My Big Ten bowl predictions

[Faygo Kid]

OK, here goes; all depends on if Ohio State gets at-large berth in BCS. If they do:
Michigan: Rose
Ohio State: Fiesta
Purdue: Capital One
Iowa: Outback
Michigan State: Alamo
Minnesota: Sun
Wisconsin: Music City
Northwestern: Motor City
If Ohio State does not get at large bid:
Michigan: Rose
Ohio State: Capital One
Purdue: Outback
Iowa: Alamo
Michigan State: Sun
Wisconsin: Music City
Minnesota: Motor City
Northwestern: Good luck. You will need it.
MSU went 8-4, but beat both Minnesota and Iowa (both 9-3). That's why they stay out of Music City and Motor City. Wisconsin is a lock, at 7-5, for the Music City; I bet the deal is done. Minnesota does not travel well. That's why at 9-3 (5-3 Big Ten) they fall to Sun (not bad) or Motor City (wear your long johns, at least outside the domed stadium, although you Minnesotans would probably find this area tropical). Navy could beat out Northwestern in second scenario, as Northwestern would sell only about 2,000 tickets, and get creamed by MAC champ. Happy Thanksgiving!

[jeter]

1. I think it's easy to figure out who will get the bowl games at this point.

Who will win the conferences:

ACC: Florida State
Big 10: Michigan
PAC 10: USC
SEC: LSU
Big 12: Oklahoma
Big East: Miami

Then there will be two wild cards:

- 2nd place in PAC 10, because USC will be in Sugar Bowl. Therefore, Washington State.

- Georgia will be up there, so will Texas.

There are four major bowl games:

The Sugar Bowl (national championship game):
Oklahoma (1) vs. USC (2)

The Rose Bowl:
Michigan (4) vs. Washington State (9)

The Fiesta Bowl:
Florida State (?) vs. LSU (4)

The Orange Bowl:
Miami vs. Georgia/Texas

[Faygo Kid]

2. Nope. But, good effort.

You know your football. If USC goes to the Sugar Bowl, the Rose Bowl is free to pick an at-large team; say, Texas. They are not required to take Washington State, and will not do so. WSU is out of the BCS picture. If LSU wins out, they MIGHT overtake USC, based on strength of schedule. That would put USC in the Rose, LSU in the Sugar. But, lots of football (i.e., SEC championship game) left. Miami may not make it to the BCS; Florida State shouldn't, but will. Both Georgia and Texas are in the mix, but so is OSU, because they travel so well. Tennessee could slip into the picture, too. At any rate, I guarantee Washington State is gone from this mix. Convoluted; that's why I stuck to the Big Ten, whose season is over. I will slip into my coffin until next August, when I will awake and the college football season begins again (well, maybe watch a little hoops in March).

[VermontDem2004]

3. Your right

That is why no matter what conference a team is from they are guaranteed a BCS bowl game if they finish in the BCS top 6.

[SoCalProgressive]

9. Not always

BCS rules say that one conference may not be represented by more than two teams. So if OU, Texas, and Kansas (Mangino is the man, it will happen one day) are all ranked in the top 6, one would have to be consigned to the Cotton Bowl.

[Faygo Kid]

11. I assume you mean Kansas State, not Kansas

KSU, Road Kill for Oklahoma, will go to the Cotton Bowl, once they are beaten. By the way, given that bowl's history, that should be a BCS bowl, and the number of BCS bowls would then be five; ten teams instead of eight, and that would alleviate at least some of the criticism of the BCS system.

[SoCalProgressive]

16. I was talking about a hypothetical situation

in the future in which three teams from the same conference would end up being in the top 6, not what would happen THIS year.

And I was talking about the U of Kansas Jayhawks, 2-10 last year, 6-6 this year, 8-4 the next, and sooner or later Champions of the North. Coached by Mark Mangino, offensive coordinator with OU during a somewhat successful 2000 season.

I agree with you about the Cotton Bowl, it has rich and deep history and deserves to be considered a major bowl.

