It's only August now, but bowl season will be here before you know it. It's always nice to take a vacation around the Holidays. And what better vacation than going to watch your favorite school play in a bowl game? The bowl projections are here, which could help you plan your holiday travel. The projections are based off of the conference predictions posted on Tuesday.
The SEC has absolutely dominated college football, winning the last 6 national championships. Are there any teams from another conference that can end that dominance? A lot of people think that USC has the best chance. The Trojans return Heisman front-runner Matt Barkley and his two All-American caliber receivers. But I'm not so sure that USC is the best team in the Pac-12, let alone the country. In order to reach the BCS title game, USC will most likely have to get by Oregon twice. The Ducks lost their backfield duo of Darron Thomas and LaMichael James. Oregon has been able to reload quite nicely since Chip Kelly took over in Eugene. Remember when Jeremiah Masoli was kicked off of the team, and the untested and unproven Darron Thomas took over for him. All Thomas did was lead Oregon within 3 points of winning the national championship. Look for something similar to happen with Marcus Mariota lined up at QB this season.
If Oregon makes it back to the BCS National Championship Game, they must be playing an SEC team right? After all, the SEC Championship Game has ultimately been a play-in game to the BCS National Championship Game since 2006. There are plenty of teams in the SEC capable of making a run to Miami to play on January 7. Alabama is the defending national champion and has won 2 of the last 3. The Crimson Tide should be loaded again. The team they beat for the title last year also resides in the SEC. LSU was clearly the best team in college football last season, until they got thumped by Alabama. The Bayou Bengals are back and hungrier than ever and will be a huge threat again. Georgia, Arkansas, and South Carolina are all teams that could contend on the national level this year as well. Because of this, I just think that there are too many good teams in the SEC. These teams are bound to beat each other up. It is going to be difficult for any of these teams to run the table.
I'm going against conventional wisdom and picking 2 teams from outside of the SEC to battle it out in Miami for the right to claim a national championship. I think Oklahoma is primed for a bounce back year. They were a favorite to win a title last year, but injuries and inconsistent play lead to 3 losses late in the year. Landry Jones is back and impressed many in the spring. He lost Ryan Broyles, but has plenty of other weapons at receiver. Dominique Whaley is expected to be a big contributor this season after an injury plagued 2011. The biggest advantage for Oklahoma though is their schedule. The Big 12 is deep, but there are no other championship caliber teams. I like the Sooners to exceed expectations in 2012.
When it is all said and done, I like Oklahoma to end the SEC's string of national championships, and disappoint Oregon fans again. the name "Big Game Bob" returns as Bob Stoops leads the Sooners to their 1st national championship since 2001.
Here is a look at projections for all of the 2012-2013 bowl games (Projected Rankings listed).
December 15
New Mexico (Albuquerque, NM) - Louisiana Tech vs. UL-Lafayette
Famous Idaho Potato (Boise, ID) - Bowling Green vs. Utah State
December 20
Poinsettia (San Diego, CA) - Wyoming vs. BYU
December 21
Beef O'Brady's (St. Petersburg, FL) - Rutgers vs. Tulsa
December 22
New Orleans (New Orleans, LA) - Troy vs. Marshall
Maaco (Las Vegas, NV) - 23 Nevada vs. Washington
December 24
Hawaii (Honolulu, HI) - Fresno State vs. Houston
December 26
Little Caesar's (Detroit, MI) - Ohio vs. Arkansas State
December 27
Belk (Charlotte, NC) - Cincinnati vs. NC State
Military (Washington, DC) - Army vs. Kent State
Holiday (San Diego, CA) - 25 Utah vs. Oklahoma State
December 28
Independence (Shreveport, LA) - Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M
Meineke Car Care (Houston, TX) - Kansas State vs. Northwestern
Russell Athletic (Orlando, FL) - 22 Florida State vs. Louisville
December 29
Pinstripe (Bronx, NY) - Baylor vs. UConn
Buffalo Wild Wings (Tempe, AZ) - 17 West Virginia vs. Illinois
Alamo (San Antonio, TX) - 15 TCU vs. 21 Stanford
Armed Forces (Dallas, TX) - Air Force vs. SMU
Kraft Fight Hunger (San Francisco, CA) - Cal vs. Navy
December 31
Music City (Nashville, TN) - Virginia vs. Florida
Sun (El Paso, TX) - Georgia Tech vs. Oregon State
Liberty (Memphis, TN) - Central Florida vs. Missouri
Chick-Fil-A (Atlanta, GA) - 14 Virginia Tech vs. 16 Mississippi State
January 1
Ticket City (Dallas, TX) - SMU vs. Western Michigan
Capital One (Orlando, FL) - 5 Georgia vs. 18 Michigan State
Gator (Jacksonville, FL) - 20 Iowa vs. Auburn
Outback (Tampa, FL) - 13 South Carolina vs. 19 Nebraska
January 4
Cotton (Arlington, TX) - 8 Arkansas vs. 12 Texas
January 5
BBVA Compass (Birmingham, AL) - Tennessee vs. Pittsburgh
January 6
Godaddy.com (Mobile, AL) - Northern Illinois vs. Florida International
BCS Bowls
January 1
Rose (Pasadena, CA) - 6 USC vs. 7 Wisconsin
Orange (Miami, FL) - 9 Clemson vs. 24 South Florida
January 2
Sugar (New Orleans, LA) - 3 Alabama vs. 10 Boise State
January 3
Fiesta (Glendale, AZ) - 4 LSU vs. 11 Michigan
January 7
BCS National Championship Game (Miami, FL) - 1 Oregon vs. 2 Oklahoma
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