Bowl Projections 2013: Potential BCS Landscape Heading into Thanksgiving Weekend

With a number of big games to watch for heading into Thanksgiving weekend, the current stage for the BCS Bowl games is beginning to take shape.

The Alabama Crimson Tide will take on the Auburn Tigers in the Iron Bowl, and it's bound to be the most important game of the week.  Meanwhile, the Texas A&M Aggies will meet the Missouri Tigers, while the Clemson Tigers and South Carolina Gamecocks will clash to try and stay in the Top 10 of the BCS rankings.

Let's take a look at the projected BCS Bowl games heading into this weekend and break down the current stage and what might change after Friday and Saturday.

	Bowl Game
Alabama Crimson Tide	BCS National Championship	Florida State Seminoles
Ohio State Buckeyes	Rose Bowl	Stanford Cardinal
Clemson Tigers	Orange Bowl	Michigan State Spartans
Auburn Tigers	Sugar Bowl	UCF Knights
Oklahoma State Cowboys	Fiesta Bowl	Northern Illinois Huskies

As it stands now, the BCS National Championship Game would be played between Alabama and the Florida Seminoles.  Both teams are undefeated and have been dominant almost all year, which would make this a great one to watch.

However, with a big win, there's a chance that Auburn could take Alabama's spot in the title game.  The Ohio State Buckeyes would have a solid case as well, as they're the only other undefeated team right now coming out of a major conference.

Speaking of the Buckeyes, they're almost a lock for the Rose Bowl.  They have a good chance to walk away as the Big Ten champions, making them an automatic lock for the big game.  They would have to square off with the Pac-12 champions, and with the way that conference has played out, they would likely be playing the Stanford Cardinal.

A blowout loss from the Oregon Ducks moved Stanford back on top of the Pac-12 North, which means they will likely play Arizona State in the conference championship. While the Sun Devils are an excellent team, they can't compare physically to the Cardinal.

With the Seminoles almost guaranteed to head to the national championship, an ACC team would have to replace them in the Orange Bowl. That team would be the Clemson Tigers.  Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins have led the high-powered offense for Clemson, and the Tigers would be an entertaining team to watch.

The Tigers have two potential opponents, and both come out of the Big Ten.  The Wisconsin Badgers and Michigan State Spartans are both contenders for the spot, but the Spartans are currently ranked higher in the rankings.  Still, they'll be playing the Buckeyes in the Big Ten championship, but I expect them to play well enough to earn a BCS berth.

As the top team in the AAC, the UCF Knights will get an automatic berth to a BCS game, and they would most likely go to the Sugar Bowl, much like the Louisville Cardinals did last season.  They would face Alabama's replacement out of the SEC, which could be either Auburn or Missouri.

Both teams will be playing Alabama before the season is over, but considering that Auburn is ranked higher and Missouri has to play the Crimson Tide right before the bowl selections, the odds are in Auburn's favor.

Lastly, the Fiesta Bowl will feature the Big 12 champion along with the last at-large bid. Thanks to a huge win over the Baylor Bears, the Oklahoma State Cowboys are on top of the conference, and they could be going to their second Fiesta Bowl in the last two seasons.

As we've seen in previous seasons, these bowl projections could change dramatically over the weekend, but if they stay the same, this would be a great slate of games.