So, I'm sick. Very sick. How sick? When your doctor calls in the nurse specifically so she can look through into your ear to get a sense of "what a really, really bad ear infection" looks like, you're in bad shape.
So instead of, you know, working at work today, I kept myself preoccupied from the screaming pain in my left ear (which I had attributed before to listening to Steve Lavin call the USC/Southern Illinois basketball game last night) by doing some projections for the upcoming bowl season. Not just the BCS bowls, but all of them.
This is all preliminary, and although I did some research to get a sense of what the rumor mill is saying about destinations, I also used some gut instincts. The big thing you'll notice is that I have Oklahoma upsetting Missouri and knocking them out of the BCS Title game this weekend. Which would be totally appropriate - instead of getting a really exciting match-up with lots of offense, we'd be stuck with Ohio State lumbering in to get taken to the woodshed again (this time by West Virginia). I'm also assuming that if Ohio State plays for the national title, the Rose Bowl would select Illinois to take its place - they are all gooey and nostalgic for the Big 10/Pac 10 match-ups.
Agree with them or disagree, here are my bowl projections:
| Game | Match Up | Teams | ||||||
| BCS Title | BCS #1 | vs. | BCS #2 | West Virginia | vs. | Ohio St. | ||
| Rose Bowl | Pac-10 Champ | vs. | Big 10 Champ | USC | vs. | Illinois | ||
| Fiesta Bowl | Big 12 Champ | vs. | At-Large | Oklahoma | vs. | Georgia | ||
| Orange Bowl | ACC Champ | vs. | At-Large | Virginia Tech | vs. | Missouri | ||
| Sugar Bowl | SEC Champ | vs. | At-Large | LSU | vs. | Hawaii | ||
| Capital One Bowl | SEC #2 | vs. | Big 10 #2 | Florida | vs. | Wisconsin | ||
| Gator Bowl | ACC #3 | vs. | Big 12 #4/Big East #2 | Virginia | vs. | Texas Tech | ||
| Cotton Bowl | Big 12 #2 | vs. | SEC #3/4/5 | Kansas | vs. | Arkansas | ||
| Outback Bowl | SEC #3/4/5 | vs. | Big Ten #3 | Tennessee | vs. | Michigan | ||
| International Bowl | MAC #3 | vs. | Big East | Ball St. | vs. | Rutgers | ||
| Liberty Bowl | C-USA #1 | vs. | SEC #6/7 | UCF | vs. | Mississippi St. | ||
| Mieneke Car Care Bowl | ACC #5 | vs. | Big East | Wake Forest | vs. | Connecticut | ||
| Chick-fil-A Bowl | ACC #2 | vs. | SEC #3/4/5 | Clemson | vs. | Auburn | ||
| Independence Bowl | Big 12 #6 | vs. | SEC #8 | Colorado | vs. | Alabama | ||
| Sun Bowl | Pac-10 #3 | vs. | Big 12 #5/Big East | Oregon St. | vs. | South Florida | ||
| Music City Bowl | ACC #5/6 | vs. | SEC #6/7 | Florida St. | vs. | Kentucky | ||
| Holiday Bowl | Pac-10 #2 | vs. | Big 12 #3 | Arizona St. | vs. | Texas | ||
| Emerald Bowl | Pac-10 #4/5 | vs. | ACC #5/6/7 | California | vs. | Georgia Tech |
| Alamo Bowl | Big 12 #4/5 | vs. | Big Ten #4 | Texas A&M | vs. | Penn State | ||
| Texas Bowl | Big 12 #7 | vs. | C-USA #3/4 | TCU | vs. | Houston | ||
| Humanitarian Bowl | WAC #1 | vs. | ACC #8 | Boise St. | vs. | Maryland | ||
| Insight Bowl | Big 12 #5 | vs. | Big Ten #6 | Oklahoma St. | vs. | Purdue | ||
| Champs Sports Bowl | Big Ten #5 | vs. | ACC #4 | Indiana | vs. | Boston College | ||
| Motor City Bowl | MAC #1/2 | vs. | Big Ten #7 | Central Michigan | vs. | Michigan St. | ||
| Hawai'I Bowl | C-USA | vs. | WAC #2 | East Carolina | vs. | Fresno St. | ||
| Armed Forces Bowl | MWC | vs. | Pac-10 | Air Force | vs. | UCLA | ||
| Las Vegas Bowl | Pac-10 #4/5 | vs. | MWC #1 | Oregon | vs. | BYU | ||
| Poinsettia Bowl | MWC | vs. | At-Large/Navy | Utah | vs. | Navy | ||
| GMAC Bowl | MAC #1/2 | vs. | C-USA #2 | Bowling Green | vs. | Tulsa | ||
| New Orleans Bowl | Sun Belt #1 | vs. | C-USA #5 | Troy | vs. | Memphis | ||
| PapaJohns.com Bowl | C-USA #3/4 | vs. | Big East/MAC | Southern Miss | vs. | Cincinnati | ||
| New Mexico Bowl | WAC #3 | vs. | MWC | Nevada/Louisiana Tech | vs. | New Mexico |
A few interesting possible games here:
- I love the idea of Kansas playing Arkansas. Somehow it should be like a "loser leaves town" match from the old-time wrestling days. Maybe the loser should have to change their name to "Lesser Kansas" for the next year.
- USC vs. Illinois in the Rose Bowl would be fabulous, just because the pre-game hype would turn into a contest to see which coach gets the most "don't let the laid-back approach fool you" stories written about him. Plus, plenty of opportunities for Ron Zook to go water-skiing!
- Any battle between Troy and Memphis might turn into an actual historical war!
- Colorado vs. Alabama: Dan Hawkins vs. Nick Saban. Something has to give. I'm not sure what, but something...
