Bowled over by students

Nebraska take on undefeated Miami in the Rose Bowl

Click here for college Bowl schedule and results

BBC Sport Online's Alex Trickett explains the significance of college gridiron's Bowl schedule and picks some likely winners.

For a few days every new year, millions of American football fans take their eyes off the stars of the NFL and focus on a bunch of college kids instead.

It may seem an unlikely trade, swapping the honed skills of Jerry Rice and Marshall Faulk for the raw talents of unproven teenagers.

But the American public loves spotting its heroes of the future early.

Miami fans expect a national title

And there is vast tradition and fierce passion tangled up in the Bowl games that end college football's season.

A big slice of the US population goes to college and retains strong and proud ties to student teams - especially those in areas that lack professional franchises.

Since the arrival of the BCS - a complicated system designed to guarantee a unanimous national champion every year - four principal Bowl games are played.

The most important of these is the Rose Bowl, scheduled for 3 January in Pasadena, California.

Pitting the top two BCS sides against each other, it is supposed to yield America's best college team, and will do so in 2002 if the Miami Hurricanes - the nation's only unbeaten team - beat Nebraska.

If they lose, however, controversy looms.

LSU: Primed for success in the Sugar Bowl

Colorado and Oregon - both rated by some as better qualified than Nebraska for the showcase game - might get votes as America's top team in the end-of-season polls.

They clash in the Fiesta Bowl, with the winner poised to benefit from a Miami slip-up.

Louisiana State (LSU), who robbed Tennessee of their berth in the Rose Bowl with a shock victory in the Southeastern Conference final, meet Illinois in the Sugar Bowl.

And Maryland face Florida in the Orange Bowl.

Beyond these massive games are a host of other Bowls, designed to fill the participating colleges' coffers.

A few of these have already been played, many take place between Christmas and new year, but the most lucrative happen early in January.

Buffaloes have the momentum

Michigan v Tennessee in the Florida Citrus Bowl will be a big game between two famous sporting universities.

There is even a fixture on Christmas Day, as Utah take on USC in the Las Vegas Bowl.

So who will win these epic duels?

Miami will have too many weapons for Nebraska, who will succumb despite the efforts of Heisman trophy winner Eric Crouch.

The Colorado Buffaloes will continue their late-season momentum by crushing Oregon, while Florida should lift their fans' spirits after a disappointing season.

In the New Orleans Sugar Bowl, I pick LSU to cap a memorable year with victory over Illinois in their own back yard.

But then, as an LSU alumnus, I would say that. Like I said, college ties die hard.

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MAJOR BOWLS

3 Jan:
Rose: Miami 37-14 Nebraska

2 Jan:
Orange: Maryland 23-56 Florida

1 Jan:
Fiesta: Oregon 38-16 Colorado
Sugar: LSU 47-34 Illinois

OTHER BOWLS

1 Jan:
Cotton: Oklahoma 10-3 Arkansas
Outback: Ohio State 28-31 South Carolina
Gator: Florida State 30-17 Virginia Tech
Florida Citrus: Michigan 17-45 Tennessee

31 Dec:
Sun: Purdue 27-33 Washington State
Humanitarian: Clemson 24-49 Louisiana Tech
Silicon Valley: Fresno State 35-44 Michigan State
Liberty: Louisville 28-10 BYU
Peach: North Carolina 16-10 Auburn

29 Dec:
Motor City: Toledo 23-16 Cincinnati
Alamo: Iowa 19-16 Texas Tech
Insight.com: Kansas State 3-26 Syracuse

28 Dec:
Music City: Boston College 20-16 Georgia
Holiday: Washington 43-47 Texas

27 Dec:
Seattle: Stanford 14-24 Georgia Tech
Independence: Iowa 13-14 Alabama

25 Dec:
Las Vegas: Utah 10-6 USC

20 Dec:
Tangerine: Pittsburgh 34-19 NC State

19 Dec:
GMAC: Marshall 64-61 East Carolina

18 Dec:
New Orleans: Colorado State 45-14 North Texas

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