Ranking the 2014-15 Pac-12 Bowl lineup

This is far from my favorite year of Pac-12 bowl match-ups, but hey, it's still eight more Pac-12 games before the deep, dark off-season that I hate so very much, so I hope to watch each and every one. From an objective viewpoint, here is how I think the bowl games stack up in order of how much I want to watch them.

1. Rose Bowl - Oregon vs. Florida State (January 1, 2 p.m. ESPN)

This is probably the best Pac-12 bowl match-up in my opinion since Oregon played against Auburn for the 2010 national championship. Jameis Winston vs. Marcus Mariota, the Ducks' first bowl match-up against a truly elite program on a good year since the 2011 Rose Bowl, a play-in for the national championship, the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. This is going to be can't-miss football.

2. Holiday Bowl - USC vs. Nebraska (December 27, 5 p.m. ESPN)

This isn't as premier of a bowl as the Fiesta or Alamo, but I like the match-up and timing a lot more. The Holiday Bowl frequently ends up being the first great bowl game of the season, it has a Saturday night time and pits a super talented USC team against a Nebraska team freed from the shackles of Bo Pelini. Also, I always love two classic powers going against one another on the national stage.

3. Fiesta Bowl - Arizona vs. Boise State (December 31, 1 p.m. ESPN)

The fact that I hate that Boise State is in this game takes a lot of luster off it for me. Throw in the fact that Arizona got completely deflated in the Pac-12 Championship Game and this is a high profile match-up that I just don't feel like anyone is that excited about. The saving grace may be that this will be a fun environment for Arizona in their first elite bowl game in maybe... well... ever and I think Boise State might be good enough to keep it close.

4. Alamo Bowl - UCLA vs. Kansas State (January 2, 3:45 p.m. ESPN)

Eh, I guess. This will be a somewhat marquee match-up and Pac-12 fans' last time to see Brett Hundley play in the college. Don't be surprised if UCLA comes out on fire after fumbling away their shot at a Pac-12 championship, but Kansas State is more than game, so this could be a very back-and-forth contest.

5. Las Vegas Bowl - Utah vs. Colorado State (December 20, 12:30 p.m. ABC)

The Utes are back in a bowl game and it is pretty good match-up against a former Mountain West comrade that looked like they could be the nation's best mid-major team for much of the season. Colorado State can score, but Utah has an excellent defense, so this one will be a very interesting match-up.

6. Foster Farms Bowl - Stanford vs. Maryland (December 30, 7 p.m. ESPN)

I don't hate watching Stanford as much as everyone else seems to, but I don't think this is going to be must-watch TV. However, I think it will be very interesting to see how Stanford comes out. If the Cardinal come out and dominate it probably shows that they were better than their record indicates this season and their season-closing domination of UCLA had some meaning.

7. Sun Bowl - Arizona State vs. Duke (December 27, 11 a.m. CBS)

The Sun Bowl always seems to end up with a Pac-12 team that doesn't want to be there and a Sun Devil team that had a shot at the Playoff with just a few games left in the season fits that bill. However, I think Taylor Kelly will show up in his final college game and get the talent around him to play against a Duke team that they cannot underestimate, because the Blue Devils are more than ready to give them a gain.

8. Cactus Bowl - Washington vs. Oklahoma State (January 2, 7:15 p.m. ESPN)

The last Pac-12 bowl slot is actually a lot better than it could be, but still probably isn't much of a draw. This is a really bad matchup for Oklahoma State on paper, but coming off a road win against Oklahoma and with how well the Big 12 tends to play the Pac-12, I would not count them out at all.