A Fiesta Bowl littered with NFL prospects on both ends was turned in Oklahoma State’s favor late Monday night by a combination of Stanford’s missed field goals and gritty play by its 28-year-old senior quarterback and star wide receiver as the Cowboys topped Stanford 41-38.

A field goal by Oklahoma State kicker Quinn Sharp in the first overtime period clinched victory for the Cowboys after Stanford kicker Jordan Williamson missed two straight opportunities to add three points, the first of which would have given the Cardinal a victory.

A catch from Cowboy wide receiver Colton Chelf set Sharp up for the game-winning kick after Stanford failed to score on its first possession in overtime. It was not until Sharp nailed the kick to win the game that the Cowboys led the 2012 Fiesta Bowl, as Stanford moved the ball up and down the field for 590 total yards.

Andrew Luck, the assumed first overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft, led the way for the Cardinal and finished the night with more than 300 yards passing and two touchdowns. Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon, the Cowboys’ superstar draft prospect, was electric on the night, finishing with 186 yards receiving and three touchdowns.

Just the third overtime game in Fiesta Bowl history was an exciting one, as both offenses were obviously ready to go. Oklahoma State certainly had reason to be disappointed with its place in the Fiesta Bowl, but came out firing despite facing an early 14-0 deficit and matched the Cardinal score for score from there.

The 2012 BCS bowl matchups have been announced, with the rematch of the century, Alabama-LSU highlighting the slate in the BCS national championship game.

The BCS will begin with the Rose Bowl, this year held on Jan. 2, followed by the Sugar Bowl that night.

The Orange Bowl and Fiesta Bowl will played on Jan. 4 and Jan. 5 respectively, with the title game not coming our way until Jan. 9.

Represented are the champions of all six BCS conferences, teams that missed the Pac-12, SEC and Big Ten conference championship games, and the ACC’s runner up.

2012 BCS Schedule

	Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. January 2, 2012 5 p.m. EST
	Wisconsin Badgers
vs.
	Oregon Ducks
	Comment: The champions of the Big Ten and Pac-12, coming off victories in each conference’s first-ever conference championship game, will face off in the single BCS bowl with the most history. And the Oregon-Wisconsin meeting might just have the most intrigue and interest among the five BCS bowls, too. Offense runs both teams’ attacks with weapons like Oregon stable of athletes (Darron Thomas, LaMichael James, De’Anthony Thomas among many others) and the Badgers’ two-headed monster in Monte Ball and Russell Wilson.
	–
	Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, La. January 3, 2012 8:30 p.m. EST
	Michigan Wolverines
vs.
	Virginia Tech Hokies
	Comment: Somewhat surprise bids for both Michigan and Virginia Tech will give this Sugar Bowl a distinctively un-Sugar Bowl like feel, as no SEC team was available for the bowl to take to replace a lost team to the title game as they have in years past. Of course, the player in this game that everyone knows is Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson, but Virginia Tech comes ready with a strong offensive attack and of course a Frank Beamer coached defense and special teams. Should be a good one in the bayou as they ready for the title game a week later.
	–
	Orange Bowl in Miami, Fla. January 4, 2012 8:30 p.m. EST
	Clemson Tigers
vs.
	West Virginia Mountaineers
	Comment: The champions of the Big East and ACC meet in the Orange Bowl yet again, this time pitting West Virginia against a revitalized Clemson squad. West Virginia was the beneficiary of a three-way tiebreaker in the Big East. The Mountaineers shared the regular season crown with Louisville and Cincinnati, but by finishing highest in the final BCS standings, the Mountaineers were assured of the conference’s automatic BCS bid. Clemson topped Virginia Tech in the ACC title game, somewhat of a surprise, and got an automatic bid to the Orange Bowl in the process.
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	Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona January 5, 2012 8:30 p.m. EST
	Oklahoma State Cowboys
vs.
	Stanford Cardinal
	Comment: Just missing out on the BCS title game leaves Oklahoma State to take the Big 12′s rightful place in the Fiesta Bowl, where the Cowboys will be faced with Stanford and Heisman candidate Andrew Luck in the desert. The Cowboys have a strong duo at the top of their offensive attack as well, as quarterback Brandon Weeden and wide receiver Justin Blackmon are among the best in the nation at their positions. Expect nothing less than a shootout.
	–
	BCS National Championship Game in New Orleans, La. January 9, 2012 8:30 p.m. EST
	LSU Tigers
vs.
	Alabama Crimson Tide
	Comment: The matchup everyone wanted to see has turned into the rematch that most of the country clamored for. A 9-6 victory for LSU over Alabama earlier this season was obviously not enough for many of the voters, and we’ll get another chance to see the best two teams in the country go at it again. Both have world-class defenses and feature some great offensive weapons, such as Alabama running back Trent Richardson and LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson. Could we be in for another low scoring affair? Or will the offenses break out this time?

