J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

By now you’ve already read it on Jug of Snyder, heard in on Sportscenter, and seen it posted on your friend’s Facebook wall, but it still bears repeating: the Big 12 conference set a national record by sending 90 percent of its teams to bowls this year! Three variables led to this outcome:
1. The conference played a pedestrian nonconference schedule. Let’s be honest here: aside from Notre Dame, there really weren’t any quality foes wading into Big 12 territory this year (well, KU did lose to Northern Illinois…). Everyone walked into conference play with easy wins under their belt.
2. The conference teams kicked the crap out of each other. No one was left unscathed, and a six of ten teams finished either 5-4 or 4-5 in conference play while Baylor went 3-6. Now that’s a balanced league.
3. Kansas. The perennial doormat ensured everyone a victory, and beating the Jayhawks was almost as easy as getting a tutor to do your homework at the University of Miami.

So with nine bowls on your plate, where do they fall in terms of watchability and excitement? The Jug’s very own list of worst to first (and yes, even ISU-Tulsa is better than the Heart of Texas Bowl):

Worst. Heart of Dallas Bowl
Purdue vs. Oklahoma State
Jan. 1: ESPNU, 12 p.m. ET, Cotton Bowl, Dallas
In what likely promises to be the most lopsided Big 12 postseason victory, the Cowboys are currently 17 point favorites, but even that line may not be enough. While Purdue took Ohio State into overtime and only lost to Notre Dame by three, they also finished 3-5 in a mediocre Big 10 and had to beat Indiana during their last game of the season just to get bowl eligible. Oklahoma State should be healthy and ready to dominate

8. Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas
Minnesota vs. Texas Tech
Dec. 28: ESPN, 9 p.m. ET, Reliant Stadium, Houston
In another Big 12 matchup against a Big 10 school that squeaked into bowl eligibility at 6-6, Texas Tech has the potential to blow Minnesota out of the water or continue their season collapse and let a Gopher team that went 2-6 in their league keep it interesting. Either the game gets out of hand when Texas Tech rediscovers its defense while Graham Harrell throws all over the place, or the game is close because Texas Tech plays bad football. Neither will be fun to watch.

7. AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Iowa State vs. Tulsa
Dec. 31: ESPN, 3:30 p.m. ET, Liberty Bowl, Memphis, Tenn.
Ugh to rematches. Tulsa will be the only non-AQ squad the Big 12 faces this postseason, as Iowa State finished 6-6 and was the last team in the conference selected to participate in a game. Given the lack of bowl tie-ins for all of the Big 12’s members, the Cyclones will be whisked away to Memphis to play a team they beat 38-23 during their home opener. Tulsa did manage to finish 10-3, but, ugh.

6. Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl
TCU vs. Michigan State
Dec. 29: ESPN, 10:15 p.m. ET, Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Ariz.
For all of Michigan State’s potential, the Spartans are actually the third 6-6 Big 10 school the Big 12 will face in the postseason. Michigan State’s offense has been awful, and its defense carried the team all year. TCU occasionally lit up the scoreboard, but the Horned Frogs are definitely defensively minded as well. First team to successfully execute a fake punt wins.

5. Valero Alamo Bowl
#23 Texas vs. #13 Oregon State
Dec. 29: ESPN, 6:45 p.m. ET, Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas
A lot of pundits are excited about this game. A lot of pundits remain blinded by the ego of Texas and can’t appreciate that this team really isn’t that great. Oregon State is good and earned its top 15 ranking. The Beavers are only favored by two, which only makes sense because the crowd should be about 80 percent orange. Both teams are preparing for the game with a quarterback controversy looming overhead.

4. New Era Pinstripe Bowl
West Virginia vs. Syracuse
Dec. 29: ESPN, 3:15 p.m. ET, Yankee Stadium, Bronx, N.Y.
Pitt won it’s final game of the year to finish 6-6 and reach bowl eligibility. NCAA fans across the country were robbed when the bowl selection committee opted not to host a backyard brawl in the Bronx by pairing Pitt and West Virginia. We don’t notice it much in the midwest, but that rivalry has posted some classic games over the years and dashed more than one BCS aspiration as underdog triumphed over favorite. Instead, the Mountaineers get a Syracuse team that’s been attempting to earn the title ‘resurgent’ over the past three years. Maybe they’ll get there in the Big 10 (Big 14?) next year.

3. Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl
Baylor vs. #17 UCLA
Dec. 27: ESPN, 9:45 p.m. ET, Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego
Baylor was the only team in the nation to defeat K-State, and their reward is a trip to San Diego against UCLA, who technically finished number two in the Pac-12 by winning their division but falling to Stanford 27-24 in the championship game (the Bruins also lost to Stanford by a score of 35-17 the week before). UCLA doesn’t exactly shut opponents down. Baylor is explosive. Expect fireworks.

2. AT&T Cotton Bowl
#9 Texas A&M vs. #11 Oklahoma
Jan. 4: Fox, 8 p.m. ET, Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Match up of the team that left for greener pastures and the team that stayed. Texas A&M lost to Florida by three and LSU by five. That’s eight points against top ten teams that kept the Aggies from going undefeated. This is a quarterback battle in the making.

Best. Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
#4 Oregon vs. #5 Kansas State
Jan. 3: ESPN, 8:30 p.m. ET, University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
Naturally – what else would you rank as the best bowl game for the Big 12? Both teams have only one loss. Bill Snyder is the face of traditional football, Chip Kelly is a pioneer of 21st century offenses. Oregon has three players in their backfield capable of competing for a Heisman, K-State only needs one. Most prognosticators don’t believe K-State can handle Oregon’s speed. Wildcat nation has heard that one before.

Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

After a week down in Queens and Long Island, NY, the Jug is back online. Some real devastation out there folks, and if nothing else it served as a reminder to support your local Red Cross. Making the Big 12 connection, that ugly monstrosity known as the new Yankee Stadium came out unscathed, the subway system is being brought back online at a remarkable clip, airports are no longer covered in water, and fans should have no issues getting to and from the Pinstripe Bowl. This knowledge may comfort Iowa State and West Virginia fans, but football in New York should be the last thing on K-State’s mind. Rather, the goal is to bask in the sun of the Fiesta – or possibly even hoist the crystal football pictured above. The Wildcats have essentially locked up the Big 12′s automatic BCS bowl berth, but what are the odds of this team playing in the big one? The answer rests in the circuit boards of America’s most divisive computers – and the direction of a football’s bounce.

Assuming no Alabama loss from here to January, consider the Tide an easy call to be in the championship game. Voters are afraid to vote anyone else their number one, and their victory over LSU swung some of the #1 rankings K-State was receiving from the computers over to Alabama. And while it looked like the SEC East might field a contender this year, South Carolina lost Marcus Lattimore (the conference’s best running back since… Trent Richardson) and Georgia, the likely representative, just doesn’t offer the talent of Florida. The Gator defense had the potential to make the SEC championship interesting, but Georgia isn’t on the same plane.

That leaves three undefeateds – Notre Dame, Oregon, and K-State – to battle it out for the remaining spot. So who’s a computer to love? The easy answer is “not Notre Dame.” Give Notre Dame’s schedule makers a hand – this slate looked absolutely crushing back in August with Michigan, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Stanford, Miami, BYU, and USC all on the schedule. Ten weeks in, the slate looks decidedly less impressive. And while no one is disputing how good Notre Dame looked in Norman, the team looked equally pedestrian at home against Pitt, needing triple overtime and a missed Pitt field goal to beat a team that LOST TO AN FCS SCHOOL earlier this year. Notre Dame needed overtime to beat Stanford as well in a game ending very controversially. The Fighting Irish have managed to earn the second best computer average behind Alabama, but voters remain unimpressed. And with 6-3 USC the only decent team left on the schedule, there’s  little chance of the Irish increasing their standing in anyone’s eyes. Notre Dame only plays for the national championship if Oregon and K-State falter. Additionally, the USC game is in Los Angeles, and I believe the Trojans have the talent to earn a victory here and knock Notre Dame out of the running.

Oregon faces the toughest remaining schedule, with games against #14 Stanford and #11 Oregon State left on the schedule, plus the Pac 12 championship (likely against UCLA or USC, who meet head-to-head next weekend). The computers hate Oregon right now, giving the Ducks an average rank of 4.75 (5th place). However, it’s unlikely Oregon will stop receiving #2 votes from human polls unless Oregon has to eek out a couple overtime 23-20 victories that expose its offense. Unfortunately, the Pac 12 doesn’t have a defense good enough to pull this off (with the possible exception of Oregon). Go down to the Swamp in Florida, have tea with the Mad Hatter in Louisiana, or visit Manhattan and the story may be different. It’s not out west. The Jug likes Oregon’s chances of winning out, although three ranked teams remain on the schedule. Could this strength of schedule boost push the Ducks over K-State?

K-State does currently own the #2 BCS ranking, and its path forward has only one real road bump – although that bump is looking increasingly dangerous. Following games at a middling TCU and lowly Baylor, Texas comes to town. The Longhorns have quietly amassed a 7-2 record while climbing back into the nation’s top 20. They wiped the floor with Texas Tech and may be better than we originally thought. Plus they’ve been playing with a team seemingly comprised of 100 percent freshmen – and young teams typically demonstrate the most improvement over the course of a season (assuming they don’t implode). Of more concern than future opponents is the health of Collin Klein. Coach Snyder has remained unsurprisingly helpful in assisting the public with diagnosing Klein’s condition, who injured his hand last Saturday and never returned to the game. Then on Sunday it was reported he had a head injury. Snyder has said nothing more than that Klein will probably play. (Maybe tomorrow we’ll discover he actually suffered a dislocated sacrum but still intends to play on Saturday.) All the same, this team seems destined to finish the regular season undefeated.

In sum: K-State’s average human poll rank is three, and Oregon’s is two. K-State’s average computer rank is 2.5. Oregon’s is 4.75. So the voters like Oregon and the computers like K-State, which averages to K-State at #2 and Oregon at #3. This should come as no surprise as the computers have historically rated Big 12 teams higher than human polls (they often rate the Big 12 as a top-to-bottom stronger conference than the SEC as well). So where do we identify a difference maker? The same place presidential candidates turn when fielding questions about the embargo on Cuba: the state of Florida. Florida University finishes out its season at #10 Florida State. Florida, with one loss, still maintains a higher computer ranking than Oregon. If Florida is able to defeat the Seminoles, they stand a good chance of finishing ahead of Oregon in the final computer standings. If not, undefeated Oregon will jump a two-loss Gator team in the computers, and the human element could put them over K-State. I give Oregon a 10 percent chance of losing a game this before bowl season (remember, they still have three top 20 teams left on the schedule), but that’s about it. It looks extremely possible that a tussle in Tussle in Tallahassee could determine the national championship contenders.