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One of the best parts of the holiday season is college football bowl season. While our Owls are still not on the gridiron, we can still have some fun with what the break has in store for college football fans. Here’s The Sentinel’s BCS bowl projections. (As of Nov. 16)
ROSE BOWL: OREGON VS. NEBRASKA
The Sentinel: Oregon has a gauntlet left with Stanford, Oregon State, and the likely Pac-12 title game vs. USC. The stretch here is predicting the Ducks will lose once, or twice in its final three games. Nebraska will win the Big Ten title game over Wisconsin to earn an automatic Rose Bowl bid.
ORANGE BOWL: FLORIDA STATE VS. LOUISVILLE
The Sentinel: Yes, it seems lame that the Big East still gets an automatic qualification for the BCS, but Louisville, Rutgers and Cincinnati all have been impressive this year. Here’s to Louisville pulling out the conference title. Florida State has been one of the most overlooked teams all year out of the ACC, and should dominate this game.
SUGAR BOWL: CLEMSON VS. GEORGIA
The Sentinel: A Georgia win over Alabama in the SEC title game would regularly send the SEC champion to the national championship, but if the Bulldogs win, they still won’t have enough style points to impress human voters. Yep, a Georgia win could end the SEC’s national title streak. But, this matchup would bring back a great old rivalry. Clemson has been awesome all year, little to the attention of the masses.
FIESTA BOWL: OKLAHOMA VS. TEXAS A&M
The Sentinel: This Fiesta Bowl would bring back an old Big XII matchup. Texas A&M is on a roll with Johnny “Football” Manziel at the helm, and a 10-2 finish could send the Aggies to the Fiesta Bowl, rather than an 11-2 Alabama team. Manziel’s possible Heisman campaign could make TAMU a sexy pick, and a regionally relevant one. Oklahoma will replace Kansas State as the Wildcats will be heading for a chance at the Crystal Ball.
BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: NOTRE DAME VS. KANSAS STATE
The Sentinel: Yes, this can happen. Kansas State has been best this year down the stretch, against the best competition. Wins over Baylor and Texas, in a nailbiter, will send Bill Snyder and the Wildcats to Miami. Even better, Notre Dame will finish undefeated and make an appearance simply because the human voters can’t say no.