The College Football Bowl season begins Saturday

The Bowl season culminates with the National Championship Playoff game on January 9th. The playoff participants are #1 Alabama (SEC 13-0), #2 Clemson (ACC 12-1), #3 Ohio State (Big Ten 11-1) and #4 Washington (Pac-12 12-1).
Once again the playoff games are to be played on new year’s eve, and are sure to be excellent. The Peach Bowl in Atlanta Georgia matches #1 Alabama vs. #4 Washington. The Fiesta Bowl in Glendale Arizona matches #2 Clemson vs. #3 Ohio State. Unlike the past two years, not all the participating teams won their respective conferences. Ohio State was selected even though it lost to Big-10 Champion Penn State. #5 Penn State (11-2) will play #9 USC (9-3) in the Rose Bowl on 2 January.
Oregon Ducks
For the first time since 2004, the Oregon Ducks did not earn the right to play in a bowl game. This year the Oregon Ducks went 4-8 for a losing season. The fans in Eugene have become accustomed to winning, so they took it hard when the Ducks lost both their rivalry games. Oregon had beaten rival Washington 12 times in a row. However this year the Washington Huskies beat Oregon in Eugene at Autzen Stadium 21-70. (And the game wasn’t as close as the score indicates.) The last game of the season put the final nail in Coach Mark Helfrich’s coffin. After taking a 14-24 lead in the third quarter, Oregon allowed the Oregon State Beavers to score 21 unanswered points to lose 34-24. Mark Helfrich was fired a week later. Helfrich has been replaced by Coach Willie Taggart of USF (University of South Florida). It will be interesting to see if Taggart can change the Ducks fortunes next year.
Mike Resch reporting from Eugene Oregon where it never rains, it only pours touchdowns.
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Here’s a list of the best college games of the weekend.
All times are Central Europe Time
December 18
00:30 Las Vegas Bowl: Houston (9-3) vs. San Diego State (10-3)
December 28
04:00 Holiday Bowl: Minnesota (8-4) vs. Washington State (8-4)
December 29
02:30 Russell Athletic Bowl: #16 West Virginia (10-2) vs. Miami (8-4)
December 30
06:00 Alamo Bowl: #12 Oklahoma State (9-3) vs. #10 Colorado (10-3)
23:00 Sun Bowl: #18 Stanford (9-3) vs. North Carolina (8-4)
December 31
00:30 Music City Bowl: Nebraska (9-3) vs. #21 Tennessee (8-4)
05:00 Orange Bowl: #6 Michigan (10-2) vs. #11 Florida State (9-3)
20:00 Citrus Bowl: #20 LSU (7-4) vs. #13 Louisville (9-3)
January 1
00:00 Peach Bowl: #4 Washington (12-1) vs. #1 Alabama (13-0)
04:00 Fiesta Bowl: #3 Ohio State (11-1) vs. #2 Clemson (12-1)
January 2
22:00 Outback Bowl: #17 Florida (8-4) vs. Iowa (8-4)
22:00 Cotton Bowl: #15 Western Michigan (13-0) vs. #8 Wisconsin (10-3)
January 3
02:00 Rose Bowl: #9 USC (9-3) vs. #5 Penn State (11-2)
05:30 Sugar Bowl: #14 Auburn (8-4) vs. #7 Oklahoma (10-2)
January 10
05:00 BCS National Championship: Teams to be determined