HELMET FIGHT!! (AP)

The 2012 Valero Alamo 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? After a couple weeks of Beefo-come-lately bowls whose provenance might be described as “questionable,” we’re starting to break into the name-brand bowls. The Alamo has been around since 1993 and has featured at least one ranked team in 16-of-20 games since then (counting this year).

• Where will this game be played? The Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

• When is it on television? Coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. ET on ESPN. Sean McDonough and Chris Spielman are your announcers, with Quint Kessenich on sideline duty.

• Whom does it feature? Since 2010, the Alamo Bowl has pitted the Pac-12′s second-place team against the third choice from the Big 12.

• What about this year? The 9-3, 13th-ranked Oregon State Beavers are your Pac-12 representative, while the 8-4, 23rd-ranked Texas Longhorns rep the Big 12. That makes this the 2012-13 bowl season’s first occurrence of ranked-on-ranked action.

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• Les Miles has some thoughts about what constitutes a nice holiday weekend.

“I can tell you that if I was looking for a New Year’s Eve event, and I was really trying to impress the Mrs., I think maybe taking her to Atlanta, getting a game in with my favorite team and finding a way to celebrate New Year’s — let’s say the game is over by about 10:30 p.m., freshen up a little bit, and go find a place I can twirl my sweetheart. … At midnight, I might get a kiss.” Who are we to argue with The Hat?

• Worth it for the graphic alone. And also the words. Patrick Hruby on sports welfare: “They’re the team owners sitting in luxury boxes built with taxpayer dollars, charging PSL fees for seats constructed with the same. They’re the athletes writing off fines for bad behavior. They’re the multimillion-dollar professional leagues, Ozymandias-shaming college athletic departments and — ahem — charitable bowl games all enjoying lucrative and dubious non-profit status.”

• No Cougars were harmed in the making of this team. Washington State wraps up its internal investigation of the football program, and CougCenter breaks down the findings.

• Tommy Tuberville is not that mean. According to Tommy Tuberville.

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Manti Te’o adds the Maxwell, Bednarik and Walter Camp awards to his trophy haul. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

• Manti Manti Manti Manti Manti Manti (repeat). For those of you scoring at home, that’s the Maxwell Award, Bednarik Award and Walter Camp Foundation Player of the Year award all for Manti Te’o to add to his sagging trophy shelf. Also taking home hardware on Thursday night: Johnny Manziel (Davey O’Brien Award), Luke Joeckel (Outland Trophy), Monteé Ball (Doak Walker Award), Marqise Lee (Biletnikoff Award), Johnthan Banks (Jim Thorpe Award), Cairo Santos (Lou Groza Award) and Ryan Allen (Ray Guy Award, again).

• Taylor Swift for ACC Commissioner. Thrust forth yesterday from the ACC Council of Presidents, which is never ever letting any of those meanies from the Big Ten or dummyheads from the Big East in its treehouse again, ever: “We, the undersigned presidents of the Atlantic Coast Conference, wish to express our commitment to preserve and protect the future of our outstanding league. We want to be clear that the speculation about ACC schools in negotiations or considering alternatives to the ACC are totally false. The presidents of the ACC are united in our commitment to a strong and enduring conference. The ACC has long been a leader in intercollegiate athletics, both academically and athletically, and the constitution of our existing and future member schools will maintain the ACC’s position as one of the nation’s premier conferences.”

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James White was part of a Badgers ground game that tallied 539 yards and eight scores. (Getty Images)

Quick hits from the Championship Saturday action. For more on Week 14, check out our Friday Snaps, coverage of Louisville-Rutgers, Oklahoma-TCU and the epic clash between Alabama and Georgia, plus our complete Top 25 review.

• Wisconsin 70, No. 14 Nebraska 31. This game wasn’t even as close as the final score indicates, which is really saying something. The Huskers were down 42-10 at the half — Wisconsin scored its final touchdown of the second quarter on a trick play with 20 seconds left on the clock, because Bret Bielema enjoys reminding folks he’s Bret Bielema — and scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter after the Badgers had already crossed the 60-point mark.

“We kind of set our minds before the game that this is our game,” Monteé Ball said afterward. “The running backs were going to set the tempo.” Offhand, with 539 yards gained on the ground alone, we would venture to suggest they succeeded in their efforts.

Fun tidbit: Ball rushed for 201 yards on 21 attempts and three touchdowns, and was neither the leading scorer nor the leading rusher for the Badgers. Melvin Gordon rang up 217 yards on nine carries with one score, while James White added four touchdowns and 109 yards on 15 carries. Lost in all that: Taylor Martinez doing this Family Circus touchdown run. Don’t forget that Taylor Martinez did this, because it was awesome.

Wisconsin trailed Nebraska 3-4 in the series before tonight’s cannon show. Has a series ever been leveled with such gusto? And what will a defense of Stanford’s caliber make of these five-loss Badgers, who wouldn’t have even been in position to claim the Big Ten title and earn a Rose Bowl berth if not for other programs’ sanctions? “It’s OK to get there,” said Bielema of the Rose Bowl, “but you need to win it.” They’ll get their shot on New Year’s Day. [BOX | RECAP]

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There are 11 conference races in FBS football, and heading into what will be their final Saturday of the regular season, only one — the WAC — has already crowned its champion. In every other league, and even among the independents where Army and Navy don’t play until next week, there’s at least a little room for movement at the top, if not an outright battle for the conference title. (For more in-depth preview content of this weekend’s SEC title game and other contests, visit Andy Staples’ Walkthrough.)

Georgia has a big game coming up. Of course there’s a song.