With a dominating 44-10 victory over Oklahoma in Saturday night’s edition of Bedlam in Stillwater, Oklahoma State has clinched the Big 12 conference’s automatic bid to a BCS bowl.

The Cowboys finish the season 11-1 after their victory over the Sooners, and would likely have the biggest gripe with an Alabama-LSU rematch in the BCS title game if that is to happen and the Cowboys were to be left out.

The Cowboys are led by quarterback Brandon Weeden and wide receiver Justin Blackmon, who both had spectacular seasons in Stillwater, helping coach Mike Gundy’s squad rise to national dominance.

Oklahoma State was long favored to make its way to the title game, but a shocking loss to Iowa State a few weekends ago, the Cowboys hopes were hit and hit badly.

But nothing is for certain. 174 voters will have the opportunity to give Oklahoma State a shot at LSU, will they get it? Or will they be left to the Fiesta Bowl as the Big 12 conference champions?

Only time will tell. Or you can visit BCS Know How’s projections, due out later tonight.

More information can be found at the BCS Bowls page.

As it acts today, the BCS facilitates matchups in five bowl games — the BCS National Championship Game along with the Orange, Sugar, Fiesta and Rose bowls.

In the 2011-12 season as in past years, there is a specific selection process for each of the five bowls, with slight changes year-to-year.

On Sunday December 4th, “Selection Sunday” if you will, representatives from the conferences, bowl games and schools meet to decide the matchups in the five bowl games in the following fashion:

Creating the BCS Selection Pool

• The champions of the six automatically qualifying BCS conferences — the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, Pac-12 and SEC — all receive guaranteed bids to BCS games.
• The highest-ranking conference champion among the five non-AQ conferences — C-USA, MAC, MWC, Sun Belt, and the WAC — in the final BCS rankings will also be assured of a bid to a BCS bowl if they rank within the top 12 or within the top 16 and rank higher than any BCS conference champion.
• Any teams which wins nine games and finishes within the top 18 of the final BCS standings will be BCS bowl-eligible, although a team within the top-14 will have priority on eligibility over a team ranked 15th-18th.
• Though more than two teams from a single conference can be BCS bowl eligible, no more than two teams from a single conference can be selected to play in the five BCS bowls.

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BCS National Championship Game Participants

• The teams ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the final BCS standings — regardless of conference affiliation or own-conference finish — will be placed in the BCS National Championship Game to be held in New Orleans, Louisiana in January 2012 as the selection committee’s first measure.

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Filling Conference Affiliation

• After the National Title Game is filled, the remaining BCS bowls will fill their bowls with their traditional “anchor host” conference champions as follows:
  • Rose Bowl: Big Ten and Pac-12
  • Fiesta Bowl: Big 12
  • Orange Bowl: ACC
  • Sugar Bowl: SEC

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Championship Replacement

• If any of the bowls’ traditional anchor hosts have been lost to the BCS National Championship Game, that bowl will be allowed to select a replacement team from the eligible pool before any other picks are made.
• If more than one bowl loses a host conference champion, the bowl which lost the BCS No. 1 will choose its replacement from the pool first, followed by the bowl that lost the BCS No. 2.

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Filling the Rest of the Bowls

• Once all of the affiliation and replacement selections have been made, the Sugar, Fiesta and Orange will select from among the remaining members of the eligibility pool in the following order:
  • Fiesta, Sugar, Orange.
• One of the three bowls will be required to select the Big East champion and the automatically qualifying non-AQ champion if one exists.
• If not selected previously, a team which finishes third in the final BCS standings will automatically be awarded a spot in a BCS bowl if they are an at-large team and not an AQ BCS conference champion. If the third team is a conference champion, the fourth-place team will also be afforded this automatic eligibility if not selected previously.
• The three bowls will also be able to select among the rest of the pool if no other teams automatically qualify for inclusion among the five bowls.

The first week of the college football season rarely reveals much to illuminate the season to come. Blowout victories and third-stringers playing in the fourth quarter is the norm.

In 2011, however, quite a bit was revealed during college football’s first week. Some preseason favorites looked great, (Alabama, Oklahoma, Stanford, Wisconsin) while others (Oregon, Notre Dame) didn’t quite pass muster on their first go ’round.

