[NU Sports] Big Ten bowl scene ...

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

What a wild day for the Big Ten bowl scenarios! With the dust settled, this
much we know ...

- MICHIGAN is in ... the Rose Bowl, that is. But through the back door.

- MICHIGAN STATE is out. I suppose if we lose at Hawaii and MSU wins, the
league and Motor City Bowl could plead for a waiver to allow a 6-6 team to
fill out the seventh league slot, but they blew it in Happy Valley.

- NORTHWESTERN is hanging in there! One win to go! With MSU's loss, we're
guaranteed a bowl with a win next week. But with OSU and Purdue winning and
only a game back of us in the standings, it's likely both will leapfrog us.
But I'd prefer Nashville to El Paso anyway!:)

_ PURDUE and OHIO STATE improved their status. WISCONSIN is in a free fall.

We have six in and one more on the cusp. A quick look at the league
standings before looking at the bowls ...

1) Michigan      7-1
1) Iowa          7-1
3) Wisconsin     6-2
4) NORTHWESTERN  5-3
5) Ohio State    4-4
5) Purdue        4-4
5) Michigan St.  4-4
8) Minnesota     3-5

But bowls never go according to that order, it seems. So an educated guess ...

BCS BOWLS
---------
- ORANGE: USC vs. Auburn - Silly me to have faith in this messed-up system
to get the matchup right, but the Tigers clearly deserve a shot and SC is
the poll's #1, so the voters wise up and give us this matchup for the title.

- FIESTA: Oklahoma vs. Utah - The "other" unbeatens clash here and it's a
great matchup of coaching minds.

- SUGAR: Miami vs. Boston College - VaTech/Pitt might be the alternate and
that could have a lot of fans if the game were played in Heinz Field ...
but the Superdome gets stuck with the Big Least bid ... at least the TV
viewers might tune in to see Flutie highlights.

BIG TEN BOWLS
-------------
- ROSE: Michigan vs. Cal - This is pretty much set in stone, with the
Wolverines a lock and Cal all but assured unless the Irish shock SC next
week or something. Lots of gold and blue, lots of offense and the
Granddaddy should be an entertaining game once again.

- CITRUS: Iowa vs. Georgia - The Hawks earned this by thumping Wisky and
the RV's are revved up to visit Mickey. Dunno if UGa will be as happy to be
there, having higher hopes than returning to Orlando. With that outlook and
a coach like Ferentz opposing 'em, I'm already smelling upset.

- OUTBACK: Wisconsin vs. Tennessee - The Badgers still don't get to go to
Disney World, but instead we get lots of Cheeseheads, lots of Rocky Top
orange and a good old-fashioned smashmouth slobberknocker of a game. Can
the Badgers stop the bleeding? If both teams show up with their A games, it
could be a great one ... it could also get ugly if the inconsistent teams
show up.

- ALAMO: Ohio State vs. Oklahoma State - Yeah, the Buckeyes lost to BOTH
Northwestern AND Purdue, but they get this bid ahead of them by rep. It
pays to be a scandal school, I guess.:) Seriously though, the big win
against Michigan sealed it. San Antonio's had the Boilers and Cats, but now
they can get the Bucks down there to face another OSU in what could be a
scoring bonanza.

- SUN: Purdue vs. UCLA - Once again, NU is passed over for a team WE BEAT
as Kyle Orton's TD machine is more attractive for TV audiences, I guess.
Oregon State could sneak in here for the Pac 10 and make it another
shootout bowl game, but the Bruins' return to the bowl scene is a better
story and they get the bid because ASU moved up to San Diego when Cal got
the BCS spot.

- MUSIC CITY: Northwestern vs. Alabama - If we can win at Hawaii, it's
looking more and more like NU will wind up in Nashville, and it's probably
for the best. A repeat of Detroit wouldn't draw as well, El Paso is in the
middle of the desert and we probably can't reasonably hope for San Antonio.
Nashville is a relatively short drive away for a lot of alumni, it's a fun
town to spend New Year's Eve in (even if you're not a country fan:) ) and
should get a big purple crowd to come see a "new" bowl site. As for our
foe, it's a tossup. Florida's win at FSU probably knocked them out. South
Carolina could sneak in for Lou's last game and all that jazz, but they may
have no players left after the suspensions from that embarassing brawl ...
the most likely SEC foe is Bama, making their grand return to the
postseason after exiting the SEC's "Probation Rotation" plan. It'd be a
heck of a D to go up against and a tough assignment - with lots of crimson
in the stands. It's also be another bowl against a huge historical power --
SC, UT, UNL and now Bama? Could be a good game, though. But we gotta win
first.

- MOTOR CITY: Minnesota vs. Toledo. The Gophers deservedly claim the last
spot, finishing two games behind the Cats and finishing on a big downer.
Again, since Mason called that trick play to run up the score on fourth
down in Minny's September win over us, the Gophers are 2-5 and we're 5-2.
Karma? It'd be a rematch if UM faces Toledo, but the Rockets are nearby and
will bring fans, plus with Minny's late slide, it could be a good revenge
chance for UT.

If we slip up at Hawaii, Minny moves up to Nashville and the Motor City
folks hope MSU beats Hawaii the following week and tries to pull every
possible string to get Sparty that last bid and an exemption. But hopefully
the Cats come to play next week and seal up a trip to Nashville.

GO CATS!!! BEAT HAWAII!!!
-SjT


888b   8888 O  R  T  H  W  E  S  T  E  R 888b   8888
8888b  Y888 ============================ 8888b  Y888
88888b  Y88 *     Stephen J. Truog     * 88888b  Y88
88 Y88b  88 * --- sjtruog at jorsm.com -- * 88 Y88b  88
88  Y88b 88 * --- Wildcat Football --- * 88  Y88b 88
88b  Y88888 * -- Illinois ------ 21 -- * 88b  Y88888
888b  Y8888 * -- NORTHWESTERN -- 28 -- * 888b  Y8888
8888   Y888 * ------ CATS WIN!!! ----- * 8888   Y888
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