Bowl season is almost upon us.Most teams have already finished their regular seasons and many — those with at least six wins — are eagerly awaiting bowl invitations.Here’s how I think a few key bowls will look once invitations are sent.BCS Championship game: Florida vs. TexasThese two teams seem to be on a collision course lately.Texas staved off an upset by rival Texas A&M on Thanksgiving night and only have a Big 12 Championship game against Nebraska in its way, as coach Mack Brown tries to get to his fourth BCS bowl game in the past six seasons.Florida, on the other hand, has a much tougher task before they can punch their ticket to the championship game.They face No. 2 Alabama in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in the Southeastern Conference Championship game Saturday.The winner will advance and likely win the BCS Championship.Rose Bowl: Ohio State vs. OregonThe winner of the Pac-10 usually plays the winner of the Big Ten in this one unless either of those teams is No. 1 or No. 2.Ohio State is nowhere near No. 1 or No. 2, so the Buckeyes will be going to Pasadena, Calif., for the first time since 1997.The winner of the Pac-10 will likely be Oregon.The Ducks face in-state rival Oregon State on Thursday night in the annual Civil War — this time for conference supremacy.The last Civil War saw Oregon roll to a 65-38 win.Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs. CincinnatiThe SEC has a tie-in to this game and will face a BCS at-large team.Alabama, who will probably fall victim to the Tim Tebow steamroller, will likely make the trip to New Orleans for the second season in a row.Last season Utah upset the Crimson Tide, 31-17.Cincinnati, the probable Big East champion, currently sits at No. 5 in the BCS polls. A win this weekend would vault the Bearcats ahead of No. 4 TCU who sits idle until its bowl game.Fiesta Bowl: Boise State vs. IowaThis game has a tie-in with the Big 12, so this matchup will be between two at-large teams unless Texas loses to Nebraska in the Big 12 championship game.Iowa stayed undefeated for a large portion of the regular season before dropping two of its last three contests.The Hawkeyes are the No. 2 team in the Big 10 and are idle until their bowl game because the Big Ten doesn’t have a conference championship game.Junior quarterback Ricky Stanzi was injured in early November but could return for the bowl game. The Broncos are from the Western Athletic Conference and have only played in one BCS bowl, but it was a memorable one.They beat Oklahoma in 2007 with a few trick plays, and Bronco running back Ian Johnson proposed to his girlfriend afterward.They very well could knock off a school from a major conference this year.Orange Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. TCUThis game’s tie-in is with the Atlantic Coast Conference, and because the Yellow Jackets are likely to win the conference but have two losses, they are out of national championship game contention.The Yellow Jackets would be going to the school’s first-ever BCS bowl.TCU has been one of the six unbeaten teams in college football this season along with Florida, Alabama, Cincinnati, Boise State and Texas.This would be the school’s first-ever BCS bowl as well, and the Horned Frogs actually have a real chance to win it.They boast the No. 2 total defense in the country, which they’d need to stop the Yellow Jackets’ triple-option attack.Capital One Bowl: LSU vs. Penn StateThis bowl has tie-ins with both the SEC and the Big Ten.With LSU’s win against Arkansas and Ole Miss’ loss against Mississippi State, the Tigers have seized control of the No. 3 overall spot in the SEC.In fact, the Tigers are the only team besides Alabama and Florida with a winning conference record this season at 5-3.Penn State is the No. 3 team in the Big Ten.Neither team’s BCS goals will be realized this season, and they will have to settle for Orlando on New Year’s Day. Johanathan Brooks is a 22-year-old mass communication senior from Powder Springs. Ga. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_jbrooks.—-Contact Johanathan Brooks at [email protected]
Babbling Brooks: Florida, Texas will meet in the BCS Championship
November 30, 2009