BCS Bowl Projections: Predicting Games for 2012

While every BCS Bowl bid is still up for grabs, we can still forecast with reasonable accuracy which teams will be playing in the Orange, Sugar, Fiesta and Rose Bowl as well as the BCS National Championship.

The official selections will be announced on December 4th but here is a rundown of the likely picks for each of the BCS Bowls.

Rose Bowl – Oregon vs. Wisconsin

If Oregon were to lose to UCLA this weekend, it would go down as one of the single biggest upsets in college football history. You can essentially use a pen to put them in this game.

As for Wisconsin, it did lose earlier this season to Michigan State but that game was on the road and the Badgers were dominating in the first half of the game before losing on a Hail Mary.

They will be out for revenge in this game and should have no problem handling the Spartans in the rematch for a berth to the Rose Bowl.

Orange Bowl – Virginia Tech vs. West Virginia

With the Big East as bad as it is, the Orange Bowl could not get a better matchup. These two teams are bitter rivals but haven’t played for the Black Diamond Trophy since 2005.

Virginia Tech will be out for revenge against Clemson and with the Tigers slumping so badly the Hokies should get it pretty easily.

West Virginia is the highest ranked team in the Big East so if it wins and Cincinnati takes care of business against Connecticut it will receive the automatic bid.

Sugar Bowl – Michigan vs. Houston

As it stands right now, Michigan is not even eligible for a BCS Bowl but with Michigan State, Georgia and Wisconsin all ahead of it, the odds are good that the Wolverines will get into the Top 14. Their traveling fan base and national appeal will be too much for the Sugar Bowl to pass up.

Since Houston is ranked in the Top 16 and is higher than the Big East champion, it will receive an automatic berth for winning Conference USA. The Cougars could fall to the Orange Bowl but with them doing so well, it would be hard to pass up this offensive explosion of a matchup.

Fiesta Bowl – Oklahoma State vs. Stanford

The winner of Oklahoma State-Oklahoma will take on Stanford in this game. The only way State jumps into the national championship is by thoroughly demolishing their in-state rivals and the odds of that are slim to none.

As for Stanford, it doesn’t have another game until the bowl so it will finish somewhere between third and fifth in the final BCS Standings. That is more than enough to secure a trip to Glendale, Arizona.

BCS National Championship – LSU vs. Alabama

It might not be what some people are hoping for but LSU and Alabama will face off against each other again for the national championship.

The odds of Georgia pulling off an upset in the SEC Championship game are slim to none and most people think the Tigers would still get into the national championship because of their strength of schedule.

Alabama doesn’t have any more games to play so it has essentially locked up a spot in the title game as well. Hopefully there will be more points this go around.