Bowl Forecast
By The Gold Sheet
Following are our latest bowl projections through last weekend's action...
NEW MEXICO: Nevada vs. Air Force...With Boise likely headed for a BCS berth, WAC queue likely sends Wolf Pack to Albuquerque, Fresno to Honolulu, and surprising Idaho to Boise's Roady Humanitarian. Falcons might not want a third straight trip to Fort Worth's Armed Forces Bowl and opt for this assignment instead.
ST. PETERSBURG: South Florida vs. East Carolina...USF would be making a repeat appearance, but local flavor might not be a bad call in St. Pete. ECU will be instead gunning for a return trip to the Liberty Bowl (that goes along with the CUSA title). Watching football in The Trop remains a bit odd, however.
LAS VEGAS: Utah vs. Cal...We're not sure BYU wants to go back to the Las Vegas Bowl for a fifth straight year, although the heavy LDS population in Vegas would guarantee a sellout. Utah also has a lot of LDS support and should be a good draw at Sam Boyd Stadium.
NEW ORLEANS: Troy vs. UCF...The Trojans have drawn clear in the Sun Belt and will return to New Orleans. George O'Leary has the Golden Knights poised for a return to the postseason after a one-year hiatus.
POINSETTIA: Arizona vs. Wyoming...Cats' hopes for a better assignment took a blow with last week's loss vs. Cal. Wyo could secure bowl eligibility by beating CSU in the November 27 finale. These are pre-1978 WAC rivals!
HAWAII: Fresno State vs. SMU...Fresno is the logical WAC pick for Honolulu after spending the last two postseasons in Boise & Albuquerque. SMU would be an intriguing CUSA choice with the chance HC June Jones would return to the islands after his successful stint with the hometown Warriors between 1999-2007.
LITTLE CAESARS: Minnesota vs. Central Michigan...This would be CMU's fourth straight visit to what was formerly known as the Motor City Bowl, although we think the Chips' regional appeal would be again welcome by the Detroit bowl sponsors.
MEINEKE CAR CARE: Boston College vs. South Florida...The Eagles have ironically been coached by HC Frank Spaziani once before in this very game (as interim BC coach for the '06 game vs. Navy following Tom O'Brien's move to NC State).
EAGLE BANK: UConn vs. Northern Illinois...This bowl would like to pit Army vs. an ACC rep but we don't think the Black Knights of the Hudson will win the requisite six games for eligibility. We don't think the ACC will have enough eligible teams to fill its slot, either. With the Big East likely having an extra bowl-eligible team, RFK Stadium could be a nice landing spot for UConn and set up an all-Huskies battle with NIU (taking an ACC spot).
CHAMPS SPORTS: Michigan State vs. Florida State...With an in-state bowl vs. a beatable opponent, would this be an appropiate send-off game for Bobby Bowden?
EMERALD: UCLA vs. North Carolina...Bruins get bowl-eligible with one more win; get ready for the hoop references.
INDEPENDENCE: South Carolina vs. Middle Tennessee...Gamecocks need to win their finale vs. Clemson to assure themselves of a bowl. Already at 7 wins, MTSU could "procedurally" pip a couple of 6-6 Big XII entries to earn this spot.
PAPAJOHNS.COM: West Virginia vs. Kentucky...If this matchup occurs (which it might), some trivia expert is going to pull out the fact that these two met at this same Legion Field venue in the now-defunct All-American Bowl way back in 1983 (a game, by the way, won by the Mountaineers, 20-16).
ALAMO: Texas Tech vs. Wisconsin...If the Big Ten can get a BCS at-large team (Iowa or Penn State), the Alamo gets pushed down a rung in the Big Ten bowl ladder and might get Northwestern or Minnesota. Otherwise this should be Wisconsin's destination. Tech might need to beat Oklahoma this week to get this Alamo assignment.
ROADY'S HUMANITARIAN: Idaho vs. Bowling Green...Boise appears a natural destination for Idaho, especially with the hometown BSU Broncos likely BCS-bound. The Mountain West might not have enough bowl-eligible teams to fill this slot, and BGSU can step in if it wins (at home) vs. Akron and nearby Toledo in its last two.
