The Bowl Picture, Part 2

Another weekend of college football, and more bowl predictions go by the way side. My previosuly decided prediction of Florida playing Ohio State in the MNC is now gone, as Auburn is clearly the best placed one loss team to end up there, and Texas is hoping a lot of chips falls its way.

Anyway, to continue, here are my next few predictions.

Hawaii Bowl (Pac Ten 6 vs. WAC) - Washington State vs. Hawaii.
Isn't every game a bowl game for Hawaii? As long as the Warriors are bowl eligible, they are likely to be in this bowl. Meanwhile, Wazzu seems to have pulled it self together enough to manage 6th in the Pac 10. 2 more wins, and they'll be bowl eligible.

Moter City Bowl (MAC vs. Big Ten 7) - Central Michigan vs. San Jose State
The Big Ten is going to be lucky to ahve 6 bowl eligible teams besides Ohio State (my predicted number one and BCS Championship Game participant), so filling this slot is going to be hard. Seeing as its likely to be a bowl eligible MAC team or WAC team left out in the cold, and the MAC already has one slot, I'm going out on a limb and picking San Jose State. Only two more wins to get bowl eligible - surely they can manage that in the WAC. Meanwhile, CMU gets the nod as my predicted #2 in the MAC this season.

Emerald Bowl (ACC 4 or 5 vs. Pac Ten 4 or 5) - Washington vs. Virginia Tech
Ty Willingham has rebuilt Washington to the point that the Huskies should go bowling this season. Meanwhile, Beamer Bowl has had a little drop off, and Va Tech should slide down to the 4 or 5 spot in the ACC this year.

Independence Bowl (Big 12 7/8 vs. SEC 8) - Bowling Green vs. South Carolina
The Big 12 is going to be scrambling to have 8 bowl eligible teams this year, but the Bears are at 3-4. Only 3 more games to reach bowl eligibility. Unfortunately, those games are Kansas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and Oklahoma. Assuming a loss to Oklahoma, a win against Kansas, and then you've got to win two of the remaining three? Not going to happen. The MAC is likely to have an extra bowl eligible team or two this year, so expect Bowling Green (or possibly Western Michigan) to slot in here. South Carolina will win enough to get bowl eligible, and make the trip to Shreveport.

Texas Bowl (Big 12 vs. Big East or C-USA) - Oklahoma State vs. Rutgers
Oklahoma State will sneak across the wire with 6 or 7 wins, and Rutgers, going to back to back bowls for the first time ever, will make the trip out to Houston.

Holiday Bowl (Pac Ten 2 vs. Big 12 3) - USC vs. Oklahoma
USC will drop at least one to Cal and/or Oregon, and fail to win the Pac 10 this year. Meanwhile, OU will continue without Adrian Peterson, as both Missouri and Texas A&M's early inflated records will collapse in the back half.

Another 6 down, 20 more to go.