That’s it, I’m finishing this right here, right now!

Rose Bowl presented by Citi
Who (is playing)?  USC Trojans (10-2) vs. Michigan Wolverines (11-1).
Where (are they playing)?  Pasadena, California.
When (is it all going down)?  January 1, 5 PM on ABC.
First thoughts:  Well.  Obviously I was hoping Cal would be there instead.  And I find Michigan to be slightly overrated since I don’t remember them beating a single decent team.  As a matter of fact, I thought the whole rematch talk was ridiculous.  Never mind that Michigan played Ohio State well and it was a close game - what would have happened had Michigan gotten its rematch and they had won?  What do you think everyone from Ohio would have said?  Then again, that may have been enough to make college football go to a real playoff system, so maybe it wouldn’t have been all bad.  Either way, I suppose this should be a good game.  Though I think both teams are still pretty overrated.
Why (should you watch)?  Because it’s the Rose Bowl, and it’ll be the first decent bowl you’ll actually want to watch (other than the Texas Bowl and Holiday Bowl, of course).  Also to find out if Michigan is overrated (again), or USC is overrated (which would be somewhat unusual, but seems likely) and assess whether Cal has a legit shot at the Pac-10 Title and Rose Bowl berth next year once Dwyane Jarrett and Steve Smith leave.  2007’s ours!  2007’s ours!  2007’s ours!

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
Who (is playing)?  Boise State Broncos (12-0) vs. Oklahoma Sooners (11-2).
Where (are they playing)?  Glendale, Arizona.
When (is it all going down)?  January 1, 8 PM on Fox.
First thoughts:  Adrian Peterson!  Ian Johnson!  Two guys not named Marshawn Lynch!
Why (should you watch)?  You might want to see what will probably be Adrian Peterson’s last college game, as you sit there and wonder why he gets so much more hype than Marshawn does.  Hey, he’s good, but you’re kidding yourself if you don’t think Marshawn would have put up similar numbers had J.J. Arrington not been around during Marshawn’s freshman year.  And you’re kidding yourself if you think Boise State isn’t going to get the hell kicked out of them by the Sooners.  Yeah, I’m biased, but it seems to me like there are fifteen other teams in the country who could have gone 12-0 against Boise State’s schedule.  I smell a blowout.

FedEx Orange Bowl
Who (is playing)?  Louisville Cardinals (11-1) vs. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (11-2).
Where (are they playing)?  Miami, Florida.
When (is it all going down)?  January 2, 8 PM on Fox.
First thoughts:  Yeah, Wake Forest is a good story, and they’ve earned it, but does this feel like a BCS game to anyone?  Shouldn’t this be like, you know, the 1-800-FLOWERS.com Bowl?
Why (should you watch)?  Because it is still a BCS game, and it might be nice to see whether Wake can put the cap on their Cinderella season (unlike Rutgers).  With that said, I expect Brian Brohm and the Louisville offense to shred Wake Forest and put up at least 40.  So this game has got that going for it.

Allstate Sugar Bowl
Who (is playing)?  Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-2) vs. LSU Tigers (10-2).
Where (are they playing)?  New Orleans.
When (is it all going down)?  January 3, at 8 PM on Fox.
First thoughts: God, I hate both the SEC and Notre Dame.  Is there any way both of them can lose?
Why (you should watch)?  Because there’s a chance they could get into a brawl after the game, like LSU and Miami did last year after their bowl game.  In that case, Joe Theismann would be proven wrong (like usual) because he said that Notre Dame would never find itself involved in a Miami-FIU-esque brawl.  As for the game itself, Notre Dame is going to get killed.  I think we all know that.

International Bowl
Who (is playing)?  Western Michigan Broncos (8-4) vs. Cincinnati Bearcats (7-5).
Where (are they playing)?  Toronto.  Oh.  Well, at least that explains the name.
When (is it all going down)?  January 6, 12 PM on ESPN2.
First thoughts:  WTF?
Why (you should watch)?  Because it’s always fun to watch Canadians.  They’re just like us, only different!

GMAC Bowl
Who (is playing)?  Ohio Bobcats (9-4) vs. Southern Miss Golden Eagles (8-5).
Where (are they playing)?  Mobile, Alabama.
When (is it all going down)?  January 7, 8 PM on ESPN.
First thoughts: …who cares?
Why (you should watch)?  That’s it.  I give up.  There is no reason on Earth you should watch this.

Tostitos BCS Championship Game
Who (is playing)?  Ohio State Buckeyes (12-0) vs. Florida Gators (11-1).
Where (are they playing)?  Glendale, Arizona.
When (is it all going down)?  January 8, 8 PM on Fox.
First thoughts:  In spite of my SEC bias, I really hope Florida wins.  Why?  I don’t know.  I just don’t like Ohio State.
Why (you should watch)?  Because it’s the national championship game, to find out if Troy Smith is more Charlie Ward than Donovan McNabb, to see whether it’s possible for a team with no running backs to win a national title, and so I’ll feel like all this time and effort writing up all of this was worth it.  Just maybe.

Whew.  Perhaps I’ll write some more on the Holiday Bowl later this week.  Don’t count on it.
 

When Professor George Smoot won the Nobel Prize, he wanted to celebrate his "Rose Bowl" caliber accomplishment by having the Cal Band do what it does best.  Piss off Stephen Colbert.  To that end, he had them re-enact the Big Bang.  But epically awkwarder.  And with slow walking. 

He had it filmed to be shown at his Nobel speech.  If you’ve ever asked yourself what does avant garde free-movement marching band looks like, here is your shot.

Here is the article.  

And here is the video.   

Don’t forget to check in with The California Golden Blogs all this week.  We will have a delightfully ironic comparison of Cal and Texas A+M.  You will be able to enjoy it like a fine wine as it slowly unfolds all week.  GO BEARS!