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The spoilers tried to spoil...but failed. Holding a 17-14 lead with :51 left on the clock the LSU Tigers couldn't bring down T.J. Yeldon, who scrambled into the end-zone to give the Crimson Tide a victory in Death Valley. Oklahoma State kept it within a touchdown until Collin Klein went HAM and ran all over the Cowboys. However, he also went down with an injury. It's uncertain whether or not he'll play this week. Fortunately, they get TCU and Baylor before finishing up the season with Texas.
Pittsburgh attempted to solve the "Notre Dame" problem by taking a 20-6 lead into the 4th quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Then Pittsburgh realized they were Pittsburgh, giving up 14 straight points, missing a field goal and something something Tino Sunseri throwing his kicker under the bus. If any Big Ten fans watched the Oregon vs. USC game their heads would've exploded or they would've dropped the remote and immediately went to church. Oregon went for 730 yards, USC went for 615, Mariota threw 4 TDs, Barkley thew 5 and etc. etc. etc. PS: Oregon won.
Arizona State took a 19-10 lead on the Oregon State Beavers early in the second quarter before giving up 26 answered points and eventually losing 26-36. Todd Graham is now looking into Oregon State as his next dream job. How about Mississippi State? I think we all knew that wasn't going to last. They got crushed by Texas A&M, a team that is capitalizing on a laughable schedule and 2nd in the SEC West.
Hey everybody who asked why I wasn't putting Boise State in a BCS bowl: LOLOLOLOL. Moving on.
West Virginia is looking into whether they can get back into the Big East. Yikes.
Nebraska continues to have a firm hold on the Big Ten West after some late game heroics from T-Mart against the Michigan State Spartans. Penn State wins, Michigan wins, Ohio State wins, Indiana wins, Iowa and Purdue fans commit seppuku and Illinois fans look forward to...whatever sport it is that they play in the winter that they're good at because it isn't even basketball anymore. More like IlLOLini amirite?
Most of the bowl projections are the same but that doesn't mean they're not enjoyable!
First, remember the rules:
- The best teams don't always go to the best games. In the end, butts in the seat and eyes to the television are the biggest factors.
- The order of BCS selection (and we're bringing the title game back to South Beach this season) is 1) Replacement for #1 Team; 2) Replacement for #2 Team; 3) Fiesta Bowl; 4) Sugar Bowl; 5) Orange Bowl.
- If a Big Ten or Pac-10 team qualifies for the BCS Championship Game, the Rose Bowl will NOT be required to take a non-automatic qualifier. This was only required of the Rose Bowl the first time (2010 season) it occurred over the current four-year contract.
- The Insight Bowl is now the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl. Per the one and only Brendan Stiles, the Gator Bowl gets the first pick between the two.
- Apparently, the Outback Bowl only takes teams from the SEC East and Auburn.
- The TicketCity Bowl is now the Heart of Dallas Bowl.
Here's a full breakdown of the Big Ten bowl tie-ins:
|
Pick |
Bowl Game |
Opponent |
|
No. 1 |
Rose Bowl |
Pac-12 No. 1 or BCS |
|
No. 2 |
Capital One Bowl |
SEC No. 2 |
|
No. 3 |
Outback Bowl |
SEC No. 3 |
|
No. 4 |
Gator Bowl |
SEC No. 6 |
|
No. 5 |
Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl |
Big 12 No. 4 |
|
No. 6 |
Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas |
Big 12 No. 6 |
|
No. 7 |
Heart of Dallas Bowl |
Big 12 No. 8 |
|
No. 8 |
Little Caesars Pizza Bowl |
MAC |
Now that we've gotten the formalities out of the way, let's get to the projections.
|
BCS |
|
|
|
Why Alabama: Who can beat the Crimson Tide? Someone care to make a stupid argument? Why Oregon: Oregon is now up to 3rd in the BCS and K-State may be without their Heisman-worthy QB for a couple weeks. So while the Wildcats may not lose those games, their victories won't be as sexy. |
|
Rose |
|
|
|
Why Nebraska: Best damn team in the land. Well, Big Ten land. Which makes them like the 25th best team in the nation. Why Oregon State: The Beavers continued their exceptional season by beating Arizona State and now sit at 7-1. A big matchup with Stanford is up next week. |
|
Fiesta |
|
|
|
Why Kansas State: How will K-State do without Klein? We might see. Why Notre Dame: Prepare for a Lou Holtz meltdown when the Irish don't make the title game. |
|
Sugar |
|
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Why Florida: The Gators only beat Missouri 14-7. That's what we call a letdown game. Up next are two tough games against LA-Lafayette and Jacksonville State. Why Oklahoma: No change here. |
|
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Orange |
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Why Florida State: No change. Why Louisville: No change. |
|
Capital One |
|
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Why Michigan: No change. Why Georgia: No change. |
|
Outback |
|
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Why Northwestern: No change. Why South Carolina: The Gamecocks fall here after tiebreakers. |
|
Gator |
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Why Wisconsin: No change. Why Mississippi State: Losing to Texas A&M will do that. |
|
BWW |
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Why Michigan State: Sparty will finish the season with 3 conference wins and a tiebreaker over Minnesota. Why Texas: Still not buying Texas. |
|
Car Care |
|
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Why Minnesota: Because anyone could beat Illinois. Why Oklahoma State: Oklahoma State playing in this game will be decided by whether or not they can beat West Virginia. I don't believe they can. |
|
Heart of Dallas |
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Why Iowa State: Because Iowa State can beat Kansas (they could also lose) and there aren't enough Big Ten teams. Why ECU: Why not? |
|
Little Caesars |
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Why Arkansas State: /name out of hat Why Ohio: Ohio can beat Kent State, right? |
|
Ro*Tel |
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Why Iowa: Something like this. Why Illinois: Fire Tim Beckman? Why Indiana: As much as I find the Indiana Doomsday Scenario entertaining, I also don't find it realistic. Why Ohio State: Fire Jim Tressel? Why Penn State: Fire...welp, nevermind. Why Purdue: Hire Joe Tiller? |
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All helmet images credit to The Helmet Project.