BCS Rankings: Power Ranking Projected BCS Bowl Games

A little less than a month from now, we're going to know which teams are playing in which BCS bowls.

If I had a crystal ball, I would tell you how things are going to shake out. But alas, all I have is all the available information and my own twisted perception of it.

Thankfully, this is all I need to form projections of what the BCS bowls might look like when all is said and done. For now, these projections will have to do.

To be honest, I kinda hope that the projected bowls actually pan out. The matchups look pretty good to me.

For kicks, why don't we go ahead and rank them?

5. Orange Bowl: Clemson vs. Cincinnati 

Clemson will get into the Orange Bowl by virtue of winning the ACC Championship Game, most likely against Virginia Tech. The Orange Bowl then has to pick an at-large team, and this year it gets to pick last in that regard.

For all intents and purposes, that means the Big East champ is going to end up in the Orange Bowl. Right now, Cincinnati has the edge.

As far as matchups go, this one really wouldn't be all the different from last year's Fiesta Bowl matchup between Oklahoma and UConn. A great offensive team in Clemson would be going up against a, um, plain, old team in Cincinnati.

So yeah, this is the kind of matchup that makes you go "meh."

4. Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs. Houston

I don't see much shakeup in the SEC happening in the closing weeks. If so, LSU would head to the title game, leaving the Sugar Bowl to fill its SEC tie-in with another team.

Alabama will be the obvious choice. The Sugar Bowl will then get to pick an at-large team after the Fiesta Bowl makes its pick, and I think Houston will end up being the clear choice. The Cougars will be in the Top 10, and New Orleans isn't much of a hike for the Houston faithful who want to come take in the game.

Out on the field, we'll be treated to a matchup between arguably the nation's best defense and the highest-scoring offense in the country.

Hard to hate on that.

3. Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Stanford

The winner of the Bedlam game is going to the BCS National Championship Game, and I think Oklahoma State is going to prevail. That will leave Oklahoma to accept an inevitable invite from the Fiesta Bowl, which also has first dibs on an at-large team.

Picking Stanford will be too easy. The Cardinal is not going to collapse in their final two games, and Glendale isn't that far from Palo Alto. The Stanford faithful (if there is such a thing) will gladly make the trip and fill in seats.

As far as the actual game is concerned, this would feature a matchup of possibly the two best quarterbacks in college football in Stanford's Andrew Luck and Oklahoma's Landry Jones. Sounds like a real treat to me.

2. Rose Bowl: Oregon vs. Wisconsin

The formula for the Rose Bowl is simple: it's the Pac-12 champ versus the Big Ten champ. Right now, I think Oregon is a lock to win the Pac-12, and Wisconsin is my pick to win the Big Ten.

I certainly hope both teams get it done because this is a matchup that is almost too good to be true. Oregon has an explosive offense, and so does Wisconsin. Put them out on the same field, and many awesome things are going to happen.

My fingers are crossed. This game would be a humdinger.

1. BCS National Championship: LSU vs. Oklahoma State

The matchup between No. 1 and No. 2 would feature a matchup between the SEC champ and the Big 12 champ. 

It would also be an old-school "your offense versus my defense" kind of matchup. Brandon Weeden, Justin Blackmon and the Cowboys' offense would be put to the ultimate test against Tyrann Mathieu, Morris Claiborne and the Tigers defense.

If Oklahoma State's offense is as good as its numbers suggest, the Pokes may end up being the perfect team to end the SEC's title streak.

Either way, I would await this game with high hopes.

BCS Rankings for Week 12

Rank	Team	BCS Average
1	LSU	.9933
2	Oklahoma State	.9642
3	Alabama	.9099
4	Oregon	.8755
5	Oklahoma	.8400
6	Arkansas	.7974
7	Clemson	.6935
8	Virginia Tech	.6755
9	Stanford	.6747
10	Boise State	.5959
11	Houston	.567
12	South Carolina	.528
13	Kansas State	.497
14	Georgia	.453
15	Michigan State	.439
16	Nebraska	.382
17	Wisconsin	.333
18	Michigan	.295
19	TCU	.252
20	Southern Mississippi	.245
21	Penn State	.230
22	Baylor	.136
23	Texas	.120
24	Auburn	.079
25	Florida State	.071