College Bowl Predictions of the Postseason Rankings of the BCS Bowl Teams

There may not be another BCS poll to be released but the AP and Coaches’ polls still have another round of voting to do after the national championship is played.

These rankings will factor heavily into where the teams are ranked coming into the 2012 season and will be used as a springboard for their success or, in some cases, failure.

Here’s how the teams playing in the BCS bowls this season will rank at the end of the year.

West Virginia: Unranked

The Mountaineers head into the Orange Bowl ranked 22nd and 23rd by the coaches and AP, respectively, but a big loss to Clemson is sure to change that.

The problem for this team all year has been tackling, and the Tigers have some of the best athletes in space. WVU has also looked incredibly disinterested in football in its past two games. Losing here will send the team out of the rankings.

Clemson: 12th

Beating a ranked team will move the Tigers up a little bit, but it’s hard to say they will move up much, considering most of the teams in front of them are either playing ranked opponents or cupcakes like Boise State and TCU.

It’s been an up-and-down year for Clemson, but a bowl win and a Top 15 ranking will be a great start for the 2012 season.

Michigan: 16th

Michigan has had a great season but Brady Hoke and these seniors aren’t prepared to handle the Sugar Bowl, whereas Virginia Tech has been to a BCS bowl four of the past five years.

A loss here won’t hurt too badly, though, because the Hokies are squarely in the Top 20 of both polls. With so much returning talent next year, it still shouldn’t affect them that much.

Virginia Tech: 8th-13th

The Hokies are ranked 11th in the coaches’ poll but only 17th in the AP poll. A win over Michigan will obviously bump them up but it really depends on the poll.

Expect them to be ranked around eighth by the coaches and 13th in the AP.

Wisconsin: 12th

Wisconsin does not match up well with Oregon’s offense and will lose the Rose Bowl because of it. The Badgers are in the Top 10 now and the Ducks are fifth and sixth in the two polls.

Losing a close one should only drop this team back a couple spots.

Oregon: Fourth

Oregon is currently the highest ranked two-loss team in the country that is eligible to play in a bowl game. With a win over Wisconsin, the Ducks will jump over Stanford, whom they soundly beat earlier this year and get back into the Top 5.

The loser of the national championship game is still ahead of them, though.

Stanford: Seventh

Losing to Oklahoma State is nothing to be ashamed of, and the game will likely be one of the most hotly contested bowls this season.

A close loss won’t bump the Cardinal back too far but they would fall behind Arkansas should the Razorbacks beat Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl.

Oklahoma State: Second

Many people believe that the Cowboys should be playing in the national championship over Alabama, but beating Stanford will have to suffice.

They’ll definitely move into the second spot with the Tide’s second loss of the season and a win over the No. 4 team in the BCS.

Alabama: Third

The Tide’s defense has been phenomenal all year but it will get bested again by LSU in the national championship.

This would be the team’s second loss, and the voters will definitely have the winner of Oklahoma State-Stanford above them because that team would only have one loss.

LSU: First

The Tigers are the only undefeated team in college football and they’ll maintain that perfect record through the national championship.

They should be the unanimous No. 1 team in the country and will likely remain that way for the 2012 preseason rankings.