College Football Live! really is the perfect iPhone app for the sport. It’s not without flaws, it can be buggy at times and the commercials you are subjected to in the free version of the iPhone app are more than a little annoying.
Still, it’s the best we’ve got. Yes, Sportacular (free) is an overall better iPhone app, but that’s kind of like comparing college football to college basketball – they’re two different things.
What I’m getting at, in a roundabout way, is that college football’s bowl system is far from perfect. If you haven’t already heard the number of reasons why a playoff would be better, you undoubtedly will over the next few weeks.
But the bowl system is what we’ve got, and like College Football Live! (free), it has plenty of good qualities despite its flaws.
iPhone app for the Maaco Las Vegas Bowl (BYU vs. Oregon State)
Of the bowls that take place before Christmas, the Las Vegas Bowl match-up of Top 20 teams BYU (10-2) and Oregon State (8-4) is likely to be the best. The Cougars have won eight of their last nine games, with their only loss coming against TCU, while the Beavers fished tied for second in a Pac-10 Conference featuring five ranked teams.
While in Sin City, players from both teams have to concentrate on football, not casinos If the need to gamble arises the players can instead download 6-in-1 Casino. This 99-cent app offers baccarat, blackjack, casino war, roulette, slots and video poker games.
iPhone app for the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl (Clemson vs. Kentucky)
I’m not going to go as far as saying that Clemson’s C.J. Spiller deserves the Heisman Trophy, but doesn’t he have to be at least invited to the ceremony? He averaged 5.7 yards per carry and ran for 1,145 yards this season. More impressively, accounted for 20 total touchdowns via four different methods – passing, rushing, receiving and returning.
While those numbers apparently aren’t good enough for the Heisman, they are good enough for the NFL. So when the senior running back isn’t getting ready for the Tigers’ Dec. 27 match-up with Kentucky, he can play Madden NFL 10 ($6.99) and get ready for next year.
iPhone app for the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (Air Force vs. Houston)
You can understand why this New Year’s Eve game between two unranked teams might not get too much publicity, but it’s one of the more interesting match-ups this bowl season. It features the nation’s top passing team, Houston (460.5 yards per game), and the nation’s fourth-ranked rushing team (273.6 yards per game).
If this game proves one thing, it’s that opposites attract. Maybe you should keep this in mind when you’re looking for that special someone on the Match.com app (free), a mobile version of the Web site with more than 15 million members.
iPhone apps for the Allstate Sugar Bowl (Cincinnati vs. Florida)
No team in the nation has more reason to complain than Cincinnati, who went undefeated in a major conference and still aren’t in the championship game. Their former coach, Brian Kelly, has suddenly become a huge fan of the Notre Dame Central app ($1.99) and won’t even coach them in the Sugar Bowl.
For Florida, this game marks the end of an era as it is former Heisman winner and two-time national champion Tim Tebow’s final game with the Gators. Tebow fans can download College FB History ($1.99) and see how their favorite quarterback’s storied career stacks up against players dating back to 1869.
iPhone app for the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl (Boise State vs. TCU)
The national championship game isn’t the only one featuring two unbeaten teams this year, as the Jan. 4 Fiesta Bowl features Boise State and TCU. Both teams feature Top 10 offenses (TCU averages 469.1 yards per game and Boise averages 460.5), and this one might be the best of this bowl season.
Regardless of the outcome, the victor will be left wondering what could have been and fans and media alike will once again ask why the bowl system is better than playoffs. Here’s hoping the college football powers that be wise up and download iTourney, an $2.99 app that allows you to create and keep track of your own tournament.
iPhone app for the Citi National Championship (Alabama vs. Texas)
Even though I’m an unabashed Longhorn fan, I have to admit this is a great match-up for Alabama. Texas was unable to stop Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh in the Big 12 Championship Game, and they will have to find some way to stop another stud tackle in this game – the Crimson Tide’s two-time All American Terrence Cody.
As a backup plan, maybe Texas head coach Mack Brown could turn to the YouDo Voodoo app ($1.99) to stop Cody in case his offensive line can’t. While he’s at it, he might as well create a voodoo doll for Alabama QB Greg McElroy as well (eight touchdowns, one interception in his last five games).
