Bowl Season is here and the debates continue. Everybody outside of Alabama and Texas is upset about their draw but, for the most part, we have a lot of interesting matchups to watch over the next month. Here are the Top Ten Bowl Games of 2009-10:

1. Alabama vs. Texas - BCS Championship Game

It’s not the dream matchup that everybody wanted between Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy but we get to watch the two best teams in the country play the final game of the season. Even though Cincinnati, Boise St and TCU fans want to argue about that, the two most battle tested teams in the country made it through their schedules undefeated and deserve to play in this game. Texas is going to hear that they don’t deserve to be on the same field with Alabama for a whole month, something that shouldn’t be overlooked. 18-22-year old kids that play with emotion can do amazing things one day in their life, ask Nebraska’s defense. And if Texas thought the Huskers defense was dominant, wait until they see what rolls in with the Tide.

2. Oregon vs. Ohio State - Rose Bowl

This is the most intriguing bowl game because it locks two teams with completely different styles and cultures against one another. Jim Tressel led his conservative Ohio State team to Pasadena by preaching mistake-free defensive minded football while Chip Kelly navigated his Oregon team west by spreading the field, using a sophisticated offensive playbook and a group of dynamic athletes. It’s football purist vs. football visionary, Midwestern conservatism vs. Western liberalism, sweater vest vs. Nike jump suit. It doesn’t get much better than this.

3. Florida vs. Cincinnati - Sugar Bowl

The Gators find themselves in the exact same position that as Alabama was in last season. They have to regroup after losing in the SEC Championship game and find a way to stay motivated against a team that is hungry to prove they deserve to be mentioned along with the nation’s elite teams. The Gators shouldn’t lack emotion with this being the final game of the Tebow Era but if they come in feeling sorry for themselves Cincinnati isn’t going to give them a shoulder to cry on. Instead they’ll stick a shoulder in their gut and walk away with a BCS win the same way Utah did last season. Urban Meyer’s group has a lot more veteran leadership than last year’s Bama team but it is human nature to be disappointed about not being able to defend their national title. Cincinnati will have to deal with its fair share of distractions once Notre Dame puts the full court press on their head coach, Brian Kelly.

4. TCU vs. Boise State - Fiesta Bowl

Some believe these teams deserve a shot at an automatic qualifier but the Fiesta Bowl is giving both programs a lot of respect by lining them up against one another. They are pretty much saying, “We believe you are both going to bring a lot of fans to the stadium and each of you deserve to play against the best available opponent, which is each other.” The easy way out would have been to put each team against a big name BCS conference program and allow them to make their case for a national championship game in the future. But what would either program gain by beating Iowa, Georgia Tech or Cincinnati? The only team either would really want a shot at is Florida, and even then it would have been looked at as a “Gator letdown” if they were to lose to either program. Now though, whoever wins this game can stake claim to being the other team’s only loss.

5. Stanford vs. Oklahoma - Sun Bowl

Oklahoma had a disappointing season but they still have some great defensive talent flying around the field along with some prime time athletes who are learning to play their positions on the offensive end. Stanford had a great season by Stanford standards and look to cap it with a program elevating win over the Sooners. Oklahoma will have their hands full with running back Toby Gerhart, who deserves to win the Heisman Trophy. On the other side Stanford will have to put together a great scheme in order to slow down the speed Oklahoma has on the outside. This is going to be the most underrated Bowl Game of the season.

6. LSU vs. Penn State - Capitol One Bowl

You immediately look at this game and think it will be a defensive grind but when each offensive coordinator has a month to break down their opponent’s defensive schemes we could see some fireworks. Quarterbacks Jordan Jefferson and Darryl Clark will each be looking to leave this season on a good note and they both have enough playmakers around them to do exactly that. LSU has the edge in team speed but Penn State has played with grit and determination all year long. If you told each of these teams at the beginning of the season that they would be playing one another in a Bowl game, they would have thought you were hinting at a big time BCS Bowl but things haven’t gone quite as planned for either program this year.

7. BYU vs. Oregon State - Vegas Bowl

This is the fifth straight season BYU will be playing a bowl game in Las Vegas, kind of ironic for a Mormon university. Mike Riley looks to lead his Oregon State team to their fourth straight bowl victory. Both teams play a fast paced style that lends itself to exciting football and good television. The Beavers have the advantage in terms of overall athleticism but BYU has a tremendous amount of maturity for a big time college program. Even though they were able to beat Oklahoma after knocking out Sam Bradford, the Cougars had trouble against teams with good speed this season, losing to Florida State and TCU. Oregon State’s losses have come against USC, Cincinnati, Oregon and Arizona. This is another sleeper matchup.

8. Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss - Cotton Bowl

This is another matchup of teams that would have been delighted to know that they would be playing against one another in a bowl game at the beginning of the season but probably would have thought it would have been a BCS bowl instead of the Cotton Bowl. Each team started the season in the top 10 but injuries and flat out poor play has led to a combined 7 losses for them. Ole Miss QB Jevan Snead is playing for his NFL reputation and this game might mean seven figures to him. Oklahoma State QB Zac Robinson is playing to impress NFL scouts because he has been off the pro radar despite putting up great statistics. There are NFL prospects in this game than most Bowl games, making it one of the better matchups available.

9. Georgia Tech vs. Iowa - Orange Bowl

This isn’t a bad matchup by any means but it is certainly substandard for a BCS Bowl. The critics will point to this game as examples of why there shouldn’t be so many automatic BCS Bowl bids given to conferences and they have a legit beef in this instance. Georgia Tech got beat by a middle-of-the-pack SEC team when they lost to Georgia two weeks ago. Iowa was beaten by Northwestern this season and put dreams of an undefeated season to rest. If either TCU or Boise State had these losses on their resume the BCS would have found a way to keep them out of their party.

10. UConn vs. South Carolina - Papa John’s.com Bowl

Randy Edsall and his Huskies are going to deal with the Notre Dame rumors which will heat up even more over the next few weeks, once the brain trust in South Bend realize they would be hiring a smaller version of Charlie Weis if they hired Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly. Rebounding from 5 close losses has been the easiest part of Edsall’s season considering he had to help rally his troops after the murder of one of their teammates, emotional leader Jasper Howard. That alone should get Edsall some votes for Coach of the Year but he should also garner a ton of credit for leading UConn to a 7-5 record with an undermanned team after losing four players from last year’s team who were taken in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft. Steve Spurrier, on the other hand, is under a ton of scrutiny after winning only seven games despite a 5-1 start. Gamecock Nation is restless because Spurrier’s trend setting offensive systems have yet to yield much production during his time at South Carolina. QB Stephen Garcia has a chance to end his season on top and prove that he is a reliable option for the future in Columbia.