College Football Predictions 2011: Predicting the BCS Bowl Games

The SEC has dominated the BCS since its inception in 1998, winning seven of the 13 possible National Championships.

That trend is more likely to end in the 2011 season than ever before, with just two SEC teams ranked in the preseason Top 10.

That being said, here are my predictions for the four BCS Bowl Games and the BCS National Championship for the 2011 season. 

Rose Bowl: Stanford Cardinal V. Wisconsin Badgers

Each year, the Rose Bowl is designated to take the Big Ten Champion and the Pac-12 Champion for a show down in Pasadena.

This January, the Rose Bowl will be between the Stanford Cardinal and the Wisconsin Badgers.

The Cardinal will come out on top in the inaugural season of the Pac-12 Conference on the shoulders of the best quarterback in the nation, Andrew Luck. 

They will be tested a few times during the season when they play Oregon, USC and Notre Dame. They could lose a game but they will rebound in the Pac-12 Championship game and advance to the Rose Bowl.

With Russell Wilson at the helm, the Badgers looked like the real deal in their 51-17 victory over San Jose State.

Wilson was able to do whatever he wanted through the air and on the ground and he will prove to be the deciding factor in the race for a Big Ten title.

It won't be easy to win, with match ups against Nebraska, Michigan State and Ohio State but the Badgers will prevail at seasons end as the Big Ten Champions and punch their ticket to the Rose Bowl.

Look for this game to be a battle of the quarterbacks—Luck and Wilsonwith Stanford prevailing behind the arm of the likely No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft. 

Fiesta Bowl: Boise State Broncos V. Oklahoma State Cowboys

The Fiesta Bowl is a match up in the desert against the Big 12 Champion and the Big East Champion or an at-large team, but this season it will be different.

It will include neither the Big 12 Champion or the Big East Champion but will include two at-large teams.

The undefeated Boise State Broncos will be one of the teams to compete in the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, AZ. 

Despite the undefeated record, the Broncos will not get a chance to compete for the BCS National Championship game due to two other teams running the table.

The Broncos will be matched up against a second at-large team, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, who will finish behind their in-state rival, Oklahoma, in the Big 12 Conference.

The Cowboys will be undefeated through 11 games going into a matchup with the Sooners for a chance to go to the National Championship, where they will fall short and settle for a birth in the Fiesta Bowl.

Look for the Broncos to further validate their case for being in the BCS conversation and knock off the Big 12 foe decisively, behind the arm of Heisman hopeful, Kellen Moore. 

Orange Bowl: Florida State Seminoles V. West Virginia Mountaineers

The Orange Bowl is an annual match up between the ACC Champions and either  the Big East Champion or an at-large team.

This season, the game will be played by the Florida State Seminoles, ACC Champions, and the West Virginia Mountaineers, the Big East Champions. 

The Seminoles will run the table in their ACC schedule but will slip up when they play the Oklahoma Sooners at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Their dual-threat at quarterback, E.J. Manuel, will provide the spark they need to take the reigns of the ACC in Jimbo Fisher's second year at the helm of the program.

In the Big East, West Virginia will have no trouble running the table behind quarterback Geno Smith and new head coach Dana Holgorsen but will lose when LSU comes to town Sept. 24.

Look for this game to be an old-fashioned battle with the Seminoles coming out on top to give them their first BCS victory since their National Championship in 2000.  

Sugar Bowl: LSU Tigers V. Nebraska Cornhuskers

The Sugar Bowl is a matchup between the SEC Champion and a BCS at-large team played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.

This season, the SEC Champion will not be present as they will play for the BCS National Championship but they will get an SEC team, the LSU Tigers.

LSU showed the type of team they can be, beating the Oregon Ducks, 40-27 without starting quarterback Jordan Jefferson. 

They didn't show much on the offensive side of the ball but when Jefferson comes back, the offense will be more dynamic and the already scary Tigers will get better.

The Tigers will be matched up against an at-large team from the Big Ten Conference, the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

The loss of Ndamukong Suh will hurt the Huskers on defense but the offense will be dangerous through the air and on the ground with Taylor Martinez, who passed for 116 and ran for 135 and three scores in the season opener against Chattanooga. 

Look for LSU to continue to show the domination of the SEC and beat the Cornhuskers handily to take the Sugar Bowl. 

BCS National Championship: Alabama Crimson Tide V. Oklahoma Sooners

The 2011 BCS National Championship game will be a matchup between the Big 12 Conference Champion and the SEC Champion.

The Alabama Crimson Tide and the Oklahoma Sooners will battle for the crystal football at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.

Alabama will be back in the game again after winning the National Championship just two years prior and the Sooners will return for the first time since losing to Florida in the 2008-2009 season.

Led by their overpowering defense, the Tide will run the table in the SEC for the second time in three years and give Nick Saban his second appearance in the game with Alabama.

A.J. McCarron will need to pick up where Greg McElroy left off and manage the offense alongside Trent Richardson, who steps into the spotlight with Mark Ingram now in the NFL.

The Sooners are far and away the best team in the Big 12 and should run away with the conference, being tested just a few times by Oklahoma State and Texas A&M.

Their big test will come in Tallahassee, Sept. 17, when the visit the Florida State Seminoles. As long as the Sooners get past the Seminoles, they will find themselves in this game.

Led by Landry Jones, the Sooners have an electric offense complimented by a solid defense.

Look for this game to be a battle to the end, with the Crimson Tide coming out on top and giving the SEC their sixth National Championship in a row.