Five bowl games we wish we could have seen

We’re in for a fantastic slate of bowl games as we head into January, culminating with the first-ever College Football Playoff. Despite the array of exciting matchups, we couldn’t help but think about some hypothetical games that would have offered even more intrigue.

Here are five bowl games we wish we could have seen:

Baylor vs. Oregon

Who doesn’t love offense? This showdown would showcase the first and third-best offenses in the country. Baylor, which narrowly missed out on the College Football Playoff, put up 581.3 yards and 48.8 points per game over the course of the season while the Ducks averaged 546.2 yards and 46.3 points. Two of the nations top quarterbacks in Baylor’s Bryce Petty and Oregon’s Marcus Mariota would make for an awesome shootout. And compared to recent years, both teams aren’t completely miserable on defense. Who wouldn’t want to watch this one?

Alabama vs. Florida State

All season, as the Seminoles continued to squeak by against average ACC foes, critics wondered just how good Florida State truly is. The College Football Playoff selection committee continued to move the Seminoles down in the rankings even though they stayed undefeated. What team would provide a better barometer for how good the Seminoles are than the top-ranked Crimson Tide?

If the Seminoles get past Oregon and Alabama beats Ohio State in the CFP semifinals, this matchup can materialize and it'd be really fun if it does.

Jameis Winston, a native of Bessemer, Ala., wants it to happen, too.

Texas vs. Texas A&M

There were some rumblings that a postseason matchup between these in-state and former Big 12 rivals was in the works. Unfortunately, it did not come to fruition, but that doesn’t mean we can’t hope for one in the future. By all indications, the two stubborn programs won’t be scheduling one another during the regular season anytime soon, even after playing every year from 1915-2011.

Conference expansion ruined some great rivalries, but bowl games have a chance to briefly rekindle a few of them. This would have been a pretty competitive game, too. The Aggies started off the year 5-0 before coming back down to Earth and finishing 7-5. Texas, in its first season under Charlie Strong, seemed to improve on a week-to-week basis en route to a 6-6 finish. It would be a fun one.

Florida vs. Colorado State

This one is for the folks who love a good narrative. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong, but I can’t think of an instance where a coach left one school for another school, and then the two schools were paired up for a bowl game. Jim McElwain leaving Colorado State for sunny Gainesville is obviously a step up, but you’d have to think that the 10-2 Rams would be the favorites in this matchup against the 6-5 Gators. It’d be a cool dynamic to see how the CSU players got motivated to play their former coach’s new team. Obviously McElwain would not be involved with either team for the game, but it’d still be cool to see how it all played out.

UAB vs. anyone

We’ve all heard about the plight of the UAB program by now. The Blazers learned last week that the program would be shut down at the end of the academic year and despite posting six wins this season, the team was not invited to a bowl game. UAB’s conference, Conference USA, has only five bowl berths. Five schools in the league finished ahead of the Blazers and league rules require schools with the best overall records to be selected. The team’s only hope of playing its final game on a postseason stage was from an at-large berth. Unfortunately, UAB was not given an invite.

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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