Penn State has the task of slowing down Houston senior quarterback Case Keenum./AP Photo.

What a way to start the work week in 2012.

Watch six bowl games from noon till midnight.

Don’t lose your job over it, but just take an extended lunch or dinner break to check out some really good bowl matchups.

Ticketcity Bowl (Dallas, Texas) – No. 20 Houston (12-1, 8-0 C-USA) vs. No. 24 Penn State (9-3, 6-2 Big Ten), noon, ESPNU.

The Big ?: Can Penn State’s 10th ranked defense, which allows 300.92 yards a game, slow down the nation’s top offense? Houston is averaging 599 a game.

My pick: Houston. Although the Cougars didn’t even win their conference title game, that’s far less to overcome than what the Nittany Lions have dealt this season. The Jerry Sandusky situation has changed everything at Penn State.

Outback Bowl (Tampa, Fla.) – No. 12 Michigan State (10-3, 7-1 Big Ten) vs. No. 18 Georgia (10-3, 7-1 SEC). 1 p.m., ABC.

The Big ?: Whenever an Big Ten teams plays an SEC team, the same question surfaces. Can the Big Ten school match the speed of the SEC school?

My pick: Georgia. Speed rules.

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Sophomore quarterback Casey Pachall has thrown for 2,715 yards and 24 touchdowns this season for TCU./AP Photo.

Too many bowl games. Too many sponsors with long names.

I want a playoff system, but it’s not happening.

Too bad.

What do I get in return? A slew of bowl games that are too tough to call sometimes, but if you think you’re better than me, enter my sixth BCS bowl contest on ESPN.com through Bowl Mania.

Enter the Rankin ETN 2011-12.

Let’s look at Week 1 (Dec. 17-24).

Best match up: San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl – *No. 16 TCU (10-2) vs. Louisiana Tech (8-4), Saturday, 9 p.m., ESPN. See what I mean about the names. Need oxygen to say all that, but don’t sleep on this game. The Bulldogs are riding a seven-game winning streak. Half of their four losses are to team that are currently ranked (L 19-17 at *No. 22 Southern Miss, L 35-34 at *No. 20 Houston). Now TCU should win, but Louisiana Tech won’t go down easily.

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Let’s recap Week 4, shall we?

No. 5 Oklahoma State (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) at No. 14 Texas A&M (2-1, 0-1 Big 12)

Pregame rant: Great conference opener for these two Big 12 titans, but something has to give here. The Cowboys are second in the nation in total offense at 601 yards a game and third in the nation in points per game at 52.3. However, the Aggies has given up a total of 534 yards and 21 total points in their two games.

Postgame commentary: Down 20-3 at the half, Oklahoma State scored 27 straight points and withstood a final charge from Texas A&M to prevail. Senior Brandon Weeden threw for a school-record 438 yards and two touchdowns on 60 pass attempts. The amazing thing about that is Weeden didn’t throw an interception.

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Let’s recap Week 3, shall we?

No. 16 West Virginia (3-0) at Maryland (1-1)

Pregame rant: This will be the first road game for the Mountaineers, but that’s not the major concern. New Maryland head coach Randy Edsall is not only one of the best  coaches in the country, he’s had two weeks to prepare for WVU.

Postgame commentary: When a team has a 34-10 lead as WVU had and the opponent comes back and has a chance to win it in the end as Maryland had, games like that are bound to end with a turnover. Danny O’Brien had completed 14 straight passes for 94 yards before throwing an incomplete pass and an interception on his final two passes as WVU survived, 37-31. Got to give the Mountaineers credit for holding on,  but when Edsall gets better players, Maryland will be a beast in the ACC.

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