The month-long courting of the bowls concludes Saturday when formal invitations are extended for The month-long courting of the bowls concludes Saturday when formal invitations are extended for football matchups that have been set informally for some time. Timing, however, puts some bowl officials in peculiar positions.
There is, for example, the Orange Bowl, which has No. 1 ranked Notre Dame and No. 2 Colorado locked in for a New Year's Night showdown anticipated as a national championship game, provided both teams arrive undefeated.
Colorado is safe, taking Saturday off, but Notre Dame risks its school record 23-game winning streak at No. 7 Miami Saturday night in what has developed into one of college football's hottest rivalries.
In New Orleans, meanwhile, Sugar Bowl officials have a vested interest in the Miami-Notre Dame game as well. The Hurricanes are ticketed for that bowl against the SEC champion. If unbeaten No. 4 Alabama, also idle this week, gets by Auburn a week from Saturday, and if Miami knocks off Notre Dame, it adds prestige to the Sugar Bowl.
Three other games between ranked teams headline the Saturday schedule. No. 3 Michigan needs only a tie against No. 20 Ohio State to clinch the Big Ten championship and a return trip to the Rose Bowl. No. 13 Houston, with record breaking Andre Ware at the controls, faces No. 18 Texas Tech, and No. 22 Penn State plays at No. 19 Pitt.
In other games, eighth-ranked Tennessee seeks to keep its SEC hopes alive against Kentucky, No. 11 Illinois plays at Northwestern, No. 24 Oregon State is at Hawaii, and No. 25 Michigan State is at Wisconsin.
The weekend got underway Thanksgiving night when multi-talented quarterback Major Harris led No. 17 West Virginia to a 24-17 victory over Syracuse. The win left Gator Bowl-bound West Virginia at 8-2-1. Syracuse (6-4) is headed for the Peach Bowl against Georgia.
Ever since a missed 2-point conversion by Miami gave Notre Dame the victory in this game a year ago and launched the Irish to the national championship, the Hurricanes have been waiting for the rematch. The showdown lost some of its intensity when Miami coach Jimmy Johnson left for the NFL Dallas Cowboys and when Florida State beat Miami earlier this season.
Michigan, which is close enough to the Big Ten title that it can smell the roses, still expects a tough game from Ohio State, even though the Buckeyes are 13-point underdogs.