[Faygo Kid]

18. Hope springs eternal. KU vs. MSU, hoops, Tuesday night

You'll probably keeck our butts, from what I have seen. Hey, if MSU's football team could bounce back this year, why not Kansas? (Well, probably not. Dream on.)

[SoCalProgressive]

20. Actually...

I'm not a Jayhawk fan, I'm a Oklahoma fanatic (have been since the mid-90's).

And you might be worried about the Spartans playing Kansas in b-ball, but I'm worried about OU playing you guys way up there an Dec 6.

[Faygo Kid]

22. Enjoy! OU is awesome - best I have seen. B-ball? Who knows?

MSU is young in basketball, and weak in the front court. Athletic and talented, yes, but they REALLY have to improve to be a top 10 team. If OU loses this year in football, it will be the greatest upset of all time. Period. Miami last year wasn't even close to what OU is this year. And by the way, Jason White deserves the Heisman. I am no OU fan, that's just the way it is.

[joeybee12]

5. Agree about Florida State getting in, but shouldn't

I pray Florida beats them this weekend.

[Faygo Kid]

6. Non-conference game. FSU is in, dammit.

FSU has already won the ACC, so Bowden gets another automatic bid. Pathetic. C'mon, Maryland and the rest. This is ridiculous; SOMEBODY ought to beat those tomahawk-thumping chumps. Hope FSU enjoys it before Miami and Virginia Tech join the ACC in a couple years. Go Gators; sadly, they can't knock FSU out of an ill-deserved BCS slot.

[joeybee12]

12. Yeah, but if FL blows them away, it will prove how f**ked up the BCS

system is!

[VermontDem2004]

14. Florida won't blow them out

And it won't prove anything, Florida is not an ACC team. Florida State won the ACC, they deserve to go.

[Faygo Kid]

15. Well, they're going - but they are not that good.

Neither is Florida. It will be a fun game, but any of the other BCS contenders we have discussed here would blow out FSU. They did what they had to do, and congratulations for it - let's hope it's a good game, anyway.

[SoCalProgressive]

4. Wash-out State lost last night, likely ineligible

for a BCS bowl once the new rankings come out on Monday.

[Faygo Kid]

7. Yeah, they are gone. No chance.

No way. I mean, NO WAY will the Rose Bowl pick WSU if USC goes to the Sugar. Would like to see LSU in there, frankly, and it could happen. Nick Saban vs. U-M. Just like the recent old days.

[SmileyBoy]

8. Minnesota's got too good of a record to get the Motor City bowl.

It's either going to be the Alamo or Outback bowl for the Gophers.

[Faygo Kid]

10. Hope you're buying tickets, and going - Minn. to the Motor City.

Again, here's the deal: Minnesota fans have a bad rap for not traveling well. The Bowls are all about buck$. They want to make money for their communities. Minnesota is a great team (should have beat U-M, dammit! Maybe the most costly loss in their history), but be that as it may, they could get caught in the financial squeeze. Iowa and Michigan State fans travel better. That's just a fact. Iowa will go to a higher bowl; MSU beat Minnesota, so no excuses necessary. Wisconsin is a lock for the Music City Bowl; write it in. The solace? Minnesota vs. the MAC champ (as strong as the conference has ever been) would be a GREAT game. And, think of the warmth, compared to Minnesota, of Detroit in December (go to Greektown - great times there).

[SmileyBoy]

13. For MN to get the Motor City would mean a #8 bid.

The Gophers are tied for fourth place in the Big Ten. The 4, 5 and 6 bids are for the Outback, Alamo and Sun Bowls, respectively. If The Gophers got that bowl, that would mean both Wisconsin and Northwestern would have higher bids than them. Well, that would be ludicrous. The Gophers have better records than both the Badgers and Wildcats, and they beat both those teams. So it wouldn't make any sense.

I think either the Alamo or Outback bowls are the best possibility for the Gophers.