How will that change the projected BCS bowls? Well not too much in the first week of play, but there is definitely a different feeling in the air after one week of play.

The dominoes seem ready to start falling, the question — as it always is — will be which one goes first?

For reference, the at-large selection order for the 2012 bowl slate (after hosting contracts have been filled and the NCG is filled) is: Fiesta, Sugar, Orange.

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BCS National Championship Game: Oklahoma Sooners (BCS No. 1) vs. LSU Tigers (BCS No. 2)

Comment: Oklahoma looked like the preseason favorite it was meant to be against Tulsa, easily dispatching the Golden Hurricane. The Sooners will have a far tougher test come Sept. 17, the next time they hit the field, when they play Florida State. A win there, however, would give the Sooners a firm position very early in the year.

Drama surrounded the final days of LSU’s offseason, but now, could the possibility of a national championship surround the final days of its actual season? LSU showed just the kind of power and effectiveness that could get them all the way to the BCS title game. Of course, standing in their way is a daunting schedule, but the Tigers impressed more than any Saturday.

Rose Bowl: Stanford Cardinal (Pac-12 Champion) vs. Wisconsin Badgers (Big Ten Champion)

Comment: Two teams looking to return to BCS bowls this season showed the same power and finesse during week one that got the Cardinal and the Badgers to the Orange and Rose bowls respectively. Stanford and Andrew Luck plastered San Jose State, while Wisconsin had no trouble filling up the scoreboard against UNLV. Expect more of the same moving forward from both.

Sugar Bowl: Alabama Crimson Tide (At-large selection) vs. Boise State Broncos (At-large selection)

Comment: Alabama likely has higher aspirations than the Sugar Bowl, but if LSU is to win the SEC and take the BCS NCG bid away from the Tide, don’t be surprised to find their explosive offense in New Orleans anyways.

Boise State proved once again that they’re a legitimate contender, no matter the flack they receive in the press. Taking down yet another ranked opponent on national television during the first weekend, the Broncos are once again in the chase for the title. But if they still can’t become the ultimate BCS buster, then a Sugar Bowl could be in the cards.

Orange Bowl: Florida State Seminoles (ACC Champion) vs. South Florida Bulls (Big East Champion)

Comment: Florida State breezed by the competition on its opening weekend, easily topping Louisiana-Monroe. Of course, playing the Sun Belt doesn’t reveal much about the Seminoles potential as ACC champions, but it did show a strength in the team early. Next week should be just as easy a breeze, as FSU takes on Charleston Southern, but after that, the Sooners await.

South Florida showed a surprising amount of fight against Notre Dame and shocked much of the country by posting a victory in South Bend. That’s good enough to see the Bulls as having a real shot at the Big East crown.

Fiesta Bowl: Oregon Ducks (At-large selection) vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (At-large selection)

Comment: Two teams whose weekends didn’t go quite as planned, but both have plenty of time to recover and reconstitute a run at a BCS bowl. The matchup here is still too inciting for any bowl to pass up, and the Fiesta Bowl would certainly love to see it.

A wide open college football landscape gives us another year of a nearly impossible-to-predict BCS bowl slate. Will we see yet another SEC champion or is it time for another conference to rise to the top of the pack?

Ten spots, five bowls and one national champion. The chase starts Thursday, but these teams seem best suited for a BCS bowl run today.

Two weeks from now? Could be a whole different picture.

For reference, the at-large selection order for the 2012 bowl slate (after hosting contracts have been filled and the NCG is filled) is: Fiesta, Sugar, Orange.

The college football season begins today. Are you ready?

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BCS National Championship Game: Oklahoma Sooners (BCS No. 1) vs. Alabama Crimson Tide (BCS No. 2)

Comment: Oklahoma has once again claimed the spot as a preseason darling of the pollsters around the country. The question, as it always seems to be, is can coach Bob Stoops deliver on yet another team filled with NFL-caliber talent and all kinds of potential with a BCS bowl victory and — more importantly a BCS national championship?

Alabama, who seem ready to go once again after missing out on its shot at a repeat crown in 2010, seem to be the de facto favorite in the SEC, especially considering the drama surrounding the LSU program. ‘Bama has a favorable schedule all things considered in the tough SEC West, but could very easily claim that crystal ball once again.

