The Gator Bowl is in hot pursuit of an Ohio State-Florida matchup on Jan. 2 in Jacksonville, Fla.

It's really a hot pursuit of Urban Meyer, and everyone knows it.

The bowl says it's a matchup of the No. 6 team in the Southeastern Conference against the fourth-place team from the Big Ten. Yeah, sure.

Anyone who watched the pitiful display put on by the Gators on Saturday against Florida State knows a Jan. 2 bowl bid for that team is beyond laughable. As for the Buckeyes playing on Jan. 2? Let's get serious. The only reason this matchup has a chance is because in 2010, a rule change was made that allowed bowls to tender a bid to any team with a 6-6 record before one with more than six.

In other words, make your money anyway possible, and don't worry about more deserving teams.

This is a cheap ploy for a bowl that's struggled for years with New Year's Day credibility. The selling points won't be the teams. It will be Meyer, the ex-Florida coach who's expected to be named Ohio State's main football man this week.

It will be a sideshow, with little to do with the players. The college football world does not need this farce. At least not on Jan. 2, a day normally reserved for the game's top-notch teams.

- Mark Podolski | @mpodo