BCS Buster Power Rankings: Ranking the 2011-12 Non-AQ Bowls

Bowl season is upon us, and for the first time since 2005 we lack a BCS Buster playing in one of the five marquee contests. TCU’s opportunity passed immediately, when they were unable to complete their comeback against Baylor after allowing eventual Heisman winner Robert Griffin III to engineer 50 points on their traditionally-stout defense and lost the season opener. Southern Miss lost to Marshall, and then UAB, both indefensible defeats that should never have happened. Then again, when Houston laid an egg against the Golden Eagles, it was even more indefensible (over $10 million more, to be more specific). And then there was Boise State, who likely would have been playing against LSU for the biggest prize of them all if they had been able to simply put a kick through the uprights…

So things are a little different this year. We’re going to rank all the bowl matchups of the season that feature non-AQ teams. There is still plenty to celebrate, even without that one team standing resplendent and adequately respected for a change. There are plenty of reasons to keep watching this postseason, no matter where your feelings lie on the BCS or the nature of the bowl business or any other situation. For sixty minutes of regulation football, remember that this might just be the last time you see some of these young men playing the game of football for national audiences. So revel in what is good about the sport, and accept that you can’t win every battle. The BCS Busters will live to fight another year, and their performances in these final contests will help to position them for 2012 success (or failure) heading into the offseason…

1. TicketCity Bowl (Jan. 2 — Cotton Bowl/Dallas, TX)
	Houston Cougars v. Penn State Nittany Lions

WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH: Sure, Houston missed out on a BCS bowl when they bombed in the C-USA Championship. But this will be your last chance to see Case Keenum take the field for the high-flying Cougars offense. They will take on a Penn State team whose defense poses the toughest test of their season. And you can turn this one into a drinking game — take a shot every time the names “Sandusky” or “Paterno” are mentioned…

PICK: Houston 38, Penn State 24

2. Las Vegas Bowl (Dec. 22 — Sam Boyd Stadium/Las Vegas, NV)
	Boise State Broncos v. Arizona State Sun Devils

WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH: Like Houston, Boise State was painfully close to BCS qualification, passed up for an at-large berth by two teams ranked at least four spots lower than them. But this will be the last game for the all-time winningest quarterback in FBS football. The Broncos will have a hell of a challenge containing Vontaze Burfict, the sparkplug for an aggressive defense. The only way Boise can lose is if they play disappointed and down to their competition…

PICK: Boise State 41, Arizona State 16

3. Armed Forces Bowl (Dec. 30 — Gerald Ford Stadium/Dallas, TX)
	BYU Cougars v. Tulsa Golden Hurricane

WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH: BYU bolted the Mountain West for football independence hoping to become the next Notre Dame. Their top-20 defense will be tested by G.J. Kinne and a Golden Hurricane offense that earned its eight wins by playing one of the toughest schedules in the nation. But where Tulsa’s strength lies on offense, they correspondingly bring a deficient defense to the table. If the Cougars can score, they can get to 11 wins…

PICK: BYU 17, Tulsa 16

4. Poinsettia Bowl (Dec. 21 — Snapdragon Stadium/San Diego, CA)
	Louisiana Tech Bulldogs v. TCU Horned Frogs

WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH: This is your last chance to see the Horned Frogs as a Mountain West champion before they leap up to AQ status next season in the Big XII. They missed an auto-bid to the BCS by two positions, earning a trip to San Diego to take on surprise WAC champ Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs come in hot, having reeled off seven straight wins to earn the first Poinsettia Bowl berth in school history. This will be closer than you might expect…

PICK: TCU 41, Louisiana Tech 38

5. GoDaddy.com Bowl (Jan. 8 — Ladd-Peebles Stadium/Mobile, AL)
	Arkansas State Red Wolves v. Northern Illinois Huskies

WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH: This is another battle of conference champions. NIU proved in the MAC Championship that no lead is safe for the opposition when Chandler Harnish and the Huskies get rolling on offense. Arkansas State ran undefeated through Sun Belt play for the first 10-win season in school history. They’ll go bowling for just the second time, and a sneaky-good defense could hold the Huskies in check…

PICK: Arkansas State 37, Northern Illinois 31

6. Military Bowl (Dec. 28 — RFK Stadium/Washington, DC)
	Toledo Rockets v. Air Force Falcons

WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH: The Rockets can score at will, a balanced offense running up the scoreboard both on the ground and in the air. The inaptly-named Falcons are the second-best rushing team in the country… and one of the worst aerial crews. Neither team brings a reputable defense to RFK, so this one is bound to be a barnburner. If you’re looking for the antithesis of low-scoring defensive football, you can’t do much better than this…

