Bowl Predictions 2013: Projecting Teams Who Will Play in Biggest Bowl Games

Barring a major misstep in the ACC championship game, the No. 2-ranked Florida State Seminoles are headed for Pasadena to play for the national championship. Jameis Winston and Co. must defeat Duke for the conference title, but the Noles will be heavy favorites.

It is hard to guess what team will face Florida State should the Seminoles defeat Duke as most expect. Auburn made a strong case with its amazing win over No. 1-ranked Alabama on Saturday. Meanwhile, Ohio State remained undefeated by escaping the Michigan Wolverines 42-41 earlier in the day.

How far will Alabama drop after losing and how far will Auburn rise? There is some credence to the thought that both teams deserve to be ahead of Ohio State. Alabama's only loss is to the No. 4-ranked team on the road, and the end came on one of the most miraculous plays in the history of college football.

That is about as respectable a loss as any team can have. Auburn's only loss came early in the season to then No. 6-ranked LSU. The Tigers have played five ranked teams this season compared to just two for Ohio State. 

The Buckeyes' highest-ranked opponents have been then No. 23-ranked Wisconsin and then No. 16-ranked Northwestern. The Bucks won those two games by an average of just 8.5 points. The strength of schedule between Alabama, Auburn and Ohio State isn't comparable.

Is Ohio State's undefeated record against a less-than stellar schedule more impressive than Auburn's and Alabama's one-loss records against tougher opponents? That's the million-dollar question that the pollsters and BCS computers will answer on Sunday night.

If you asking which team is better: Auburn/Alabama or Ohio State, it is hard to give the Buckeyes the edge against either team. That said, the BCS system may give the Bucks the edge because they are undefeated. 

Under that assumption, here is what the bowl picture looks like after a wild Week 14.

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