Bowl Projections After Week 7

ESPN

Mark Schlabach: ORANGE vs. Florida State

Brad Edwards: ORANGE vs. Florida State

SBNATION: 

Jason Kirk: ORANGE vs. Florida State

College Football News

CFN: ORANGE vs. Florida State

CBS:

Jerry Palm: SUGAR vs. South Carolina

Orlando Sentinel

Brant Parsons:  ORANGE vs. Florida State

REACTION

Louisville to the Orange Bowl vs. Florida State is the Common theme of the week.  Why?  There are a number of factors that go into the selection process.  The Orange Bowl gets the first selection, and I’ve spoken with at least one OB rep who would prefer to not pair up ACC Champion with future ACC member in an attempt to build the brand.  BUT with the winner of Clemson/Florida State it’s likely that the loser will remain BCS selection (good news for the ACC).  But bad news if you are the OB & ACC and don’t want Louisville to play a future member in a bowl game.

Right now the Rose Bowl will probably take UCLA or Stanford to pair up with Ohio State, with Oregon in the Championship game.  The Big Ten does not appear to have a 2nd team ready to qualify.  After Alabama qualifies for the title game, the Sugar Bowl will likely select of the following: South Carolina, LSU, or Texas A&M.  With the PAC-12 & SEC at the maximum number of teams in the BCS from their leagues, the Orange Bowl with either Clemson or Florida State in the game can not pair up a re-match between conference mates.

Knowing that Clemson/FSU loser will either be in the Sugar or Fiesta, the Orange Bowl will have to choose between a non-AQ school (Fresno & Northern Illinois both look like they may qualify for automatic at this time. So unless these non-AQ schools, Clemson/FSU loser goes on to lose an additional game after this weekend, OR the Big Ten or Big 12 get with a viable option past its champion the Cards look like they are headed to Miami.

Personally, I think Alabama will lose to LSU or in the SEC title game.  The problem is there just aren’t a lot of potential losses left on their schedule. I think Oregon could possibly fall once to UCLA either in the PAC-12 championship or in the regular season.  I don’t see Stanford beating the Ducks, Oregon looks like the real deal right now.  There is no way I can see Ohio State going undefeated this season, I would love for the Rose Bowl to not have a great choice in the PAC-12 and line up a meeting with the Cards but UCLA & Oregon are both great teams and we’ll see the Buckeyes get blown out in the 100th Rose Bowl.

Louisville vs. Florida State in the Orange Bowl would be VERY exciting and really a potential storybook ending for Teddy Bridgewater in his hometown.  Clemson vs. LSU would line up a re-match of last year’s Chick-fil-A Bowl that was a 1-point thriller and it would be on LSU’s home turf.  The Fiesta Bowl is up for grabs, I wouldn’t be upset if the Cards landed here in a tilt against Baylor, but right now I think Fresno St. or Northern Illinios will qualify and get the spot.

First things First.  Beat Central Florida.  The BCS for the Cards becomes very tough if they lose Friday night.

The champion of Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference, or the Sun Belt Conference (hereinafter “non-AQ group”) will earn an automatic berth in a BCS bowl game if either:

A. Such team is ranked in the top 12 of the final BCS Standings, or

B. Such team is ranked in the top 16 of the final BCS Standings and its ranking in the final BCS Standings is higher than that of a champion of a conference that has an annual automatic berth in one of the BCS bowls.

No more than one such team from the non-AQ group shall earn an automatic berth in any year, unless non-AQ teams finish both No. 1 and No. 2 in the final BCS Standings. (Note: A second team may be eligible for at-large eligibility as noted below.) If two or more teams from those conferences satisfy the provisions for an automatic berth, then the team with the highest finish in the final BCS Standings will receive the automatic berth, and the remaining team or teams will be considered for at-large selection if it meets the criteria.

BCS Selection Order for 2013-14

1) Orange

2) Sugar

3) Fiesta

*If you have a favorite Bowl Projection you would like to see listed here let us know!

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Mark Blankenbaker

@UofLSheriff50. Louisville native, University of Louisville Business School Grad c/o 2004. Co-Founder of TheCrunchZone.com

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