Designs on College Bowl Games
Get ready for the national championship with a look at the year's best teams, and some home architecture to match
It's that time of year again. Holiday open houses, New Year's parties, goodwill and cheer. It's also the season of college bowl games leading up to the national championship game on Jan. 9, 2012. This year's slate of games is already underway, and alumni are donning their school colors and heading for warm-weather sites to cheer on their Ducks, Spartans, Badgers, Buckeyes, Bulldogs, Cardinals, Tigers and more.
Monday, Jan. 2 was a big bowl day. With a slate of six games, it was the perfect time to watch some gridiron action while recovering from all that New Year's Eve and New Year's Day revelry. So sit back, relax and enjoy as we preview the games and take a tour some representative architecture from the teams' home regions.
More: 8 Ingredients of the Perfect Football Party Room
Monday, Jan. 2 was a big bowl day. With a slate of six games, it was the perfect time to watch some gridiron action while recovering from all that New Year's Eve and New Year's Day revelry. So sit back, relax and enjoy as we preview the games and take a tour some representative architecture from the teams' home regions.
More: 8 Ingredients of the Perfect Football Party Room
Penn State is, like this renovated barn, solid, massive and a mix of the old and new as is so much of the Keystone state.
The Capital One Bowl features the Cornhuskers of Nebraska against the Gamecocks of South Carolina in what should prove to be a classic Heartland-vs.-Deep South game.
Though this may not look like your grandparents Nebraska, the Cornhuskers still rely on the ground game and strong defense they are famous for. So expect a solid defensive wall from the Huskers as they try to keep the Gamecocks out of the red zone.
Though this may not look like your grandparents Nebraska, the Cornhuskers still rely on the ground game and strong defense they are famous for. So expect a solid defensive wall from the Huskers as they try to keep the Gamecocks out of the red zone.
And though Steve Spurrier may be best remembered for his "fun-n-gun" Gator teams of the 1990s, this year's team is all about the running game and a stifling defense. So expect the Gamecocks to keep Nebraska out of the heat and humidity of the Lowcountry and, if the Huskers do get into their territory, to be a bit less welcoming and friendly as this home is.
It will be Georgia vs. Michigan State in the Outback Bowl in what should be an exciting game as both teams look to rebound from losses in their conference championship games.
The Bulldogs, like a plantation house Scarlett O'Hara would be proud of, has a solid offensive and defensive foundation on which their sophomore quarterback can grow.
The Bulldogs, like a plantation house Scarlett O'Hara would be proud of, has a solid offensive and defensive foundation on which their sophomore quarterback can grow.
Like this lakeshore home in the Upper Midwest, will the 5th ranked Spartans' defense shut out the Bulldogs?
The Gator Bowl will feature two powerhouse college football teams that have had sub-par seasons this year. The Meyer/Tebow-less Gators from Florida will take on the Buckeyes of Ohio State in a duel of unranked teams that just a few years ago vied for national supremacy.
Like much of Florida's mid-century modernism, the Gators are poised to restore their fortunes and bring back that sense of simple wonder and delight that abounds in the Sunshine State.
Like much of Florida's mid-century modernism, the Gators are poised to restore their fortunes and bring back that sense of simple wonder and delight that abounds in the Sunshine State.
And look for ex-Gator coach and Buckeye coach-in-waiting Urban Meyer to bring, like a home of brick and stone, strength and solidity back to The Ohio State University and Buckeye nation.
Next up is the "grandaddy of them all," the Rose Bowl. Started in 1902, the Rose Bowl is the oldest of the bowl games and is preceded by the Tournament of Roses Parade. For much of its history, champions of the Pacific Coast and Big Ten conferences have squared off against each other in a West Coast vs. Midwest clash of titans. This year is no different, with the high-flying Ducks of Oregon pitted against the stifling defense and ground game of the Wisconsin Badgers.
This year's teams feature superior ground games and two of the country's best running backs. So our featured homes, like this one in Oregon, hug the ground ...
This year's teams feature superior ground games and two of the country's best running backs. So our featured homes, like this one in Oregon, hug the ground ...
... while also being unafraid to put it in the air like this famous home in Wisconsin.
A matchup I'm really looking forward to is Oklahoma State vs. Stanford in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Though Oklahoma State can make the stronger case, both of these teams could easily have been in the national championship game. Both feature high-scoring offenses and are led by two of the top quarterbacks in the nation.
Like some storybook castle built out on the plains, Oklahoma State's passing duo of Weedan to Blackmon has put up some gaudy numbers.
Like some storybook castle built out on the plains, Oklahoma State's passing duo of Weedan to Blackmon has put up some gaudy numbers.
On the other hand, Stanford's quarterback Andrew Luck (Heisman Trophy finalist, probable number-one pick in the upcoming NFL draft and, I'm proud to say, architecture major) has it all.
Like this home's bridge and elevation, Luck has the arm strength to zip the ball on a rope and his ability to lift his team has likened him to Super Bowl winning quarterback John Elway.
Though the Cowboys and Cardinal can put pressure on the passer, expect both Weedan and Luck to have great games as they try to out-duel eachother and make the case that their team should have been in the title game.
More: 8 Ingredients of the Perfect Football Party Room
Winning Seating for Watching Football
Like this home's bridge and elevation, Luck has the arm strength to zip the ball on a rope and his ability to lift his team has likened him to Super Bowl winning quarterback John Elway.
Though the Cowboys and Cardinal can put pressure on the passer, expect both Weedan and Luck to have great games as they try to out-duel eachother and make the case that their team should have been in the title game.
More: 8 Ingredients of the Perfect Football Party Room
Winning Seating for Watching Football
While Houston is all low, horizontal and contemporary, as befits the wide open spaces of the Lone Star state and the Cougars' pass- oriented offense . . .