Rose Bowl: Stanford Cardinal (Pac-12 Champion) vs. Wisconsin Badgers (Big Ten Champion)

Comment: Stanford spent much of 2010 playing second fiddle to Oregon, but in 2011, all that could be different. With the Heisman favorite behind center in Andrew Luck and skill to fill nearly every position, the time is right for the Cardinal to take advantage of a relatively weak Pac-12 top-to-bottom.

Wisconsin claimed the Big Ten’s automatic BCS bid last season on the strength of its BCS ranking. No tiebreaker will be necessary this season, as the Big Ten’s new 12-team format allows the conference to hold its own conference championship game, but there’s plenty of reason to believe Wisconsin could once again claim the conference’s automatic bid.

Sugar Bowl: LSU Tigers (At-large selection) vs. Boise State Broncos (At-large selection)

Comment: The Sugar Bowl has had the luxury these past few years of having first choice of the eligible at-large BCS teams as it has lost the SEC champion to the BCS National Championship Game every year during the BCS’s double-hosting format. There’s no reason to think this year will be any different, and with LSU likely prepping for a high-flying season, the Tigers would be a perfect fit for the Sugar Bowl’s New Orleans locale.

After they take their replacement, the Sugar Bowl will have to wait for the Fiesta Bowl to pick twice (once to replace the Big 12 champion Oklahoma and once as the first at-large pick). We’ll project that Boise State, yet again eligible, will be waiting with an attractive record and a consistency in BCS bowls that the Sugar Bowl will have to respect.

Orange Bowl: Florida State Seminoles (ACC Champion) vs. South Florida Bulls (Big East Champion)

Comment: The Seminoles fell just short of an ACC title last season and an automatic berth to the Orange Bowl. But with a weakened ACC (especially a weakened Virgina Tech) the time is right for the Seminoles to rise to the top of the conference yet again, and a Orange Bowl berth will be their reward.

South Florida (yes South Florida) could join the Seminoles in an all-Florida Orange Bowl by taking the Big East’s bid from a conference that is truly without a 2011 favorite. Skip Holtz and the Bulls might just have what it takes in this toss up Big East year and saddled with the final at-large pick the Orange Bowl will likely see the Big East champ — whoever that might be — fall to it.

Fiesta Bowl: Oregon Ducks (At-large selection) vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (At-large selection)

Comment: If the Fiesta Bowl does in fact lose Oklahoma (or any Big 12 champion) to the national championship game, the bowl would have two of the first three choices among the bowl for at-large teams. The strategy is always unpredictable, but bowls often go for the best available teams and the teams they hope can attract the largest national interest.

With Oregon likely providing a top-ten team and Notre Dame the kind of national fan base every bowl hopes to attract, the Ducks-Fighting Irish matchup looks about as juicy as any bowl could hope for, and for now at least, that’s what we’ll project.

The 2012 BCS Bowls matchups have been announced. Check them out HERE.

Ten teams will have a chance to participate in the Bowl Championship Series at the end of the 2011 college football season, but only two will play for a national title.

Months still separate those 10 teams from their BCS destinies and trips to Glendale, Pasadena, New Orleans and Miami, but for those squads with high aspirations, a trip to those locations is the goal.

Once again, the Bowl Championship Series will be comprised of five bowl games — the traditional Rose, Sugar, Orange and Fiesta Bowls, along with the “double hosting” format BCS National Championship Game to be played in New Orleans on January 9, 2012.

All five BCS bowls are listed with conference affiliations. If the conference is unable to fulfill an affiliation, the bowl can choose any BCS-eligible at-large team. For more information on the selection process, head over to the BCS Bowls page.

2012 BCS Schedule

	Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. January 2, 2012 5 p.m. EST
	Big Ten Conference
vs.
	Pacific 12 Conference
	–
	Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona January 2, 2012 8:30 p.m. EST
	Big 12 Conference
vs.
	BCS At-large
	–
	Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, La. January 3, 2012 8:30 p.m. EST
	Southeastern Conference
vs.
	BCS At-large
	–
	Orange Bowl in Miami, Fla. January 4, 2012 8:30 p.m. EST
	Atlantic Coast Conference
vs.
	BCS At-large
	–
	BCS National Championship Game in New Orleans, La. January 9, 2012 8:30 p.m. EST
	BCS No. 1
vs.
	BCS No. 2

Connecticut Huskies (8-4)

How They Got Here: After finishing in a three-way tie for first place in the Big East conference, the Connecticut Huskies were the beneficiaries of the tiebreaker with both West Virginia and Pittsburgh after beating both teams during the regular season. As the winner of the tiebreaker the Huskies were awarded the Big East’s automatic BCS bowl bid.

