The Great 38

Breaking down the list of bowl games, which start today at 10 a.m., classifying most attractive to least attractive: Holiday Heat (5 stars); Watch or record (4 stars); Worth a look (3 stars); Take it or leave it (2 stars); What were those chores, honey? (1 star)

All times Central and all games on ESPN except Las Vegas, Citrus Bowl and Independence Bowl, which are on ABC.

HOLIDAY HEAT (5 STARS)

Jan. 1 Sugar* Alabama (12-1) vs. Ohio State (12-1), 7:30 p.m. New Orleans

PAYOUT $18 million LINE Alabama by 9½ O/U 58½ COMMENT Buckeyes 0-9 vs. SEC in bowls after vacating victory over Hogs in 2011

Jan. 1 Rose* Oregon (12-1) vs. Florida State (13-0), 4 p.m. Pasadena, Calif. PAYOUT $18 million LINE Oregon by 9 O/U 72 COMMENT Ducks a heavy favorite in 1st meeting meeting with Seminoles

Dec. 30 Belk Louisville (9-3) vs. Georgia (9-3), 5:30 p.m. Charlotte

PAYOUT $1.7 million LINE Georgia by 7 O/U 56½ COMMENT Bulldogs face former coordinator Todd Grantham

Dec. 29 Texas Arkansas (6-6) vs. Texas (6-6), 8 p.m. Houston

PAYOUT $3 million LINE Arkansas by 6 O/U 45½ COMMENT Favored Hogs can go 2-0 in bowls vs. Horns

Jan. 4 GoDaddy.com Toledo (8-4) vs. Arkansas State (7-5), 8 p.m. Mobile, Ala.

PAYOUT $750,000 LINE Toledo by 3½ O/U 67 COMMENT Red Wolves can create new domain home

WATCH OR RECORD (4 STARS)

Jan. 1 Cotton Michigan St. (10-2) vs. Baylor (11-1), 11:30 a.m. Arlington, Texas PAYOUT $3.6 million LINE Baylor by 3 O/U 71½ COMMENT Gang green: Schools with playoff envy layoff meet in Arlington, Texas

Dec. 31 Peach Mississippi (9-3) vs. TCU (11-1), noon Atlanta

PAYOUT TCU $3.9 million, MSU $2.9 million LINE TCU by 3½ O/U 56½ COMMENT Rebels can strike huge blow for SEC with victory

Dec. 31 Orange Miss. State (10-2) vs. Georgia Tech (10-3), 7:30 p.m. Miami

PAYOUT $18 million LINE Mississippi State by 7 O/U 61½ COMMENT Not a contract-bowl pairing anyone would have envisioned in preseason

Jan. 1 Outback Wisconsin (10-3) vs. Auburn (10-3), 11 a.m. Tampa

PAYOUT $1.1 million LINE Auburn by 6½ O/U 62½ COMMENT Bielema’s old boss Alvarez takes Badgers reins again

Dec. 30 Music City Notre Dame (7-5) vs. LSU (8-4), 2 p.m. Nashville, Tenn.

PAYOUT $2.7 million LINE LSU by 7½ O/U 52½ COMMENT Nashville bowl scores its best big-name matchup

Jan. 1 Citrus Minnesota (8-4) vs. Missouri (10-3), noon Orlando

PAYOUT $4.2 million LINE Missouri by 5 O/U 47½ COMMENT Second of four Big Ten-SEC bowl pairings Dec. 31 Fiesta Boise State (11-2) vs. Arizona (10-3), 4 p.m. Glendale, Ariz. PAYOUT $18 million LINE Arizona by 3½ O/U 68½ COMMENT Broncos rediscover big bowl past under Harsin Jan. 2 Alamo UCLA (9-3) vs. Kansas State (9-3), 5:45 p.m. San Antonio PAYOUT $3.8 million LINE UCLA by 1 O/U 59½ COMMENT Quality 9-3 teams spent most of season cemented in polls

Dec. 29 Russell Ath. Clemson (9-3) vs. Oklahoma (8-4), 4:30 p.m. Orlando PAYOUT $2.2 million LINE Oklahoma by 3½ O/U 53 COMMENT OU QB Trevor Knight is cleared to play; Clemson QB Deshaun Watson is out

Dec. 23 Boca Raton Marshall (12-1) vs. N. Illinois (11-2), 5 p.m. Boca Raton, Fla. PAYOUT TBA LINE Marshall by 10 O/U 67 COMMENT Teams are a combined 23-3, best outside playoff

WORTH A GLANCE (3 STARS)

Dec. 29 Liberty West Virginia (7-5) vs. Texas A&M (7-5), 1 p.m. Memphis

PAYOUT $1.4 million LINE West Virginia by 3½ O/U 67 COMMENT Spoiler alert: There will be points

Jan. 2 Tax Slayer Iowa (7-5) vs. Tennessee (7-5), 2:20 p.m. Jacksonville, Fla.

