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Post Week 8 - 2011 Bowl Projections

By Bama Hawkeye
BOISE, ID - OCTOBER 22: Doug Martin #22 of the Boise State Broncos leaps into the end zone for a touchdown against the Air Force Falcons at Bronco Stadium on October 22, 2011 in Boise, Idaho. (Photo by Otto Kitsinger III/Getty Images)
BOISE, ID - OCTOBER 22: Doug Martin #22 of the Boise State Broncos leaps into the end zone for a touchdown against the Air Force Falcons at Bronco Stadium on October 22, 2011 in Boise, Idaho. (Photo by Otto Kitsinger III/Getty Images)
Getty Images

I got home last night just in time to see Kirk Cousins complete his last two passes against the Badgers. I flipped the channel and saw Texas Tech play better against Oklahoma than they ever did under Mike Leach. And yet, the big winner last night may have been Boise State. 

Follow with me here. I think that Oklahoma will beat the rest of the teams on its schedule, including Oklahoma State and Kansas State. I think that Oregon will beat Stanford. I think that Clemson will Clemson a game somewhere down the stretch. I don't think that Houston matters. It could well be that when all is said and done, we're left with an undefeated SEC Champion (13 days until this year's biggest football game in the history of the world) and an undefeated Boise State sitting above all others. Would the pollsters prevent Boise from getting to the BCS title game if the only other option are one-loss teams? I can't see it, not after the last five years and two BCS Bowl wins. Boise State has shown that it belongs at this level. 

Get your slingshots ready, this is the year that David finally meets the biggest of Goliaths.

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I was at the Alabama-Tennessee game last night. The "LSU" chant at the end of the game sounded like a war cry. It's going to be some kind of atmosphere.

Yep, Boise gets its shot.
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Whether it's Michigan State or Nebraska, Wisconsin wins the rematch.

Here's a fun question: if Oregon doesn't play LSU in the season opener, do they go to the BCS title game?
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Oklahoma is nothing if not predictable. You know that they'll drop one they shouldn't at some point. I just didn't see it happening at home.

Stanford is really good. I just think that Oregon is a little bit better.
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In the "It Hurt Me More When Nick Saban Spurned Me Bowl"...

The Alabama-LSU loser will go here.

I think that we'll be looking at the Nebraska-MSU winner (provided that it's 11-1 before losing to Wisky in the B1G Title Game) or Oklahoma State for this spot. My guess is that the Sugar Bowl goes with the Big Ten. I was wrong on Sparty this year. I didn't think that they had this stretch in them.
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Clemson is going to lose, right? Does anybody want to see them in the title game?

Thank you to West Virginia for reminding us that the Big East doesn't have any Top 15 teams - no matter what their records are.
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That big game in Lincoln this weekend just got huge.

Arkansas is going to finish 10-2 with their only losses to the two best teams in college football. That's rough.
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I'm penciling in Michigan at 9-3, but if they get to 10-2, expect to see them getting rolled in a BCS bowl.

Georgia wins the SEC East and loses by 20 in the SEC Title game.
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Penn State is 7-1 (4-0), and yet their best win was at home against Iowa. Now that things are getting tougher, I expect them to drop at least two more games.

K-State has a brutal finishing stretch, but at 7-0, they've already exceeded the win total that most foresaw for them.
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Ohio State is good enough to win out. They're questionable enough to drop three games. I see them somewhere in between and in Jacksonville.

South Carolina has a tough finishing stretch and the kinds of injuries that make me think they've already played their best football of the season.
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Can Iowa get to eight wins? Slow down. That game at Purdue is looking tough, and that was an expected win in order to get to seven. Iowa could go from 6-2 to 6-6 if the defense doesn't get better.

A tip of the hat to the Red Raiders. That was a fantastic performance.
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If Illinois has lost five in a row, spoiling the 6-0 start, does the Zooker still have his job when Illinois travels to Minnesota at the end of the year?

Pick the best team from the C-USA West not named Houston. 
Littlecaesarsbowl_2009_sm_medium_medium_medium_medium_medium_medium_medium Florida_international_medium_medium Toledo_medium_medium With the Big Ten unable to fill its slot, FIU goes to Detroit and faces MAC Champ Toledo.
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When you can't get to six wins, you're on the couch with the Queso Bowl.

Looking at Purdue's schedule, it could all come down to the Novmber 20 game against Iowa. Win that (the win against Indiana the following week is implied), and the Boilers and slip into a bowl game - likely the Pizza.

Indiana was mathematically eliminated with the loss to Iowa. Minnesota can be eliminated with a loss to Iowa this weekend. Northwestern may be the most underachieving team in college football. More on that later this week...