BCS Projections

It's November and that means it's time to get out the calculators and start figuring who will go to which bowl.

This entire BCS System is a nightmare, but bowl season is a unique beast in and of itself. Still, it's time to begin projecting the five BCS bowl games and who will be playing in them.


BCS Championship Game:

I knew as soon as Alabama began struggling with LSU last week that this BCS Championship was gift-wrapped for Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators--a team that lost to Ole Miss not too long ago. Texas will probably make it back into title contention after Oklahoma wipes out Texas Tech. Oklahoma, though, won't be able to motor into the Big 12 Championship Game against Missouri. Texas will take care of the Tigers and then probably give way to the Gators in Miami just when it looked like the SEC was down and out.


Rose Bowl Game:

As much as I hated the pounding USC gave Ohio State, I really wasn't too keen on Penn State's choke job to Iowa even though the Nits' beat the Buckeyes. Penn State will take care of business against Sparty in two weeks, and Oregon State will stumble in its bid to keep USC out of the Rose Bowl. This game will be a battle of (two)teams that beat the Buckeyes during the regular season.

Fiesta Bowl:

It's not exactly a matchup you see everyday, but this one is a big if--and I mean BIG. That's because Ohio State is going to have to get past Illinois and Michigan--two rivals--in order to have any chance at a BCS bowl. Personally, I think you're asking Terrelle Pryor to do a lot here. Oh, and by the way, I don't see Texas Tech keeping up too much momentum. If Oklahoma beats Tech, then the Sooners will meet the Buckeyes for the first time since the early 1990s.

Orange Bowl:

Could you have umagined these two teams in a BCS bowl before the season started? Me neither. This is still going to be the least intriguing bowl of the postseason.

Sugar Bowl:

Well, isn't this lovely? It's the SEC's bowl game right in SEC territory. For all the fans in the bayou who hate Nick Saban, I suggest you prepare yourself. I fully expect the Tide to wind up here in a consolation prize after losing to Florida in the SEC title game. Boise State, meanwhile, will get to see if it can live up to its 2006 Fiesta Bowl miracle against a solid team from the "toughest conference in the nation."

So there they are--my projections for the 2008 BCS bowls. They are open to debate, and you may or may not like my ideas. I don't select the bowls, but if I did, these are the matchups I'd take if available. Unfortunately, sometimes money is worth more to the selection committees than great entertainment (which logically equals ratings which, in turn, equal more money).