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Much of the drama of where teams will be playing this bowl season was worked out Saturday night. With the two OSU losses (Oklahoma State and Ohio State), things got shifted around a bit.
If you are a glutton for punishment and want to watch ESPN milk the whole thing and show a certain Iron Bowl play 4,000 times on the Official BCS Selection Show on ESPN this evening, then read no further. If you want to save yourself the aggravation of Jesse Palmer et al, below are predictions for the BCS, SEC and a few other nuggets. However, these are hardly predictions as some of the match-ups are pretty obvious.
BCS Games | ||||
Bowl | Date | Location | Matchup | Prediction |
Fiesta | 01/01/13 | Glendale, AZ | Big 12/BCS vs BCS | Baylor vs. UCF |
Rose | 01/01/13 | Pasadena, CA | Big Ten/BCS vs Pac-12/BCS | Michigan State vs. Stanford |
Sugar | 01/02/13 | New Orleans, LA | SEC/BCS vs BCS | Alabama vs. Oklahoma |
Orange | 01/03/13 | Miami, FL | ACC/BCS vs BCS | Clemson vs. Ohio State |
BCS Title Game | 01/06/13 | Pasadena, CA | BCS vs BCS | Florida State vs. Auburn |
Fiesta - I like that the bowl-buster UCF gets Baylor instead of a traditional power. As we well know, when one of these little guys comes to play a big boy in a consolation game, it is easier for the little guy to get fired up for the game and for the big boy to be let down. This is how it should be: let the two upstarts play each other.
Sugar - Bama got an upgrade from the Orange against lame-o Clemson. The Tide has a two game losing streak to the Sooners (thanks a lot, Shula) that we'd love to see snapped.
Non-BCS Games | ||||
Bowl | Date | Location | Matchup | Prediction |
Alamo | 12/30/13 | San Antonio, TX | Pac-12 No. 2 vs. Big 12 No. 3 |
Oregon vs. Texas |
Music City | 12/30/13 | Nashville, TN | SEC No. 7 vs. ACC No. 6 |
Ole Miss vs. Georgia Tech |
Chick-fil-A | 12/31/13 | Atlanta, GA | ACC No. 2 vs. SEC No. 5 | Duke vs. Texas A&M |
Liberty | 12/31/13 | Memphis, TN | C-USA No. 1 vs. American/SEC No. 8/9 | Rice vs. Mississippi State |
Outback | 01/01/13 | Tampa, FL | Big Ten No. 3 vs. SEC | Iowa vs. LSU |
Capital One | 01/01/13 | Orlando, FL | Big Ten No. 2 vs. SEC No. 2 | Wisconsin vs. South Carolina |
Gator | 01/01/13 | Jacksonville, FL | Big Ten No. 4/5 vs. SEC No. 6 | Michigan vs. Georgia |
Cotton | 01/03/13 | Arlington, TX | Big 12 No. 2 vs. SEC | Oklahoma State vs. Missouri |
BBVA Compass | 01/04/13 | Birmingham, AL | SEC No. 8/9 vs. American No. 5/C-USA | Vanderbilt vs. Houston |
Alamo - No word on whether Saban will coach in this bowl too.
Chick-fil-A - If TAMU does not take Duke seriously, they could end the season on a 3-game losing streak.
Liberty - Some think Vandy might land here but the 'Dores would probably rather not have another bowl game inside the state of Tennessee.
Outback - LSU is likely a lock but the opponent could be Wisky instead of Iowa.
Capital One - See above.
Cotton - An old Big-12 match-up.
BBVA Compass - This little bowl is growing up with probably the best match-up ever. Vandy fans just hope James Franklin is around to coach it.
A few other interesting notes:
- Jim McElwain got Colorado State their 7th win and are slotted for their first bowl game since 2008. They should go to either Hawaii or New Mexico.
- Notre Dame is set to face Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl in Yankee Stadium. Quite a drop from where the Irish were a year ago. Another interesting note here is that this bowl is slated for the Big 12 No. 7 team. But the Big 12 only qualified SIX teams for bowl eligibility (snicker).
- For you Mobile residence, I am sorry to say that the GoDaddy.com Bowl set for January 5th will likely have Bowling Green vs. Arkansas State. My condolences. At least you still have the Senior Bowl.
* UPDATE: All of the above are correct with the exception of UGA playing Nebraska in the Gator instead of Michigan.
ROLL TIDE and FAU!