College Football: 5 most interesting bowl games

1. Las Vegas Bowl — Oregon vs. Boise State

Of the 39 bowl games on this year’s postseason schedule, the most interesting of the bunch is the Las Vegas Bowl showdown between Mountain West champion Boise State and an Oregon team with whom they have some bitter history. The Broncos and the Ducks head to Sin City for just their third-ever matchup against one another, but the first two had enough bad blood to linger for a decade.

Back in 2008, the two teams from neighboring states met for the first time ever on a football field when Chris Petersen’s Broncos came to Eugene. Led by freshman quarterback Kellen Moore, Boise State stunned the Ducks 37-32 in Autzen Stadium to spoil any hope of a national title run in Mike Bellotti’s final season at the helm.

Then, in 2009, Boise State was the opponent in Chip Kelly‘s first-ever game as a head coach. The former offensive coordinator, who was promoted to replace Bellotti, saw his team score just eight points against a Broncos defense that would be among the nation’s best that season. The game, however, is remembered less for the 19-8 Boise State upset than the infamous punch thrown by Ducks tailback LeGarrette Blount on Broncos defensive lineman Byron Hout.

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There has been almost a decade since that jab by Blount, who has long since departed Eugene and is currently in the NFL. But Oregon would love nothing more than to finally gain revenge for those two losses. Boise State, on the other hand, would love to finally get a statement win over a Power Five opponent after coming up short in the regular season against both Washington State and Virginia.