Closing the Book on the 2013 College Football Season

A remarkable season ended fittingly, as Florida State edged Auburn in a remarkable title game.

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

The last year of the BCS era has come and gone, and what a season it was.

We saw a redshirt freshman named Jameis capture America's eye, then potentially face rape charges, win the Heisman Trophy and, eventually, the national championship. We saw Urban Meyer eat pizza like a big ole saddie. We saw Johnny Manziel humbled, but not really. We saw smart schools like Vanderbilt and Duke join Stanford in the "we win the right way club."

We saw UCF become the final "BCS buster" to score a program defining win, and we saw Auburn qualify for the last BCS National Championship Game ever with a fluke Hail Mary pass, a field goal returned for a touchdown and three-point shootout win, all in the span of three weeks.

Yeah, it was a "what the hell just happened" kind of year. So join me, if you will, as I recap some of the biggest developments from 2013, and look ahead to 2014.

Hangovers and Football: Your New Year's Day Bowl Watching Guide

UCF comes in as a decided underdog, but star QB Blake Bortles will try to give the program its first BCS bowl win.

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

New Year's Day and I have an odd relationship.

In my younger days, I would spend the morning fighting the urge to sleep until the following year, and eventually end up gorging on a greasy breakfast at Denny's.

I don't think anyone can argue that was the best way to spend New Year's morning, but football and a comfy couch are most certainly the best way to spend the rest of your day.

Well, if you like Big Ten football that is, because these days that's what you're getting New Year's Day. Thanks to some fancy negotiating by Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney, the conference has gone from three long-time bowl tie-ins (The Rose, Capital One and Outback) to five the last two years, adding the Gator Bowl and relatively new Heart of Dallas Bowl.

Last year, we had to watch Purdue lose by a bajillion in the Dallas Bowl, so thankfully the Big Ten didn't have enough bowl eligible teams to fill that slot (Since it sent two teams to the BCS). Un-thankfully (Not a word), their spot and the Big 12's spot in that game went to somewhat crappy mid-majors.

Oh hell, who cares, it's New Year's Day. Here's what to watch during the games.

The SuiteSports Bowl Pick'em Challenge

Anyone can pick these games, but who ya got in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl?

By SuiteSports Staff

Yesterday we brought you our college bowl primer, and today we present you with our exclusive picks. Editor's Jeremy Conlin and Joe Parello have put way too much thought into this, employing elaborate strategies that are bound to fall apart before Christmas Eve.

Joe's wife Caity, meanwhile, picked games base on "feeling." If you've ever done an NCAA March Madness Bracket with a girl in your office/school, I think you know how this is going to end.

Because we are sadists, we used Yahoo, and decided we would not be allowed to change our picks after this story runs (Which is now). So, without further ado, here are our picks and methodologies. You can click on each of our pick sets to enlarge them.