BCS Rankings Week 14: What Happens If Oregon and Auburn Lose Next Weekend?
BCS rankings Week 14 come out today and expect a shakeup with Boise State falling to Nevada on Friday night.
It will be interesting to see how far the Broncos drop after the stunning, crushing defeat and how high the Wolfpack rise after beating a team that had a chance to possibly compete for the national title. There were some other big games like Oklahoma's win over Oklahoma State, and they'll shake up the BCS as well.
This has also changed the way we look at the bowl season and inside are bowl predictions for the BCS bowls and 10 other bowl games if Auburn and Oregon happen to fall next weekend. Any thoughts or comments, leave them below.
Holiday Bowl: Texas A&M vs. Washington
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Texas A&M is rolling right now and won its last six games of the season.
Those games included Oklahoma and Nebraska and was finished with a win at Texas, which is never an easy place to play, even with the Longhorns' struggles this year. The Aggies finished tied in the Big 12 South but will not get a spot in the conference title game.
The consolation prize will be a trip to the Holiday Bowl to take on Washington. Just what every player dreams of when they sign their letter of intent. I think the Aggies beat the Huskies with somewhat ease in this one.
Prediction: Texas A&M 38, Washington 20
Hyundai Sun Bowl: Miami vs. Temple
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Miami just fired its coach and offensive coordinator last night after an embarrassing loss to South Florida and now the Hurricanes will have to play a bowl game.
Things haven't been right for Miami in years and while Shannon had done wonders for the program off of the field and in the classroom, he wasn't the answer on the field, despite having brought a lot of talent back into the program.
Temple is no slouch and a beaten down Hurricanes team will struggle against the Owls.
Prediction: Temple 20, Miami 17
Insight Bowl: Michigan vs. Oklahoma State
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Michigan just got beaten down by rival Ohio State and the heat is rising in Ann Arbor.
There have been rumors about Rich Rodriguez's job security with the Wolverines this year and that embarrassing loss to the Buckeyes might be enough to seal his fate and have him out on the unemployment line.
Also, Denard Robinson will never be a dominant quarterback, let alone a Heisman winner if he gets hurt in every single game. He needs to bulk up or toughen up in the offseason. One or the other because Michigan fans are used to seeing him limp off with some injury almost every game.
I wouldn't be shocked to see it happen in this game with the Wolverines unable to keep pace with the Cowboys.
Prediction: Oklahoma State 45, Michigan 24
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Meineke Car Care Bowl: NC State vs. West Virginia
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A clash between Big East and ACC teams. Sure sounds like a recipe for some mediocre football to me!
West Virginia doesn't control its fate in the Big East, and I think Connecticut seals the conference title with a win next week. NC State had a good year but in the biggest game of the season lost to Maryland, sending Florida State to the ACC Championship game.
I think the Wolfpack find a way to win this game, or the Mountaineers lose it. One way or the other.
Prediction: NC State 26, West Virginia 13
Gator Bowl: Penn State vs. Florida
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Penn State has had a bit of a down year after taking trips to New Year's Day bowl games the last couple of years.
Robert Bolden wasn't the answer just yet at quarterback, and we saw Matt McGloin step in and play admirably for the Nittany Lions as his replacement. McGloin isn't a world beater by any stretch of the imagination, but he can sling the ball down the field pretty well.
The Gators will be a tough matchup, but Joe Paterno always has his team ready to go in these matchups.
Prediction: Penn State 31, Florida 24
Cotton Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Alabama
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It will be a matchup of two teams trying to get an awful taste out of their mouths.
Oklahoma will be trying to erase the defeat at the hands of Nebraska in the Big 12 championship game and Alabama will be trying to get over the nightmare of blowing that huge lead against rival Auburn, keeping the Tigers in the national title hunt.
I think Alabama has too many horses for Oklahoma to handle.
Prediction: Alabama 31, Oklahoma 24
Valero Alamo Bowl: Arizona vs. Missouri
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Arizona gave Oregon a good run in the first half before the Ducks just took over and ran away with the game like we've seen them do all year long.
The Wildcats are a good team who beat Iowa this year, and I know that doesn't stand for much, especially seeing as the Hawkeyes lost to Minnesota yesterday, but at the time it was a huge win for the program. Missouri is flying under the radar a bit and shouldn't be overlooked.
I think it's going to be a very fun game to watch.
