Bowl Predictions & Projections for 2009-2010

Weekly Bowl Predictions, October 19,2009

Bowl games were originally founded as a way to match up some of the top teams in the country for an exhibition game after the season has concluded. In fact, the finals polls didn’t include bowl games until the 1970s! The original bowl game, the Rose Bowl, has become the most celebrated in the country outside of the newly created BCS National Championship Game and is known now as the ‘Granddaddy of them All.’ Since then, bowl games have become an integral part of every college football season.

Bowl games are also the reward for a great season. Teams must finish with a minimum of a 6-6 record to qualify for a postseason berth and each conference has specific bowl tie-ins that are listed next to each game. Follow along with football-bowl.com all season as we project where your favorite team will end up.

Remember, bowls often strike deals with one another to get a more favorable match up to sell more tickets. For example, the Hawai’i Bowl always gets the local Warriors if they’re bowl eligible and not playing in a BCS game. So, don’t assume that a team has a berth because that is their expected outright finish.

For example, the Outback Bowl took Iowa over Northwestern last year because Iowa travels so well despite Northwestern finishing ahead of Iowa in the Big Ten standings. Thus, when I say that a bowl has the #4 team from your favorite conference, it isn’t obligated to take the 4 th place finisher.

Here are the October 18th, 2009 college bowl predictions for all 34 bowl games!

BCS BOWLS

BCS Championship (BCS #1 vs. BCS #2) Alabama vs. Texas

The Crimson Tide has been the most impressive team in the country during the season’s first five weeks. Meanwhile, Texas will be favored in every game throughout the rest of the season and if both teams finish with unblemished marks, they’re going to play for the National Title.

Rose Bowl (Pac Ten Champ vs. Big Ten Champ) Southern California vs. Iowa

At this point, both teams are good candidates to jump up into the BCS Title Game. USC seems set as the country’s best one-loss team and an unbeaten Iowa team would only miss the BCS title game if there are two other major unbeatens. Either way, this would be a very good game, highlighted by two of the country’s best defenses.

Sugar Bowl (SEC Champ vs. At Large): Florida vs. Miami

Florida is the favorite to win the SEC East but we’re projecting Alabama to beat Florida in the SEC Championship Game, leaving Florida as the Sugar Bowl’s choice to replace Alabama. Meanwhile, Miami is unlikely to have the chance to play for the ACC Title thanks to their loss to divisional rival Virginia Tech but they’re looking at the possibility of a ten win season and the possibility of a Gator v. Hurricane battle would be way too good for the Sugar Bowl to pass up.

Orange Bowl (ACC Champ vs. At Large): Virginia Tech vs. Cincinnati

Sound familiar? That’s because this WAS the Orange Bowl last fall! The Big East has no permanent BCS home, leaving their champion in flux in terms of landing points in the BCS. Expect Cincinnati to repeat this year and get their rematch against the Hokies on South Beach.

Fiesta Bowl (Big XII Champ vs. At Large): Penn State vs. Boise State

As fraudulent as Boise State may be with their one game schedule, a 12-0 Boise State team is going to get an at-large bid after their victory over Tulsa all but punched their spot last week. Meanwhile, the Fiesta Bowl will want to take another Big XII team to replace Texas from the National Title game but it seems unlikely that any Big XII team is going to finish the season with less than three losses with Oklahoma’s early struggles. That leaves the choices of a 2 nd Big Ten team or a 2 nd Pac Ten team for the Fiesta Bowl and Penn State’s big fan base will be too enticing to pass up.

December, 19th Bowl Games

• St. Petersburg Bowl (Big East #6 vs. C-USA/Sun Belt): Connecticut vs. Marshall
• New Mexico Bowl (WAC #3 vs. MWC #4): Fresno State vs. Wyoming

December, 20th Bowl Games

• New Orleans Bowl (Sun Belt #1 vs. C-USA #4): Troy vs. East Carolina

December, 22nd Bowl Games

• Las Vegas Bowl (Pac Ten #4/5 vs. MWC #1):Arizona vs. TCU

December, 23rd Bowl Games

• Poinsettia Bowl (Pac Ten #6 vs. MWC #2): Arizona State vs. BYU

December, 24th Bowl Games

• Hawai’i Bowl (C-USA #2 vs. WAC #2): Tulsa vs. Nevada

December, 26th Bowl Games

• Meineke Car Care Bowl (Big East #3 vs. ACC #5/6): Pittsburgh vs. Wake Forest
• Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl (Big Ten #7 vs. MAC #1):Indiana vs. Central Michigan
• Emerald Bowl (ACC #7 vs. Pac Ten #4/5): Duke vs. Stanford

December, 27th Bowl Games

• Music City Bowl (ACC #5 vs. SEC #6/7/8): North Carolina vs. Tennessee

December, 28th Bowl Games

• Independence Bowl (Big XII #7 vs. SEC #6/7/8): Missouri vs. Arkansas

December 29th Bowl Games

• Champs Sports Bowl (Big Ten #4 vs. ACC #4): Wisconsin vs. Clemson
• Chik-Fil-A Bowl (ACC #2 vs. SEC #3/4/5): Georgia Tech vs. South Carolina
• Eaglebank Bowl (ACC #8 vs. Army/C-USA): Rutgers (Not Enough ACC Teams) vs. Army

December 30th Bowl Games

• Holiday Bowl (Pac Ten #2 vs. Big XII #3): Oregon vs. Nebraska
• Humanitarian Bowl (WAC #1 vs. MWC #3/4): Idaho vs. Utah

December 31st Bowl Games

• Sun Bowl (Pac Ten #3 vs. Big XII #5): Oregon State vs. Kansas
• Insight Bowl (Big XII #6 vs. Big Ten #6): Texas Tech vs. Minnesota
• Texas Bowl (Big XII #8 vs. C-USA #3/4): Kansas State vs. Southern Mississippi
• Armed Forces Bowl (Pac Ten #7 vs. MWC #3/4): California vs. Air Force

January 1st Bowl Games

• Gator Bowl (Big East #2/Notre Dame vs. ACC #3): Notre Dame vs. Boston College
• Capital One Bowl (Big Ten #2 vs. SEC #2): Ohio State vs. LSU
• Cotton Bowl (Big XII #2 vs. SEC #3/4/5): Oklahoma Statevs. Auburn
• Outback Bowl (Big Ten #3 vs. SEC #3/4/5): Michigan State vs. Georgia

January 2nd Bowl Games

• Papajohns.com Bowl (Big East #5 vs. SEC #9): South Florida vs. Washington (Not Enough SEC Teams)
• Alamo Bowl (Big Ten #5 vs. Big XII #4/5): Michigan vs. Oklahoma
• Liberty Bowl (SEC #6/7/8 vs. C-USA #1): Ole Miss vs. Houston

January 3rd Bowl Games

• International Bowl (Big East #4 vs. MAC #3): West Virginia vs. Toledo

January 6th Bowl Games

• GMAC Bowl (ACC #9 vs. MAC): Louisiana-Monroe (Not Enough ACC Teams) vs. Ohio

   

By Matt Baxendall
DFN Sports Staff Writer

Matt Baxendell is collegesports-fans.com’s football writer. Keep an eye out all fall for his multiple weekly articles discussing everything college football. If you want to get in touch with him, email him at Matt.Baxendell@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @MattBaxendell