With last night's totally not at all surprising results, the projection of the NY6 seems pretty clear at this point. The main question is whether OSU or LSU is #1. Honestly, I don't actually care about this question that much, but I will go with LSU. That would make the pairing likely to be:
Peach Bowl: #1 LSU vs. #4 Oklahoma
Fiesta Bowl: #2 Ohio State vs. #3 Clemson
The Fiesta Bowl pairing is a rematch of the Fiesta Bowl from 3 years ago, which is reason enough for me to NOT place them like this, but I guess we we see. Either way, it seems 99% sure that this is the Top 4, however the committee decides to pair them or where they send them. As for the rest of the NY6, it seems pretty obvious:
Rose Bowl: Oregon vs. Penn State
Orange Bowl: Virginia vs. Florida
Sugar Bowl: Georgia vs. Baylor
Cotton Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Memphis
As for the rest of the Big Ten Bowls, it is likely as follows:
Citrus Bowl: Michigan (vs. Alabama or Auburn)
Outback Bowl: Minnesota (vs. Auburn or Alabama)
Holiday Bowl: Iowa
Gator Bowl: Indiana
Pinstripe Bowl: MSU vs. Louisville
Redbox Bowl: Illinois
I am going to change my pick of MSU's opponent from Pitt to Louisville, but this is not a "strong" prediction. As I looked more carefully at the ACC Bowl Line-up, Pitt seems likely to go to the Belk Bowl (as both VA Tech and Wake have been there recently) and I think the VA Tech is more likely to go to the Music City Bowl as it seems like a "better" bowl. That leaves Louisville and Wake Forest as the most likely options, and Louisville is the more northern school with fans less likely to be scared off by NYC in the winter.
So, the only question left is what curve ball could the committee throw to potentially mess this up? Here are some possibilities:
1) If somehow Wisconsin or Penn State winds up in the Orange Bowl
This would be weird, but I suppose it's possible. Honestly, the Rose Bowl pick is a bit up in the air and I suppose it is possible that they could pick up Wisconsin instead of Penn State. MSU actually has been to Pasadena more recently than the Badgers. Either way, I was assuming the other team would wind up in the Cotton Bowl, so it doesn't really matter.
However, for the Big Ten to get the Orange Bowl, the non-Rose Bowl participant would need to finish in the standings above either Florida or Georgia. I just don't see that happening. But, if it does, the Citrus Bowl reverts to an ACC Bowl, which messes with the line up listed above and it likely becomes:
Outback Bowl: Minnesota
Holiday Bowl: Iowa or Michigan
Gator Bowl: Michigan or Indiana
Pinstripe Bowl: Indiana or MSU
Redbox Bowl: Illinois or Iowa
Quicklane Bowl: MSU or Illinois
In this case, the Holiday Bowl hold the key. If they pick Iowa, I see MSU winding up in the Quicklane Bowl after all. But, in the more likely scenario that they pick Michigan, MSU still winds up in NYC
2) If somehow Wisconsin (or Penn State) falls out of the NY6
This could possible happen if Utah only falls a few slots, in which case Utah would wind up in the Cotton Bowl. Another possible outcome is that Wisconsin drops below Auburn in the standings, in which case Auburn would get sent to the Cotton Bowl. But, 4 SEC teams in the NY6 would make all of the other SEC Bowls less competitive, which seems bad. In a really odd scenario, Wisconsin winds up in the Rose Bowl and Penn State is randomly dropped below Auburn. That seems virtually impossible, but you never know...
But, either way, you basically get the same result as #1 above, except Wisconsin is now in the Citrus Bowl
Citrus Bowl: Wisconsin
Outback Bowl: Minnesota
Holiday Bowl: Iowa or Michigan
Gator Bowl: Michigan or Indiana
Pinstripe Bowl: Indiana or MSU
Redbox Bowl: Illinois or Iowa
Quicklane Bowl: MSU or Illinois
I suppose if Penn State were to fall out of the NY6, you might see something like this:
Citrus Bowl: Michigan
Outback Bowl: Penn State
Holiday Bowl: Iowa
Gator Bowl: Minnesota
Pinstripe Bowl: Indiana
Redbox Bowl: Illinois
Quicklane Bowl: MSU
This is perhaps the only scenario where MSU would wind up in Detroit and it is very low probability.
So, that is where I am on Sunday morning.
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