It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Thirty bowl games in just 22 days feature teams and matchups between schools that might never get the chance to play anytime during the season.

This season, 30 non-BCS bowls will feature teams from across the country. Teams that just missed out on BCS bowls — Kansas State, Boise State, Houston — teams that had surprisingly strong seasons — Baylor, Georgia, Michigan State — and teams that faltered down the stretch — Oklahoma, Penn State, Notre Dame.

All of the games are interesting matchups, so mark your calendars.

–

MWC: Mountain West Conference

WAC: Western Athletic Conference

MAC: Mid-Atlantic Conference

C-USA: Conference USA

ACC: Atlantic Coast Conference

SEC: Southeastern Conference

Pac-12: Pacific 12 Conference

The 2011-12 non-BCS bowl schedule has been announced, check it out HERE.

Bowl season may be months away, but its never too early to begin thinking about just where your favorite team might end up when bowl season comes around in December.

Once again, 30 bowls have been confirmed for the non-BCS bowl schedule for any of the teams in the FBS who finish with a winning record.

No “new” bowls have been added, but two bowls — the Belk Bowl and the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas — have changed sponsorship, and therefore, their respective names.

With games spread over more than three weeks and across the country, teams will have the opportunity to prove their strength against teams from other conferences during their winter breaks.

Bowls are listed with their conference ties, the conferences with which they have contracted to invite member schools to play in the bowls.

If a conference is unable to supply enough bowl-eligible teams (.500 record or better), the bowl can choose a non-contracted, bowl-eligible school from another conference.

The BCS (that schedule HERE) may have the glory, but the heart of the bowl season comes from the 30 non-BCS bowls that comprise a loaded schedule of 60 teams playing in the span of 23 days.

Bowls from Hawaii to Yankee Stadium will span the country throughout bowl season and provide entertainment all through the holiday season.

This year’s slate is highlighted by strong matchups which include:

• Capital One Bowl: Short-changed Michigan State — loser of the three-way battle for two BCS spots for the Big Ten — against preseason national championship favorite Alabama.
• Chick-fil-A Bowl: Conference runners-up from both the ACC and SEC title games, as Steve Spurrier and South Carolina take on Florida State.
• Cotton Bowl: Surprise Big 12 contender Texas A&M will take on perennial SEC power LSU.
• Insight Bowl: Teams in their respective conference races until the later part of the season will face off in Glendale as Iowa takes on Missouri.
• MAACO Bowl Las Vegas: Utah and Boise State, two of the strongest non-AQ teams this season, face off in an arranged matchup only available because of the lack of eligible Pac-10 teams.

–

The non-BCS bowl matchups have been finalized and are as follows:

December 18: New Mexico Bowl (BYU vs. UTEP)

December 18: uDrove Humanitarian Bowl (Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State)

December 18: R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl (Ohio vs. Troy)

December 21: Beef ‘O’ Brady’s St. Petersburg Bowl (Louisiville vs. Southern Miss)

December 22: MAACO Bowl Las Vegas (Utah vs. Boise State)

December 23: San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl (San Diego State vs. Navy)

December 24: Sheraton Hawaii Bowl (Tulsa vs. Hawaii)

December 26: Little Caesars Bowl (Florida International vs. Toledo)

December 27: AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl (Georgia Tech vs. Air Force)

December 28: Champs Sports Bowl (NC State vs. West Virginia)

December 28: Insight Bowl (Iowa vs. Missouri)

December 29: Military Bowl (Maryland vs. East Carolina)

December 29: Texas Bowl (Illinois vs. Baylor)

December 29: Valero Alamo Bowl (Oklahoma State vs. Arizona)

December 30: Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (Army vs. SMU)

December 30: New Era Pinstripe Bowl (Kansas State vs. Syracuse)

December 30: Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl (North Carolina vs. Tennessee)

December 30: Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl (Nebraska vs. Washington)

