Armed Forces Bowl: Game Pits SMU, Army Against Each Other In Dallas

I can’t make much of a case for the Armed Forces Bowl unless you like contrast.

First, Army and SMU, who will meet in the Armed Forces Bowl on December 30 in Dallas, provide a wonderful contrast to the final BCS rankings by virtue of being teams that didn’t even have a prayer of being included in the BCS standings.

Then there’s the contrast in offensive styles viewers will be likely to see. SMU, led by coach June Jones and quarterback Kyle Padron, likes to throw it around, and will be looking to light it up after being slowed by UCF in the Conference USA Championship Game. Army, on the other hand, keeps things nice and clean with a triple-option attack that rarely rips off big plays and contents itself with incremental damage.

There’s also the nice contrast in storylines for the Mustangs and Black Knights, compared to the rest of the college football world: SMU is making its second bowl appearance in as many years after a long hiatus thanks to the NCAA’s “death penalty,” and Army is making its first bowl appearance since 1996.

Bowl selections will continue to roll in all night, and we’ll be following them all right here. Stay tuned to this StoryStream through the selection show, and browse our complete college football 2010 postseason schedule.