Projecting all 34 bowl matchups

As I wrote in this week's College Overtime, the BCS seas parted for Boise State last weekend thanks to losses by USC, Miami and Notre Dame. As of today, three

Stewart Mandel | Nov 15, 2009

Projecting all 34 bowl matchups /

As I wrote in this week's College Overtime, the BCS seas parted for Boise State last weekend thanks to losses by USC, Miami and Notre Dame.

As of today, three of the four at-large berths figure to go to the SEC Championship Game loser, a 10-2 Big Ten team (most likely Iowa or Penn State) and TCU (assuming it wins out). If Oklahoma State (8-2) wins out, the Fiesta Bowl would be unofficially obliged to select the Big 12's Cowboys to replace Texas. If they lose, however, there should be a spot waiting for the Broncos.

The BCS matchups will depend in large part on what that Fiesta Bowl does with that replacement team. There's some thought the bowl would want the highest-ranked team, No. 4 TCU -- but not if it means matching up TCU and Boise. A more realistic scenario is that the Fiesta takes Iowa (assuming it beats Minnesota next week), which has never played there and figures to bring a huge crowd. If it doesn't, the Orange Bowl will almost certainly snap up either the Hawkeyes or Penn State.

• Note that I'm currently projecting Georgia Tech (ACC) and Pittsburgh (Big East) as conference champions. If Clemson wins the ACC, the Orange would want to avoid a TCU-Clemson rematch and would probably take Pittsburgh instead. If Cincinnati wins the Big East, the Fiesta may choose to pit undefeated teams TCU and Cincy, leaving Penn State/Iowa for the Orange.

• 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.

Teams in bold have accepted bowl invitation. * -- replacement team for conference without enough eligible teams.

Published Nov 15, 2009

STEWART MANDEL

Senior Writer, Sports Illustrated Stewart Mandel first caught the college football bug as a sophomore at Northwestern University in 1995. "The thrill of that '95 Rose Bowl season energized the entire campus, and I quickly became aware of how the national media covered that story," he says. "I knew right then that I wanted to be one of those people, covering those types of stories." Mandel joined SI.com (formerly CNNSI.com) in 1999. A senior writer for the website, his coverage areas include the national college football beat and college basketball. He also contributes features to Sports Illustrated. "College football is my favorite sport to cover," says Mandel. "The stakes are so high week in and week out, and the level of emotion it elicits from both the fans and the participants is unrivaled." Mandel's most popular features on SI.com include his College Football Mailbag and College Football Overtime. He has covered 14 BCS national championship games and eight Final Fours. Mandel's first book, Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls: Tackling the Chaos and Controversy That Reign Over College Football, was published in 2007. In 2008 he took first place (enterprise category) and second place (game story) in the Football Writers Association of America's annual writing contest. He also placed first in the 2005 contest (columns). Mandel says covering George Mason's run to the Final Four was the most enjoyable story of his SI tenure. "It was thrilling to be courtside for the historic Elite Eight upset of UConn," Mandel says. "Being inside the locker room and around the team during that time allowed me to get to know the coaches and players behind that captivating story." Before SI.com Mandel worked at ESPN the Magazine, ABC Sports Online and The Cincinnati Enquirer. He graduated from Northwestern University in 1998 with a B.S. in journalism. A Cincinnati native, Mandel and his wife, Emily, live in Santa Clara, Calif.