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BCS Bowl Breakdown

CBS SportsLine.com staff

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A quick look at the five BCS Bowls, including the BCS National Championship Game between No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Florida on Jan. 8 in Glendale, Arizona.

BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Glendale, Ariz., Jan. 8, 8 p.m. ET on FOX

Ohio State


Florida
Records: No. 1 Ohio State (12-0), No. 2 Florida (12-1)
Bowl facts: This is the first season a site has hosted two BCS games. Glendale, Arizona is also hosting the Fiesta Bowl.
National Championship history: Ohio State: Six national titles, winning its last one in 2004, beating Miami 31-24 in the Fiesta Bowl. Florida: One national title, beating Florida State 52-20 in the Sugar Bowl in 1996.
Bowl history: Ohio State will be playing in its 38th bowl game (18-19). The Buckeyes have won four consecutive games, including three in the state of Arizona. Florida is playing in its 34th bowl (15-18). The last time it played in Arizona for a bowl game, the Gators lost to Nebraska 62-24.
How they got here: Ohio State was the preseason No. 1 ranked team and won all its games. Its biggest wins of the season were beating Texas 24-7, Penn State 28-6 and at Michigan 42-39. Florida lost only one game -- at Auburn 27-17 -- but closed out the season with six consecutive wins, including a 38-28 victory over Arkansas in the SEC Championship. It also beat Tennessee 21-10 and LSU 23-10.
Key players: Ohio State: QB Troy Smith, RB Antonio Pittman, WR Ted Ginn Jr., DL Quinn Pitcock; LB James Laurinaitis; Florida: QB Chris Leak; RB Percy Harvin; WR Dallas Baker; LB Brandon Siler; DB Reggie Nelson
Quote: "Florida belongs. The other team had a shot. We went 12-1, and I think the country wants to see the Southeastern Conference champion against the Big 10 champion. I think that's what this is all about." -- Florida head coach Urban Meyer.

SUGAR BOWL
New Orleans, La., Jan. 3, 8 p.m. ET on FOX

LSU


Notre Dame
Records: No. 4 LSU (10-2), No. 11 Notre Dame (10-2)
Bowl facts: The Sugar Bowl has been in existence since 1935. The BCS tie-in is the SEC champion, but Florida is playing in the BCS National Championship Game so the Sugar was allowed to replace them. Past results
Bowl history: LSU will be playing in its 38th bowl game (18-18-1). This will also mark the third Sugar Bowl appearance by LSU in the past six years. Notre Dame will be playing its 28th bowl game. The Irish have lost eight consecutive bowls.
How they got here: LSU was helped by winning late and having teams in front of them lose. The Tigers won six consecutive to close out the season, beating Tennessee 28-24, Alabama 28-14 and Arkansas 31-26. Notre Dame gets into a BCS bowl for the second consecutive season by having at least nine wins and being ranked in the Top 14 of the BCS Standings.
Key players: LSU: QB JaMarcus Russell, RB Jacob Hester, WR Dwayne Bowe, S LaRon Landry, DL Glenn Dorsey; Notre Dame: QB Brady Quinn, RB Darius Walker, WR Jeff Samardzija, LB Maurice Crum Jr., S Tom Zbikowski
Quote: "I like the foundation of our program. The logical thing for people [to say is] he's only been here for a couple of years and they are going to go through the post-Brady Quinn and everyone else years." -- Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis.

