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FAQ: BCS National Championship Game

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Nick Saban and Les Miles will lead Alabama and LSU in Monday's BCS title game rematch. (Getty Images)

The 2012 BCS National Championship Game is just hours away. We’re sure you have so many questions. We’re here to help. 

Where will this game be played? The recently befancied Mercedes-Benz Superdome, home field for the New Orleans Saints, Tulane Green Wave and the Sugar and New Orleans Bowl games.

When is it on television? Kickoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. on Monday, January 9. The game will be televised on ESPN.

Whom does it feature? The two top-ranked teams in the BCS standings, which you might have heard are from the same conference this year! Did you hear anything about that? Did you? No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama will converge in New Orleans tonight to decide college football’s 2011 champion.

• But didn’t LSU and Alabama already settle this on the field? Sssshhhh.

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  • Published On Jan 09, 2012
  • FAQ: BBVA Compass Bowl

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    See. No lie. That's really the slogan.

    The 2012 BBVA Bowl is just a day away. We’re sure you have so many questions. We’re here to help. (For an Xs and Os breakdown, check out Ben Glicksman’s game preview.)

    What’s all this, then? We return once more to the scene of the late, lamented PapaJohns.com Bowl, still the only college football game to ever be named for a pizza chain’s website.

    Where will this game be played? Birmingham, Alabama’s Legion Field.

    Should I feel unsafe even setting foot in the stadium? Nonsense. I myself spent an entire football game there this season, and not a single piece of   concrete fell on my head.

    But didn’t you find a loose bolt just inexplicably sitting in your seat when you got there? I did, yes.

    When is it on television? Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, January 7. The game will be televised on ESPN.

    Whom does it feature? Typically, Big East versus SEC, with the MAC and C-USA as alternates.

    What about this year? It’s 6-6 Pitt versus 7-5 SMU! Have you chills, gentle readers? Are they multiplying?

    How excited is Pitt to be back in the BBVA Compass Bowl for a second consecutive postseason, with a second interim head coach? We’re not sure numbers this minute can be measured by current blogging technologies.

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  • Published On Jan 06, 2012
  • FAQ: GoDaddy.com Bowl

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    The GoDaddy.com Bowl: Come for the Danica Patrick commercials, stay for the football. (Getty Images)

    The 2012 GoDaddy.com Bowl is just hours away. We’re sure you have so many questions. We’re here to help. 

    What’s all this, then? Think of the GoDaddy-Dot-Com Bowl as a refreshing, tangy sorbet to cleanse your palate between the grim Saturday horror of the BBVA Compass Bowl, the January existence of which will never, ever stop upsetting us on a cellular level, and the Monday cavalcade of competent football and title game pageantry.

    Where will this game be played? Mobile’s Ladd-Peebles Stadium, home of the fledgling South Alabama Jaguars and the Senior Bowl.

    When is it on television? Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Sunday, January 8. The game will be televised on ESPN.

    Whom does it feature? Current conference tie-ins include the Sun Belt and MAC.

    What about this year? The promise of real entertainment looms in Mobile, with conference champs Northern Illinois (10-3) and Arkansas State (10-2) in town.

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  • Published On Jan 06, 2012
  • FAQ: Cotton Bowl

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    You might think the Cotton Bowl game is played at the Cotton Bowl stadium, but you would be wrong. (AP)

    The 2012 Cotton Bowl is just hours away. We’re sure you have so many questions. We’re here to help. (For an Xs and Os breakdown, check out George Schroeder’s game preview.)

    What’s all this, then? Must-watch television, the 2012 Cotton Bowl Classic. Stock up on football now, and skip the BBVA Compass Bowl Saturday! The savings really add up!

    Where will this game be played? The Jerrydome, properly known as Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The former home of the Big 12 Championship game hosted several regular-season games in 2011, including the LSU-Oregon season kickoff tilt.

    Not in the Cotton Bowl stadium? Not in the Cotton Bowl stadium. But it still gets to be called the Cotton Bowl? It would appear so, yes.

    When is it on television? Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on Friday, January 6. The game will be televised on FOX.

    Aw, gross. Hey, some people (probably, somewhere) like gratuitous shots of the marching band in lieu of covering the action on the field!

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  • Published On Jan 05, 2012
  • FAQ: Orange Bowl

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    Coaches Dabo Swinney and Dana Holgorsen appear to be very excited for Wednesday's Orange Bowl. (AP)

    The 2012 Orange Bowl is just hours away. We’re sure you have so many questions. We’re here to help. (For a slightly more serious and in-depth preview, click here.)

    Where will this game be played? Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens.

    Can you name every previous name this stadium has had in one breath? Absolutely not, but our personal favorite was that one time it was sponsored by Jimmy Buffett’s beer.

    When is it on television? Kickoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, January 4. The game will be televised on ESPN.

    Whom does it feature? The ACC champ plus a BCS at-large selection.

    What about this year? Like pinball? The 10-3 Clemson Tigers and the 9-3 West Virginia Mountaineers are averaging more than 900 yards of combined offense and 69 points per game.

    Who will call the game? Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden, Ron Jaworski and Lisa Salters.

    Shouldn’t Jon Gruden be preparing for what is obviously his next new job as the head coach of Penn State? Don’t be ridiculous. The job is obviously Ron Prince’s. You mean Jim Tressel’s? I do.

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  • Published On Jan 04, 2012
  • FAQ: Sugar Bowl

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    The Superdome turf is no longer "Mardi Grass," but Hokies fans are still soaking up the spirit of Mardi Gras. (AP)

    The 2012 Sugar Bowl is just hours away. We’re sure you have so many questions. We’re here to help. (For an Xs and Os breakdown, check out George Schroeder’s game preview.)

