Ready to make plane reservations? Don’t. Considering the unpredictability of the BCS’ formula and the number of huge games remaining, you had better get refundable flights if you do.
Leave the bowl predictions to newspapers. Then again, after one more Saturday, this may work better as a litter box liner than a bowl guide.
Nevertheless, below are some bowl forecasts based on a couple of factors. We are assuming top-ranked Southern California and No. 2 Texas win out and meet in the Jan. 4 title game in the Rose Bowl. The Fiesta Bowl gets the first pick of the at-large teams. The next pick is the Orange, which will match an at-large opponent against its Atlantic Coast Conference champ, followed by the Fiesta Bowl for its second at-large pick. The last pick goes to the Sugar Bowl, which has the Southeastern Conference champion as host. For what it’s worth, here are my picks:
Rose Bowl, Jan. 4, Pasadena, Calif.: Texas vs. USC. We’re taking the experts’ word for it that the BCS computers won’t throw Texas out of the No. 2 spot because of the relatively weak Big 12.
Fiesta Bowl, Jan. 2, Tempe, Ariz.: Notre Dame vs. Penn State. A two-loss Notre Dame team will be more attractive than any one-loss team, and Penn State gets in by winning the Big Ten.
Orange Bowl, Jan. 3, Miami: Alabama vs. Virginia Tech. The Hokies get in by winning the ACC. Alabama gets in merely because it’s the highest-rated SEC team behind Georgia and may not lose until the SEC championship. Texas Tech has a good shot if Alabama doesn’t make it.
Sugar Bowl, Jan. 2, Atlanta: West Virginia vs. Georgia. Georgia is in by winning the SEC. West Virginia is in, and only in, because it wins the Big East.