TEXAS: Navy vs. Kansas State...Unlike Army, doubtful to qualify for its bowl date in D.C., Navy (ticketed for this assignment) has safely secured passage to the postseason for the seventh straight season. KSU needs to beat Nebraska this week to get bowl-eligible because of its 2 wins vs. FCS foes, otherwise Iowa State or Texas A&M could get this slot.
HOLIDAY: Southern Cal vs. Oklahoma...SC almost assuredly misses the BCS for the first time since 2001 but will be gladly welcomed in San Diego by a Holiday Bowl committee that has never hosted the Trojans. OU would make a nice "glamour game" even though neither are experiencing memorable seasons.
ARMED FORCES: BYU vs. Marshall...After four straight trips to the Las Vegas Bowl, it's time for a change of scenery for the Cougs, who likely end up in Fort Worth instead of other MWC slots elsewhere.
SUN: Oregon State vs. Missouri...This would be a rematch of OSU's wild 39-38 win in 2006.
MUSIC CITY: Auburn vs. Virginia Tech...Tigers were hoping for something better but unless they can beat Bama in the Iron Bowl, Nashville might suffice. The Hokies likely played themselves out of a better assignment with their recent loss vs. North Carolina.
INSIGHT: Nebraska vs. Northwestern...Rematch of 2000 Alamo Bowl; Cats will hope it is not a repeat of Huskers' 66-17 win.
CHICK-FIL-A: Miami-Florida vs. Georgia...Canes' last look at a BCS at-large likely evaporated in last week's loss vs. North Carolina. Meanwhile, Bulldogs positioned themselves for this slot after beating Auburn last week.
OUTBACK: Tennessee vs. Penn State...If the Vols can beat Vanderbilt and Kentucky to close the season, don't be surprised to see the SEC send Tennessee to Tampa. Penn State is holding on to remote BCS at-large hopes but is more likely to land here or in Orlando's Capital One.
CAPITAL ONE: Iowa vs. LSU...A chance for LSU to avenge its last-play 30-25 loss to the Hawkeyes in this game five years ago (Nick Saban's final game with the Tigers).
GATOR: Pitt vs. Clemson...Both are still dreaming about the BCS; instead, we likely get a rematch of the 1977 version of this game won by Pitt, 34-3. By the way, we're not projecting Notre Dame in a bowl.
COTTON: Ole Miss vs. Oklahoma State...This could be a rematch of the Cotton six years ago, won by the Rebels in Eli Manning's last game as a collegian, 31-28.
LIBERTY: Houston vs. Arkansas...We'd make sure to watch this likely shootout in what would also be an old SWC matchup, although there was always a kinship these two shared as the "outsiders" to the old-Texas school alliance. UH will need Marshall or Tulane to beat SMU to qualify for the CUSA title game, however.
INTERNATIONAL: Rutgers vs. Temple...The Owls would be doubly motivated to face an old Big East foe like Rutgers after being unceremoniously kicked out of the league a few years ago.
GMAC: Ohio vs. Southern Miss...This would be a rematch of the same game in '06, won by USM 28-7.
FIESTA: Boise State vs. Stanford...Wins vs. Cal and Notre Dame to close the season would make surprising Stanford a possible BCS at-large team. And though TCU is likely the "automatic" BCS buster, we think Boise will get an at-large BCS bid to the Fiesta.
ROSE: Ohio State vs. Oregon...Surprisingly, the Buckeyes have played in the Rose Bowl game just once in the past 25 years ('96 season). This would be a rematch of the 1958 Pasadena classic won by the Buckeyes, 10-7!
SUGAR: Alabama vs. TCU...This is the consolation prize for the loser of the SEC title game between Alabama & Florida. It also might be the best TCU can do in the BCS queue if Texas and the SEC champ remain undefeated.
SUGAR: Georgia Tech vs. Cincinnati...The Orange provides an ACC-Big East matchup if neither qualify for the title game. Too bad there isn't a playoff to make this game more meaningful
BCS TITLE GAME: Florida vs. Texas...We called for this in our preview issue and still think it is is the most-likely title pairing.