    What’s all this, then? Not the national title game, but near the national title game! The 78th annual Allstate Sugar Bowl will prime the city of New Orleans for the BCS National Championship Game six days later.

    • Where will this game be played? The Mercedes-Benz Superdome, home field of the New Orleans Saints and Tulane Green Wave.

    When is it on television? Kickoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 3. The game will be televised on ESPN.

    Whom does it feature? Traditionally, the first pick from available SEC teams plus a BCS at-large selection, but not this year.

    What about this year? Thanks to next week’s all-SEC West lineup in the title game, two at-large picks were given to the Sugar Bowl, and the results, on paper, were less than thrilling: 10-2 Michigan will face 11-2 Virginia Tech, a matchup that inspired waves of hostile bewilderment from onlookers who expected the Sugar Bowl to maybe pick at least one top 10 team.

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  • Published On Jan 03, 2012
  • FAQ: Fiesta Bowl

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    Imagine how Oklahoma State players will regard the Fiesta Bowl trophy if they actually win it. (AP)

    The 2012 Fiesta Bowl is just hours away. We’re sure you have so many questions. We’re here to help. (For an Xs and Os breakdown, check out Andy Staples’ game preview.)

    What’s all this, then? Welcome, one and all, to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, now with markedly less corruption, we think.

    Where will this game be played? Inside a taco salad shell the size of which the world has never known, nestled in an undisclosed location in the Arizona desert.

    For real? No, but Tostitos has been the title sponsor of this game since the mid-90s, so don’t think it hasn’t been working on that technology. The game will be held, for now, in University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, home of the NFL’s Cardinals.

    When is it on television? Kickoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET on Monday, January 2. The game will be televised on ESPN.

    Whom does it feature? The Big 12 champion plus an at-large BCS selection.

    What about this year? Stanford and Oklahoma State, both 11-1.

    Who will call the game? Matt Millen, for some reason, with long-suffering teammates Sean McDonough and Heather Cox.

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  • Published On Jan 02, 2012
  • FAQ: Rose Bowl

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    Yes, that's a reflective Oregon helmet. And yes, those roses bear the school logos. (US PRESSWIRE)

    The 2012 Rose Bowl is just hours away. We’re sure you have so many questions. We’re here to help. (For an Xs and Os breakdown,  check out Stewart Mandel’s game preview.)

    What’s all this, then? The Big One! It’s not the title game this year, but the Granddaddy Of Them All is always a Big Damn Deal.

    Tell that to the 2007-2008 Fighting Illini. Point taken.

    Where will this game be played? SPOILER ALERT: Pasadena’s Rose Bowl, regular-season home of the UCLA Bruins, hosts the Rose Bowl football game.

    When is it on television? Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET on Monday, January 2. The game will be televised on ESPN.

    Whom does it feature? Conference champions from the Big Ten and Pac-12.

    What about this year? Big guns! Oregon and Wisconsin, both 11-2, had title game aspirations but are getting a pretty swell consolation prize.

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  • Published On Jan 02, 2012
  • FAQ: Gator Bowl

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    Hey Ohio State fans, remember this one? (SI)

    The 2012 Gator Bowl is just hours away. We’re sure you have so many questions. We’re here to help. (For an Xs and Os breakdown, check out Cory McCartney’s game preview.)

    What’s all this, then? The Gator Bowl prides itself on being the “Sixth oldest college bowl game and the first ever to be televised nationally coast-to-coast.”

    Does it also pride itself on having the goofiest title sponsor of the 2011-2012 postseason? TaxSlayer.com is a mouthful, to be sure, but for our money, that dubious honor still goes to Beef ‘O’ Brady’s.

    Where will this game be played? EverBank Field, known better to the casual viewer as Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, home to the NFL’s Jaguars and the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party rivalry game.

    Isn’t Florida playing in this game? Things in Jacksonville have not gone so well for them this year, haha! Well, yes, but Florida is playing Ohio State, which had problems of its own the last time it ran across the Gators.

    OMG HAVE YOU EVER REALIZED THEY’RE BOTH EITHER FORMERLY COACHED BY OR ABOUT TO BE COACHED BY–Yes. We’re not going to go into that here. You’re going to hear enough about it in pregame, in-game and postgame coverage to satisfy all your Urbz factoid needs, believe us. And then some. And then some more.

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  • Published On Jan 02, 2012
  • FAQ: Capital One Bowl

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    Welcome to the Capital One Bowl, which used to be the Tangerine Bowl and is played in the Citrus Bowl.

    The 2012 Capital One Bowl is just hours away. We’re sure you have so many questions. We’re here to help. (For an Xs and Os breakdown, check out Bill Trocchi’s game preview.)

    What’s all this, then? Welcome to Orlando and the 66th Capital One Bowl, which has been the Tangerine Bowl way more times than the Champs Sports Bowl has.

    Where will this game be played? The Citrus Bowl, which was also the name of this game for 10 years after it got through being the Tangerine Bowl. Oh, and the stadium also used to be called the Tangerine Bowl. As you were.

    When is it on television? Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET, Monday, January 2. The game will be televised on ESPN.

    Whom does it feature? Half of college football’s major conferences and more than a few minor ones (OVC, holla!) have had tie-ins to this game at one point or another; current contracts pit the SEC against the Big Ten.

    What about this year? This is the day we all look forward to each bowl season, when matchup quality really starts to ramp up (before plummeting again, briefly, for the purposes of the inexplicable BBVA Compass Bowl). Today, 9-3 Nebraska and 10-2 South Carolina will face off.

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  • Published On Jan 02, 2012