We don't yet know all six bowls that will be included in the eventual six-bowl event that'll give us the college football semifinal round, but we know the Rose, Orange, and some sort of SEC/Big 12 pairing will be included. The Chick-fil-A, Capital One, Fiesta, Sugar, and Cotton will certainly all be considered for those last three spots.
Now here's a potentially cool new detail: the selection committee that's picking the four playoff teams will also line up teams for those four bowls that don't get semifinals.
According to Bill Hancock, the "Big Six" bowls will be played three each on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, around 1 pm/4:30 pm/8.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) June 28, 2012
The selection committee will pick the teams for all six bowls. Theoretically, it could be the Top 12 spread over 6 games. Huge improvement.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) June 28, 2012
The Rose and the Champions will take the top teams from their associated conferences, and the Orange will take the ACC champ. Other than that, it could be wide open, since bowls are going to have to do whatever the new regime wants in order to be included in the six-bowl thing -- and every bowl really, really wants to be included in the six-bowl thing.
Don't expect this to throw the doors open for deserving mid-majors, but it could go a small way to making sure elite teams from non-power conferences at least get top bowl bids.