Fiesta Bowl, 8 p.m. ET, FOX
What it is: The showcase for yet another aggrieved former national championship competitor. (These guys realize that a playoff would also only produce one champion -- right?)
The Teams: No. 9 Ohio State, No. 3 Texas (BlogPoll)
How Ohio State got here: Because the BCS has to include an annual game where Ohio State gets annihilated by a merciless competitor. It's actually in the contract. In any case, the Buckeyes looked less than stellar in its second game against Ohio and then -- like clockwork -- got waxed by Southern Cal in its third game. They then dashed off five wins, four in the powerful Big Ten, before losing to Penn State and winning three more. How thi$ qualifie$ Ohio $tate for a po$ition in the Fie$ta Bowl e$cape$ your$ truly. RB Chris "Beanie" Wells ended up playing no role in the Heism@n Trophy race, but only because he missed three games; Wells had 1,091 yards and 8 TDs on 191 carries in nine games, and rushed for more than 100 yards seven times, 94 yards another time and 55 yards against Penn State.
How Texas got here: 45-35, BABY!!! Oh, that's right; this isn't the national championship game. Yes, well... Texas lost 39-33 to Texas Tech, should have gone to the Big XII Championship Game, but didn't, and so ended up with a less impressive resume than Oklahoma -- a team the Longhorns beat. (Please don't make me go through the whole Big XII argument again.) The unquesitonable leader was QB Colt McCoy, who completed almost 78 percent of his passes for 3,445 yards, 32 TDs and 7 INTs in his junior season.
College football fans care because: You can't miss the annual Ohio State FAIL Bowl.
SEC fans care because: Laughing at Ohio State is fun. And should make us feel a little bit better after The Bowl That Shall Not Be Mentioned.
Watch this game if ... : You like college football. Or hate Ohio State.
The result: Texas 45, Ohio State 35