While the college bowl season is officially underway, the most anticipated contests are still yet to come. Take a closer look at college football's Bowl Championship Series matchups:

Rose Bowl
Teams: Michigan vs. USC
Date: Jan. 1, 2007
Location: Pasadena, Calif.
What to watch for: Normally, a trip to the Rose Bowl is a preferred destination for college football teams. But for Michigan and Southern California, the Rose Bowl has become a consolation prize. Both teams were in position to play for the national title but lost their trips to Arizona when USC lost to UCLA in its final regular-season game and Michigan was surpassed by Florida in the final rankings.

Now both teams must shake off any lingering national-title hopes and focus on the "Granddaddy Of Them All."

Michigan is led by tailback Mike Hart, quarterback Chad Henne and defensive end LaMarr Woodley.

USC, which is playing in its third straight BCS game, is led by quarterback John David Booty and receiver Dwayne Jarrett.

Fiesta Bowl
Teams: Boise State vs. Oklahoma
Date: Jan. 1, 2007
Location: Glendale, Ariz.
What to watch for: The Fiesta Bowl will mark the first-ever meeting between Oklahoma and Boise State.

The Sooners enter the contest at 11-2, with their only losses coming against Oregon and Texas. Boise State is a perfect 12-0. The Broncos are just the second team from a non-BCS conference to be invited to a BCS game.

The Jan. 1 game will also mark the return of Sooners junior tailback Adrian Peterson. Peterson, nicknamed "All Day," played in just six games for OU after breaking his collarbone in October. He's tallied 935 yards and 10 touchdowns this season.

Orange Bowl
Teams: Louisville vs. Wake Forest
Date: Jan. 2, 2007
Location: Miami
What to watch for: Louisville and Wake Forest will meet for the first time at the Orange Bowl on Jan. 2.

Louisville earned a berth in the BCS game after winning its first-ever Big East championship. The 11-1 Cardinals were dealt their lone loss by Rutgers on Nov. 9.

Wake Forest, 11-2, booked the trip to Miami with a win over Georgia Tech in the ACC championship. The Demon Deacons fell to Clemson and Virginia Tech earlier in the season.

Louisville is led by junior quarterback Brian Brohm, while quarterback Riley Skinner and place kicker Sam Swank lead Wake Forest.

Sugar Bowl
Teams: Notre Dame vs. LSU
Date: Jan. 3, 2007
Location: New Orleans
What to watch for: The LSU Tigers will hold a home-field advantage in New Orleans when they take on Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl.

Quarterback Brady Quinn, who finished third in the Heisman voting, will lead the Irish in their second consecutive BCS appearance while JaMarcus Russell will be under center for the Tigers.

Notre Dame (10-2) recorded its only two losses to Michigan and USC, who will face off in the Rose Bowl, and LSU (10-2) fell to Auburn and national-title contender Auburn. This will be the 10th meeting between the two teams. Notre Dame holds a 5-4 series lead, including a 39-36 victory in their most-recent meeting, a 1998 matchup in South Bend.

BCS Championship Game
Teams: Ohio State vs. Florida
Date: Jan. 8, 2007
Location: Glendale, Ariz.
What to watch for: For weeks the question surrounding the Ohio State Buckeyes was who they were going play in the national championship game. With their opponent set, the question now turns to if No. 1 OSU can beat the Florida Gators to finish their perfect season.

The Gators are on the rise, finishing their season 12-1 after losing to Auburn on Oct. 14. They clinched a berth in the national title game with a victory over Arkansas in the SEC championship.

The Buckeyes have been unstoppable all season, beating then-ranked No. 2 Texas in September and winning the Big Ten crown with a victory over rival Michigan to end the regular season.

Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith is at his best in must-win games, so expect the Buckeye quarterback to be in top form against Florida passer Chris Leak and the Gators.