The Penn State Nittany Lions are most likely heading to the 2009 Rose Bowl. Now, where will the rest of the top teams head for Bowl Season? Some of our experts have these predictions:
Rose Bowl - This is the easiest bowl to determine at this point. We already know Penn State is going. They will be facing off against the winner of the Pac-10, Oregon State or USC. Even though USC has a better overall record, both teams have the same conference record with Oregon State having the tiebreaker. With a victory over #23 Oregon, we will be seeing an Oregon State/Penn State Rose Bowl.
Orange Bowl - With the Orange Bowl, we typically see the winner of the Big East play the winner of the ACC. The Big East is a more obvious right now. Cincinnati is currently leading the conference over West Virginia. With a victory this weekend, Cincy will clinch their BCS berth. West Virginia will need to win its two final games and a Cincinnati loss to go to the Orange Bowl.
The ACC is up for the grabs. We don't even know who is playing in the ACC Championship. In the Atlantic Division, Boston College will head to the conference championship with a win. If they lose, Florida State clinches. The same goes for Virginia Tech in the Coastal Division. They go to the ACC Championship win a win, and a loss brings Georgia Tech to the big game.
Sugar Bowl - This game is usually the runner up in the SEC and an at large-bid team. Since we know Alabama and Florida are facing off in the SEC Championship, the loser will go to Sugar Bowl (with the winner going to the National Championship). The Utah Utes have finished their season with a 12-0 record. Since they are undefeated and currently ranked 6 in the BCS Standings, they will make a BCS appearance, with the most likely option as the Sugar Bowl.
Fiesta Bowl - Here is where the fun begins. First, USC will be heading here as long as they win their two remaining games. However, with an Oregon State loss, USC will go to the Rose Bowl. The Fiesta Bowl usually invites the Big 12 winner and an at-large team, which is where USC falls into place. The Big 12 is, well....interesting.
Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech could all make this game. Missouri is in if they win the Big 12 Championship. Right now, if Texas, Oklahoma or a Texas Tech win the Big 12 Championship, they will be heading to the national championship. The runner-up in the conference will be heading to the Fiesta bowl.
National Championship- The winner of the SEC Championship between Florida and Alabama will play in the big game. As stated above, the winner of the Big 12 Championship (except Missouri) will be heading to the National Championship, as long as none of those three teams lose any of their games. If all 3 teams lose in the next two weeks including the Big 12 Championship, that opens the door for USC, Penn State, Utah, and even the loser of the SEC Championship.
If all 3 teams win this weekend, the tie breaker, supposedly, will be the current BCS Standings. With that in mind, Texas is currently the leader. However, an Oklahoma win over a 12 ranked team might surpass the Longhorns. We will wait for the BCS Standings to decide that.
Mike