"DE-FENSE!"

For millions of Americans, the holiday season isn’t only a magical time because of the standard stocking stuffers and gingerbread houses, but also because it means college football bowl season is here (!!!!).

Unless you’re a die-hard football fan or your team is playing in one of these games, you probably won’t have the time to tune into some of the smaller bowl games such as the Beef ‘O’ Bradys’ St. Petersburg Bowl (yup, this is an actual name of a bowl game). But for everyone else (and yes, I mean everyone – from the dedicated college football fan to the dedicated Saturday tailgater), the big bowl games are fun and exciting to watch.

Here is a quick guide to the biggest bowl games this season, and the deets you need to know while watching each. So grab a couple friends and a couple beers (optional) and park yourself on the couch. It’s time to go “bowling”!

Be honest, what else do you have to do over winter break?

Rose Bowl (January 1, 5:00 ET on ESPN)
Who: TCU Horned Frogs (3) v. Wisconsin Badgers (5)
What to know: The third-ranked Horned Frogs (intimidating right?) will take on the fifth-ranked Badgers in the Rose Bowl, the historical New Years day game held in Pasadena. TCU offense is led by quarterback Andy Dalton who is coming off a successful senior season, and their much-hyped defense is number one in the nation for holding their opponents to the fewest points. TCU will be playing with a lot of emotion; they finished the season undefeated and feel as though they should be playing for the national championship.

Wisconsin offense is led by quarterback Scott Tolzien and three standout running backs. Badger linemen Gabe Carimi and John Moffitt were just named all-American first team and will provide a note-worthy match up with the TCU defensive line.
Fun Facts: The Rosebowl is known as the ‘Granddaddy of Them All’ because it is the oldest and formerly most prestigious game… Wisconsin has scored over 70 points in three of its wins this season… This is the first ever Rosebowl for TCU. Read More »

As a student at a Big Ten school, football has become my soul purpose in life. From crackin’ the first beer in the shower at 6am on game day to FB-stalking the quarterback (shhh!), my world revolves around a bunch of dudes in spandex tackling each other on some Astroturf.

Needless to say, the past 6 weeks sans college football has been somewhat difficult. I wander aimlessly around my apartment on Saturdays, unsure what to do with all that time. I fill the void by hunting down the players on campus, but now that they’re not training as much as usual, they’re not so easy to find. And trust me, I’ve tried.

Thank god, then, that Bowl Season is upon us! I finally have a reason to drink before 11am on a Saturday! have some exciting burly-man-on-burly-man action to fill my Saturdays! Yes, ladies, it’s officially time for the best of the best in college football to duke it out in the BCS bowl games.

Confused on how the BCS works? Everyone is. But until the government sorts this shiz out, I’ve got you covered. This guide will give you a look at all of the upcoming BCS games, the teams, and who you (or more importantly, me) think deserves to win. So grab those wings, crack open a beer and get ready for some serious football showdowns. Read More »

When I was a freshman my sorority whisked my pledge class away to an undisclosed location for a girls-only bonding weekend. We were told nothing about where we were headed; our only instructions were to bring some sweats and a going-out outfit or two.

It was only once we were 45 minutes into our drive that we learned where we were going: Ohio State University. Apparently our sorority had a chapter on that campus and it was the perfect place for us to hang.

Riiight.

Naturally, I was scared. I was wearing Michigan sweats from head to toe! (I was a freshman, gimme a break.) And it turns out my fears were justified. After spending a mere hour walking around the campus and having full beer cans and rocks thrown at our heads (we were 40 defenseless Jewish girls, mind you), we were forced to have police escorts for the rest of the weekend. Read More »

Last week, I warned you that the grad school application process is quite a time consuming effort. Well guess what folks? You’re going to need to put ample time into choosing your prospective grad schools too! Sure, this might seem a bit obvious, but this columnist doesn’t always think things through.

For me, grad school was a roll of the dice, and six possible schools came up for me: Georgetown, Rutgers, Ohio State, North Carolina State, San Francisco State, and the school I eventually chose, hereafter refered to as X University.I chose these schools on a whim. Georgetown was my “reach,” and the closest I could get to Ivy League while maintaining a glimmer of hope for acceptance. Rutgers was relatively close to my hometown (by close I mean a 5 hour drive); Ohio State is a party school notorious for it’s tailgating parties (I swear, that’s why I applied- don’t judge); North Carolina State was an hour from my only other friend attending grad school; and San Francisco just seemed like a cool city to live in, as did the location of X University.

Rule number one in choosing grad school? Don’t be superficial when planning your future! Read More »

If someone were to ask me to list my favorite bands, Of A Revolution (O.A.R.) would most definitely be at number one. Which is saying a lot, considering I am a Michigan grad and the boys of O.A.R. got together at Ohio State, a school I have learned to loathe in the deepest part of my core. But I can’t help it; these guys are good. Really good. And no matter what is going on in my life, popping in one of their 6 albums always makes me feel better.

Imagine my excitement, then, when I found out that their newest album, All Sides was coming out July 15th (tomorrow!), I was going to be able to listen to it before it was released, and I was going to be able to interview them! Life doesn’t get much better than this. Below is my dream realized – a jovial chat with Jerry DePizzo, the ridiculously talented man behind the sax for O.A.R.

CC: I have been listening to the new album-I think it’s fantastic. Why did you call it, All Sides?

O.A.R.: Well, we wanted to make it self-explanatory, we always kind of like to – not necessarily wear our emotions on our sleeves – but kind of let everything hang out. It just means you see all sides of the band, what we can do musically and stylistically and different subject matters of which we speak out. It’s an all-encompassing perspective of OAR. Read More »

Remember when you were in high school and you began to hunt for a college? As if you weren’t having enough trouble balancing those AP classes and inevitable girl drama and all of a sudden – BAM – here come like 10,000 books/essays/magazines/guides/counselors bombarding you with information on choosing the right college.

• Do you want big or small?

• Liberal arts? Science? Big city? Small campus? Close to home? Great sports teams?

Some books had statistics. Others had tests to place you in the right “type” of school. Still others were filled with advice from the students who went there. But where was the guarantee that any of this research would put us in a school that we loved, that would get us where we wanted to in life, and that would ultimately be our perfect fit?

According to some research over at the New York Times, the guarantee doesn’t exist. And if we do happen to find that perfect place, all that crap we researched does nothing to guide us. Read More »