Iowa vs. Cal?

Dec. 15, 2004

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Iowa and LSU: Side-by-side in final BCS list
UI, Ferentz ink contract extension
Big Ten Championship merchandise
Bowl game ticket information
Listen to the bowl game online!
Watch Kirk next Tuesday live!
Purchase your Hawkeye tickets online
Listen to the Hawkeyes on XM Radio

NEW YORK — Who is the real #1 in college football? USC? Oklahoma? Auburn? The Iowa Hawkeyes?

CSTV: College Sports Television will put all the arguments to rest with its Crystal Bowl II Presented by XBOX, the original Division I-A college football playoff.

For the second consecutive year, CSTV is teaming up with Electronic Arts and XBOX to bring fans the Division I-A postseason tournament meant to crown a definitive national champion on the field. In addition, CSTV will present Wish Bowl II at the conclusion of its playoffs, which will factor in the four undefeated teams participating in the Bowl Championship Series and in CSTV’s playoffs.

The Crystal Bowl II Presented by XBOX field consists of the top 15 teams in the final Bowl Championship Series (BCS) rankings and one at-large team, Harvard, the lone undefeated Division I-AA team. #16 Harvard at #1 Southern California, #11 Louisiana State at #6 Utah in the snow, and #12 Iowa at #5 California are among the intriguing first-round match-ups.

NCAA Football 2005 will play each game in the 16-team championship tournament using the XBOX video game system from Microsoft and up-to-date 2004 season statistics, relevant weather conditions and other key intangibles, with previews, box scores, statistics and highlights for the games featured weekly on CSTV.

It’s a Big Ten – Iowa – versus Pac-10 – California – match-up in first round action of College Sports Television’s “Crystal Bowl II.”

Crystal Bowl II Presented By XBOX kicks off Wednesday, December 15, when CSTV airs a one-hour special (7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT) featuring a breakdown of the 16-team field, as well as first-round scores and highlights. Subsequent playoff rounds will be covered on CSTV each week, with the Crystal Bowl II Presented By XBOX national champion being crowned on CSTV Jan. 4 at halftime of the BCS Championship Game.

CSTV’s Wish Bowl II

In addition to its 16-team playoffs, CSTV will present Wish Bowl II on Jan. 9, a special championship match-up which takes into consideration the four undefeated teams included in the BCS and the Crystal Bowl II Presented By XBOX playoffs. If Auburn wins its Sugar Bowl BCS game against Virginia Tech, CSTV’s Wish Bowl II will pit Auburn against the winner of the Southern California-Oklahoma Orange Bowl BCS national championship game. If Auburn loses, Wish Bowl II will feature Utah against the Orange Bowl winner.

CSTV Crystal Bowl II Presented By XBOX first-round games and weather forecast are as follows. Click <> for the full bracket.

#16 Harvard at #1 Southern California
Sunny and 65 degrees

#15 Tennessee at #2 Oklahoma
Sunny and 55 degrees

#14 Miami at #3 Auburn
Rain and 43 degrees

#13 Michigan at #4 Texas
Sunny and 65 degrees

#12 Iowa at #5 California
Sunny and 60 degrees

#11 Louisiana State at #6 Utah
Snow and 20 degrees

#10 Louisville at #7 Georgia
Sunny and 56 degrees

#9 Boise State at #8 Virginia Tech
Rain and 40 degrees

CSTV’s Crystal Bowl II Presented by XBOX
Telecast Schedule

? Wednesday, December 15 (7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT): playoff overview, and first round scores and highlights

? Wednesday, December 22 (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT): quarterfinal scores and highlights

? Wednesday, December 29 (approximately 8:45 p.m. ET/5:45 p.m. PT at intermissions of CSTV’s Everblades hockey tournament coverage): semifinals scores and highlights

? Tuesday, January 4 (halftime of BCS Championship Game): championship score and highlights

? Sunday, January 9: Wish Bowl II (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT)

CSTV is a multi-media company that consists of the first-ever 24-hour college sports television network, College Sports TV; the leading college sports online network, CollegeSports.com; and the first ever 24-hour college sports radio network, SIRIUS College Sports Radio. Through its numerous platforms, CSTV provides more live college sports games, events, news, information, analysis and broadband content, and reaches more college sports fans, than any other company.

College Sports TV, voted the No. 1 emerging cable network in a recent Beta research study, televises regular season and championship event coverage from over 35 men’s and women’s sports across every major collegiate athletic conference, as well as many NCAA and NAIA Championships.

CollegeSports.com, the most-trafficked college sports Web site, and its network of more than 170 official athletic sites are the No. 1 online source for college sports broadband content, news, information, scores and analysis. SIRIUS College Sports Radio will broadcast a comprehensive package of college football and basketball games from teams in the Big Ten, Big 12, BIG EAST, Pac-10 and SEC conferences, as well as from Notre Dame.

CSTV was co-founded by President and CEO Brian Bedol, Chairman Steve Greenberg and Executive Vice President Chris Bevilacqua. Bedol and Greenberg co-founded Classic Sports Network, which they sold to ESPN. It is now ESPN Classic. Bevilacqua is a former senior executive with Nike Inc., where he headed the company’s successful foray into the college market.