Bowling through the holidays

Back in the day, I tried to watch as much of every bowl game I could.

Of course, back then there was, like, 12 of them — and games like the Liberty Bowl and the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl were big deals. Now, there’s ... quite a few more games than that.

Six of them are already out of the way as of Saturday — including the Holy War game between Utah and BYU, referred to some as the Nutcracker.

SO WHAT’S the viewing plan for the rest of the bowls?

The next bowl up is the Miami Beach Bowl on Monday — South Florida vs. Western Kentucky. Or Western Florida vs. South Kentucky. Whatever. In any event, that was the bowl last year where BYU and Memphis went all Golden Gloves after the game. Before that, most people didn’t know Memphis played football.

Another option is Christmas shopping.

Boise’s bowl is Tuesday — Utah State vs. Akron. I still think it’s pretty cool the state of Idaho has a bowl game, even though the mention of a college football team being rewarded with a trip to Boise in the middle of winter draws snickers nationally. Plus, that bowl game has twice produced fond memories for the Idaho Vandals.

Speaking of Boise, the Broncos play Northern Illinois on Wednesday in the Poinsettia Bowl — also known as the San Diego JV Bowl. One week later, Wisconsin and USC play on that same field in the Holiday Bowl. A year from now, those might be the only two big-time games played in that stadium. In any event, Boise should be able to post a strong finish to a season in which the Broncos suffered more losses (four; including two at home) than their faithful are accustomed to.

Once again, Christmas Eve brings us the Hawaii Bowl — Cincinnati vs. San Diego State. Two things you can count on — lots of empty seats, with the crowd scattered throughout Aloha Stadium, and garbage getting blown around the field. Also, it’s a little disconcerting watching as the game played in bright sunshine — while you look out your windows at darkness. It’s almost like watching certain European PGA Tour events where they are three-quarters of a day ahead of you.

IF YOU’RE a fan of the Cougars and the Huskies, and don’t have a quick channel-surfing thumb, you might consider wheeling out a second TV on the day after Christmas.

Washington State plays Miami at 11 a.m. in the Sun Bowl at El Paso, Texas. Just over an hour later, the Washington Huskies play Southern Miss in the Heart of Dallas Bowl. That bowl is played in the Cotton Bowl — not to be confused with the actual Cotton Bowl Classic, which used to be played in the Cotton Bowl (imagine that!), but is now played somewhere else, at Jerry World in nearby Arlington, Texas. Had Husky coach Chris Petersen’s new team been able to beat his old team in the season opener, both U-Dub and Boise State would have finished the regular season 7-5.

Later that day, heavyweights Duke and Indiana play in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. Duke seems to have reloaded well following last year’s national title, but Indiana has had a few down seasons of late ... oh wait, wrong sport.

Even later that day is the Foster Farms Bowl in Santa Clara, Calif. I guess they figured since the regular tenant of that stadium has a losing record, it was OK to assign a college team with a losing record (Nebraska, 5-7) to that game, where the Cornhuskers will face UCLA.

AT THIS point in the bowl season you may be inclined to cry out, “Please! Make ’em stop.”

But wait, there’s more.

There’s the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit (featuring another 5-7 team, Minnesota, vs. 7-5 Central Michigan). And apparently they couldn’t figure out what to do with a couple extra Mountain West teams, so they matched Nevada (6-6) against Colorado State (7-5) in the Arizona Bowl.

If you want to skip a few of those games and check out one or two or three of the local holiday hoops tournaments, you are excused.

Just be back home on New Year’s Eve for the College Football Playoff semifinals. There’s been some grumbling that those games are not on New Year’s Day like last year, but I think people will find a way to make themselves available on New Year’s Eve.

Besides, two of the games on New Year’s Day are must-see TV, even if the winners don’t advance. One is the Rose Bowl because, well, it’s the Rose Bowl and it would still be worth watching if Mater Dei was taking on De La Salle. In this case, it’s Stanford vs. Iowa — or Iow-er, as former Celtic great Tommy Heinsohn used to call the Hawkeyes when he was broadcasting college basketball games on TV.

The other game, earlier that day, is Notre Dame vs. Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. I think one of the reasons the CFP committee didn’t pick the Buckeyes for its final four was it feared Ohio State would win the playoff again.

And, this just in — the Liberty Bowl is still alive and well, sort of, with Kansas State (6-6) facing Arkansas (7-5).

That is, if you and your TV are still functioning.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.