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• Vote: Rose Bowl | Sugar Bowl | Capital One Bowl | All BCS games

If you are awake by 4:30 p.m. ET on New Year's Day, be sure to head over to the college football page for an interactive bonanza that will include live chatting from the Rose and Sugar Bowls, Twitter feeds from ESPN's stable of college football brains and most importantly your insightful commentary. Until then, we leave you with some of your best bowl questions from the week.

Chad (Las Vegas)

Best Non-BCS bowl from a prospects point of view?

Mel Kiper

Lots of good players in Penn St.-LSU. Sean Lee, Jared Odrick, Chad Jones, Ciron Black, Brandon LaFell -- a lot of talent on the field in this game. Full transcript

Roddy (San Fran)

LSU vs Penn St seems to be very similar to last year's LSU vs Ga. Tech bowl game: The superior athleticism of LSU overwhelms their opponent. Agree?

Mark Schlabach

Penn State will keep it close. LSU has lacked something all season, so I don't think they'll show up and blow out Penn State. The Nittany Lions are solid, but didn't win the two games that mattered this season. LSU has played well in bowl games, though. Full transcript

schuyler (louisville)

how does the Cincinnati defense match up with the Florida offense? Also, does Charlie strong coaching in the Sugar bowl affect Louisville in anyway, positive or negative?

Big East Blogger Brian Bennett

If the Cincinnati defense plays like it did the last month, it won't be much of a matchup at all. The Bearcats should be concerned about that big offensive line of Florida and the running game. If they can keep Tebow in the pocket, they'll have a better chance. As far as Strong, I think it can only help Louisville. He'll get some publicity during the game telecast that recruits will see, and he has also had a few weeks to scout a future Big East rival. Full transcript

• Your Rankings: Where does Brian Kelly rank amongst the game's top coaches?
• Vote: Do you fault Kelly for leaving an undefeated team before a bowl game?
• College football chat: ESPN Stats and Information's Ryan McCrystal on Heisman, 4 ET

So let us see if we understand this. Coaches need to get their programs to BCS games or risk losing their jobs. But when they get there, they need to bail before the game so they can start recruiting at their next job. College football is strange.

If Nebraska defensive tackle Nadaukong Suh isn't quite so awesome and doesn't pressure Colt McCoy quite so much in the closing seconds of the Big 12 title game, perhaps the clock runs out on Texas before its able to kick a game-winning field goal. As a result, Cincinnati plays Alabama for the national title and Brian Kelly doesn't talk to Notre Dame this week. College football is really strange.

But given the system that's currently in place, can anyone (other than perhaps Cincinnati players, who seem to have a right to feel pretty ticked) blame Kelly for walking away from an undefeated season?

SportsNation blogger wright4256 sure can.

• "I respect every player on [Cincinnati's] football team. They are certainly more of a man than their former coach. The whole situation was handled poorly by Kelly. Last night, he proved to be a complete coward. Every member of the UC football team is facing the biggest challenge of their football career. They are going to be facing a great team on a national stage and looking to show the country they are a championship caliber team. They are looking to further drive home the point that Ohio State is not the only football program in Ohio. And the man who is supposed to lead them bolts for another coaching job." -- Read the full post.

“

Horrible move for Kelly! Why DOWNGRADE!? Notre Dame is THE MOST OVERRATED college in football! CinCinnati is BETTER! Look at the records people! CinCinnati lost 6 games in the past 3 years combined! Notre Dame lost 6 THIS YEAR!!!! WHY go coach a bunch of PREPPY SNOBS, Mr. Kelly? You are making a bad decision Mr. Kelly! You will regret it!!

” -- shizhnitthekobold

“

This was the best hire ND could make with the guys they were interviewing. He'll keep up the offensive statistics that Notre Dame has had of late, however, his defenses haven't exactly been stout. He'll have a chance, and to those saying that he'll have a shorter leash than Weis, I think you are mistaken. I think he'll have more wiggle room, just because they need to give some consistency to the program.

” -- rwd5035

“

Kelly is a really good coach and seems like a good man. I don't blame him for taking the Notre Dame job. What bothers me is the way he handled the speculation and his players the last 2 weeks. A midst a great college football game for the BigEast championship (UC @ PITT), all of the focus was on the coach possibly leaving. He KNEW he would take that job, yet he toyed with the emotions of his players....it showed in their TV interviews last night. They were MAD as hell.

” -- cincinnatiboy23

Cincinnati was getting so close to the top of the football world, you just knew the city's football karma would find a way to catch up with it.

The Cincinnati Bearcats beat West Virginia Friday to remain perfect on the season, and while Ohio State may be headed for the Rose Bowl, 64 percent of SportsNation thinks the state's best college team resides southwest of Columbus. Add to that the Bengals, who knocked off the Steelers Sunday to complete a season sweep against their AFC North rivals and leave coach Marvin Lewis with a season-best 92 percent approval rating.

