Previewing The BCS Bowl Games

The second-to-last BCS Rankings were released Sunday, and with it comes a clearer look at this season's bowl games. So what do we know?

The winner of Saturday's SEC title game between No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Alabama will be in the BCS Championship game. No. 8 Ohio State and No. 4 TCU have already qualified, and the remaining five slots will be filled after this weekend's games:

Florida vs. Alabama

Texas vs. Nebraska

Cincinnati vs. Pittsburgh

Georgia Tech vs. Clemson

Oregon vs. Oregon State

But the big question: who will play the Florida/Alabama winner for the big crystal football? If No. 3 Texas beats Nebraska, they're in. If No. 5 Cinicnnati wins, AND Texas loses to Nebraska, they're in. Lastly, if BOTH Texas AND Cincinnati lose, then TCU is in. So there's your three possible championship game scenarios.

Now, what about the rest of the bowls?

• Rose Bowl: Ohio State against the winner of Oregon State-Oregon
• Orange Bowl: Georgia Tech-Clemson winner against the first at-large selection
• Fiesta Bowl: Nebraska or the Texas replacement against the second at-large selection
• Sugar Bowl: SEC runner-up against the third at-large selection

With Oklahoma State out of the picture it will be interesting to see who the Fiesta Bowl begins to look at for a Texas replacement.  TCU will be a strong candidate.

The Orange Bowl would likely select the Cincinnati vs. Pittsburgh winner due to their history with the Big East.  If Cincinnati gets to the BCG then Texas becomes a very likely pick here.

The Fiesta Bowl would be likely to select Iowa at this point, or TCU if Cincinnati is in the BCG.

The Sugar Bowl would then be faced with a choice between an undefeated and top 6 Boise State and a second ACC team in the 11-14 range.  BYU, Cincinnati and USC might be unlikely options as well.  If TCU is in the BCG then Texas or Pittsburgh would be selected here depending on which one is left from the Orange Bowl's selection.

The BCS officials would then consider alternate arrangements of the selected teams that might produce a more marketable arrangement for all parties involved.  Basically, the TV networks and Sugar Bowl might attempt to buy TCU from the Fiesta Bowl.  This sell might go better with the selection of Boise State over an ACC team.  USC or BYU could provide value here as well, especially if the Sugar Bowl is attempting to make a move for the Orange Bowl's potential selection of Texas.

Got all that? If not, head over to BCS Revolution for even more analysis and projections. But the easy answer is, of course: root for chaos!

BCS: Alabama vs. TCU

Rose: Ohio St. vs. Oregon

Orange: Clemson vs. Cincinnati

Fiesta: Texas vs. Iowa

Sugar: Florida vs. Virginia Tech