With four more weeks remaining in college football’s regular season, here are CFT’s 2009-10 bowl projections.
Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany can’t be happy with what happened last week, which cost his league some big bucks and put USC back in the BCS mix. But the Trojans don’t exactly appear ready to run the rest of their table, so Iowa and Penn State, along with Miami (Fla.), still have their hopes.
Click HERE for a “who’s who” of bowl eligibility.
Bowl Championship Series Title Game
January 7 — Pasadena, Calif.
BCS No. 1 vs. BCS No. 2
Projection: Florida vs. Texas
BCS — Orange Bowl
January 5 — Miami Gardens, Fla.
BCS vs. BCS (ACC champion if available)
Projection: Georgia Tech vs. Cincinnati
BCS — Fiesta Bowl
January 4 — Glendale, Ariz.
BCS vs. BCS (Big 12 champion if available)
Projection: USC vs. TCU
BCS — Sugar Bowl
January 1 — New Orleans
BCS vs. BCS (SEC champion if available)
Projection: Alabama vs. Boise State
BCS — Rose Bowl
January 1 — Pasadena, Calif.
BCS (Big Ten champion if available) vs. BCS (Pac 10 champion if available)
Projection: Ohio State vs. Oregon
GMAC Bowl
January 6 — Mobile, Ala.
ACC No. 9 vs. MAC No. 2
Projection: Middle Tennessee State* vs. Northern Illinois
(* no eligible ACC team available)
Alamo Bowl
January 2 — San Antonio
Big Ten No. 4-5 vs. Big 12 No. 4-5
Projection: Michigan State vs. Kansas State
Papajohns.com Bowl
January 2 — Birmingham, Ala.
Big East No. 5 (or Sun Belt if none eligible) vs. SEC No. 9
Projection: West Virginia vs. Kentucky
Cotton Bowl
January 2 — Arlington, Texas
Big 12 No. 2 vs. SEC No. 3-4
Projection: Nebraska vs. Auburn
International Bowl
January 2 — Toronto
Big East No. 4 vs. MAC No. 3
Projection: Rutgers vs. Temple
Liberty Bowl
January 2 — Memphis, Tenn.
C-USA No. 1 vs. SEC No. 6-7
Projection: Houston vs. South Carolina
Gator Bowl
January 1 — Jacksonville, Fla.
ACC No. 3 vs. Big East No. 2, Big 12 No. 4, or Notre Dame
Projection: Miami (Fla.) vs. Notre Dame (old school “Convicts vs. Catholics” clash!)
Capital One Bowl
January 1 — Orlando, Fla.
Big Ten No. 2 vs. SEC No. 2
Projection: Iowa vs. LSU
Outback Bowl
January 1 — Tampa, Fla.
Big Ten No. 3 vs. SEC No. 3-4
Projection: Penn State vs. Tennessee (fascinating coaching matchup)
Chick-fil-A Bowl
December 31 — Atlanta
ACC No. 2 vs. SEC No. 5
Projection: Virginia Tech vs. Georgia
Insight Bowl
December 31 — Tempe, Ariz.
Big Ten No. 6 vs. Big 12 No. 6
Projection: Northwestern vs. Texas Tech
Sun Bowl
December 31 — El Paso, Texas
Pac 10 No. 3 vs. Big East No. 2, Big 12 No. 5 or Notre Dame
Projection: Arizona vs. Oklahoma (Stoops Bowl!)
Armed Forces Bowl
December 31 — Fort Worth, Texas
Mountain West No. 3-4 vs. C-USA No. 3
Projection: Air Force vs. East Carolina
Texas Bowl
December 30 — Houston
Big 12 No. 8 vs. C-USA No. 7 or Navy
Projection: Texas A&M vs. Navy (accepted bid)
December 30 — Boise, Idaho
Mountain West No. 5 vs. WAC
Projection: Iowa State* vs. Idaho
(* no eligible MWC team available)
Holiday Bowl
December 30 — San Diego
Big 12 No. 3 vs. Pac 10 No. 2
Projection: Oklahoma State vs. Oregon State (OSU showdown)
EagleBank Bowl
December 30 — Washington D.C.
ACC No. 8 or MAC No. 4 vs. C-USA No. 6 or Army
Projection: Ohio vs. Marshall
Champs Sports Bowl
December 29 — Orlando, Fla.
ACC No. 4 vs. Big Ten No. 4-5
Projection: Clemson vs. Wisconsin
Independence Bowl
December 28 — Shreveport, La.
Big 12 No. 7 vs. SEC No. 8 (or Sun Belt if none eligible)
Projection: Missouri vs. Arkansas
Music City Bowl
December 27 — Nashville, Tenn.
ACC No. 5 vs. SEC No. 6-7
Projection: Boston College vs. Mississippi
Little Caesars Pizza Bowl
December 26 — Detroit
Big Ten No. 7 vs. MAC No. 1
Projection: Minnesota vs. Central Michigan
Meineke Car Care Bowl
December 26 — Charlotte, N.C.
ACC No. 6 vs. Big East No. 3
Projection: Florida State vs. Pittsburgh
Emerald Bowl
December 26 — San Francisco
ACC No. 7 vs. Pac 10 No. 4-5
Projection: North Carolina vs. Stanford
Hawai’i Bowl
December 24 — Honolulu
C-USA No. 2 vs. WAC
Projection: SMU vs. Nevada (June Jones back in Hawai’i)
Poinsettia Bowl
December 23 — San Diego
Mountain West No. 2 vs. Pac 10 No. 6 (or WAC if none eligible)
Projection: Brigham Young vs. UCLA (Cougars beat Bruins, 59-0, last year)
MAACO Bowl
December 22 — Las Vegas
Mountain West No. 1 vs. Pac 10 No. 4-5
Projection: Utah vs. California
New Orleans Bowl
December 20 — New Orleans
C-USA No. 4 vs. Sun Belt champion
Projection: Southern Miss vs. Troy
St. Petersburg Bowl
December 19 — St. Petersburg, Fla.
Big East No. 6 (or Sun Belt if none eligible) vs. C-USA No. 5
Projection: South Florida vs. Central Florida
New Mexico Bowl
December 19 — Albuquerque
Mountain West No. 3-4 vs. WAC
Projection: San Diego State vs. Fresno State (they should start a regular season rivalry)
