With Week 12's BCS rankings released, it's time to adjust our expectations for the BCS bowl predictions. SB Nation's Team Speed Kills projects the likely matchups thusly:
BCS National Championship Game: Auburn vs. Oregon
Rose Bowl: Wisconsin vs. TCU
Sugar Bowl: Ohio State vs. LSU
Fiesta Bowl: Nebraska vs. Pittsburgh
Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Oklahoma
At the moment, you'll notice, things look less than rosy for a certain blue-turf team:
There is nothing anywhere in the BCS contract that requires Boise State to be selected, and no real reason for any of the bowls to select them if it can be avoided. [...]
I want to re-emphasize that this is not entirely a merit selection, and the question is not whether Boise would be an attractive team to a BCS team, but whether it would be more attractive than the other at-large possibilities on the board. With Oklahoma back in the picture, I think Boise will have a harder time making its case to the Orange.
The Horned Frogs are being gained on, however, thanks to the rapid and unseemly devaluation of Utah, and speculation is rampant that the Broncos could still hop (sorry) TCU in the overall BCS standings if they win out impressively.
Agree with the projections? Violently disagree? Want to hear more about the crazy antics Richard Billingsley's computer got up to this weekend? Join the discussion at Team Speed Kills.