It's time to go bowling.

Just a few thoughts and observations on the college football bowl season, which commences Dec. 19:

• There are 34 bowl games, which means 68 of the 120 Division I college football teams get to go to one. That's way too many.

• From Dec. 19 through Jan. 7, the only days you won't find a bowl game are Dec. 21, Christmas Day and Jan. 3.

• Southern Mississippi is playing Middle Tennessee in the New Orleans Bowl Dec. 20 opposite the NFL game that night. Good luck with those ratings.

• Florida opposes Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl at 8:30 p.m. New Year's Night. Pitt came within seconds of playing in that game.

Instead, the Panthers get North Carolina in the Meineke Bowl Dec. 26 in Charlotte.

So close, yet so far.

• Speaking of Dec. 26, Ohio University (kudos to my alma mater) plays Marshall in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl that day.

Remember the suggestion that there's too many bowl games? Prime example here.

• The Gator Bowl might as well be renamed the Bobby Bowden Memories Tour. The legendary Florida State coach closes out his career against West Virginia, the program he guided years ago.

• The bowl system did produce some good matchups on New Year's Day. Northwestern-Auburn, Penn State-LSU, Florida State-WVU, Ohio State-Oregon, Florida-Cincinnati — not a bad game among them.

• BCS Cop-Out Bowl, better known as the Fiesta Bowl, pits undefeated Boise State against undefeated TCU in a battle of "we don't get no respect" teams.

How can either of these schools prove itself to the college football world if not given the chance? Maybe the BCS doesn't want another Utah or Boise State upset bowl win because that would upset the fallacy that only certain conferences in the sport are any good.

Let Boise State play a Penn State, LSU or Georgia Tech. Give TCU a crack at Florida or Iowa. There were better options out there.

The college football landscape is more balanced these days than a lot of folks — the BCS included — are willing to admit.

• If Texas had lost to Nebraska in the Big 12 title game, the Longhorns were considered a lock for a BCS bowl. If Cincinnati had lost to Pitt, the Bearcats were going to be denied a BCS bowl bid.

What's the difference?

• After the aforementioned block of New Year's Day bowl games, fans can look forward to such earth-shattering games as South Florida-Northern Illinois, Connecticut-South Carolina, East Carolina-Arkansas, etc.

What is this? The only post-Jan. 1 college game should be the national title game.

• Stanford running back Toby Gerhart should win the Heisman Trophy. He showed up the best when the games meant the most.