So yeah, clearly the perfect guy to add to such gridiron harmony is Larry Johnson. The disgruntled former Chiefs running back is reportedly close to signing with the Bengals as insurance for Cedric Benson, who left the game against the Steelers with a hip injury.

• Before the news broke, 70 percent of Ohio didn't want Johnson on their team.

“

all i care about this guy is..can he get 6 yards on 1st down. and can he convert a 3rd and 3. thats it. He has a chance to be the newest castoff among the Bengals. Like the rest of them, he'd be stupid not to make the best of it

” -- cincinnatiboy23

• Vote: GameDay Pick 'Em | Heisman Watch | SportsNation Top 25
• Vote on big topics: Charlie Weis' future | Auburn at Georgia
• Blogger chat wraps: ACC | Big 12 | Big East | Big Ten | Pac-10 | SEC | Others
• More wraps: Mark Schlabach | Pat Forde | Mel Kiper | Ivan Maisel | Bruce Feldman
• Special guests: Brad Edwards | Boise State cornerback Kyle Wilson

It won't be an easy weekend for BCS Cinderellas, even though they're all playing at home. Cincinnati faces No. 25 West Virginia, TCU gets the pressure of GameDay and No. 16 Utah, and Boise State deals with a surprising 7-3 Idaho (and a visiting AD who doesn't like to fly on planes with Broncos markings).

USC fans still have BCS hope, but know their team can't lose again. Boise State, Cincinnati and Iowa fans wonder what more their teams can do, besides pray for a loss by one of the top 3.

Now that Ohio State has two losses SportsNation thinks Ohio State is using Terrelle Pryor incorrectly. Fans, however, still think Sam Bradford is a first-round pick.

Florida State kicked off Week 8 with a needed win, and Alabama, Florida and Texas face opponents they shouldn't overlook.

• Vote: "GameDay" Pick 'Em | Heisman Watch | SportsNation Top 25
• Vote on big games: Tennessee at Alabama | Texas at Missouri
• Blogger chat wraps: ACC | Big 12 | Big East | Big Ten | Pac-10 | SEC | Others
• Other wraps: Brad Edwards | Bruce Feldman | Ivan Maisel | Pat Forde | Mark Schlabach

“

Mark Ingram is a good reason for [Alabama's] passing to be less of a factor. Wait until next year for any shot of a Vols upset.

” -- Beano Cook

“

I pick Florida to win this game, but to be seen as legitimately No. 1, the Gators should win convincingly, even more so than against Arkansas.

” -- IdahoanTyke

“

My ranking: 1. Iowa; 2. Florida; 3. Alabama; 4. Texas; 5. Virginia Tech; 6. TCU; 7. Boise State; 8. USC; 9. Oregon; 10. LSU.

” -- CheezusCrust

• Fan blogger predictions for Week 8: nunyabiz81 | jodiemeeks23ppat54 | dfpsports | IdahoanTyke | codywin25 | gbirkem2 | utesfan2 | Sportsguru6

Never mind that games yet to be played will determine who is in the BCS bowl games. The release of the first standings unleashed a torrent of opinions among college football fans.

The biggest complaints came from Iowa fans and those who argue that Boise State, Cincinnati or both are overrated.

"How is Boise State ahead of Iowa with that cupcake schedule?" wrote droste23. "I thought strength of schedule counted. Guess not. Iowa with wins AT Penn State, AT Wisconsin, Michigan. Laughable. If Iowa was Ohio State or Texas, with the exact same schedule, they'd be ranked probably No. 2."

Here's a sampling of opinions from fans of the Top 5 teams.

“

Bama and Florida have more games to play yet, so while we have dueling No. 1s the argument will rage on. I personally don't care for speculation. They'll settle it on the field if things work out.

” -- u_gator

“

I'm just making my case for Bama here. To me, Florida is clearly No. 2 and I almost believe they should leave No. 3 blank. There is that much of a difference between the next best teams (Iowa and then Texas).

” -- theballguy

“

Texas-Florida in BCS Championship Game. Colt McCoy doesn't deserve the Heisman. Tim Tebow can have that as an advance consolation prize for losing to Texas on Jan. 7 in Pasadena.

” -- johnznash

“

Finally some respect. We are No. 4 because we are consistent winners. Look at the facts: Broncos' decade of dominance. ... We can beat any team any given Saturday. Don't hate us; hate the system.

” -- boisestate42

“

Boise ranked over Cincinnati? You have to be kidding! I guess being in a BCS conference doesn't mean much. ... They limped this week against Tulsa, while Cincinnati dominated a 21st ranked South Florida team even after Tony Pike was injured. P.S. Who is this Brian Kelly guy anyway? Notre Dame doesn't deserve him.

” -- Bobnance13

To respond with your own blog, sign in or create a profile and start posting.

• Cincinnati at South Florida: Vote on big questions for tonight's game (ESPN, 7:30 ET).

When we think of the Big East, we still think of images like the one over on the right. And we know we're not alone -- well, we might be the only ones still thinking about Zendon Hamilton. Before the start of football season, SportsNation was somewhat split on whether or not the Big East was even better than the Mountain West. And even when this month began, 57 percent of voters said the Big East would not have more than one ranked team by season's end.

