While it might not quite rival the caliber of the Rose, Fiesta, Sugar or Orange Bowl, – let's be honest, even the Chick-fil-A and Mienke Bowls traditionally draw better teams – we have grown to love the "insert sponsor here" bowl AT&T Park has consistently hosted since 2002. Eloquently dubbed the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl this time around, the game offers that rare chance to get legally boozy at a college sporting event ($8.75 Bud Light beats no Bud Light!), and the sole opportunity to catch college ball live within the city. So truth be told, we will probably find ourselves in the cheap seats regardless of what teams the folks at Kraft will have in store for us when they officially announce the lineup this Sunday. That said, we can't help but join in on this week's sure to be endless bowl projection game.
While initially scheduled to pit a top WAC conference team against a 6th place Pac 10 squad, there will likely be be no West Coast love this time around – it simply does not look like the the Pac 10 will have enough bowl eligible teams to take the spot when the season closes Saturday. In their place, the bowl is mandated to take on a low-ranking ACC team. Our guess: a repeat appearance from Boston College. No ACC bowl in the south will likely want them, and the folks behind the Kraft game have already expressed interest.
Things get a bit more interesting with the WAC half of the bowl equation. While previously projected to be Rose Bowl or even BCS Championship bound, after a shocking loss to Nevada over the weekend Boise State is almost certainly out of the BCS bowl picture. But hey, their loss is our gain -- we would be surprised to see the bowl pass on the chance to snag a highly ranked team.
So there you have it – we are calling Boston College vs. Boise State on January 9th. Either way, here's to some pregaming in 2011!