Connecticut’s 2010 Season: Expectations were high for the Huskies entering the 2010 season, but after starting the season 1-2 against non-conference opposition, people began to rethink their opinion of Connecticut. Then when the Huskies dropped their first two Big East games, there were even doubts about UConn’s bowl eligibility hopes.

But after rolling off four straight victories against Big East conference opponents, the Huskies were in position to win the Big East conference’s BCS bowl bid by virtue of a tiebreaker.

Then on the final day of the 2010 regular season, the Huskies pulled out a last-second victory over South Florida on the strength of a Dave Teggart’s 52-yard field goal with 17 seconds to play — clinching the three-way tie atop the Big East at 5-2 and a BCS bowl bid.

Oklahoma Sooners (11-2)

How They Got Here: Champions of the Big 12 South division on the strength of their finish in the seventh BCS standings of the season, the Oklahoma Sooners clinched another BCS bowl bid with their 23-20 victory over Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship Game in the final week of the season.

Oklahoma’s 2010 Season: The Sooners were among a select group of teams that pundits believed had a chance at a national title in 2010, and the Sooners looked the part, climbing as high as No. 1 in the BCS early in the 2010 season.

However, losses to Missouri and Texas A&M dashed the Sooner’s hopes at another shot at a BCS national title, and instead the Sooners are headed to yet another BCS bowl as champions of the Big 12 in the conference’s final season as a 12-team league.

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Matchup to Watch: The nation as a whole has been well-versed in Bob Stoops offense and defense as the Sooners are seemingly a yearly feature in the Big 12 and BCS races. The real question here is how UConn’s offense and truly the entire team will be able to respond to the spotlight of their first BCS bowl in school history.

UConn running back Johnathan Todman is among the best in the country, and at just 5-foot-9 will be a difficult task for the Oklahoma front seven to locate and tackle. Can Todman and quarterback Zach Fazer overcome the perceived mismatch and hand Oklahoma yet another loss in a BCS bowl?

BCS Know How Prediction: Yes, Oklahoma has made a habit of dropping the ball in the biggest situations — namely BCS bowls — but this matchup seems to be more in the Sooners’ favor than ever before. UConn is a better team than their record or rank show, but they’ll be hard pressed to hang with Oklahoma.

Oklahoma 42 vs. Connecticut 17

The 2011 BCS bowl matchups have been announced, with the long-awaited Auburn-Oregon BCS National Championship Game highlighting a slate of five marquee BCS bowl games.

The BCS will begin as it usually does, with the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day, followed by the Fiesta Bowl that night.

The Fiesta Bowl and Sugar Bowl will played on January 3 and January 4 respectively, with the title game not coming our way until January 10th.

Represented are the champions of all six BCS conferences, the MWC conference, the Pac-10 runner up, the Big Ten runner up and one of two SEC teams to finish 10-2 but miss out on the opportunity to play in the SEC Championship Game.

Here is your official schedule:

Click bowl names for BCS Know How previews!

BCS National Championship Game

Glendale, Arizona. January 10th, 2011

	Auburn Tigers
vs.
	Oregon Ducks

Comment: There were stumbles and potential pitfalls on the way, but ever since the initial unpredictability of the early part of the 2010 season, the Ducks and Tigers returned a sense of stability to the top of the rankings — and will meet in Glendale as the two best teams in the country.

The champions of the SEC and Pac-10 respectively, Auburn and Oregon have ruled atop the BCS rankings these past few weeks and put exclamations on their fantastic seasons with dominating performances on the final weekend of the year, and set up to potentially give us one of the most exciting BCS National Championship Games in memory.

Rose Bowl

Pasadena, California. January 1st, 2011

	Wisconsin Badgers
vs.
	TCU Horned Frogs

Comment: Two teams who have a legitimate claim at being the “hottest” team in the country as the season finishes will have to make do with an invitation to the most prestigious bowl on the BCS slate, the Rose Bowl.

Wisconsin gets to play in Pasadena on the strength of a Big Ten tiebreaker and a strong showing throughout the season, while TCU takes advantage of the much-discussed non-AQ clause in its first year and will join the Badgers on New Year’s Day.

Fiesta Bowl

Glendale, Arizona. January 1st, 2011

	Oklahoma Sooners
vs.
	Connecticut Huskies

Comment: Few if any prognosticators saw Connecticut as a viable threat to make their way to a BCS bowl in the 2010 season, but here the Huskies are — champions of the Big East at 8-4 overall and headed to Glendale for the Fiesta Bowl.