[Faygo Kid]

17. Au contraire, mon capitan

Minnesota is tied for third, with Iowa and Michigan State, and behind U-M, and Purdue and OSU (tied for second). Wisconsin is going to the Music City Bowl - it's a lock; deal is no doubt done. Northwestern COULD (and probably should) be left out. Check my post. No way NU beats out Minnesota. But, if OSU does NOT get a BCS bid, things do not fall Minnesota's way. Then, Iowa to Outback (they will pack the stadium and spend lots of money), MSU to Sun, and Minnesota to Motor City. Remember: The Bowls are NOT locked into the standings, once the top teams are picked. They won't get number 8, but they might get number 7. Like I said, that would be a game I would like to see.

[SmileyBoy]

23. The Motor City Bowl would not want the Gophers anyway.

The MC Bowl people would want a Big Ten team to play their game, they would want Northwestern to play Northern Illinois. Also, the Gophers have their place in line. Something a lot better than the Motor City Bowl will be accepted to them. The chances of the Motor City Bowl happening to the Gophers are basically zero.

Here's another thing. The Gophers won the Music City bowl last year against Arkansas with a 7-5 record before the game. they were 3-5 in the Big Ten. The Gophers are 9-3, 5-3 in the Big Ten this year. But you're expecting they'll get into the Motor City bowl, which involves a lower bid???

And money plays a role in it, but not like you think. Not many people would be interested in a Minnesota/Northern Illinois bowl game, INCLUDING big-money Minnesota fans. The reason is because the Gophers would kick the living shit out of the Huskies. How do you think the ratings would be for that type of game? Ask people if they would want to see a Minnesota/Northern Illinois bowl game, not many people would say yes. Ask people if they would want to see a Minnesota/Kentucky bowl game, many, many people would say yes.

Like i said, The Alamo or Outback bowls will be most likely, with an outside chance at the Sun Bowl.

[SmileyBoy]

24. Wrong about the standings:

1) Michigan - 7-1 (10-2)
t-2) Ohio State - 6-2 (10-2)
t-2) Purdue - 6-2 (9-3)
t-4) Iowa - 5-3 (9-3)
t-4) Minnesota - 5-3 (9-3)
t-4) Michigan State - (8-4)
7) Wisconsin - 4-4 (7-5)
8) Northwestern - 4-4 (6-6)

[Faygo Kid]

26. Standings right; analysis wrong

The Alamo Bowl is a higher rated bowl than the Sun Bowl. Northern Illinois will not go to the Motor City (Bowling Green, Miami or Toledo will. Check the MAC standings). Wisconsin ties up the Music City Bowl, leaving Iowa, Minnesota and MSU to vie for the Alamo, Sun and Motor City bowls (again, assuming Ohio State does NOT receive a BCS bid). If Ohio State does NOT receive a bid, Iowa to the Alamo, MSU to the Sun and Minnesota to the Motor City. If Ohio State GETS a BCS bid, Minnesota could go to the Alamo or Sun, and MSU to either, too, depending on who they pick (probably MSU goes ahead of Minnesota, again because of how the teams travel with fans). Better hope OSU gets a BCS slot.

[joeybee12]

19. Think Connecticut will get a bid?

They're probably better than most people think--certainly better than some of the teams that will get to bowls.

[Faygo Kid]

21. They should, but won't - check collegefootballnews.com

They have all the bowl projections. Good luck!

[SoCalProgressive]

25. Most likely not

The problem is that the bowls all have conference tie-ins, which makes it hard for any independent team (except ND, of course) to be invited. It could happen if there were less bowl eligible conference teams than spots; however, this year there are more bowl eligible conference teams than spots available.

But the real kicker will be that a 6-6 Notre Dame team will be invited to a bowl before a 9-3 Connecticut team will. But business is business...

[Ohio Dem]

27. One writer at ESPN thinks OSU will play Miami in the Orange Bowl.

Assuming Miami beats Pitt, of course.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?page=/bcsroad/1123

It's towards the bottom of the page.