bowl is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. on ESPN, and will also be broadcast on ESPN Deportes, streamed on WatchESPN and shown in ESPN 3D. This will make Will Muschamp’s eyes jump out of the screen like Roger Rabbit’s when he’s mad, right? This is precisely why this technology was invented. Sean McDonough, Chris Spielman and Quint Kessenich will cover the game for ESPN.

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The 2013 Orange Bowl is just hours away. We’re sure you have so many questions. We’re here to help. (For an X’s and O’s breakdown, click through to Pete Thamel’s game preview.)

• What’s all this, then? We have come at last to the final fruit bowl of the season, the most important fruit bowl of the season and the only citrus-themed game that doesn’t get mixed up with any other citrus-themed games. It’s also the only currently operating game with a plush fruit mascot  — one that’s seen its share of gridiron action:

• Where will this game be played? This is where it gets tricky again. Not at the Orange Bowl. With the exception of the 1999 game, the Orange Bowl has been played at Sun Life Stadium since 1996. Is this the stadium that used to be named after Jimmy Buffett’s beer? It sure is, and if this is not your favorite Orange Bowl fact we cannot be friends. Sun Life Stadium also houses the Miami Dolphins and Miami Hurricanes.

• When is it on television? Coverage begins at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, with internet favorite Joe Tessitore, internet un-favorite Matt Millen and sideline reporter Maria “MVP” Taylor. I have never heard that nickname for Maria Taylor before. We bestowed it on her the day before yesterday, right after she gifted the internet with this photo of Matt Millen admiring a portrait of Drake.

• Whom does it feature? The ACC champion, unless that team is otherwise occupied by the national title game.

• What about this year? The Florida State Seminoles meet the BCS-bustin’ Northern Illinois Huskies.

• Does the bowl have a social media presence? It is real, and it is salty:

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You can’t see the Utah student section in this photo, but you KNOW they’re lurking somewhere just off camera, waiting to triple-rush the field and swipe this trophy. (AP)

The 2013 Rose Bowl is just hours away. We’re sure you have so many questions. We’re here to help. (For an X’s and O’s breakdown, click through to Stewart Mandel’s game preview.)

• What’s all this, then? This is the Rose Bowl. This is like the one game all year that doesn’t need this question. You know what the Rose Bowl is. The fact that you all know what the Rose Bowl is is central to the mythology of the Rose Bowl. This is the Rose Bowl. It is played in the Rose Bowl. Why is it called the Rose Bowl? STOP THAT.

• When is it on television? Coverage begins at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN, featuring the vocal stylings of Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit, Heather Cox and Tom Rinaldi. The game will also air on ESPN Deportes and stream on WatchESPN.

• Whom does it feature? Any champions of the Pac-12 and Big Ten not playing in the BCS title game.

• What about this year? With the national championship game slots going to an SEC team and an independent, Big Ten champ Wisconsin and Pac-12 champ Stanford will travel to Pasadena.

• Does the bowl have a social media presence? It does, albeit a steadfastly dignified one:
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The Ol’ Ballcoach demonstrates proper wrist technique for maximum efficiency in Bloomin’ Onion consumption. (AP)

The 2013 Outback Bowl is just hours away. We’re sure you have so many questions. We’re here to help. (For an X’s and O’s breakdown, click through to Andy Staples’ game preview.)

• What’s all this, then? This is the Outback Bowl. It is not played in Australia. It used to be the Hall of Fame Bowl, but unlike most sponsorship changes, this one has improved the postseason landscape by introducing a fertile annual opportunity for Bloomin’ Onion jokes.

• Where will this game be played? Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium, home field of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and USF Bulls.

• When is it on television? Coverage begins at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN, with Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden and Shannon Spake. The game will also be streamed on WatchESPN.

• Whom does it feature? Big Ten versus SEC.

• What about this year? An intriguing matchup between 10-2 South Carolina and 8-4 Michigan.

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#CommitToTheG #ThatIsProjectedOnTheWall twitter.com/CapitalOneBowl…

— Capital One Bowl (@CapitalOneBowl) December 31, 2012

The 2013  Capital One Bowl is just hours away. We’re sure you have so many questions. We’re here to help. (For an X’s and O’s breakdown, click through to Ben Glicksman’s game preview.)

• What’s all this, then? This is the Citrus Bowl! The game that was the Citrus Bowl, and also the Tangerine Bowl, way more times than the Champs Sports Bowl, which is no longer the Champs Sports Bowl, was the Tangerine Bowl! It’s also played in the Citrus Bowl, which is all kinds of helpful. Thanks, Capital One Bowl. You’re a peach.

• Where will this game be played? Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando. (This stadium was also once called the Tangerine Bowl! Have you heard quite enough about citrus this postseason, gentle readers?)

• When is it on television? Coverage begins at 1 p.m. ET on ABC, with Rece Davis, Jesse Palmer, Davis Pollack and Samantha Steele.

• Whom does it feature? The best teams from the Big Ten and SEC not playing in BCS games.

• What about this year? Division champs, ahoy! It’s No. 6 Georgia versus No. 23 Nebraska, for all the felted mouse ears.

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