But judging by the buzz in SportsNation, Thursday's showdown in Tampa has the attention of football fans.

• nunyabiz81: "It won't be easy, especially with former defensive coordinator Tresey now at USF--and remember how USC-Washington went in a similar situation. But USF's best win has been over an inexplicably sorry Florida State while Cincy has been a bit more battle-tested with wins over Oregon State and Fresno State." -- Read the full post.
• Yodaman0420: "As for all those wondering about Cincinnati, I just don't think the Big East has the football talent to keep up with the power conferences. ... If Cincy was to run the table and the voters did give the Bearcats a chance at the national title or even a big-time bowl game, we'd probably see another Hawaii-Georgia game." -- Read the full post.
• afjumpman23: "Although it won't have quite the hype of the Red River Shootout, it clearly has greater implications. ... If the Bearcats beat the Bulls they have a very good shot of going undefeated the rest of the way (although West Virginia could be a pitfall), or if South Florida wins (and gets past Miami on 11/28), they would be undefeated and once again, this BCS thing is going to be a huge mess.." -- Read the full post.

“

being realistic, playing against WVU, Pitt, and USF is HARD to win all three in one year. I say UC will lose to one of them. just a dice roll on who gets the upset.

” -- UCAEROSPACE

“

Upper '80's with high humidity. UC will have most of their team on IV's by halftime. Looks like another easy one for the Bulls.

” -- kwelch1962

“

Brian Kelly is one of the best coaches in the country, in my opinion. He took D-2 GVSU from nothing to the national championship, and CMU from the basement to being a contender. The bulls are at home, and that's great...but they won't get anywhere against these guys unless they're on their game tonight. USF: 24-23

” -- raysfan1978

• Your Heisman Watch: Which players will challenge Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy?
• Tuesday's Chats: Non-AQ blogger Graham Watson, 1 p.m. ET | Pat Forde, 2 p.m. ET

Stanford has produced more than its fair share of famous alumni, from heads of governments in Japan (Taro Aso), Israel (Ehud Barak), Honduras (Ricardo Maduro), Peru (Alejandro Toledo) and the United States (Herbert Hoover) to our personal favorite, the late wine guy Robert Mondavi. The list of athletic alumni is hardly less impressive, including Tiger Woods and John Elway.

Toby Gerhart? Let's just say he's not quite there yet.

Gerhart is not, in fact, a midfielder with the United States national soccer team. Nor is he a goaltender for the Maple Leafs, a right tackle for the Packers or a reliever for the Twins. But try telling that to the nearly 70 percent of SportsNation that picked one of those options.

With 650 rushing yards through four games, including 334 against Washington and UCLA the last two weeks, Gerhart earned his place on ESPN.com's Heisman Watch. Now all he needs to do is introduce himself to SportsNation.

“

If it weren't for the fact that Toby Gerhart is only 14 miles away from the Pacific ocean, he'd be at the top of the Heisman list.

” -- orangemochafraps

“

I would like to know why this list is mostly offense. I know its pretty and scoring points is cool but defense wins CHAMPIONSHIPS

” -- rolltide_54

• ESPN.com Heisman Watch: Houston's Case Keenum moves solidly into third place.
• Your Heisman Watch: Do you have anyone ahead of Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy?
• Tuesday's Chats: Pat Forde, 2 p.m. ET | Big 12 blogger Tim Griffin, 3 p.m. ET

Colt McCoy has thrown five interceptions in four games. Tim Tebow has completed 19 passes against non-FCS opponents. And yet it's not all that easy to argue against the two of them splitting all 15 first-place votes in this week's ESPN.com Heisman Watch.

SportsNation tried to branch out in its rankings last week, giving the Heisman nod to Cal running back Jahvid Best, only to see him go silent in a bad loss at Oregon. Voters also ranked Jacory Harris third a week ago, ahead of McCoy. Miami's quarterback rewarded that faith by floundering at Virginia Tech.

So will this be strictly a two-person race, or is there room for more at the top?

Chaz (Chicago)

Is it possible that Jimmy Clausen is underrated? His numbers are amazing. His performance has been top drawer in every game this year. And he's proving to be one tough competitor playing w/ a tough injury for QBs. Yet, no one is talking about him for the Heisman-- when he should be in the conversation.

Mark Schlabach

He earned a lot of my respect Saturday night by going back into the game with the toe injury and throwing the winning TD. His numbers have been great. He'd probably be in my top five today, but the Irish couldn't lose another game for him to stay there. Full transcript.

“

Mardy Gilyard for heisman, how many diffrent ways does the kid has to score to get some heisman buzz. Do they want him to teleport to the endzone? He is by far the most exciting player to watch since young & bush.

” -- lazarre11

“

Tebow has less than impressive numbers and is a runaway Heisman favorite? The Gators would be dominant with or without him. He is getting far too much credit for the talent around him.

” -- bodhisamaya