Executive director Bill Hancock (right) expects four teams in the playoff for at least 12 years. (AP)

By Zac Ellis

The newly named College Football Playoff might be the next big step in the sport, but many hope the upcoming postseason model will one day expand to include even more teams. It might be a while before that happens, though.

On Thursday at the BCS Meetings in Pasadena, Calif., executive director Bill Hancock said the playoff will remain at four teams for at least the duration of the 12-year deal, which goes into effect after the 2014 season.

Hancock: "We know people are going to want eight [teams], and some are going to want 16, or 32. But it’s going to be four, for 12 years."—
Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) April 25, 2013

The current plan will pit four teams, as chosen by a selection committee, in two semifinal bowl games to earn a berth in the new College Football Championship Game, which replaces the BCS National Championship Game. The first title game in the new playoff format will take place at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Jan. 12, 2015.

UCF’s decision to play in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl last year was a gamble that paid off for the Knights. (Landov)

By Zac Ellis

Central Florida has a chance to go bowling as a new member of the American Athletic Conference. The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that the Knights have won their NCAA appeal and will be eligible for postseason play in 2013.

The school’s appeal came in reaction to heavy sanctions handed down by the NCAA last season as a result of recruiting violations and a loss of institutional control ruling. The school accepted much of the NCAA’s punishment across both the football and men’s basketball programs, but UCF president John Hitt decided to appeal football sanctions he felt were excessive. UCF played in the Conference USA title game and the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl last season while its appeal was heard.

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We did go back in the archives for a photo of the crystal football, but just look at what we found. Can you behold Bob Stoops’ 2004 hair without your breath catching in wonder? Just marvelous. (AP)

A Friday announcement out of the lair of the evolving BCS system brings news straight out of a sports-business Cinderella tale: All non-BCS bowls have been invited to “to consider whether they are interested in submitting a proposal to host the national semifinals and other bowl games”!

First, a reminder on how the postseason will work from the 2014-15 season on:

The Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl have already been chosen to host the first national semifinals of the playoff on January 1, 2015. The Orange Bowl and a yet-to-be named bowl will host the semifinals in the second year of the playoff. The two bowls that will host semifinals in the third year have yet to be named. Bids are being sought for the three to-be-named bowls.

If that sounds like a lot of very vague language, well, let’s consult our designated oracle on the matter:

BCS says 31 bowls may bid for right to host semifinals in playoff. Doesn't matter: 3 open spots will go to Fiesta, Cotton & Chick-fil-A—
Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) March 15, 2013

Righto. Will this stop us from creating Power Rankings of the bowl games we most wish to contend for host slots? It will not, because it is both March and Friday:

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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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