Actual Conference Championship Games, Actually

• Central Florida at Tulsa, 12:00 p.m. ET. In keeping with our tiebreaking theme, this game will serve as a best-of-three supremacy determiner: The Knights and Golden Hurricane are 1-1 all-time against each other when playing for the C-USA championship.

• Alabama vs. Georgia, 4:00 p.m. How many bowl scouts from games that can’t possibly hope to take Alabama or Georgia d’you reckon were awarded press credentials for this?

• Nebraska vs. Wisconsin, 8:00 p.m. If you like conference championship games featuring fewer than two division champs, this is the contest for you. Ohio State will celebrate its 12-0 regular season next Friday.

• Florida State vs. Georgia Tech, 8:00 p.m. It is technically still possible for a 6-6 team to receive a BCS bowl bid, at which point it would be a 7-6 team, which makes it all better, right? The majesty of the BCS!

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• Louisville 20, Rutgers 17. We’ll let SI.com’s Gabriel Baumgaertner tell y’all all about the antics of Teddy Bridgewater, but don’t go away without watching him let it all out postgame with offensive coordinator Shawn Watson. Bridgewater led the Cardinals to a primetime win, on the road, against the country’s fourth-ranked scoring defense. And then this happened:

How Bridgewater is even remaining upright at this point is anybody’s guess, but up he his, and no matter your particular partisanship, you must applaud. Have you a pulse? You will be moved. But don’t take our word for it. Listen to his teammates. Here’s Louisville offensive lineman Alex Kupper, after the game: “His legacy at the University of Louisville keeps building and building, and he’s only halfway through. He’s just an unbelievable player, the way he fights. When you’re playing next to him, if you do anything less, it’s shame on you.”

Rutgers still gets a share of the Big East title, and Cincinnati could force a four-way tie atop the conference standings with a win over UConn, but take it from Louisville safety Calvin Pryor, as the Cardinals mull their postseason possibilities: ”Whatever it is is better than going to the Belk Bowl!” [BOX | RECAP]

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Just going to repeat yesterday’s MACtion preview caption here: “Behold Jordan Lynch. Fear Jordan Lynch.” (AP)

• Northern Illinois 31, Toledo 24. We do so love what’s become an annual late-season scramble for division supremacy between the Huskies and Rockets, and last night’s contest did not disappoint. The Huskies, who have won 10 games for the third straight year, will represent the MAC West in Detroit for the third consecutive season, and will face either Kent State or Bowling Green once they get there. Quarterback Jordan Lynch threw for 407 yards (a career best) and rushed for 162 more. No, by himself. No, seriously. Lynch was sent here by the football gods to make sure we all properly appreciate MACtion for the weeknight blessing it is. Message received. [BOX | RECAP]

• Ball State 52, Ohio 27. The Bobcats trailed by four points heading into halftime and were nearly doubled up by the end of the game, thanks mostly to a 21-point fourth-quarter scoring barrage from the Cardinals. Ball State scored three touchdowns in less than nine minutes on a Horactio Banks run, a Kelly Page pass and a Jahwan Edwards run. Page replaced starter Keith Wenning, who left the game in the second quarter with an Achilles injury. Also, this happened. [BOX | RECAP]

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Dave Clawson is here to hand you this many more losses, Ohio. (AP)

• Bowling Green 26, Ohio 14. In the span of less than two weeks, the Bobcats have lost both their shot at a perfect regular season and an undefeated home season, but this year’s class of seniors will still depart as the winningest in school history. Tyler Tettleton was sacked four times by three different Falcons, but he did manage to become the school’s all-time leading passer, with his 145 aerial yards bumping his career total to 5,475. The Falcons scored 19 points in the second quarter and were led offensively by Anthon Samuel, who rushed for 181 yards and two scores. [BOX | RECAP]

• It’s that time of year. We don’t really get into recruiting as part of our bloggy antics here, but it’s always proper to mark that special day on the calendar when the commitment of the nation’s top recruit is called into question. Keep up with the movements of Robert Nkemdiche with this StoryStream from our friends at SB Nation.

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Terrance Owens will do football things for Toledo, the MAC and America this Election Night. (AP)

• The greatest p.r. email we have received on this job begins thusly: “Tuesday, November 6th is Election Night for the country but it’s also a decisive night in the battle for the West Division crown of the Mid-American Conference. The Toledo Rockets host Ball State on Nov. 6 in a nationally televised contest at the Glass Bowl (8:00 p.m. / ESPN2) in what could help determine the eventual MAC champion.” We should probably get this framed. Preview coming later this afternoon for tonight’s game, right after Profiles in Profiteroles.

• Roster blotter: Matt Scott was, in fact, concussed against UCLA, and is questionable for Arizona’s game against Colorado … Washington State’s company line on Marquess Wilson is that Marquess Wilson is suspended … Bret Bielema is keeping the details of Wisconsin’s late-season quarterback race to himself … Boise State defensive tackle and internet favorite Mike “Bacon” Atkinson is through for the year with a torn ACL.

• Mack Brown trolls message boards all night long just writing “STAY CLASSY:” Because if there’s one real big problem college athletics has right now, it’s a lack of respect conveyed through hand signals and signs, amirite?

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Assorted bests and worsts from college football’s week that was:

• Best throwback (see what we did there?): Can’t go wrong with a classic, can we, Aaron Murray?

• Unofficial Heisman winner of our hearts: AJ McCarron, but not for the football-related reasons you might think. No, Alabama’s quarterback won our undying allegiance much earlier in the day, after dropping this little number on GameDay:

AJ McCarron to ESPN on handling wrath of Saban: “I always mess with him. I always say it kind of makes you feel as small as him.”

— Jon Solomon (@jonsol) November 3, 2012

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