2009-2010 Bowl Projections

Football-Bowl.com is a leading provider of college football bowl game information, schedules, historical data & much more. We are well aware of the fact that numerous sports site provide their annual bowl predictions as they make their picks for the 34 college bowl games to be played this season, and as a result we're here to bring you what we feel are the top sites for bowl projections. If you are looking to find out where your favorite school may be bowling this season, look no further than the 2009-2010 bowl projections here at Football-Bowl.com, the leading online destination for information on college football bowl games! Also, be sure to check out the 2009-2010 college football bowl schedule for all of the important dates & times for bowl games this winter.

Bowl Predictions & Projections/Schedule

Updated December 6, 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.

Remember, bowls often strike deals with each other to get a more favorable match up to sell more tickets or produce higher TV ratings. For example, the Hawai’i Bowl always gets the local Warriors if they’re bowl eligible and not playing in a BCS game. Another great example is Boise State’s berth in the Poinsettia Bowl last year: The WAC’s most visible team needed a stronger matchup than their expected Humanitarian Bowl berth and the league made it happen. 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 much better. That happened 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 that means it isn’t obligated to take the 4 th place finisher.

A good example from this week’s projections would be in the Big XII: Oklahoma’s record isn’t great but I would be shocked if they were passed over in favor of the conference’s two 8 win teams because of the Sooners’ appeal to fans and television.

One more interesting note: The BCS bowl selection order after bowls replace their lost automatic bids to the National Title Game is Orange, Fiesta, Sugar for this particular postseason. That should help guide questions about the selection process.

Bowl Matchups will be revealed tonight at 8 PM, so these are the last-gasp projections!

Note: * designates a clinched bowl berth

2010 BCS BOWLS

BCS Championship - January 8, 2010 - (BCS #1 vs. BCS #2): Alabama* vs. Texas*

Alabama and Texas has been my projection for the National Championship for nearly two months. However, the teams earned their way here in very different manners. Alabama dominated Florida in the SEC Championship Game and heads into this matchup as the likely favorites while Texas stuggled mightily with Ndamakong Suh and the rest of Nebraska’s defense in their 13-12 championship squeaker. Still, both teams are very talented and are more than worthy of playing for the National Title.

Rose Bowl - January 1, 2010 - (Pac Ten Champ vs. Big Ten Champ): Oregon* vs. Ohio State*

Ohio State and Oregon are both outright champions of their respective conferences and should provide a classic matchup of explosive offense against stout defense. Both teams are ending droughts of more than a decade in the ‘Granddaddy of them All’.

Sugar Bowl - January 1, 2010 - (SEC Champ vs. At Large): Florida vs. Cincinnati

Florida fell short of their goal to repeat as champions and is left to pick up the pieces. As has been the tradition in years where the SEC has sent a team to the National Championship, the Sugar Bowl will replace their automatic tie-in (Alabama) with the next highest rated SEC team and that is Florida. Expect the Big East Champion, Cincinnati, to finish off the at-large selections as their opponent.

Orange Bowl - January 5, 2010 - (ACC Champ vs. At Large): Georgia Tech* vs. Texas Christian

Georgia Tech capped off a great season with a dramatic victory over Clemson in the ACC Championship Game and they have clinched the ACC’s automatic berth in the Orange Bowl. Expect their opponent to be the Mountain West Champions, Texas Christian, the official BCS Busters of 2009. TCU has amassed a perfect 12-0 record and will be a very tough opponent for the Yellow Jackets.

Fiesta Bowl - January 4, 2010 - (Big XII Champ vs. At Large): Iowa vs. Boise State

As the Fiesta Bowl will lose Texas to the National Title Game, they’ll have the 2 nd choice to replace their lost tie-in. As no Big XII team is a viable at-large candidate, I expect Iowa to fill the void as the bowl’s replacement. The Hawkeyes have a large fan base, a great 10-2 record and a head to head win over Penn State, their most likely competitor to replace the Longhorns Their opponent, Boise State, traveled well to the Fiesta Bowl in 2006 and is likely to make history as the first non-BCS conference team to earn a BCS Bowl berth as an at-large selection. Can Boise win the Fiesta Bowl for the 2 nd time in four years?

December, 19th Bowl Games

• St. Petersburg Bowl (Big East #6 vs. C-USA/Sun Belt): South Florida* vs. Central Florida
• New Mexico Bowl (WAC #3 vs. MWC #5): Fresno State vs. Bowling Green (Not Enough MWC Teams)

December, 20th Bowl Games

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

December, 22nd Bowl Games

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

December, 23rd Bowl Games

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

December, 24th Bowl Games

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

December, 26th Bowl Games

• Meineke Car Care Bowl (Big East #3 vs. ACC #5/6): Pittsburgh vs. Clemson
• Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl (Big Ten #7 vs. MAC #1): Southern Mississippi (Not Enough Big Ten Teams) vs. Ohio
• Emerald Bowl (ACC #7 vs. Pac Ten #4/5): Boston College vs. Stanford

December, 27th Bowl Games

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

December, 28th Bowl Games

• Independence Bowl (Big XII #7 vs. SEC #6/7/8): Texas A&M vs. Georgia*

December 29th Bowl Games

• Champs Sports Bowl (Big Ten #4 vs. ACC #4): Northwestern vs. Miami
• Chik-Fil-A Bowl (ACC #2 vs. SEC #3/4/5): Virginia Tech* vs. Tennessee*
• Eaglebank Bowl (ACC #8 vs. Army/C-USA): Marshall (Not Enough ACC Teams) vs. Temple

December 30th Bowl Games

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

December 31st Bowl Games

• Sun Bowl (Pac Ten #3 vs. Big XII #5, Notre Dame tie-in ): USC vs. Texas Tech
• Insight Bowl (Big XII #6 vs. Big Ten #6): Missouri vs. Minnesota
• Texas Bowl (Big XII #8 vs. C-USA #3/4): Iowa State vs. Navy*
• Armed Forces Bowl (Pac Ten #7 vs. MWC #3/4): UCLA vs. Air Force

January 1st Bowl Games

• Gator Bowl (Big East #2/Notre Dame vs. ACC #3): West Virginia vs Florida State
• Capital One Bowl (Big Ten #2 vs. SEC #2): Penn State vs. LSU*
• Outback Bowl (Big Ten #3 vs. SEC #3/4/5): Wisconsin vs. Auburn*

January 2nd Bowl Games

• Papajohns.com Bowl (Big East #5 vs. SEC #9): Connecticut vs. South Carolina*
• Cotton Bowl (Big XII #2 vs. SEC #3/4/5): Ole Miss* vs. Oklahoma State*
• Alamo Bowl (Big Ten #5 vs. Big XII #4/5): Michigan State vs. Oklahoma
• Liberty Bowl (SEC #6/7/8 vs. C-USA #1): Arkansas* vs. East Carolina*

January 3rd Bowl Games

• International Bowl (Big East #4 vs. MAC #3): Rutgers vs. Northern Illinois

January 6th Bowl Games

• GMAC Bowl (ACC #9 vs. MAC #2): Middle Tennessee State (Not Enough ACC Teams) vs. Central Michigan
  

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