December 31: Meineke Car Care Bowl (Clemson vs. USF)

December 31: Hyundai Sun Bowl (Miami (FL) vs. Notre Dame)

December 31: Autozone Liberty Bowl (UCF vs. Georgia)

December 31: Chick-fil-A Bowl (Florida State vs. South Carolina)

January 1: TicketCity Bowl (Texas Tech vs. Northwestern)

January 1: Outback Bowl (Penn State vs. Florida)

January 1: Capital One Bowl (Michigan State vs. Alabama)

January 1: Gator Bowl (Michigan vs. Mississippi State)

January 6: GoDaddy.com Bowl (Miami (OH) vs. Middle Tennessee State)

January 7: AT&T Cotton Bowl (Texas A&M vs. LSU)

January 8: BBVA Compass Bowl (Pittsburgh vs. Kentucky)

January 9: Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (Boston College vs. Nevada)

[Editor's note: This projection is from October 19th, 2010. To see more recent projections, scroll to the bottom of the post for weekly updates to the projected BCS bowls.]

Trying to predict all 35 bowl matchups, even with seven weeks of games to look at is still a pretty difficult proposition.

With all of the upsets these past few weeks, as few as none of these projections could be correct, but for now, this is what the bowl season is shaping up to be — an unpredictable and inevitably entertaining few weeks.

Again, bowl selection order is not determined by finish, except for conference champions. Bowls with higher selection orders are free to select any bowl-eligible team from the conference with which they have an agreement.

A variety of factors come into play when selecting bowl teams, including geographic location, ability of a fan base to travel, recency of success, the last time a team played in that bowl and potential rival pairings.

Projected 2011 BCS Bowls

BCS National Championship Game: Oregon Ducks (BCS No. 1) vs. Oklahoma Sooners (BCS No. 2)

Rose Bowl: Boise State Broncos (Automatic at-large selection) vs. Michigan State Spartans (Big Ten Champion)

Fiesta Bowl: Texas Longhorns (At-large selection) vs. TCU Horned Frogs (At-large selection)

Orange Bowl: West Virginia Mountaineers (Big East Champion) vs. Florida State Seminoles (ACC Champion)

Sugar Bowl: Ohio State Buckeyes (At-large selection) vs. Auburn Tigers (SEC Champion)

Projected 2010-11 Non-BCS Bowls

December 18: New Mexico Bowl: Nevada Wolf Pack (WAC No. 3) vs. BYU Cougars (MWC No. 5)

December 18: uDrove Humanitarian Bowl: Temple Owls (MAC No. 3) vs. Fresno State (WAC No. 4)

December 18: R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: UTEP Miners (C-USA No. 6) vs. Troy Trojans (Sun Belt No. 1)

December 21: Beef ‘O’ Brady’s St. Petersburg Bowl: Cincinnati Bearcats (Big East No. 5) vs. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (C-USA No. 4)

December 22: MAACO Las Vegas Bowl: Washington Huskies (Pac-10 No. 5) vs. Utah Utes (MWC No. 2)

December 23: San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl: Air Force Falcons (MWC No. 3) vs. Idaho Vandals (WAC No. 5)

December 24: Sheraton Hawaii Bowl: East Carolina Pirates (C-USA No. 2) vs. Hawaii Warriors (WAC)

December 26: Little Caesars Pizza Bowl: Northern Illinois Wolfpack (MAC No. 1) vs. Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks (Sun Belt No. 4)

December 27: AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl: Clemson Tigers (ACC No. 7) vs. San Diego State Aztecs (MWC No. 4)

December 28: Champs Sports Bowl: Miami Hurricanes (ACC No. 3) vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Independent)

December 28: Insight Bowl: Penn State Nittany Lions (Big Ten No. 6) vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys (Big 12 No. 4)

December 29: EagleBank Bowl: Maryland Terrapins (ACC No. 8 ) vs. Southern Miss Golden Eagles (C-USA No. 5)

