Participating in the postseason for the second time in as many years, the San Diego State Aztecs will have to battle not only the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns on the field during the New Orleans Bowl this Saturday, but also a decidedly unfavorable crowd as the team makes the trip all the way from southern California to play in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Led by head coach Rocky Long, who assumed the position after Brady Hoke made his way back to Michigan, the Aztecs consider themselves fortunate to be playing in back-to-back bowl games for the first time over the course of the program’s 43-yard Division I history. The Aztecs put together another solid season in the Mountain West Conference, even though they were overshadowed by nationally-ranked member TCU and Boise State.

San Diego State finished the regular season with back-to-back wins and three in the last four outings, the lone setback during that time coming against 10th-ranked Boise State by a massive 52-35 score. The other two defeats in MWC action were handed out by the Horned Frogs (27-14) and a surprising Wyoming group (30-27) at Qualcomm Stadium no less. At 8-4 overall and 4-3 in league play, coach Long and his bunch easily earned another turn in the postseason. Last year, the Aztecs recorded a 35-14 win over Navy in the Poinsettia Bowl, marking the first postseason triumph for the group since 1969.

The 2011 bowl season kicks off in the Land of Enchantment as the Temple Owls head west to meet the Wyoming Cowboys in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl at UNM Stadium this weekend. Last year the Owls finished with eight wins, but nothing to show for their efforts as they were skipped over for a bowl bid. That mistake was not made this year, as Temple, under new leadership reached eight victories once again, but this time the team was recognized for its play.

Steve Addazio took over for Al Golden when he took his show to Miami University, and while Golden was a huge reason for the resurgence of this football program, the squad did not miss a beat under Addazio. Temple, which finished 5-3 in Mid-American Conference play, closed out its regular season with three straight victories. Temple’s most notable game however, could be its loss to Penn State, as the Owls had the Nittany Lions on the ropes, but were narrowly defeated, 14-10.

This is the fourth bowl appearance for this program and the second in the last three years. Temple played in the inaugural Sugar Bowl back in 1935 against Tulane. The Owls lost that matchup, but defeated California in the 1979 Garden State Bowl. After a 30-year absence from bowl play the Owls took on UCLA in the 2009 EagleBank Bowl, and it was a tough fight, but one the Owls lost 30-21.

Give the edge to Temple as a Wyoming defense will struggle against a suprisingly effecient Owls offense.

A three-game winning streak has kept the Arizona Cardinals’ faint playoff hopes alive, but head coach Ken Whisenhunt wants his team to continue taking things one week at a time.

A healthy dose of Wells and Fitzgerald should be enough to overcome the Browns’ solid play on defense, and Cleveland just isn’t scoring enough on offense to be competitive. A defensive struggle may favor Cleveland, but it is likely that Arizona will put up enough points to win.

There are a handful of rookie quarterbacks making headlines this season. Two of them will go at it this Sunday. Newton can’t do it all alone, and will need his two top running backs prepared for a hard-hitting affair. The Texans will dedicate this game to Phillips, the team’s defensive genius, but a failure to contain Newton and the Panthers’ offense will eventually be too much to overcome on this afternoon.

The spiraling Bears try to end a potentially-crushing three-game losing streak when they host the surging Seahawks Sunday at Solider Field, while also attempting to remain a viable candidate in the conference Wild Card race.

Other than a home upset of Baltimore last month, Seattle’s strong run hasn’t exactly come against the stiffest of competition, and a matchup on the road against a desperate and determined opponent could prove to be a more difficult challenge for Carroll’s group to navigate.

Their playoff hopes are dwindling and so is the job security of head coach Norv Turner, but the San Diego Chargers are not about to give up just yet.

The season is all but finished for the Bills after the way they have been playing the past month or so, and facing Rivers this week will be their death knell. Containing the run has also been a problem for Buffalo, so this could be another 100-yard performance for Mathews.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had some surprise success last season, but the NFL’s youngest team is finally going through its growing pains, which has led to some uncertainty for 2012. A healthy Freeman will certainly boost the Tampa offense, but the Bucs don’t stand a chance if they can’t stop Jones-Drew, the best player on the field this Sunday.

It’s probably not fair, but the Houston Texans won’t complain. Though quarterback Matt Schaub and wide receiver Andre Johnson have had a significant role in getting the team within an eyelash of its first 10-win season and initial AFC South Division title, don’t expect a riot if neither take part in getting the team over the hump.

Though it’s not the manner they intended without Schaub and a fully capable Johnson, the team’s new era of defense and ground work is well-suited to a road test against a skidding foe in hostile territory. Yates manages the game and the Houston defense seals the 10- win deal.

The seventh-ranked Houston Cougars will put their unblemished record on the line this weekend as they take on the 24th-ranked Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles in the Conference USA Championship Game from Robertson Stadium.

Southern Miss finished its regular season 10-2 with a win over Memphis to clinch the East Division by one game over Marshall. The Golden Eagles suffered a hiccup the week before as they were upset by UAB. Southern Miss appeared to be back in true form last week which could have the Cougars a little worried.

Houston is predicted to be playing for a BCS birth, which would be the first in school history. The Cougars are 12-0 as they have run the table so far this season. Last week against Tulsa, which entered the contest undefeated in conference play, Houston dominated, as it outscored the Golden Hurricane 48-16 to clinch the West Division title.

Southern Miss leads the all-time series against Houston 8-5. The games have been very close and exciting to this point. This one will be closer than many think therefore grab the Eagles to cover the big spread.

With just one home win to show for their efforts this season, the Colorado State Rams try to close out the 2011 regular season on a positive note this weekend as they host the Wyoming Cowboys in a Mountain West Conference showdown. The Rams showed plenty of promise in the first month of the season with three wins in four opportunities, but then the team hit the skids and is now dealing with a seven-game losing streak which is tied for the sixth-longest slide in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Last weekend the team was dealt a 45-21 setback by the Air Force Falcons, dropping CSU to just 1-5 in conference play.

As for the Cowboys, they were thumped by seventh-ranked Boise State last weekend in Idaho, 36-14, but still the team has to be pleased with the fact that it is again bowl eligible with a record of 7-4. Currently, the Pokes are third in the MWC standings at 4-2, trailing only TCU and Boise State.

The Rams own a 54-42-5 advantage in the all-time series between the teams, although Wyoming blew the doors off CSU at home last season in a 44-0 rout.