by Rob Doster

by Nathan Rush

TicketCity Bowl
Houston (12-1) vs. Penn State (9-3)
Date: Jan. 2, 2012 at 12:00 p.m. ET
Location: Cotton Bowl Stadium, Dallas, Texas

The first-ever Big Ten vs. Conference USA postseason matchup is a surreal pairing of two teams in the middle of downward spirals — albeit of decidedly different natures — led by interim head coaches.

by Mark Ross

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl
BYU (9-3) vs. Tulsa (8-4)
Date: Dec. 30 at 12 p.m. ET
Location: Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, Texas

Former conference foes will meet up once again when BYU and Tulsa face off on Dec. 30 at the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl in Dallas. From 1996-99 the two schools were in the WAC together and this game represents the eighth time they will play each other.

By Steven Lassan (@AthlonSteven on Twitter)

by Nathan Rush

Hawaii Bowl
Southern Miss (11–2) vs. Nevada (7–5)
Date: Dec. 24, 2011 at 8 p.m. ET
Location: Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii

How’d you like to spend Christmas on Christmas Island? Well, Southern Miss and Nevada will do just that when the Hawaii Bowl kicks off as the only game on television Christmas Eve.

by Mark Ross

Beef O’Brady’s Bowl
Florida International (8-4) vs. Marshall (6-6)
Date: Dec. 20 at 8 p.m. ET
Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Fla.

Bowl season kicks off on Saturday, Dec. 17 in Albuquerque and ends on Jan. 9 in New Orleans with the BCS Championship. With 35 games on the docket, there's plenty of options to keep college fans interested over the next month.

Athlon's editors offer their predictions for all 35 games with a slight twist. The picks were made with confidence points, 1 being the least and 35 being the most. 

The six editors were split on the Rose Bowl, but all are picking Alabama to knock off LSU in the national championship. 

Bowl season is upon us, and there are several quality storylines in the early matchups.

Putting together an All-America team is never easy and that’s certainly the case in 2011. Several players didn’t make the cut on Athlon’s All-America team, but that doesn’t take anything away from the season they had.

On defense, sorting out the best of the best in the linebacking corps and in the secondary was difficult. On the other side of the ball, Oklahoma State’s Justin Blackmon was an easy selection at one receiver spot, but the other was a close call between Western Michigan’s Jordan White, USC’s Robert Woods and Baylor’s Kendall Wright.

By Steven Lassan (@AthlonSteven on Twitter)

(Published December 8th, 2011) Click here to view Athlon's updated top 25 for 2012.