Written by David Regimbal

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The 2011-12 bowl schedule was released last night and there are plenty of exciting matchups to look forward to this holiday season. Then there’s a rematch of one of the most unwatchable games in recent memory to serve as your National Championship game. It’s as if college football would like to wish you a merry Christmas and say, “Here, we got you this awesome industrial sized stapler because we knew you would love it.”

First, and most importantly, the Ohio State Buckeyes will take their 6-6 record this year to the Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl to face off against the equally underwhelming 6-6 Florida Gators. Both teams were included in everyone’s preseason top 25, but both teams struggled under first year coaches who were trying to replace legends at their respective schools. With Ohio State hiring Florida’s lost legend, Urban Meyer, to be their next head coach -- the game has plenty of story-lines to make it one of the most anticipated bowl games of the season.

A record 10 Big Ten teams will go bowling this year, including two BCS games as Wisconsin goes to the Rose Bowl for the second year in a row and Michigan, who makes their first trip to the BCS since 2006, will travel south for their matchup against Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl.

Here’s the bowl schedule in its entirety. Preparation of avoiding your family and friends can start now by making mental notes of which games you need to watch.

I love the holidays.

Dec. 17

Gildan New Mexico   2 p.m.
Temple vs. Wyoming
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl   5 p.m.
Ohio vs. Utah State
R+L Carriers New Orleans   9 p.m.
San Diego State vs. Louisiana-Lafayette

Dec. 20

Beef 'O' Brady's St. Petersburg   8 p.m.
Florida International vs. Marshall

Dec. 21

S.D. County Credit Union Poinsettia   8 p.m.
TCU vs. Louisiana Tech

Dec. 22

MAACO Las Vegas   8 p.m.
Arizona State vs. Boise State

Dec. 24

Sheraton Hawaii   8 p.m.
Nevada vs. Southern Miss

Dec. 26

AdvoCare V100 Independence   5 p.m.
Missouri vs. North Carolina

Dec. 27

Little Caesars   4:30 p.m.
Western Michigan vs. Purdue
Belk   8 p.m.
Louisville vs. NC State

Dec. 28

Military Bowl Presented By Northrop Grumman   4:30 p.m.
Toledo vs. Air Force
Bridgepoint Education Holiday   8 p.m.
California vs. Texas

Dec. 29

Champs Sports   5:30 p.m.
Florida State vs. Notre Dame
Valero Alamo   9 p.m.
Washington vs. Baylor

Dec. 30

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces   12 p.m.
BYU vs. Tulsa Dallas
New Era Pinstripe   3:20 p.m
Rutgers vs. Iowa State
Franklin American Mortgage Music City   6:40 p.m.
Mississippi State vs. Wake Forest
Insight   10 p.m.
Iowa vs. Oklahoma

Dec. 31

Meineke Car Care of Texas   12 p.m.
Texas A&M vs. Northwestern
Hyundai Sun   2 p.m.
Georgia Tech vs. Utah
AutoZone Liberty   3:30 p.m.
Cincinnati vs. Vanderbilt
Kraft Fight Hunger   3:30 p.m.
Illinois vs. UCLA
Chick-fil-A   7:30 p.m.
Virginia vs. Auburn

Jan. 2

TicketCity   12 p.m.
Houston vs. Penn State
Outback   1 p.m.
Michigan State vs. Georgia
Capital One   1 p.m.
Nebraska vs. South Carolina
Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl   1 p.m.
Ohio State vs. Florida
Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio   5 p.m.
Wisconsin vs. Oregon
Tostitos Fiesta   8:30 p.m.
Stanford vs. Oklahoma State

Jan. 3

Allstate Sugar   8:30 p.m.
Michigan vs. Virginia Tech

Jan. 4

Discover Orange   8:30 p.m.
West Virginia vs. Clemson

Jan. 6

AT&T Cotton   8 p.m.
Kansas State vs. Arkansas

Jan. 7

BBVA Compass Bowl   1 p.m.
SMU vs. Pittsburgh

Jan. 8

GoDaddy.com   9 p.m.
Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois

Jan. 9

Allstate BCS National Championship Game   8:30 p.m.
No. 1 LSU vs. No. 2 Alabama