Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - After missing out on the final at- large BCS bid, No. 10 Oregon will have to settle for a meeting with Mack Brown and the Texas Longhorns in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 30.
The Ducks (10-2) seemed destined to play in a BCS bowl even after a Nov. 7 loss to eventual Pac-12 champ Stanford derailed their hopes of playing for a National Championship. But a devastating 42-16 defeat at the hands of Arizona two weeks later has Oregon thinking what could have been in its first season without head coach Chip Kelly, who left to join the Philadelphia Eagles this summer. Oregon had been to four straight BCS bowls under Kelly.
Texas (8-4) won six in a row to open its Big-12 slate before dropping two of three to close out the campaign.
No. 8 Missouri shocked the nation when it went from a 5-7 club a season ago to playing for the SEC Title in 2013. The Tigers (11-2) fell to BCS Championship- bound Auburn but still turned in a remarkable season to earn a trip to the Cotton Bowl, where they will meet 13th-ranked Oklahoma State (10-2). The Cowboys also came within a game of a BCS bid, falling in the season finale to rival Oklahoma.
In another matchup between ranked foes, ninth-ranked South Carolina (10-2) will have to deal with the potent rushing attack of No. 19 Wisconsin (9-3) in the Capital One Bowl on New Years Day.
Along with these three marquee-matchups, a number of other teams accepted invitations on Sunday to play in non-BCS bowl games.
A rundown of those matchups:
On top of the Capital One Bowl and a pair of BCS tilts on New Year's Day, three other games kick-off on Jan. 1. No. 16 LSU is set to meet Iowa in the Outback Bowl, UNLV will clash with North Texas in the Heart of Dallas Bowl and 22nd-ranked Georgia, without starting quarterback Aaron Murray after an ACL tear in late November, will battle with Nebraska in the Gator Bowl.
New Year's Eve will feature four games, including a highly-anticipated running back battle as Andre Williams' Boston College meets Ka'Deem Carey and Arizona in the Independence Bowl. Other bouts on Dec. 31 include Virginia Tech and UCLA in the Sun Bowl, Rice versus Mississippi State in the Liberty Bowl and ACC-runner up Duke against Johnny Manziel and No. 21 Texas A&M in the Chick- fil-A Bowl.
There are two more non-BCS bowl games after the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 3 that precede the BCS National Championship on Jan. 6. The BBVA Compass Bowl pits Vanderbilt against Houston, and Arkansas State will square off with Ball State in the GoDaddy.com Bowl.
Bowl season kicks off nearly a week later than it did a season ago with four games on Dec. 21. The New Mexico Bowl features Washington State and Colorado State, No. 21 Fresno State is set to take on No. 25 USC in the Las Vegas Bowl, Buffalo will meet San Diego State in the Idaho Potato Bowl and in-state foes Tulane and Louisiana-Lafayette will face off in the nightcap in the New Orleans Bowl.
East Carolina and Ohio will meet in the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl on Dec. 23 before Boise State and Oregon State match up in the Hawaii Bowl on Dec. 24.
Pittsburgh and Bowling Green are set for the Little Caesars Bowl on Dec. 26, followed by Heisman hopeful Jordan Lynch and No. 23 Northern Illinois against Utah State in the Poinsettia Bowl.
Dec. 27 features three games, including Marshall and Maryland in the Military Bowl, Syracuse and Minnesota in the Texas Bowl and BYU and Washington in the Fight Hunger Bowl.
Michigan will be opposite Kansas State in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl on Dec. 28, a day that will also see Notre Dame take on Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl, Cincinnati clash with North Carolina in the Belk Bowl and Miami will do battle with Teddy Bridgewater and Louisville in the Russell Athletic Bowl.
There are three games scheduled for Dec. 30 aside from the Alamo Bowl. Middle Tennessee and Navy have a date in the Armed Forces Bowl, Ole Miss and Georgia Tech will square off in the Music City Bowl and Arizona State and Texas Tech will clash in the Holiday Bowl.
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