(USA Today Sports Images)It took 64 years to the day, but Northwestern finally got its second bowl win.

On Jan. 1, 1949, the Wildcats won their first bowl game, a Rose Bowl victory against Cal. Everyone knows Northwestern's football history isn't good, but its bowl streak after that win is rather shocking.

The Wildcats' next bowl appearance was the Rose Bowl at the end of the 1995 season. That day, Northwestern started a nine-game bowl losing streak. A linebacker named Pat Fitzgerald was the standout of that 1995 Wildcats team. He was part of the 1996 team that lost in the Citrus Bowl.

Fitzgerald came back to Northwestern as head coach and has built a good program. But he lost four straight bowl games as a coach. He felt the weight of the Northwestern drought more than anyone. Now it's over.

Northwestern beat Mississippi State 34-20 to win the Gator Bowl. Not many bowl wins this season will be more meaningful to a school.

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Orange Bowl
Northern Illinois (12-1) vs. Florida State (11-2)
Jan. 1, 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)

About the Huskies: Whether you think Northern Illinois belongs here or not, the Huskies didn't get to the Orange Bowl by accident. This is a good, solid football team without any obvious weakness. The strength is a running game that averaged 250.2 yards per game, ninth best in FBS. Quarterback Jordan Lynch is the headliner, with 1,771 rushing yards, a FBS record for a quarterback. He can throw the ball too, with 24 touchdowns and five interceptions on the season. Defensively, Northern Illinois was 34th in FBS against the run, 14th in pass efficiency allowed and 18th in points allowed. It isn't an elite defense, but it isn't one that is easy to exploit.

[Also: Clemson breaks into college football's elite with wild win over LSU]

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Rose Bowl
Stanford (11-2) vs. Wisconsin (8-5)
Jan. 1, 5 p.m. ET (ESPN)

About the Cardinal: Not enough has been made of the remarkable job David Shaw has done with Stanford. Last year, Shaw's first after taking over for Jim Harbaugh, could have been chalked up to Andrew Luck's greatness. But with Luck off to the NFL, leading the Indianapolis Colts from the worst record in the NFL to the playoffs, Stanford hasn't missed a beat. And it wasn't just Luck who left - Stanford players accounted for four of the first 42 picks in last April's draft. Yet, if Stanford would have knocked off Notre Dame on Oct. 13 - and it took the Irish to overtime and were the victim of a controversial call on the final play - the Cardinal might be playing Alabama for the national title. Shaw proved he has the confidence to make a big move, going to freshman quarterback Kevin Hogan with four games left in the regular season even though Stanford was winning games. Hogan led the team to a Pac-12 title.

[Also: Boise State will remain in the Mountain West Conference]

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Outback Bowl
South Carolina (10-2) vs. Michigan (8-4)
Jan. 1, 1 p.m. ET (ESPN)

About the Gamecocks: Rarely do people tune in to see a defensive end play, but Jadeveon Clowney is a pretty special player. South Carolina's defensive star is almost certainly going to be the top overall pick in the NFL Draft in 2014 (he's not eligible for the 2013 draft, even though he could be an impact NFL player tomorrow, because of the unfair three-year draft eligibility rule). He changes the entire game plan for opposing offenses who must account for him on just about every play. Clowney will be matched up most of the game against Michigan left tackle Taylor Lewan, a great player in his own right and a probably first-round pick if he decides to leave after this year. Connor Shaw, South Carolina's oft-injured but effective quarterback, will start but Dylan Thompson will also play at quarterback for the Gamecocks according to coach Steve Spurrier.

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Capital One Bowl
Georgia (11-2) vs. Nebraska (10-3)
Jan. 1, 1 p.m. ET (ABC)

About the Bulldogs: Had Georgia spiked the ball after its last first down against Alabama, maybe its bowl game would be in Miami in a week. But instead, the Bulldogs finish the season not in the BCS Championship Game, and not in a BCS game at all, but in the Capital One Bowl. The bowl berth might have been disappointing, but this Georgia team is one of the best in the nation. The offense, led by quarterback Aaron Murray and fantastic freshman running back Todd Gurley, scored at least 37 points nine times this season. The defense struggled early but was very good in the second half of the season. Inside linebacker Alec Ogletree and outside linebacker Jarvis Jones are two of the best defensive players around.

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Heart of Dallas Bowl
Oklahoma State (7-5) vs. Purdue (6-6)
Jan. 1, 12 p.m. ET (ESPNU)

About the Cowboys: Losing quarterback Brandon Weeden and receiver Justin Blackmon to the first round of the NFL Draft was a big blow. So was losing freshman quarterback Wes Lunt to a pair of injuries that cost him seven games this season. Backup J.W. Walsh deal with injuries too, so the Cowboys turned to Clint Chelf, who played well down the stretch and kept the offensive humming. Despite all the craziness at quarterback, Oklahoma State still finished the regular season fourth in FBS in scoring offense and fifth in total offense.

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Gator Bowl
Northwestern (9-3) vs. Mississippi State (8-4)
Jan. 1, 12 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

About the Wildcats: This will sound strange, but the Wildcats' 9-3 record was actually a bit disappointing. That's because of what might have been. Northwestern's three losses were all blown leads. Northwestern led 28-17 going into the fourth quarter at Penn State and was outscored 22-0 in the final quarter. The Wildcats led 28-16 at home against Nebraska with less than seven minutes left, and lost. Then they gave up a 53-yard miracle pass to Michigan with just a few seconds left, allowing the Wolverines to kick a field goal to tie a game Michigan won in overtime. So while it's hard to think about Northwestern in these terms, its 9-3 campaign might be best remembered for what might have been. This team should probably have been playing in the bowl game at Pasadena a little later on New Year's Day.

When Boise State decided to go to the Big East in Dec. of 2011, the Big East was a viable conference. It had BCS automatic qualifier status, a national reputation, realistic hopes for a huge television contract and a solid membership.

On the final day of 2012 the Big East has none of those things anymore, and it doesn't have Boise State either.

Boise State will stay in the Mountain West for all sports, the school and conference announced. In the never-ending realignment game, this is an important step for the Mountain West and a major blow to the Big East, which is quickly sliding into irrelevancy.