Bowl Projections: Where Will Non-Power Conference BCS Contenders Land?

With TCU's upset of Boise State on Saturday, the future is a little bit more murky for the nation's underdog teams that don't reside in power conferences. There are three such teams that have high hopes with the regular season nearing an end, but in which bowl game will they land?

Houston Cougars

Thanks to Boise State's loss, Houston will quickly steal the spotlight as the nation's top BCS Cinderella. The Cougars are 10-0 and possess the top-ranked offense in all of college football, which is led by Heisman dark horse Case Keenum.

They have two conference games left, including a tricky road test against Tulsa in the finale, and a loss would drop them out of BCS contention. However, if they can run the table and beat Southern Mississippi in the conference title game, a BCS bid is distinct possibility.

Projected Bowl: Tostitos Fiesta

Boise State Broncos

The Broncos haven't been treated very well by their own kickers over the past two seasons. They watched their BCS hopes go up in smoke on Saturday when Dan Goodale's last-second effort sailed wide right.

Since Boise State's schedule doesn't leave it any margin for error, the pressure continues to build each and every week. It was too much to overcome against an underrated TCU team. With an at-large bid seemingly out of the question, there aren't many potential landing spots for the Broncos.

Projected Bowl: S.D. County Credit Union Poinsettia

Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles

Southern Mississippi continues to climb up the rankings thanks to a eight-game winning streak. The Golden Eagles remain on a collision course with Houston in Conference USA, but would still need a lot of help to become BCS worthy.

It would be difficult to find many offenses more balanced than Southern Miss'. They have five different players that have rushed for at least 200 yards and Austin Davis has already thrown for over 2,500 yards. Unless they upset Houston, the Golden Eagles will be heading to Texas for their bowl game.

Projected Bowl: Bell Helicopter Armed Forces