2012-2013 Bowl Projections - Week 2

Predicting and projecting the possible post-season matchups after Week Two.

Bowl Projections 

Week 2, Sept. 10

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First, this is a nearly-impossible puzzle to put together correctly in the first week of December with all the inside information possible, much less now. There will be changes in the bowl tie-ins, the seedings, and the conference pecking order before the dust settles at the end of the season, but these are close. Some of the bowls aren't even sure which teams from which conferences will be available to them, so while a slot might make sense, things get out of whack when bowls jump the gun with invites or go with geographical matchups over good football pairings. The goal here is to attempt to account for the self-interests of the bowls that'll want to sell tickets and generate publicity.

Second, remember that schedules mean everything. Some teams might be better than others but are predicted to go to lesser bowl games because their records might not be as strong as other possible choices. The best educated guess is taken at every turn.

Third, not everyone will get the call. There are only so many available slots, so some worthy teams, especially from the Big 12 and Big East, might get shut out due to a lack of at-large bids available. 

Finally, don't yell at us if you don't like where your team is predicted to go. This will all likely change this before the season starts and will be updated every week throughout the year. If it looks like some team that we have playing in December looks like a world-beater, it'll obviously be predicted to go to another bowl as the season goes on.

A few more things.

1) The BCS games that lose their natural tie-ins to the BCS championship will get the first choices of at-large teams, and after that it goes Fiesta, Sugar, Orange in the selection process.
2) Notre Dame will have an automatic berth if it's in the top eight of the final BCS Standings and can be selected with an at-large bid if it finishes in the top 14.
3) Some bowls ignore the final standings as far as the seedings and pairings. Again, geography is a big deal.
4) Ohio State, Penn State, UCF and North Carolina aren't allowed to go to a bowl game, They were naughty.

And away we go. Happy bowling.

Gildan New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM University Stadium
Dec. 15, 1:00 pm, ESPN
Pac-12 No. 7 vs. Mountain West No. 4 or 5
Projection: Arizona vs. Fresno State 

Famous Idaho Potato
Boise, ID Bronco Stadium,
Dec. 15, 4:30 pm, ESPN
WAC vs. MAC No. 3
Projection: Utah State vs. Toledo  

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia
San Diego, CA Qualcomm Stadium
Dec. 20, 8:00 pm, ESPN
BYU vs. MWC No. 2
Projection: BYU vs. Nevada 

Beef O' Brady's St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg, FL Tropicana Field
Dec. 21, 7:30 pm, ESPN
C-USA vs. Big East No. 6
Projection: East Carolina vs. Illinois*
*No Big East team projected available 

R+L Carriers New Orleans
New Orleans, LA Mercedes-Benz Superdome
Dec. 22, 12:00, ESPN
C-USA vs. Sun Belt No. 1
Projection: Houston vs. ULM 

MAACO Las Vegas
Las Vegas, NV Sam Boyd Stadium
Dec. 22, 3:30 pm, ESPN
Pac-12 No. 5 vs. MWC No. 1
Projection: Utah vs. Boise State 

Sheraton Hawaii
Honolulu, HI Aloha Stadium
Dec. 24, 8:00 pm, ESPN
Mountain West vs. C-USA
Projection: Hawaii vs. East Carolina 

Little Caesars Pizza
Detroit, MI Ford Field
Dec. 26, 7:30 pm, ESPN
Big Ten No. 8 vs. MAC No. 2
Projection: Iowa State*  vs. Northern Illinois 
*No ACC team projected available

Military
Washington, DC RFK Stadium
Dec. 27, 3:00 pm, ESPN
Army vs. ACC No. 8
Projection: Army vs. Notre Dame* 
*No ACC team projected available

Belk
Charlotte, NC Bank of America Stadium
Dec. 27, 6:30 pm, ESPN
ACC No. 5 vs. Big East No. 3
Projection: NC State vs. Cincinnati 

Bridgepoint Education Holiday
San Diego, CA Qualcomm Stadium
Dec. 27, 9:45 pm, ESPN
Pac-12 No. 3 vs. Big 12 No. 5
Projection: Arizona State vs. Oklahoma State 

AdvoCare V100 Independence
Shreveport, LA Independence Stadium
Dec. 28, 2:00 pm, ESPN
ACC No. 7 vs. SEC
Projection: Wake Forest vs. Missouri

Russell Athletic
Orlando, FL Florida Citrus Bowl
Dec. 28, 5:30 pm, ESPN
Big East No. 2 vs. ACC No. 3
Projection: South Florida vs. Georgia Tech 

Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas
Houston, TX Reliant Stadium
Dec. 28, 9:00 pm, ESPN
Big 12 No. 6 vs. Big Ten No. 6
Projection: Baylor vs. Iowa 