Waiting for the Huskies will be the Oklahoma Sooners, who will fulfill the Big 12′s contract with the Fiesta Bowl as the conference champion. The Sooners will be looking to break a string of poor performances in BCS bowls following successful seasons and the Huskies will be their next opportunity to do so.

Orange Bowl

Miami, Florida. January 3rd, 2011

	Virginia Tech Hokies
vs.
	Stanford Cardinal

Comment: South Beach, long the home of a January Orange Bowl between two East Coast teams will see a surprise visit from cross-country invaders Stanford, who automatically qualified for one of the four at-large BCS bowl bids on the strength of their No. 4 finish in the final BCS standings.

The Virginia Tech Hokies will be less of a surprise entrant here, playing in their third Orange Bowl in four years as the champion of the ACC and riding an 11-game winning streak into their bowl date with the Cardinal.

Sugar Bowl

New Orleans, Louisiana. January 4th, 2011

	Arkansas Razorbacks
vs.
	Ohio State Buckeyes

Comment: Two teams looking on the outside of the automatic bowl bid picture had their lots picked up by the Sugar Bowl, as the New Orleans-based bowl selected a replacement SEC team — Arkansas — and a very attractive at-large opponent — Ohio State — to feature in their tradition-filled bowl.

Both teams finished just short of making runs at their respective conference crowns, but were well rewarded with a bid to the Sugar Bowl to play in a marquee Big Ten-SEC matchup.

The 2011 BCS Bowls have been announced, check out the matchups HERE.

The regular season is over, automatic BCS bowl bids have been claimed.

The question now is, where will those teams end up? And who picks up the at-large bids?

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BCS National Championship Game: Auburn Tigers (BCS No. 1) vs. Oregon Ducks (BCS No. 2)

Comment: It’s been more than a month since this projection has changed, and the Auburn Tigers and Oregon Ducks certainly looked the part on Saturday. Both clinched spots in the title game with convincing victories and will make for one of — if not the most — entertaining BCS title games in the BCS era.

Rose Bowl: TCU Horned Frogs (At-large selection) vs. Wisconsin Badgers (Big Ten Champion)

Comment: By finishing third in the final BCS standings, TCU will be afforded an automatic at-large bid to the BCS. And with Pac-10 champion Oregon on their way to the BCS title game, TCU will make their way to the Rose Bowl due to a much-discussed clause in the BCS selection process.

Waiting for the Horned Frogs will be Wisconsin, who claims the Big Ten’s automatic bid to the Rose Bowl on the strength of the BCS standings tiebreaker by finishing at No. 5 in the standings tomorrow. The Badgers and Frogs may be disappointed to fall short of the BCS title game, but this Rose Bowl matchup could be among the best games of the bowl season.

Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma Sooners (Big 12 Champion) vs. Connecticut Huskies (Big East Champion)

Comment: As the Big 12 champion, the Oklahoma Sooners will be on their way to the Fiesta Bowl, fulfilling the Fiesta Bowl’s contractual agreement with the conference to host their champion if they do not play in the BCS National Championship Game.

After locking down the Big 12 Champion Sooners, the Fiesta won’t be able to pick their second team until every other bowl has made their selection, and that will likely leave them with but one choice. The Big East champion Connecticut Huskies are likely to fall all the way to the Fiesta Bowl, and whether they like it or not, the Fiesta Bowl will be required to take them with this final pick.

Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech Hokies (ACC Champion) vs. Stanford Cardinal (At-large selection)

Comment: By defeating Florida State in the ACC Championship Game, but falling short of the BCS title game, the Hokies will be on their way to the Orange Bowl as ACC Champs.

With the Hokies locked down, the Orange Bowl will be faced with a tough decision between bringing UConn or Stanford to Florida. With an eye towards creating the best matchup, Stanford’s 11-1 record will look very attractive to the Orange Bowl committee, and will be hard to pass up in this position.

Sugar Bowl: Arkansas Razorbacks (At-large selection) vs. Ohio State Buckeyes (At-large selection)

Comment: With Auburn on their way to the BCS title game, the Sugar Bowl will receive the first replacement pick and will look to replace Auburn with another SEC team. Waiting for that selection is Arkansas, seemingly a lock to receive the Sugar Bowl’s admiration after beating LSU last weekend.

After selecting their replacement for Auburn, the Sugar Bowl will get the next pick, and fawning over the opportunity to bring Ohio State to Louisiana, will jump at the opportunity and select the Buckeyes with their second at-large selection.