Prediction: Arizona 38, Missouri 35
Chick-Fil-A Bowl: Florida State vs. Mississippi State
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Florida State is coming off of a major beatdown of rival Florida on Saturday and will play for the ACC Championship against Virginia Tech next week.
Now if the Seminoles win that game, obviously they go to the BCS and play in a major bowl game. However, the Hokies are playing so well right now that it's hard to bet against them. I see Florida State losing and landing here where it will draw a very tough Mississippi State team.
If the Bulldogs can almost beat Auburn, why can't they beat the Seminoles?
Prediction: Mississippi State 41, Florida State 33
Outback Bowl: Iowa vs. LSU
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Talk about backing into bowl games.
LSU is coming off of a loss against Arkansas that cost the Tigers a shot at a BCS bowl game, and Iowa just lost to lowly Minnesota in the final game of the season. For a team that had Big Ten championship hopes at the beginning of the year, that's embarrassing.
Just a note, this may not be Iowa. While the Hawkeyes were selected over Penn State for a BCS bowl last year, don't think that's a guarantee that it happens again this time. With the way Nittany Lions fans travel, there's a good chance Penn State could get this spot.
However, I think the Outback Bowl sticks with Iowa but sees LSU get the win.
Prediction: LSU 26, Iowa 19
Capitol One Bowl: Michigan State vs. Arkansas
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Michigan State has the best season in a long, long time for the program and it doesn't even get a BCS bowl bid.
Even when the Spartans win, they somehow find a way to lose and will take on Ryan Mallett and Arkansas in the Capital One Bowl. You know the Razorbacks have to be rooting for Auburn in the SEC Championship game.
A win for the Tigers sends the Razorbacks to the BCS in all likelihood.
Prediction: Arkansas 42, Michigan State 31
Rose Bowl: Oregon vs. Wisconsin
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If the Ducks lose, they will head to the Rose Bowl as the Pac 10 champions and will take on Wisconsin, with the Rose Bowl trying to preserve the Big Ten and Pac 10 matchup.
With the way Wisconsin is dropping points on people recently, the Badgers can keep up with Oregon's high-powered offense, and we could have a shootout in Pasadena with these two offenses going toe-to-toe in this game.
However, we saw the Ducks struggle when a team had time to prepare for them, and I think we'll see Oregon have issues against the Badgers.
Prediction: Wisconsin 38, Oregon 35
Fiesta Bowl: Nebraska vs. South Carolina
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You know that the Fiesta Bowl wishes that it was Arkansas getting a shot in this game with that offense instead of South Carolina, but Steve Spurrier sells and I'm sure it could be much, much worse.
Taylor Martinez should be healthy for this game and with the Gamecocks having hypothetically knocked off two top-ranked teams in the same season, there's no reason they can't test Nebraska.
However, I think the Cornhuskers end up being too much.
Prediction: Nebraska 38, South Carolina 31
Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Connecticut
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I'm sure this is the bowl that you'd love to see. A dream matchup from the start of the season.
Oh wait, this is a BCS bowl game between a team that lost to James Madison and one that backed into a conference championship? Where do I sign up?! I know Virginia Tech is playing much better since those first two losses but no one outside of these two schools wants to see this game.
The Hokies should win this one easily.
Prediction: Virginia Tech 42, Connecticut 16
Sugar Bowl: Auburn vs. Ohio State
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Cam Newton is going to go BCS bowling one way or another, and if Auburn loses to South Carolina, the Tigers will land in the Sugar Bowl.
There they'll meet Ohio State, who should get an at-large bid and lock up the second spot for the Big Ten. The Buckeyes struggle historically in BCS bowls against SEC competition, and I don't see this being any different for Ohio State.
Look for Cam Newton to beat up on the Buckeyes.
Prediction: Auburn 45, Ohio State 24
BCS National Title Game: TCU vs. Stanford
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This isn't exactly the dream matchup for the BCS title game, but having TCU in the big dance will most certainly draw a lot of eyes to this game.
Now if it were TCU and Auburn or Oregon, it might be a little more high-profile, but Stanford is no pushover and the Cardinal will give the Horned Frogs a lot of trouble on both sides of the ball. It's not going to be a blowout, but it's hard to see TCU winning.
I thought Boise State was the better team and I still think that.
Prediction: Stanford 38, TCU 30
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
