Sheraton Hawaii Bowl 2013 Preview: Boise State Broncos vs. Oregon State Beavers

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, Tuesday, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN

Suggested slogan: Yes, it really is still light here even though it's been dark for hours at your house.

The teams: Boise State Broncos and Oregon State Beavers

How Boise State got here: The Broncos have definitely come down from their high when they were in the running for best non-AQ team every single year. Two of their four losses were close—by one to Fresno State and in overtime to San Diego State—but they also got blown out by Washington in Week 1 and lost comfortably to BYU. Senior quarterback Joe Southwick just wasn't up to the level of his predecessors Kellen Moore and Jared Zabransky, and he missed a lot of time this year anyway. He's missing the bowl too, for what he calls a false accusation of peeing off of a balcony. It's not quite the same as a proposal right after the game winning Statue of Liberty play, but it hasn't been 2006 in Idaho's biggest city for a while.

How Oregon State got here: The Beavs suffered the ignominy of losing to a I-AA team right off the bat, but at least it was to perennial power Eastern Washington (who just lost in the I-AA semifinals not long ago). They followed that up by ripping off six straight wins with some pretty stellar play from quarterback Sean Mannion throughout. That stretch consisted of two non-AQ teams and the four worst Pac-12 teams, however, and they didn't win a game the rest of the way. The team has one of the nation's absolute best passing attacks, but it can't stop anyone.

College football fans care because: It's our first glimpse at the post-Chris Petersen era at Boise, and OSU receiver Brandin Cooks is worth the price of admission.

SEC fans care because: It's the only game on, it's a chance to distract family at the end of the day, and, for some reason, a lot of them love to root against Boise State. Here's your last chance to do that in 2013.

Watch this game if...: You enjoy watching the passing game and love to see the scenery in Hawaii.

Bottom line: It's hard to say what exactly will happen here. Boise State would seem to have a lot going against it here, from being without its head coach to having its starting quarterback sent home. It's also a mere 77th in passing efficiency defense. That said, BSU is 37th in the F/+ rankings, and Oregon State needed overtime to beat the only team ahead of that level that it defeated this year, No. 34 Utah. Ultimately, OSU is favored for a reason despite being a 6-6 team facing an 8-4 team. This could be a wild one in the islands, and Oregon State simply has more firepower.

Brandon's pick: Boise State 34, Oregon State 31

Line: Oregon State by 3