PICK: Toledo 52, Air Force 42

7. BBVA Compass Bowl (Jan. 7 — Legion Field/Birmingham, AL)
	SMU Mustangs v. Pittsburgh Panthers

WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH: Mustang Mania is back in the Metroplex full force. SMU will be moving to the Big East next season, one of the replacements for three departing teams including… Pittsburgh, who is headed to an expanding ACC. June Jones’ team has a better record; the Panthers are better statistically. Will this be an upset on the order of the Mustangs’ Iron Skillet over TCU? If Pitt is bored with a return to Birmingham, it could be…

PICK: SMU 27, Pittsburgh 24

8. Hawaii Bowl (Dec. 24 — Aloha Stadium/Honolulu, HI)
	Southern Miss Golden Eagles v. Nevada Wolf Pack

WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH: After winning Conference USA with their shocker in Houston, Southern Miss gets a luau for their troubles. The Nevada team they face is easily dismissed — just like the Marshall and UAB teams that killed the Golden Eagles’ BCS dreams. Chris Ault will have a ground game that will seriously challenge Southern Miss’ top-20 run defense. But this should be a stage where Eagles’ QB Austin Davis — who outdueled Case Keenum in the C-USA Championship — shines brightest…

PICK: Southern Miss 31, Nevada 20

9. New Mexico Bowl (Dec. 17 — University Stadium/Albuquerque, NM)
	Temple Owls v. Wyoming Cowboys

WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH: Albuquerque gives us our first bowl fix of the season, and you could do worse than the third-best team from the Mountain West and the fourth-best from the MAC. After being shut out of the bowls last year, Temple’s Bernard Pierce will be hungry for the national spotlight. But Wyoming’s Brett Smith has been one of the country’s pleasant surprises, stepping in when Austyn Carta-Samuels transferred and earning MWC Freshman of the Year honors. Who will emerge bigger?

PICK: Wyoming 27, Temple 24

10. Idaho Potato Bowl (Dec. 17 — Bronco Stadium/Boise, ID)
	Utah State Aggies v. Ohio Bobcats

WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH: The last time we saw the Bobcats, Frank Solich’s crew was self-destructing against NIU in the MAC Championship. Utah State also showed a propensity for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory (see: Auburn, Colorado State, BYU). One of these teams has to emerge victorious, though. Ohio should win, but then they also should have won their conference when they held a 20-point lead with half a game behind them…

PICK: Utah State 31, Ohio 28 (OT)

11. New Orleans Bowl (Dec. 17 — Superdome/New Orleans, LA)
	Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns v. San Diego State Aztecs

WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH: The Aztecs were a trendy preseason pick to push Boise State and TCU for Mountain West supremacy. Instead they landed 4th in their conference. But Ronnie Hillman is as dangerous a tailback as you’ll find in the country, and QB Ryan Lindley provides balance to the SDSU offense. This game also features one of the best team nicknames in all FBS, the Ragin’ Cajuns — but the coolest name doesn’t win football games…

PICK: San Diego State 38, Louisiana-Lafayette 14

12. St. Petersburg Bowl (Dec. 20 — Tropicana Field/St. Petersburg, FL)
	FIU Golden Panthers v. Marshall Thundering Herd

WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH: Two words — T.Y. Hilton. The electric all-purpose athletic threat is one of the most electric return men in the country once again. FIU failed to take advantage of Troy’s down year in the Sun Belt, but they shouldn’t overlook a Marshall team that nearly sneaked into the C-USA Championship Game by holding a head-to-head tiebreak over eventual champ Southern Miss. Will this be another shootout like last year’s Little Caesars Bowl?

PICK: FIU 38, Marshall 28

13. Little Caesars Bowl (Dec. 27 — Ford Field/Detroit, MI)
	Western Michigan Broncos v. Purdue Boilermakers

WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH: Well, you watched all the other games… so why would you pass up the last chance to see a non-AQ school claim victory over a BCS conference opponent? Senior WR Jordan White — the leading receiver in the country with 27 catches for 1646 yards and 16 touchdowns is alone worth tuning in to see. How many more will he be able to nab against a suspect Boilermakers defense?

PICK: Western Michigan 38, Purdue 27