[NU Sports] Big Ten bowl outlook ...

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

Well, today was a good day for the league in terms of
getting a second BCS bid -- not only did OSU get a big
win, but Alabama's big loss knocks them out of the
Fiesta Bowl sweepstakes. There's a lot of football
left to play, but the scenario now looks like it's
VaTech and OSU for that last bid (sorry Oregon), and
OSU-ND has a lot more appeal than Hokies-Irish.

But you could always have a title game upset that
throws the picture off ... or with a couple losses,
VaTech could pull a Texas and earn an auto invite at
#4 in the BCS rankings.

With the Big Ten season complete - save for a trip to
Hawaii for the Cheeseheads (mmmmm, cheese luau!:) ),
though, here's one fan's guesstimate at the bowl
picture ...

BCS
===
* ROSE: USC vs. Texas - Only a major upset stops this
now
* SUGAR: LSU vs. West Virginia - Tigers fortunate to
hold off Auburn, though beating UGa in Atlanta will be
tough
* ORANGE: Penn State vs. Miami - A home game for the
Canes, but you can be there'll be a lot of folks from
PA there to renew this rivalry. Could be BCS #3 vs. #4
as well as a big ratings draw.
* FIESTA: Ohio State vs. Notre Dame - Since we don't
have the Rose Bowl in the afternoon, this one fills
the slot with a huge ratings game of Big Ten co-champs
vs. the Irish. And with an influx of leprechauns in
the Valley, I may even don scarlet and grey for a day
... well, maybe not that far!:)

BIG TEN
=======
* CITRUS: Wisconsin vs. Florida - The Badgers faced
UGa last year and Auburn's looking more impressive
than any SEC team now, but the home state Gators and
the well-traveled Cheeseheads will make this a hot
ticket in Orlando
* OUTBACK: Michigan vs. Auburn - Tough to see where
the SEC will slot its teams - will Bama go to Dallas?
Will UGa? Where do you put Auburn if the Peach really
wants Spurrier? But any SEC team vs. the Maize and
Blue is a great kickoff to bowl day and the way the
Tigers are playing lately, they gotta be on Jan. 2!
* ALAMO: Iowa vs. Oklahoma - Texas Tech earned the
Cotton bid and Colorado looks like they're headed to
San Diego, so that bumps out the Huskers and puts OU
here in a great plains matchup of talented coaches.
* SUN: Minnesota vs. UCLA - Could be a great showcase
game for the running backs. But UCLA really deserves a
better bowl.
* MUSIC CITY: Northwestern vs. South Carolina - If the
SEC can't get a second BCS team, one of their heavy
hitters slips to Nashville and that could be bad news
... but at least Spurrier vs. Walker promises a lot of
fireworks and points for the scoreboard!

BEST OF THE REST
================
* GATOR: Virginia Tech vs. Louisville - Yawn. If they
keep up the Big Least affiliation, bowl folks may swap
the Gator and Peach.
* COTTON: Texas Tech vs. Alabama - Dallas would prefer
OU-Bama for name's sake, but TT was in San Diego last
year.
* HOLIDAY: Colorado vs. Oregon - Could be a fun game,
and the Holiday Bowl usually is one of the best.
* PEACH: Florida State vs. Georgia - Bowl folks
probably prefer SC, but how can you knock the Dawgs
down much further? This used to be a BCS matchup.

It's fun to be in the mix again -- I don't see many
scenarios for us being favored in a bowl unless OSU
misses the BCS and we slip to the Motor City. But you
never know ...

GO CATS!!!
-SjT

* * * * * * * * *
STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!!


	
		
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