He’s Already Griddy With Bowl Anticipation

For those not quite sure how to kill the time until Thursday’s Rose Bowl, there appears to be some football on TV:

TODAY

* Continental Tire Bowl (ESPN2, 8 a.m.)

You’d have to get up pretty early to find a better college wide receiver than Pittsburgh’s Larry Fitzgerald. Then again, the opposition is Virginia. You could also just sleep in.

* Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots

(Channel 2, 10:30 a.m.)

There’s a new DVD out, chronicling the history of the Green Bay Packers. It pays special attention to the Ice Bowl, which was bone-chilling and body-numbing and pretty much a preview of the AFC’s road to the Super Bowl if and when the Patriots clinch home-field advantage today.

* Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers

(Channel 11, 2 p.m.)

The Seahawks need to win on the road and get outside help to claim an NFC wild-card berth, which will enable them to play nothing but road playoff games until the end of their season. The Seahawks are 1-6 on the road this season. All things considered, it’s probably a moot point.

* Philadelphia Eagles at

Washington Redskins (ESPN, 5:30 p.m.)

The Eagles need to win to clinch the NFC East title and a first-round playoff bye, thus aiding preparations for their third NFC championship game defeat in the last three years.

SUNDAY

* Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans

(Channel 2, 10 a.m.)

Peyton Manning continues the quest for his personal Holy Grail -- aka, a playoff victory. Manning hasn’t won a postseason game yet, in three tries, but he’d help his chances by beating the Texans and clinching first place in the AFC South.

* Dallas Cowboys at New Orleans Saints

(Channel 11, 10 a.m.)

The Saints are 7-8 and won’t make the playoffs. But they know how to spice up a Sunday night highlight show, and every play they run is a potential cliffhanger. Even extra points.

* Denver Broncos at Green Bay Packers

(Channel 2, 1:15 p.m.)

If there’s an AFC playoff team that can beat the Patriots in New England, it’s the Broncos, who can run the ball and defend. They get a preview of coming attractions with four frigid quarters at Lambeau Field.

* Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens

(ESPN, 5:30 p.m.)

Baltimore Coach Brian Billick says Jamal Lewis will get the ball 50 times if that’s what it takes to beat the Steelers and clinch a playoff spot. Lewis averages 5.4 yards a carry. He needs 154 yards to break Eric Dickerson’s single-season record of 2,105. Fifty carries ought to do it.

MONDAY

* Alamo Bowl (ESPN, 6 p.m.)

New Year’s Day hangover comes early in San Antonio, where Michigan State, 1-3 in its last four games, plays Nebraska, which just fired its coach.

TUESDAY

* Houston Bowl (ESPN, 1:30 p.m.)

Warming up for the Super Bowl, Houston hosts a college game between a throwback (Navy’s 1940s-style triple-option) and a throw-it-everywhere (Texas Tech and 5,000-yard quarterback B.J. Symons).

* Holiday Bowl (ESPN, 5 p.m.)

So, a year after Mike Price, this is where Washington State winds up -- in San Diego playing Texas. It could be worse. Price wound up in El Paso.

* Silicon Valley Classic (ESPN2, 7:30 p.m.)

Which proves the Freedom Bowl never really died. It just picked up and moved to San Jose. From the UCLA perspective, nothing much good can come from this. As Larry Smith could tell Karl Dorrell.

NEW YEAR’S EVE

* Music City Bowl (ESPN, 9 a.m.)

If you want another reason why USC’s not playing in the Sugar Bowl, Auburn’s Tigers were top-ranked when the Trojans beat them in September, then slumped to 7-5 and this afterthought bowl against Wisconsin, dragging USC’s strength-of-schedule component all the way with them.

* Sun Bowl (Channel 2, 11 a.m.)

Note to Trojan fans: Both Minnesota and Oregon played Michigan this season. Oregon beat the Wolverines at Oregon, 31-27, which earned the Ducks the Sports Illustrated cover, thus torpedoing their season. Minnesota was 6-0 and up by 21 points in the fourth quarter before Michigan rallied for a 35-28 victory.

* Liberty Bowl (ESPN, 12:30 p.m.)

Utah plays Southern Mississippi, which is where Brett Favre played his college football. That was a long time ago.

* Independence Bowl (ESPN, 4:30 p.m.)

Arkansas did USC no favors, losing to LSU, 55-24, down the stretch, with BCS decimal points in the balance. Feel free to root for Missouri.

* San Francisco Bowl (ESPN2, 7:30 p.m.)

It’s the Rams and the Eagles! Pull up a chair! Hold all phone calls! Oh, wait. It’s Colorado State and Boston College.

NEW YEAR’S DAY

* Outback Bowl (ESPN, 8 a.m.)

Post-Brad Banks, Iowa won nine games and wound up playing on New Year’s Day against Florida. The Gators are the only team that beat LSU, and have won five of their last six games, doing appreciably better without Steve Spurrier than Spurrier is doing without them.

* Gator Bowl (Channel 4, 9 a.m.)

In case you missed the regular-season meeting between Maryland and West Virginia, which Maryland won, 34-7. It’s a big day for reruns -- later, in the Orange Bowl, it’s Miami against Florida State, all over again. That’s one difference between the fans and the NCAA. The fans have VCRs and TiVo. The NCAA schedules bowl games.

* Capital One Bowl (Channel 7, 10 a.m.)

It’s Georgia against Purdue in another replay -- of the 2000 Outback Bowl, in which Drew Brees led Purdue to a 25-0 halftime advantage, only to lose when Quincy Carter rallied Georgia to 28 unanswered points. Very similar to how the NFL careers of Brees and Carter have played out so far.

* Rose Bowl (Channel 7, 1:30 p.m)

USC, Michigan, a parade in the morning, Keith Jackson behind the mike, the prospect of a split national championship. Yes, boys and girls, this really is your father’s Rose Bowl.