[NU Sports] Bowl Musings

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

Always fun to muse :), and this could all change tomorrow, but here we go ...

The two huge games I see left for the Big Ten race are ...

- Iowa @ Wisky tomorrow: A win by Bucky and they will be favored in all of their remaining games

- OSU @ PSU: Everyone keeps forgetting about JoePa, but if they survive their road swing to nemesis Michigan and NU in October, they have OSU at home and could win out.

And the big wild card in the race? Michigan. They're not good enough to win it all, but with that spunky QB and offense, they could ruin the hopes of PSU, Wisky or OSU ... just as they might have for Iowa had they not turned it over every other play!

Now for how it all shakes down ...

First off - will we get two in the BCS? The answer is almost certainly yes (unless Michigan makes it a mess) and it will likely be the winners of the two big games above -- OSU/PSU heads to Pasadena and Iowa/Wisky brings their hordes of fans to an at-large site. There are four at large spots ...

- SEC is getting 2 ... duh!
- Pac 10 is getting one, unless Oregon upsets SC, as the Trojans are really the only ones who could make an at-large with 2 losses there
- The Big East is getting one
- The Big XII is probably only getting one this year - the wild card would be if Nebraska came on strong
- The ACC is probably getting one, but Miami could be a BIG wild card as they trail VaTech and won't be in the title game, so they could win out ... but since the Orange Bowl now has to take the ACC champ instead of the ACC or Big East, and since Miami doesn't travel well, they could get hurt by the selection order (if the Orange could take the Big East champ instead, they have first pick and would almost certainly run at the U)

My guess ...

"TITLE" GAME: Florida vs. Texas
- Shoulda been last year's game ... Mack likes Pasadena upsets

ROSE: Penn State vs. Southern Cal
- A rematch of last year's game if the Nits win out

SUGAR: Alabama vs. Cincinnati
- They take the Tide to replace Gators, but get stuck with Cincy

FIESTA: Wisconsin vs. Boise State
- A 10-2 OSU is tempting, but 11-1 Bucky fills seats, too and is new

ORANGE: Virginia Tech vs. Nebraska
- Forced to take Hokies, they take nostalgia & Nebraska to fill seats

This would make the rest of the Big Ten lineup ...

CITRUS: Ohio State vs. LSU
- Two great defenses who've been let down by two terrible offenses

OUTBACK: Iowa vs. Tennessee
- Hawks don't like being stuck back in Tampa, but again get good matchup

ALAMO: Michigan vs. Oklahoma State
- Could be a fun shootout for the Big Ten's farewell to the Riverwalk

CHAMPS: Minnesota vs. Boston College
- Burgundy and gold ... blah

INSIGHT: Northwestern vs. Missouri
- A rematch in the desert? I think Fitz would like that

MOTOR CITY: Michigan State vs. Central Michigan
- Maybe it's my hope to see the Cats in the Valley of the Sun, but I'm hoping Detroit pulls strings to get Sparty sent to Motown, even though it's a rematch, to fill the seats

Alright, maybe switch those last two ... but I think we have a good chance of double-dipping in the BCS again, as all of our four candidates travel well and should have 10 or 11 wins.

That makes tomorrow's game with Sparty HUGE for bowl position -- we need the win, obviously, but we also need a win over our bowl competition, as the Gopher game already slipped away.

GO CATS!!!
-SjT


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