December 29: Texas Bowl: Illinois Fighting Illini (Big Ten No. 7) vs. Baylor Bears (Big 12 No. 7)

December 29: Valero Alamo Bowl: Missouri Tigers (Big 12 No. 5) vs. Stanford Cardinal (Pac-10 No. 2)

December 30: Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl: Houston Cougars (C-USA No. 3) vs. Navy Midshipmen (Independent)

December 30: New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Connecticut Huskies (Big East No. 3) vs. Texas A&M (Big 12 No. 8 )

December 30: Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl: North Carolina Tar Heels (ACC No. 6) vs. Georgia Bulldogs (SEC No. 8 )

December 30: Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl: Kansas State Wildcats (Big 12 No. 6) vs. Oregon State Beavers (Pac-10 No. 3)

December 31: Meineke Car Care Bowl: North Carolina State Wolfpack (ACC No. 5) vs. Pittsburgh Panthers (Big East No. 2)

December 31: Hyundai Sun Bowl: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (ACC No. 4) vs. Arizona Wildcats (Pac-10 No. 4)

December 31: Autozone Liberty Bowl: SMU Mustangs (C-USA No. 1) vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs (SEC No. 7)

December 31: Chick-fil-A Bowl: Virginia Tech Hokies (ACC No. 2) vs. Florida Gators (SEC No. 5)

January 1: Dallas Football Classic Bowl: Northwestern Wildcats (Big Ten No. 8 ) vs. UCF Knights (C-USA)

January 1: Outback Bowl: Wisconsin Badgers (Big Ten No. 4) vs. Arkansas Razorbacks (SEC No. 4)

January 1: Capital One Bowl: Iowa Hawkeyes (Big Ten No. 3) vs. Alabama Crimson Tide (SEC No. 2)

January 1: Gator Bowl: Michigan Wolverines (Big Ten No. 5) vs. South Carolina Gamecocks (SEC No. 6)

January 6: GMAC Bowl: Miami (OH) (MAC No. 2) vs. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (Sun Belt No. 2)

January 7: AT&T Cotton Bowl: Nebraska Cornhuskers (Big 12 No. 3) vs. LSU Tigers (SEC No. 3)

January 8: Birmingham Bowl: Rutgers Scarlet Knights (Big East No. 4) vs. Ole Miss Rebels (SEC No. 9)

January 9: Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl: UCLA Bruins (Pac-10 No. 6) vs. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (WAC No. 5)

And who said the non-BCS bowls were boring?

After nearly three weeks of exciting action, the non-BCS bowl season is complete, 29 games in all, each with a story of their own.

It all started with the New Mexico Bowl, which took two overtimes to complete as Wyoming edged Fresno State 35-28. And in a moment of pure symmetry, 18 days late in the final non-BCS bowl game, the GMAC Bowl was another two overtime thriller, as Central Michigan stole the victory away from Troy 44-41.

Here’s a final run down of all of the non-BCS bowls and their final scores. Winners in RED.

December 19: New Mexico Bowl (Wyoming 35 vs. Fresno State 28)

December 19: St. Petersburg Bowl (Rutgers 45 vs. UCF 24)

December 20 New Orleans Bowl (Middle Tennessee State 42 vs. Southern Miss 32)

December 22: Las Vegas Bowl (BYU 44 vs. Oregon State 20)

December 23: Poinsettia Bowl (Utah 37 vs. California 27)

December 24: Hawaii Bowl (SMU 45 vs. Nevada 10)

December 26: Little Caesars Pizza Bowl  (Ohio 17 vs. Marshall 21)

December 26: Car Care Bowl (North Carolina 17 vs. Pittsburgh 19)

December 26: Emerald Bowl (Boston College 13 vs. Southern California 24)

December 27: Music City Bowl (Clemson 21 vs. Kentucky 13)

