Weekly Watch: Jan. 1 Paper

Bowl games on New Year’s Day
Friday 1/1
It’s not as extensive as it used to be, but there is still a good list of bowl games that can satisfy even the casual college football fan. The lineup begins at 11 a.m. when Northwestern faces off with Auburn in Tampa. Another match-up between the Big Ten and the Southeastern Conference takes place in Orlando at the Capital One Bowl. Penn State, 10-2 on the season, plays the LSU Tigers at 1 p.m. At that same time, Florida State’s Bobby Bowden will lead his Seminoles for the final time as head coach — culminating a legendary career. To make it a memorable final game, they’ll have to upset West Virginia in the Gator Bowl. Two BCS contests are later in the day. The Rose Bowl pits Ohio State and Oregon, while the Superdome hosts Florid— amid the Urban Meyer drama — and Big East champion Cincinnati.

Virginia Tech vs. Seton Hall
Saturday 1/2 at 8:30 p.m.
The Hokies’ record might be deceiving, as they’ve yet to beat a quality opponent. Their only loss came in Philadelphia against currently-ranked Temple. A chance to notch a notable non-conference victory comes Saturday against the Pirates from the Big East. Seton Hall also lost to the Owls, and recently took West Virginia to overtime before falling by six. The Hall is led by Jeremy Hazell, who scores 21.9 points per game. Forward Herb Pope averages nearly 12 rebounds. For the Hokies, guard Malcolm Delaney is the Atlantic Coast Conference’s top point producer and Tech’s best in assists.

Washington Redskins at San Diego Chargers
Sunday 1/3 at 4
The final week in this 17 week regular season — one that has felt like 17 months to anyone associated with the team — comes to a close in San Diego. Washington has nothing to play for except pride and to erase the bad performances that it put out in consecutive nationally-televised contests. The Jim Zorn era is likely to end — one of many changes that will occur once this game is over. The surging Chargers appear to be the hottest team in the NFL and the trendy pick to be the AFC representative in the Super Bowl. Quarterback Phillip Rivers is an MVP candidate, while former Redskins coach Norv Turner has gone unbeaten in December during his time with San Diego.

Georgetown at Marquette
Wednesday 1/6 at 8
Big East play begins for the Hoyas at home on New Year’s Eve versus St. Johns, followed by a contest at DePaul and then a road meeting three days later with the Golden Eagles of Marquette. The short-term goal is to bounce back from an upset loss at the hands of Old Dominion — their only setback to date. Currently, Georgetown has four players that average scoring in double figures. Marquette isn’t as loaded as they were last season, but its top returning starter is forward Lazar Hayward (18.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg).

— Brian Wright