Bowl Projections 2013: Likely Destinations for Top Teams After Rivalry Week

The No. 4-ranked Auburn Tigers pulled off the win of the year with their thrilling 34-28 victory over No. 1 Alabama. There is some debate as to whether the win should vault the Tigers ahead of the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes.

Ohio State is still undefeated, but it barely escaped with a 42-41 win over unranked Michigan on Saturday. Should the BCS be a slave to "the undefeated teams trump one-loss teams" rule, or should voters ask themselves one simple question: Is Ohio State a better team than Auburn or Alabama?

If the latter logic wins out, the Buckeyes should be fourth, Alabama third and Auburn second in the next BCS standings. We'll find out for sure on Sunday night. For now, here's a look at the bowl projections, per Jerry Palm of CBS Sports, following a wild Week 14 in college football. 

BCS Games
Non-BCS Bowls
Bowl	Date	Location	Projection
BCS Title Game	Jan. 6	Pasadena, Calif..	Florida State vs. Ohio State
Orange	Jan. 3	Miami, Fla.	South Carolina vs. Alabama
Sugar	Jan. 2	New Orleans, La.	Auburn vs. UCF
Fiesta	Jan. 1	Glendale, Ariz.	Okla. State vs. N. Illinois
Rose	Jan. 1	Pasadena, Calif.	Michigan State vs. Stanford
Bowl	Date	Location	Prediction
GoDaddy.com	Jan. 5	Mobile, Ala.	Bowling Green vs. W. Kentucky
BBVA Compass	Jan. 4	Birmingham, Ala.	Miss. State vs. Rutgers
Cotton	Jan. 3	Arlington, Tex.	Baylor vs. LSU
Outback	Jan. 1	Tampa, Fla.	Iowa vs. Clemson
Capital One	Jan. 1	Orlando, Fla.	Wisconsin vs. Texas A&M
Heart of Dallas	Jan. 1	Dallas, Tex.	Maryland vs. Rice
Gator	Jan. 1	Jacksonville, Fla.	Michigan vs. Vanderbilt
Chick-fil-A	Dec. 31	Atlanta, Ga.	Duke vs. Missouri
Liberty	Dec. 31	Memphis, Tenn.	Marshall vs. Ole Miss
Sun	Dec. 31	El Paso, Tex.	Virginia Tech vs. UCLA
Independence	Dec. 31	Shreveport, La.	Oregon State vs. Georgia Tech
Holiday	Dec. 30	San Diego, Calif.	Arizona State vs. Kansas State
Alamo	Dec. 30	San Antonio, Tex.	Oklahoma vs. Oregon
Music City	Dec. 30	Nashville, Tenn.	Boston College vs. Georgia
Armed Forces	Dec. 30	Fort Worth, Tex.	Utah State vs. Navy
Buffalo Wild Wings	Dec. 28	Phoenix, Ariz.	Texas vs. Nebraska
Russell Athletic	Dec. 28	Orlando, Fla.	Louisville vs. Miami (FL)
Belk	Dec. 28	Charlotte, N.C.	Houston vs. North Carolina
Pinstripe	Dec. 28	New York, N.Y.	Notre Dame vs. Cincinnati
Fight Hunger	Dec. 27	San Francisco, Calif.	Washington vs. BYU
Texas	Dec. 27	Houston, Tex.	Texas Tech vs. Minnesota
Military	Dec. 27	Washington, D.C.	Syracuse vs. North Texas
Poinsettia	Dec. 26	San Diego, Calif.	Boise State vs. Ohio
Little Caesars	Dec. 26	Detroit, Mich.	Ball State vs. Pittsburgh
Hawaii	Dec. 24	Honolulu, Hawaii	Colorado State vs. Middle Tenn.
Beef O'Brady's	Dec. 23	St. Petersburg, Fla.	Toledo vs. East Carolina
New Orleans	Dec. 21	New Orleans, La.	La.-Lafayette vs. Tulane
Famous Idaho Potato	Dec. 21	Boise, Idaho	Buffalo vs. UNLV
Las Vegas	Dec. 21	Las Vegas, Nev.	Fresno State vs. USC
New Mexico	Dec. 21	Albuquerque, N.M.	San Diego State vs. Arizona

Is the Mayhem Over?

What happens if Auburn and Ohio State lose their respective conference championship games? Would Missouri then become the team lined up to play in the BCS title game, or would Alabama then be the team sitting at No. 2?

It all depends on how far Bama falls after Saturday's wild loss. If Bama stays ahead of Ohio State in the BCS standings, then losses by the Buckeyes and the Tigers should put Bama right back in the running for a national championship.

What if Florida State loses?

Things could get really complicated. A loss to Duke in the ACC championship game would be an ugly defeat because the Noles figure to be so heavily favored. That said, it would only be one loss and Florida State has manhandled every other ranked opponent it has faced this season.

Would a loss to Duke really ruin the Seminoles' entire resume? Most likely. If all the top dogs win their conference championship, everything should remain in the same form it appears with Sunday night's BCS standings. 

If either of the top two teams lose, we could be in for another wild weekend of speculation.