Latest Bowl Projections from the 'Experts'

by Jeremy Mauss on Nov 1, 2009 11:15 PM PST in Mountain West Football

The 'experts' at the World Wide Leader trotted out their week nine bowl projections which both have TCU and Boise State in a BCS game, and then there is Mark Schlabach who has Boise and TCU matching up in the Fiesta Bowl.

Assuming the SEC champ and Texas are in the title game then the Sugar and Fiesta bowl get to pick from their conference to replace their lost team; albeit their be a second team that qualifies from their league. The Sugar Bowl will most likely snag the loser of the SEC title game, while the Fiesta Bowl might be out of luck; unless Oklahoma State moves back into the top 14.

The Fiesta will have the second pick (after the Sugar Bowl, because they will be polite and give consent for the Sugar to take the SEC runner-up) and I highly doubt they will take the best non-BCS school which is TCU at this point. That scenario makes it unlikely under Mark Schlabach's scenario of having two non-BCS squads face off, plus that would hurt the non-BCS people want to see David vs. Goliath not David vs. David. Anyways, the Fiesta Bowl would snag USC to be their first choice as long as they did not want to choose an available Big XII team.

Plus, with the rotation of the bowls for 2010 it is likely that the Fiesta who picks third may pass up TCU all together because of travel in favor of another team. That would leave the Sugar Bowl --who picks fourth-- taking nearby TCU to matchup against an SEC team. That reasoning is because of the rotation order:

January 2010 games: Orange, Fiesta, Sugar

That was a little complicated, but check out the projected MWC bowl pairings. Currently the Humanitarian Bowl who has a one year deal with the MWC fifth choice may be left out in the cold, because if TCU makes a BCS game then that would be coming the sixth choice and the Mountain West may not have enouth eligible teams.

Mark Schlabach	Bruce Feldman
Tostitos Fiesta: Boise State vs. TCU	FedEx Orange: Georgia Tech vs. TCU
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces: Air Force vs. SMU	Bell Helicopter Armed Forces: Air Force vs. Tulsa
Poinsettia: Brigham Young vs. Oregon State	Poinsettia: Utah vs. Stanford
MAACO Bowl Las Vegas: Utah vs. California	MAACO Bowl Las Vegas: Brigham Young vs. Oregon State
New Mexico: Fresno State vs. San Diego State	New Mexico: Louisiana Tech vs. Colorado State

Tweet Comment 7 comments | Add comment | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

We already saw TCU v. Boise last season

We know who won that match-up!

Mountain West Connection ::Above the Rest::
Bolts From The Blue ::This spot currently available for lease::
Representing the San Diego State University Aztecs, home of the 2009 College Cheerleading National Champions in the all women's division.

by Sam (sdsuaztec4) on Nov 1, 2009 11:26 PM PST reply actions

CBS Bowl Matchups

here. For MWC:

Orange Bowl: Georgia Tech and TCU
Armed Forces: Air Force and Marshall
Humanitarian : Idaho and San Diego State
Poinsettia: BYU and Stanford
Maaco: Utah and Cal
New Mexico: Fresno State and Replacement (only 5 MWC eligible)

I guess SDSU and CSU could become eligible and then we would have 6 spots.

by Sam (sdsuaztec4) on Nov 1, 2009 11:39 PM PST reply actions

definitely like g.t. vs tcu

tcu has already seen airforce use the triple option so i think they would actually be favored by three points vs georgia tech. copuld not see them matching them up against each other. it would look like the big boys were avoiding them. that would be a pr nightmare any way you look at it. even espn would crucify that. peace.

by wolfmanshowlforever on Nov 2, 2009 10:06 AM PST reply actions

Love that one as well

GT vs. TCU I bet TCU would smoke them. Look what LSU did last year in their bowl game against GT. LSU had the defensive speed to stop the option, and TCU’s defense is built the same way.

Mountain West Connection

by Jeremy Mauss on Nov 2, 2009 1:46 PM PST up reply actions

Lets see about those BCS bowls if TCU finishs undefeated:

Assume NCG: SEC vs. Texas

Conference tie-ins:

Rose: Oregon vs. Iowa
Orange: Georgia Tech vs. At-Large
Fiesta: Big 12 #2 (if available) vs. At-Large
Sugar: SEC #2 vs. At-Large

I got Oklahoma beating Oklahoma State and eliminating the possibility of a second Big 12 team being avaiable. The Fiesta Bowl takes USC instead.

TCU and Cincinnati would be guaranteed a spot, but not the first picks. One more team would be eligible.

A third SEC team is likely to be in the mix, as are Boise State and Houston. The Utah BYU winner wouldlikely be in the mix also (Still assuming TCU beats Utah). This leaves one of the following team likely to be selected, if they finish in the top 14: Penn State, Ohio State, Pittsburgh (would be the Big East champions, with Cincinnati taking an at-large spot), Miami(FL) or Arizona.

The Orange Bowl would ignore the rankings and see something like this:
Ohio State, Penn State, Arizona, Pittsburgh/Cincinnati, Bosie State, TCU, Miami (No ACC rematch)

The Fiesta Bowl would likely pick up TCU and the Sugar gets Pittsbugh/Cincinnati or maybe a Big 10 runner up if the Orange Bowl take the Big East champion.

So I get:
NCG: SEC #1 vs. Texas
Rose: Oregon vs. Iowa
Orange: Georgia Tech vs. Big 10 #2
Fiesta: USC vs. TCU/Bosie State(/Utah)
Sugar: SEC #2 vs. Big East #1

But then I am still open to LSU winning the SEC. They still control their own fate.

BCS Evolution -- Punctuating the Equilibrium - twitter

by utesfan100 on Nov 2, 2009 10:41 AM PST reply actions

tcu is going to go undefeated

even fans on the utah blog have come to this conclussion except for you and a couple of others. sorry to dissapoint you. i am a utah fan first but i know tcu has the horses this year while utah does not even know which qb will start or finish. like i said 10-3 or 11-2 is a great year considering they had no qb with fbs experience. next year utah can go undefeated if they have no major injuries and they have the schedule to do it with. pitt will either win the big east or come in second place. there will be ranked before the season starts. the notre dame game will have a nationwide audience. i say utah beats n.d. even if jimmy clausen is still there, if not i could see utah dominating that game. peace to my utah brother.

by wolfmanshowlforever on Nov 2, 2009 2:36 PM PST up reply actions

Very true

TCU is really good. I think the Utah defense will keep it close, but unless Jordan Wynn becomes Alex Smith after the New Mexico game then no way they beat TCU.

Mountain West Connection

by Jeremy Mauss on Nov 2, 2009 8:18 PM PST up reply actions