Kiss your spouse goodbye, grab a beverage, sit back in your favorite recliner and get ready for a full menu of college football games.

That’s right — 34 bowl games are slated for December and January, the last of them determining who will be crowned the best of the best, the BCS match-up between Oklahoma and Florida. (Unless, of course, like sports editor Troy Shockley, you’re a Texas fan and think the Longhorns got the short end of the BCS stick.)

The others are all prelims to the Big Battle on Jan. 8 at Miami’s Dolphin Stadium.

All major bowl games, of course, will be broadcast to national television audiences, giving devout college football fans so many hours of exposure to the telly they’ll be bleary-eyed and exhausted when the last of those contests has been played.

FYI, so you can inform your spouse of the onslaught of bowl battles, the first game is today, featuring Wake Forest and Navy. The Midshipmen finished the 2009 campaign with a solid 8-4 record and shut out Army in the season finale, helping send the Army coach down the road after only two seasons at the helm.

With the plethora of bowl games on tap, however, discriminating college football fans should probably limit their intake — some of the match-ups might not be worth their time, and even the most ardent fan must realize that couch-potatoes are not as healthy as their counterparts who exercise on a regular basis.

Plus, the spouse, unless he or she is a devout fan, too, may object to the continual chatter of the announcers and their host of sidekicks, on-field commentators, base crew, you yelling at the TV screen under the guise of cheering for your team, et al.

I, of course, plan to watch most of the games involving “local” teams, plus the long-standing bowl games like the Rose Bowl, Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl contests. In the “local” category ... slightly expanded ... I’ll include BYU-Arizona, slated for today. After all, Arizona is a PAC-10 team, and BYU normally loves to attack through the air, a type of football I really enjoy.

Next up is the Boise State-TCU Poinsettia Bowl game slated for Dec. 23 in San Diego. The Broncos are perennially one of the most underrated teams in Division I, and this year, No. 9 Boise State compiled an undefeated season. One of the Broncos’ wins, in fact, was over the U of O. Eleventh-ranked Texas Christian, on the other hand, had two losses in its 12 games — but those came against powerhouses Oklahoma and Utah. So this game could be a real “sleeper” and just might overshadow a couple of bowl games matching so-called “superior” teams.

Continuing on with my busy schedule, since I saw the OSU-California game live at Reser Stadium, a game in which the Beavers prevailed, I’ll catch the California-Miami game on Dec. 27. California plays hard and is very competitive, so “Go, PAC-10!”

My next checkmark goes next to the Oregon-Oklahoma State Holiday Bowl in San Diego, a choice venue for a Dec. 30 contest on ESPN. Could this be the last time coach Mike Bellotti leads his team into battle before ascending to the athletic director’s job, leaving offensive coordinator Chip Kelly as the boss next season? The 9-3 Ducks are on a roll and can score points in bundles, much like a fast-break basketball team. But the Cowboys, also 9-3, are a high-scoring bunch, too, so if one team can develop and execute a solid defensive scheme that works from start to finish, that will be a key to victory.

After the Ducks whup the Cowboys, the next day you’ll find me in my Beaver gear cheering for Oregon State in the Sun Bowl, played in El Paso against Pittsburgh, coached by former NFL head coach Dave Wannstedt. The Beavers carry an 8-4 record into the game after being routed by the Ducks in the Civil War battle, while the Panthers finished 9-3, probably securing Wannstedt’s job for the near future.

Remember that Wannstedt has had more than his share of critics during his tenure with NFL franchises such as Chicago and Miami. Those same critics have followed him to Pittsburgh, his alma mater, where his previous teams have failed to qualify for a bowl game until this year.

Should be a good game, however, unless the Beavers fail to mount a running attack with some consistency.

With James Rodgers sidelined with a broken collarbone and his younger brother Jacquizz questionable with a deep shoulder sprain, the OSU ground game could be severely impacted by a lack of Rodgers squared.

Maybe I’ll catch a few snippets of other games leading up to the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 in Pasadena; if not, the matchup between the once-defeated USC Trojans and Penn State Nittany Lions should be well worth the wait. Energetic USC coach Pete Carroll, if his team beats the Joe Paterno-coached Nittany Lions, can use the win as a positive recruiting tool to attract even more talented local southern California boys to his successful program.

Out of tradition, I’ll watch the Orange Bowl featuring Cincinnati and Virginia Tech (for some reason, I’ve become a Virginia Tech fan this season), also on Jan. 1, and the Cotton Bowl, matching Ole Miss and Texas Tech on Jan. 2 in Dallas.

Utah, probably an underrated team at the start of the current campaign, faces traditionally-strong Alabama in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 2, so that matchup deserves at least some type of consideration, too.

Then there’s the International Bowl at the Toronto Rogers Center on Jan. 3. This game deserves a little attention this year since both participants — Buffalo and Connecticut — have achieved a great deal. And, as a personal note, my stepson Rob, daughter-in-law Becca and granddaughter Sadie all live north of Toronto, so what more excuse do I need for watching this one? Maybe they’ll attend the game and I’ll see them on TV.

Of course, I can’t miss the Fiesta Bowl, which matches Ohio State and Texas on Jan. 5 in Glendale, Arizona. This is a battle between two traditionally powerful programs, with Texas still smarting because the Longhorns weren’t selected for the BCS title game. They’ll have something to prove against the Buckeyes.

Maybe I’ll skip the GMAC Bowl, unless I want to finance a new car after the New Year. That game features Ball State, which had a fantastic season, against a tough Tulsa team, on Jan. 6.

Finally, after all those chips and cold drinks over a period of three weeks, comes the Big One — the FedEx BCS National Championship Game featuring two 12-1 teams, Florida and Oklahoma.

While some feel Texas Tech and Texas were deserving candidates for the title tilt, too, the computer-generated process that brought OU and the Gators together was based on fair play and a concern for getting it right, says the BCS committee, and it’s the process we’re stuck with for the next several years at least.

Arguing won’t change a thing, so relax and root for your favorite.

After watching all those games, though, I’ll be saturated with college football for another eight or nine months until the 2009 season opens. Of course, there’s a small slate of all-star games left to peruse in January and the Super Bowl just around the corner.

Sorry, Molly, after lots of consideration, I won’t be able to get to the honey-dos until some time in early March — after resting up from watching all those bowl games. It’s a tough job, honey, but someone has to do it.

Have an idea for a column, feature story or a comment? Contact me at jwalker@newsregister.com or by phone at (503) 472-5114, ext. 333.