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces
Fort Worth, TX Amon G. Carter Stadium
Dec. 29, 11:45 am, ESPN
C-USA vs. MWC
Projection: Southern Miss vs. Air Force 

Kraft Fight Hunger
San Francisco, CA AT&T Park
Dec. 29, 3:15 pm, ESPN or ESPN2
Navy vs. Pac-12 No. 6
Projection: Navy vs. Stanford 

New Era Pinstripe
Bronx, NY Yankee Stadium
Dec. 29, 3:15 pm, ESPN or ESPN2
Big 12 No. 7 vs. Big East No. 4
Projection: Texas Tech vs. Rutgers 

Valero Alamo
San Antonio, TX Alamodome
Dec. 29, 6:45 pm, ESPN
Pac-12 No. 2 vs. Big 12 No. 3
Projection: UCLA vs. Kansas State 

Valley of the Sun
Tempe, AZ Sun Devil Stadium
Dec. 29, 10:15 pm, ESPN
Big 12 No. 4 vs. Big Ten No. 4 or 5
Projection: TCU vs. Purdue 

Franklin American Mortgage Music City
Nashville, TN LP Field
Dec. 31, 12:00 pm, ESPN
SEC No. 7 vs. ACC No. 6
Projection: Mississippi State vs. Maryland

Hyundai Sun
El Paso, TX Sun Bowl
Dec. 31, 2:00 pm, CBS
ACC No. 4 vs. Pac-12 No. 4
Projection: Virginia vs. California 

AutoZone Liberty
Memphis, TN Liberty Bowl
Dec. 31, 3:30 pm, ESPN
C-USA No. 1 vs. SEC No. 8 or 9 or Big East No. 5 if not SEC
Projection: Tulsa vs. Auburn 

Chick-fil-A
Atlanta, GA Georgia Dome
Dec. 31, 7:30 pm, ESPN
ACC No. 2 vs. SEC No. 5
Projection: Clemson vs. Tennessee 

TicketCity
Dallas, TX Cotton Bowl
Jan. 1, 12:00 pm, ESPNU
C-USA vs. Big Ten No. 7
Projection: SMU vs. Northwestern 

TaxSlayer.com Gator
Jacksonville, FL EverBank Field
Jan. 1, 12:00 pm, ESPN2
Big Ten No. 4 or 5 vs. SEC No. 6
Projection: Nebraska vs. Arkansas 

Capital One
Orlando, FL Florida Citrus Bowl
Jan. 1, 1:00 pm, TBA
SEC No. 2 vs. Big Ten No. 2
Projection: Georgia vs. Wisconsin 

Outback
Tampa, FL Raymond James Stadium
Big Ten No. 3 vs. SEC No. 3 Jan. 1, 1:00 pm, TBA
Projection: Michigan vs. Florida 

AT&T Cotton
Arlington, TX Cowboys Stadium
Jan. 4, 8:00 pm, FOX
Big 12 No. 2 vs. SEC No. 3 or 4
Projection: West Virginia vs. South Carolina 

BBVA Compass
Birmingham, AL Legion Field
Jan. 5, 1:00 pm, ESPN
SEC No. 8 or 9 vs. Big East No. 5 or C-USA
Projection: Texas A&M vs. Syracuse 

GoDaddy.com
Mobile, AL Ladd-Peebles Stadium
Jan. 6, 9:00 pm, ESPN
Sun Belt No. 2 vs. MAC No. 1
Projection: Louisiana-Lafayette vs. Ohio 

BCS BOWLS

Rose Bowl Game presented by VIZIO
January 1st, 5:00 pm, ESPN
Pasadena, CA Rose Bowl
Big Ten No. 1 vs. Pac-12
Projection: Michigan State vs. Oregon 

Discover Orange
January 1st, 8:30 pm, ESPN
Miami Gardens, FL Sun Life Stadium
ACC No. 1 vs. BCS At-Large
Projection: Florida State vs. Louisville 

Allstate Sugar
January 2nd, 8:30 pm, ESPN
New Orleans, LA Mercedes-Benz Superdome
SEC No. 1 vs. BCS At-Large
Projection: LSU vs. Oklahoma 

Tostitos Fiesta
January 3rd, 8:30 pm, ESPN
Glendale, AZ Univ. of Phoenix Stadium
Big 12 No. 1 vs. BCS At-Large
Projection: Texas vs.  Virginia Tech

Discover BCS National Championship
January 7th, 8:30pm, ESPN
Miami Gardens, FL Sun Life Stadium
BCS No. 1 vs. BCS No. 2
Projection: Alabama vs. USC