The college bowl season will begin this week, prompting some football scrooges to foolishly contend there are too many bowl games.

Too many bowl games? That's akin to saying there are too many games on television or the games are too long.

True college football fans recognize the sheer idiocy of such criticism and eagerly await the TCU-Northern Illinois kickoff.

Here's my take on the early, early bowl games (through Dec. 27):

Poinsettia Bowl

TCU 27, N. Illinois 17: The Horned Frogs finished the regular season on a seven-game winning streak. Their only mistake this year was messing with Utah.

They lost by 14 points to BYU and by 13 to Utah. They were unbeaten against the rest of the country.

Las Vegas Bowl

BYU 37, Oregon 30: The Ducks will need their Oklahoma-game officials to slow down the Cougars, who are even hotter than the Frogs.

Since losing in overtime to Boston College, BYU has won nine consecutive games, and only its two-point victory over Utah was close.

New Orleans Bowl

Rice 28, Troy 17: Some people would use this as an example in arguing there are too many bowl games. Rice is one of two teams from Houston in a bowl; Troy is one of two teams from the Sun Belt Conference in a bowl.

I disagree. In fact, as a true college football fan, I've been waiting on this match-up for decades.

PapaJohn's.com Bowl

East Carolina 24, South Florida 23: One of the most confusing games of the holiday season.

The confusion begins with the bowl's name. Isn't PappaJohn's Stadium in Louisville?

Right. But PappaJohn's Bowl is in Birmingham, which raises another question: Why does Birmingham have a bowl game?

Possible answer: Because it wants to prove it's just as appealing as Shreveport.

New Mexico Bowl

San Jose State 27, New Mexico 24: You might be wondering how a 6-6 New Mexico team qualified for a bowl over a 6-6 Pittsburgh team or a 6-6 Kansas team.

Duh? If there were a Pittsburgh Bowl, Pittsburgh would be in a bowl. And if there were a Kansas Bowl, Kansas would be in a bowl.

It's a little known NCAA rule: If a school wins six games, it automatically qualifies for a bowl with the same name.

Armed Forces Bowl

Utah 30, Tulsa 27: This bowl raises a couple of questions: (1) Why is it played in Fort Worth, Texas?; (2) How can you have an Armed Forces Bowl and not invite at least one service-academy team?

Answers: (1) Fort Worth originally was founded as a military post in 1849; (2) The University of Utah has an ROTC program.

Hawaii Bowl

Hawaii 48, Arizona State 37: It's a win-win bowl.

Arizona State will enjoy the trip. Hawaii will enjoy the game.

In case you're wondering, this is where the New Mexico Bowl got its idea for a name.

Motor City Bowl

Central Michigan 38, Middle Tennessee State 31: There's something odd about a team from the Sun Belt Conference playing a bowl game in Detroit. But going north won't bother MTSU nearly as much as going anywhere near a BCS-conference team.

MTSU was 0-4 and was outscored 179-34 by BCS-conference opponents.

Emerald Bowl

UCLA 20, Florida State 17: Remember when the Bruins and Seminoles had explosive offenses? Florida State ranks 73rd in the country in total offense; UCLA ranks 76th.

Never mind the nation. FSU's offense ranks fourth in its own state behind Florida, Central Florida and South Florida.

Record: 235-40 (.855) overall, 127-128 (.498) against the spread.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.