SI.com’s Stewart Mandel recently ranked all 34 bowl games.

Here are his top 5:

1) BCS National Championship Game (Jan. 7): Alabama (13-0) vs. Texas (13-0). It’s the first-ever matchup of two 13-0 teams. Colt McCoy. Mark Ingram. Rolando McClain. Sergio Kindle. Yeah, I’m thinking you might want to tune in.

2) Sugar (Jan. 1): Cincinnati (12-0) vs. Florida (12-1). It’s spread vs. spread, Tim Tebow vs. Tony Pike, Mardy Gilyard vs. Joe Haden. It may be a letdown game for the Gators, but it should still be entertaining.

3) Fiesta (Jan. 4): TCU (12-0) vs. Boise State (13-0). Enough with the outrage, people: You know you’re going to watch. The nation’s No. 1 passer, Broncos quarterback Kellen Moore, goes up against the nation’s top-ranked defense.

4) Rose (Jan. 1): Ohio State (10-2) vs. Oregon (10-2). Dangerous dual-threat star Jeremiah Masoli is what Terrelle Pryor was supposed to be. But the Buckeyes present the toughest defense the Ducks have faced since Boise.

5) Orange (Jan. 5): Georgia Tech (11-2) vs. Iowa (10-2). You remember the Hawkeyes. They love low scores and dramatic finishes. With a month to prepare, can Pat Angerer, Tyler Sash and Co. stifle Josh Nesbitt and the triple-option?

That’s how I would have my top 5, although the Fiesta and Sugar bowls might be interchangeable. I love watching TCU’s defense play and I’m intrigued about how Gary Patterson will game plan to stop Boise’s offense. That said, I’m interested to see how Cincinnati responds after Brian Kelly ditched them for Notre Dame.

I know Georgia Tech’s triple-option is exciting to watch and Iowa does have a solid front seven, but that matchup just doesn’t have the same appeal as the other four. Maybe it’ll wind up being the best BCS game of the season, but the matchup offers little sizzle compared to the other top bowls.

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Thursday, December 3

No. 16 Oregon State at No. 7 Oregon, 9:00PM ET
There’s never been as much at stake in the annual Civil War game between Oregon State and Oregon, with the winner booking a trip to the Rose Bowl. The Beavers blew an opportunity to head to Pasadena last season when they were blown out by Oregon at home. The Beavers haven’t been to the Rose Bowl since 1964, while Oregon hasn’t made the trip to Pasadena since 1994.
Odds: Oregon –9.5

Saturday, December 5

No. 1 Florida vs. No. 2 Alabama, 4:00PM ET
No game has as much at stake than this Saturday’s SEC title game in Atlanta. The winner will have the opportunity to play in the BCS title game, while the loser has to pray that Texas is beaten by Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship Game and that voters favor them over unbeaten TCU or Cincinnati. Can Tim Tebow lead the Gators to another victory over ‘Bama this season or will Mark Ingram and the Crimson Tide defense avenge last year’s loss to Florida?
Odds: Florida -6

No. 3 Texas vs. No. 22 Nebraska
It’s pretty simple for Colt McCoy and the Longhorns: Either win and book a trip to the national title game or lose and watch their opportunity to become champions fly out the window. The Big 12 North hasn’t beaten the Big 12 South in the title game since 2003 when Kansas State beat Oklahoma. The last time these two teams met, Texas came away with a 28-25 victory in 2007. Can the Cornhuskers snap the South’s reign over the North?
Odds: Texas –13.5

No. 5 Cincinnati at No. 15 Pittsburgh, 12:00PM ET
West Virginia’s win over the Panthers last Friday took a lot of the intrigue out of this matchup, but with the Big East championship on the line, both teams still have plenty to play for. A BCS berth is also on the line and speculation continues to grow that Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly is headed for South Bend. Can the Bearcats overcome this one final road challenge and head to a BCS bowl? Or will PITT ruin Cincinnati’s perfect season?
Odds: Cincinnati -2

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SI.com’s Stewart Mandel compiled his projections for all 34 bowl matchups and this is how things shook out in the BCS Bowls:

BCS Championship: Alabama vs. Texas
Orange: Georgia Tech vs. TCU
Fiesta: Iowa vs. Boise State
Sugar: Florida vs. Pittsburgh
Rose: Ohio State vs. Oregon

Is it just me or are those some pretty lousy matchups outside of the BCS title game (Colt McCoy vs. ‘Bama’s defense is intriguing, I don’t care what anyone says)? I’m not saying that those teams aren’t deserving of those bowls, but I’m not entirely sure I’d like to see Iowa play Boise in one of the “big” bowls.

That said, a Georgia Tech-TCU matchup would be intriguing because I would love to see the Horned Frogs try and defense the Jackets’ potent triple-option. TCU has one of the fastest and most aggressive defenses in the nation and it would be a thrill to watch them try and contain Jonathan Dwyer for four quarters.

Something tells me an Ohio State-Oregon matchup wouldn’t be that bad either outside of the fact that the Buckeyes always lay duds in bowl games. OSU has a solid defense, although Jeremiah Masoli and company might tear them to pieces.

Perhaps the most interesting takeaway from Mandel’s projections (outside of the fact that he has ‘Bama beating Florida in the SEC Championship Game, that is) is that he predicts Pittsburgh to beat Cincinnati in two weeks. The Bearcats can light up a scoreboard, but teams that can run straight at their defense have had success and the Panthers might be able to do that when the two teams square off next Saturday for the top spot in the Big East.’

For those of you who are like me that would rather see a playoff system determine the champion in college football, check out John Paulsen’s breakdown of how a postseason would look like this season.

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