2011 Bowl Predictions: How Programs Headed to New Conferences Will Fare

There are so many teams playing musical conferences, it has been hard to keep up; four of them are in action before the New Year. Here is how they will fare, with the team switching conferences in bold.

Arizona State vs. No. 7 Boise State
MAACO BOWL LAS VEGAS

The Broncos have something to prove. They feel slighted by their omission from a BCS Bowl game and the fact that they play in a relatively unknown bowl like this one.

The Sun-Devils are reeling terribly, they have lost four in a row and Head Coach Dennis Erickson has been fired, though he will coach this game. Plus, star LB Vontaze Burfict is in the doghouse after refusing to go back into the season finale, after he was benched for a personal foul.

The Broncos offense should shred the Sun Devils defense which is ranked 96th in the nation. This will be a statement win, as the Broncos move into their last season in the Mountain West. They are headed for the Big East in 2013, I know, crazy right?

Boise St 45 Arizona St 13

Nevada vs. No. 21 Southern Miss SHERATON HAWAII BOWL The Wolfpack have had a few successful seasons in a row, and they are headed to the Mountain West, seemingly replacing Boise State. They take on the No. 21 ranked Southern Miss Eagles in the Hawaii Bowl. Both of these offenses are high powered, with the Eagles attack engineered by Head Coach Larry Fedora, who is leaving to join North Carolina, after this game. As long as the Eagles don't have a letdown after pulling the upset that knocked the Houston Cougars out of a BCS Bowl, they will win this game. Southern Miss 40 Nevada 30 Missouri vs. North Carolina AdvoCare V100 INDEPENDENCE BOWL Missouri is headed for the SEC, it'll be tough sledding for them for at least three years until they can build their program up to standard. They will face the Tar Heels in the Independence Bowl and a couple of North Carolina's defenders are elite SEC level athletes. Donte Paige-Moss and Quinton Coples are beasts in the Tar Heel defensive attack. Tigers QB James Franklin is one of the most underrated QBs in the nation and he'll keep the Tigers in this game, and they will pull it out in the end. Texas A&M vs. Northwestern MEINEKE CAR CARE BOWL OF TEXAS Texas A&M fell short in all their major tests this year, except for the Baylor game. As they head for the SEC in 2012, they are in a better situation when it comes to recruiting elite athletes than Missouri. Ryan Tannehill will be playing his last collegiate game and from an overall athletics standpoint, they have Northwestern overmatched. In a battle of high powered offenses, the Aggies have more playmakers than the Wildcats. The Wildcats need to slow the pace as they can't win a shoot out with Texas A&M. Dan Persa is the nation's most accurate passer at 71.04 percent, but the Aggies are just too strong for the Wildcats. Texas A&M 37 Northwestern 23