The story of one day in the college football postseason, as told through social media.

Solid crowd at LP Field, but don’t judge it yet. This quaint stadium on the river is a honky labyrinth from hell to get to.

— Steven Godfrey (@38Godfrey) December 31, 2012

Mike Glennon still leads all prospective NFL draft picks in neckness.

— edsbs (@edsbs) December 31, 2012

Nobody stands Paul Johnson up for dinner. RT @insideusc: Lane Kiffin has some type of scrape or bump between his eyes. Not sure reason why.

— CollegeFootballTalk (@CFTalk) December 31, 2012

Does Lane Kiffin think the Sun Bowl happens on the Sun? WHAT ARE YOU WEARING CUZ

— Jason Kirk (@JasonKirkSBN) December 31, 2012

The Red Lobster scholar of the year is once again a pile of popcorn shrimp.

— Bill Hanstockings (@sundownmotel) December 31, 2012

Red Lobster scholar of the year wins a semi truck full of Cheddar Bay biscuits and a real bad attitude when you ask for a soda refill.

— Bill Hanstockings (@sundownmotel) December 31, 2012

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What could be more patriotic than an upended bronze bell filled with reasonably-priced auto parts?

The 2012 Liberty 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 Zac Ellis’ game preview.)

• What’s all this, then? This here’s the Liberty Bowl. Its logo is the Liberty Bell. The game is played in Memphis. Why is the logo not a pyramid? The Liberty Bowl originated in Philadelphia, and continues to honor its roots with a bell-shaped trophy and the Spirit of 1776 Award.

• Where will this game be played? Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, also home to the Memphis Tigers and, for one glorious season, the XFL’s Memphis Maniax. And some other teams. None with a name like Maniax.

• When is it on television? Coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN, with Mark Jones and Brock Huard in the booth and Jessica Mendoza on the sidelines.

• Whom does it feature? Current tie-ins are Conference USA and SEC.

• What about this year? In the interest of cozying up to the Big 12, bowl organizers selected 6-6 Iowa State to face 10-3 Tulsa. THAT IS A PRETTY DIFFERENT RECORD THIS IS GONNA BE A BLOWOUT. Check the regular-season schedule, dear reader: The Cyclones and Golden Hurricane met in Ames in Week 1, and Tulsa pulled the upset. ALL WEATHER MASCOTS BOWL WOOOOOOO. That’s probably a better sentiment.

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• Oh, NOW you don’t like the BCS. Not before. Just now. Northern Illinois is bound for the Orange Bowl as the first team from the MAC to earn a BCS bowl bid. We, as you might imagine, are delighted. Others are not. In other words, it’s just like every other BCS selection reaction ever.

Herbstreit calls NIU’s BCS berth “A sad state of college football.”

— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) December 3, 2012

Herbstreit on #BCS selection show: “To put Northern Illinois in the BCS is a joke.” — Mark Schlabach (@Mark_Schlabach) December 3, 2012

Say what you will about NIU, its bid was automatic, just like Wisconsin’s and Louisville’s. NIU ranks ahead of both in every poll. — Matt Hinton (@MattRHinton) December 3, 2012

“I can’t believe they let NIU into the sacrosanct Orange Bowl.” <—someone who has never watched the Orange Bowl — edsbs (@edsbs) December 2, 2012

Rule that got NIU in was established to help defend BCS from anti-trust lawsuit. ESPN acting like it’s a football decision — Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) December 3, 2012

Is there any other sport in America where people DESPISE the underdog? Any sport in the world? — Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) December 3, 2012

Again, according to every current human poll and a consensus of the BCS computers, NIU’s not even the worst BCS bowl team this year. — Matt Hinton (@MattRHinton) December 3, 2012

To steal a @billsimmons metaphor, a lot of the NIU whining seems like people who are also mad the house doesn’t win more in blackjack.

— John Infante (@John_Infante) December 3, 2012

For takes longer than 140 characters, see Samuel Chi’s “Deal with it” and Matt Hinton’s “Blame the Big Ten and Big East.” The final regular-season BCS standings can be found here; the tell-all Coaches’ Poll results are here. For our full bowl schedule, click this way.

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This guy came within a tiebreaker of going to the Orange Bowl instead. (Icon SMI)

The 2011 Liberty 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 Bill Trocchi’s game preview.)

• What’s all this, then? The Liberty Bowl retains its Memphis location for the 53rd year and has held onto its AutoZone sponsorship since 2004, making it a very grown-up bowl game indeed compared to your TaxSlayers and TicketCities.

• Where will this game be played? Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, current home field of the Memphis Tigers and former turf of the XFL’s Memphis Maniax.

• Maniax? It might have actually been ManiAX, now that we remember. Don’t say you’ve already forgotten one of the greatest graphical endeavors in upstart football league history!

• The NFL would be a lot more fun if it adopted some of the XFL’s spelling rules. We could not agree more.

• When is it on television? Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 31. The game will be televised on ABC.

• Whom does it feature? Typically, the top pick from Conference USA versus a low-ranked SEC team.

• What about this year? A weird to-do with the bowl contracts sent Southern Miss to the Hawaii Bowl instead, which consternated some people, but if this really is about the athletes, put yourselves in the Golden Eagles’ cleats: Christmas in Hawaii versus New Year’s in Tennessee? Thought so. The “winning” Liberty Bowl selectees are 9-3 Cincinnati and 6-6 Vanderbilt.

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