PAYOUT $2.7 million LINE Tennessee by 3½ O/U 51 COMMENT Are Vols pointed back toward top of SEC East? Dec. 27 Independence Miami (6-6) vs. South Carolina (6-6), 3 p.m. Shreveport PAYOUT $1.2 million LINE Miami by 3½ O/U 61 COMMENT Spurrier’s last losing record: 5-6 at Duke in 1987 Dec. 27 Military Virginia Tech (6-6) vs. Cincinnati (9-3), noon Annapolis, Md. PAYOUT $1 million LINE Cincinnati by 3 O/U 51 COMMENT Camden’s Tuberville catches Hokies on downswing Dec. 27 Holiday Nebraska (9-3) vs. Southern Cal (8-4), 7 p.m. San Diego PAYOUT $2.8 million LINE Southern Cal by 6½ O/U 61½ COMMENT Fifth time storied programs have played, first time in bowl

Dec. 20 Las Vegas Colorado State (10-2) vs. Utah (8-4), 2:30 p.m. Las Vegas PAYOUT $1.4 million LINE Utah by 2½ O/U 57½ COMMENT Rams’ brief Jim McElwain era already over

Dec. 24 Bahamas W. Kentucky (7-5) vs. Cent. Michigan (7-5), 11 a.m. Nassau PAYOUT TBA LINE W. Kentucky by 3 O/U 67 COMMENT Directional schools meet in new bowl

Dec. 27 Sun Duke (9-3) vs. Arizona State (9-3), 1 p.m. El Paso, Texas PAYOUT $2.2 million LINE Arizona State by 7½ O/U 65½ COMMENT Duke (9-3) has never won 10 in a season Dec. 30 Foster Farms Stanford (7-5) vs. Maryland (7-5), 9 p.m. Santa Clara, Calif. PAYOUT $2.2 million LINE Stanford by 14 O/U 48 COMMENT Largest point spread of bowl season (14 points) favors Cardinal

TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT (2 STARS)

Jan. 3 Birmingham Florida (6-5) vs. East Carolina (8-4), noon Birmingham, Ala.

PAYOUT Florida $1.1 million, East Carolina $900,000 LINE Florida by 6½ O/U 56½ COMMENT Pirates blew shot at contract-bowl payday for American Athletic Conference

Dec. 26 Heart of Dallas Illinois (6-6) vs. Louisiana Tech (8-4), noon Dallas PAYOUT $800,000 LINE Louisiana Tech by 6 O/U 58 COMMENT Both teams moved forward after 4-8 seasons

Dec. 26 Quick Lane Rutgers (7-5) vs. North Carolina (6-6), 3:30 p.m. Detroit PAYOUT TBA LINE North Carolina by 3 O/U 66½ COMMENT Day after Christmas in Detroit? Lovely

Jan. 2 Cactus Oklahoma St. (6-6) vs. Washington (8-5), 9:15 p.m. Tempe, Ariz. PAYOUT $3.3 million LINE Washington by 5½ O/U 56½ COMMENT Crazy Bedlam finish sent Cowboys bowling

Dec. 20 Idaho Potato W. Michigan (8-4) vs. Air Force (9-3), 4:45 p.m. Boise PAYOUT $325,000 LINE W. Michigan by 1 O/U 58 COMMENT Rebound Bowl: both improved by 7 victories

Dec. 22 Miami Beach BYU (8-4) vs. Memphis (9-3), 1 p.m. Miami, Fla. PAYOUT TBA LINE Memphis by 1½ O/U 56 COMMENT Mormons vs. the Blues on South Beach?

Dec. 23 Poinsettia Navy (6-5) vs. San Diego State (7-5), 8:30 p.m. San Diego PAYOUT $612,500 LINE San Diego State by 2½ O/U 54 COMMENT Rematch of 2010 game here, won 35-14 by Aztecs

Dec. 26 St. Petersburg Cent. Florida (9-3) vs. NC State (7-5), 7 p.m. St. Petersburg, Fla. PAYOUT $537,500 LINE Cent. Florida by 2 O/U 49½ COMMENT Wolfpack had Seminoles down by a lot, then lost

Dec. 27 Pinstripe Boston College (7-5) vs. Penn State (6-6), 3:30 p.m. New York PAYOUT $2 million LINE Boston College by 2½ O/U 40 COMMENT Nittany Lions getting over stench of Sandusky

WHAT WERE THOSE CHORES, HONEY? (1 STAR)

Dec. 20 New Orleans Nevada (7-5) vs. La.-Lafayette (8-4), 10 a.m. New Orleans

PAYOUT $500,000 LINE Nevada by 1 O/U 61 COMMENT 10 a.m. kickoff from Superdome opens bowls

Dec. 20 New Mexico UTEP (7-5) vs. Utah State (9-4), 1:20 p.m. Albuquerque PAYOUT $456,250 LINE Utah State by 10 O/U 46½ COMMENT Aggies aim for 10th victory; Miners haven’t won 8 since 2005

Dec. 20 Camellia Bowl. Green (7-6) vs. So. Ala. (6-6), 8:15 p.m. Montgomery, Ala.

PAYOUT TBA LINE South Alabama by 2½ O/U 53½ COMMENT Inaugural bowl gets sixth-year in-state Jaguars

Jan. 2 Armed Forces Pittsburgh (7-5) vs. Houston (7-5), 11 a.m. Fort Worth PAYOUT $675,000 LINE Pittsburgh by 3 O/U 53½ COMMENT Cougars lose Levine with 21-17 record in 3 years

Dec. 24 Hawaii Rice (7-5) vs. Fresno State (6-7), 7 p.m. Honolulu PAYOUT $650,000 LINE Rice by 2 O/U 59½ COMMENT Only bowl team (Fresno) with losing record gets Hawaii trip? NOTE Games with SEC and Sun Belt ties are bold.

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