ORANGE BOWL
Miami, Fla., Jan. 2, 8 p.m. ET on FOX

Wake Forest


Louisville
Records: No. 14 Wake Forest (11-2), No. 6 Louisville (11-1)
Bowl facts: The Orange Bowl has been in existence since 1935. The BCS tie-in is the ACC champion vs. at-large. Wake Forest represents the ACC, while Louisville is the Big East champion. Past results
Bowl history: Wake Forest has only played in six bowl games (4-2), including just three since 1980. Louisville will be making its 13th bowl appearance (5-7-1) and first in the BCS.
How they got here: Picked by many to finish last in the ACC, Wake Forest opened the season with five straight victories before losing to Clemson. It then closed out the season by winning six of its next seven, including a 9-6 victory over Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship. Louisville opened at 8-0, including a 44-34 victory over West Virginia that put them in control of the Big East. After losing to Rutgers 28-25, the Cardinals won its last three. That coupled with West Virginia's victory over Rutgers gave Louisville the Big East title.
Key players: Wake Forest: QB Riley Skinner, RB/WR Kenneth Moore; LB Jon Abbate; LB Aaron Curry; S Josh Gattis. Louisville: QB Brian Brohm, RB Kolby Smith, DT Amobi Okoye, CB William Gay, K Art Carmody.
Quote: "It's been an unbelievable season, an unbelievable game. I can't even explain what it means to be ACC champions." -- Wake Forest LB Jon Abbate.

ROSE BOWL
Pasadena, Calif., Jan. 1, 5 p.m. ET on ABC

Southern Cal.


Michigan
Records: No. 5 Southern California (10-2), No. 3 Michigan (11-1)
Bowl facts: The Rose Bowl has been in existence since 1902 where Michigan beat Stanford 49-0. The BCS tie-in is the Pac-10 champion vs. the Big Ten champion -- if possible. USC represents the Pac-10, while Michigan is a replacement team for losing Ohio State to the title game. Past results
Bowl history: USC will be playing in its 45th bowl game (28-16) and 30th Rose Bowl. USC and Michigan played in the 2004 Rose Bowl where the Trojans won 28-14. Michigan will be playing in its 38th bowl game (18-19) and 19th Rose Bowl. The Wolverines will also be making their third Rose Bowl trip in the past four years, losing in 2004 and 2005.
How they got here: Michigan was selected as an at-large after finishing the season at 11-1. It's only loss was to Ohio State in its last game of the season. Southern California claimed the Pac-10 title, but missed out on a chance to play for the national title by losing to UCLA 13-9 in the last game of the season.
Key players: Michigan: QB Chad Henne, RB Mike Hart, WR Mario Manningham, DL LaMarr Woodley, OL Jake Long. USC: QB John David Booty, WR Dwayne Jarrett, LB Rey Maualuga, LB Dallas Sartz, OL Ryan Kalil.
Quote: "I think it’s going to be a great controversy, I don’t care who gets selected. Because I just think that based on some of the comments the Florida coach has made in the last two weeks — campaigning strenuously for a berth in the championship game — and making some statements about Michigan that I think were inappropriate." -- Michigan coach Lloyd Carr.

FIESTA BOWL
Glendale, Ariz., Jan. 1, 8 p.m. ET on ABC

Oklahoma


Boise State
Records: No. 10 Oklahoma (11-2), No. 8 Boise State (12-0)
Bowl facts: The Fiesta Bowl has been in existence since 1971. The game used to be played in Tempe, Arizona, but has moved to Glendale starting this season. The BCS tie-in is the Big 12 champion vs. at-large. Oklahoma represents the Big 12, while Boise State earned a spot in the BCS by being ranked in the Top 12 of the BCS Standings. Past results
Bowl history: Oklahoma will be playing in its 40th bowl game (24-14-1). By reaching the Fiesta Bowl, Oklahoma has now played in every BCS game during a five-year period. Boise State will be playing in its seventh bowl game (4-2) and first BCS Bowl.
How they got here: Oklahoma was 3-2 after losing to Texas and Oregon, but won its last eight games, including a victory over Nebraska 21-7 in the Big 12 Championship. Oklahoma also beat Missouri 26-10 and Texas A&M 17-16 along the way. Boise State finished the season undefeated, slowly moving up the rankings each week. The Broncos earned big victories over Oregon State 42-14, Hawaii 41-34 and Nevada 38-7.
Key players: Oklahoma: QB Paul Thompson, RB Adrian Peterson (injured), WR Malcolm Kelly, DL C.J. Ah You, LB Rufus Alexander. Boise State: QB Jared Zabransky, RB Ian Johnson, WR Drisan James, LB Korey Hall, DL Andrew Browning.
Quote: "Wow, what a great challenge for us. Oklahoma is one of the best programs in all of college football and has been for a long time. It's a tremendous challenge." -- Boise State coach Chris Petersen.

 
 
 
 
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