December 28: Independence Bowl (Texas A&M 20 vs. Georgia 44)

December 29: EagleBank Bowl (UCLA 30 vs. Temple 21)

December 29: Champs Sports Bowl (Miami (FL) 14 vs. Wisconsin 20)

December 30: Humanitarian Bowl (Idaho 43 vs. Bowling Green 42)

December 30: Holiday Bowl (Nebraska 33 vs. Arizona 0)

December 31: Armed Forces Bowl (Air Force 47 vs. Houston 20)

December 31: Sun Bowl (Oklahoma 31 vs. Stanford 27)

December 31: Texas Bowl (Missouri 13 vs. Navy 35)

December 31: Insight Bowl (Minnesota 13 vs. Iowa State 14)

December 31: Chick-fil-A Bowl (Virginia Tech 37 vs. Tennessee 14)

January 1: Outback Bowl (Northwestern 35 vs. Auburn 38)

January 1: Capital One (Penn State 19 vs. LSU 17)

January 1: Gator Bowl (Florida State 33 vs. West Virginia 21)

January 2: International Bowl (South Florida 27 vs. Northern Illinois 3)

January 2: Papajohns.com Bowl (Connecticut 20 vs. South Carolina 7)

January 2: Cotton Bowl (Oklahoma State 7 vs. Ole Miss 21)

January 2: Liberty Bowl (East Carolina 17 vs. Arkansas 20)

January 2: Alamo Bowl (Michigan State 31 vs. Texas Tech 41)

January 6: GMAC Bowl (Central Michigan 44 vs. Troy 41)

Despite the importance of the BCS bowls, there are 29 other bowls which include very interesting matchups between members of all 11 Football Bowl Subdivision teams.

Here is a full schedule of the non-BCS bowls which begin on December 19th with the New Mexico Bowl, and end three weeks later on January 6th with the GMAC Bowl.

Non-BCS Bowl Schedule

December 19: New Mexico Bowl (Wyoming vs. Fresno State)

December 19: St. Petersburg Bowl (Rutgers vs. UCF)

December 20 New Orleans Bowl (Middle Tennessee State vs. Southern Miss)

December 22: Las Vegas Bowl (BYU vs. Oregon State)

December 23: Poinsettia Bowl (Utah vs. California)

December 24: Hawaii Bowl (SMU vs. Nevada)

December 26: Little Caesars Pizza Bowl (Ohio vs. Marshall)

December 26: Car Care Bowl (North Carolina vs. Pittsburgh)

December 26: Emerald Bowl (Boston College vs. Southern California)

December 27: Music City Bowl (Clemson vs. Kentucky)

December 28: Independence Bowl (Texas A&M vs. Georgia)

December 29: EagleBank Bowl (UCLA vs. Temple)

December 29: Champs Sports Bowl (Miami (FL) vs. Wisconsin)

December 30: Humanitarian Bowl (Idaho vs. Bowling Green)

December 30: Holiday Bowl (Nebraska vs. Arizona)

December 31: Armed Forces Bowl (Air Force vs. Houston)

December 31: Sun Bowl (Oklahoma vs. Stanford)

December 31: Texas Bowl (Missouri vs. Navy)

December 31: Insight Bowl (Minnesota vs. Iowa State)

December 31: Chick-fil-A Bowl (Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee)

January 1: Outback Bowl (Northwestern vs. Auburn)

January 1: Capital One (Penn State vs. LSU)

January 1: Gator Bowl (Florida State vs. West Virginia)

January 2: International Bowl (South Florida vs. Northern Illinois)

January 2: Papajohns.com Bowl (Connecticut vs. South Carolina)

January 2: Cotton Bowl (Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss)

January 2: Liberty Bowl (East Carolina vs. Arkansas)

January 2: Alamo Bowl (Michigan State vs. Texas Tech)

January 6: GMAC Bowl (Central Michigan vs. Troy)

Enjoy!!!