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Posted: Monday November 30, 2009 12:29AM; Updated: Monday November 30, 2009 12:30PM
Stewart Mandel
Stewart Mandel>INSIDE COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Projecting all 34 bowl matchups

Story Highlights

The ACC pecking order will depend on the Georgia Tech-Clemson title game

My Pac-10 lineup is based on Oregon beating Oregon State next weekend

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Will Notre Dame accept a bowl bid with its staff, including head coach Charlie Weis, in flux?
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With only a week to go until Selection Sunday, much of this chart is still very fluid.

For instance, the six 7-5 teams from the SEC are all possibilities for any of six bowls. My projections are based on a hunch that the Outback will select Tennessee and the Chick-fil-A will take home-state Georgia, creating a ripple effect from there. A different decision by either bowl, however, could affect five other teams' spots.

The ACC pecking order will depend in large part on the result of Saturday's Georgia Tech-Clemson championship game. I'm projecting a Yellow Jackets victory, with Clemson sliding to the Champs Sports Bowl. If the Tigers win, however, Georgia Tech's 7-1 conference record prevents it from falling below the Gator Bowl. Similarly, a Cincinnati victory over Pittsburgh could send the Panthers sliding to the Meineke Car Care Bowl, but the Bearcats might not slip past the Gator.

My Pac-10 lineup is based on Oregon beating Oregon State. Should the Beavers win, the Ducks will not fall below the Holiday Bowl, causing USC and others to drop a spot. The Big Ten and Big 12 lineups seem more clear-cut.

Only one eligible BCS-conference team will not get a bowl spot. Right now, that teams appears to be UCLA. However, there remains the possibility that Notre Dame, which I have in the Little Caesars Bowl, will turn down a bowl invite, what with its coaching staff in flux and its star players already setting sights on the NFL. In that event, a spot would open for the Bruins, most likely in either the GMAC or Humanitarian bowls.

• Note that some official bowl berths might be doled out prior to Sunday, in which case this chart will be updated.

• Finally, it's important to remember that bowls are NOT obligated to choose their teams in exact order of conference standings. For instance, "ACC No. 3" means "third choice of ACC teams" -- not "the ACC's third-place team." Also, a bowl can only select a 6-6 team from a conference if no 7-5 team from that league is still available, and bowls seeking a replacement for a conference without enough eligible teams cannot choose a 6-6 team if there is a 7-5 team available.

Untitled
BCS Bowls
Date Predicted Matchup
Jan. 1 Rose: Ohio State (Big Ten champ) vs. Oregon (Pac-10 champ)
Jan. 1 Sugar: Florida (BCS at-large) vs. Cincinnati (Big East champ)
Jan. 4 Fiesta: Iowa (BCS at-large) vs. Boise State (BCS at-large)
Jan. 5 Orange: Georgia Tech (ACC champ) vs. TCU (BCS at-large)
Jan. 7 BCS Championship: Alabama (BCS No. 1) vs. Texas (BCS No. 2)

Non-BCS Bowls
Date Predicted Matchup
Dec. 19 New Mexico: Wyoming (MWC) vs. Fresno State (WAC)
Dec. 19 St. Petersburg: Connecticut (Big East) vs. Southern Miss (C-USA)
Dec. 20 New Orleans: Troy (Sun Belt) vs. Central Florida (C-USA)
Dec. 22 Las Vegas: Oregon State (Pac-10 No. 5) vs. BYU (MWC No. 1)
Dec. 23 Poinsettia: Utah (MWC No. 2) vs. Arizona (Pac-10 No. 6)
Dec. 24 Hawaii: Nevada (WAC) vs. SMU (C-USA)
Dec. 26 Little Caesars: Central Michigan (MAC) vs. Notre Dame (Big Ten No. 7*)
Dec. 26 Meineke Car Care: Florida State (ACC) vs. Pittsburgh (Big East No. 3)
Dec. 26 Emerald: Stanford (Pac-10 No. 4) vs. Boston College (ACC)
Dec. 27 Music City: North Carolina (ACC) vs. South Carolina (SEC)
Dec. 28 Independence: Iowa State (Big 12) vs. Kentucky (SEC)
Dec. 29 Eagle Bank: Northern Illinois (ACC*) vs. Marshall (C-USA)
Dec. 29 Champs Sports: Clemson (ACC No. 4) vs. Northwestern (Big Ten No. 4)
Dec. 30 Humanitarian: Bowling Green (MWC*) vs. Idaho (WAC)
Dec. 30 Holiday: USC (Pac-10 No. 2) vs. Nebraska (Big 12 No. 3)
Dec. 31 Armed Forces: Air Force (MWC) vs. East Carolina (C-USA)
Dec. 31 Sun: California (Pac-10 No. 3) vs. Oklahoma (Big 12 No. 5)
Dec. 31 Texas: Texas A&M (Big 12) vs. Navy
Dec. 31 Insight: Missouri (Big 12 No. 6) vs. Minnesota (Big Ten No. 6)
Dec. 31 Chick-fil-A: Georgia (SEC) vs. Virginia Tech (ACC No. 2)
Jan. 1 Outback: Wisconsin (Big Ten No. 3) vs. Tennessee (SEC)
Jan. 1 Gator Miami (ACC No. 3) vs. West Virginia (Big East No. 2)
Jan. 1 Capital One: Penn State (Big Ten No. 2) vs. LSU (SEC No. 2)
Jan. 2 International: Rutgers (Big East) vs. Ohio (MAC)
Jan. 2 PapaJohns.com South Florida (Big East) vs. Auburn (SEC)
Jan. 2 Cotton: Oklahoma State (Big 12 No. 2) vs. Ole Miss (SEC)
Jan. 2 Liberty: Houston (C-USA Champ) vs. Arkansas (SEC)
Jan. 2 Alamo: Texas Tech (Big 12 No. 4) vs. Michigan State (Big Ten No. 5)
Jan. 6 GMAC: Temple (MAC) vs. Middle Tennessee (ACC*)

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