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Final Bowl Projections: Florida State/Auburn to Washington State/Boise State

Are you not entertained? The last two Saturdays have doused the college football world in gasoline and gleefully set it ablaze, and the resulting ash gives us the SEC (and the state of Alabama) back in the title game against Florida State, who now knows there will be no criminal charges brought against presumptive Heisman winner Jameis Winston.

Before we dive into the projections, take a moment to enjoy Rice – winners of their first conference title in half a century – accepting a bid to the Liberty Bowl:

And for the other side, here’s a story on how San Diego State – who finished third in the conference standings – might be left out of bowl season. Without a doubt, the Mountain West was the toughest conference to predict.

BCS Title Game (January 6): Florida State vs. Auburn

The Seminoles pounded Duke to hold onto the number one spot and will be at least a touchdown favorite against the Tigers, who bested Missouri then watched Ohio State blow the second-half lead that got Gus Malzahn’s crew to Pasadena. From winless in conference play to a BCS title game appearance in one season…not bad.

Rose Bowl (January 1): Michigan State vs. Stanford

Michigan State was likely going to end up here win or lose, but you can bet Sparty is very happy they punched their own ticket and dashed the Buckeyes’ title hopes in the process. They will face Stanford, who routed Arizona State in the PAC-12 Championship Game. The Cardinal defeated Wisconsin in last year’s Rose.

Sugar Bowl (January 2): Alabama vs. Oklahoma

The Sugar bowl gets to replace SEC champ Auburn and does so by taking 11-1, two-time defending national champ Alabama. After the Orange selects twice, the Sugar will likely get to choose between Oklahoma, Oklahoma State or Oregon. Considering the results of Bedlam, the Sooner fans’ willingness to travel and the Sugar’s future tie-in as an SEC vs. Big 12 game, it looks like Oklahoma will land here as long as they can slide up a few spots in the BCS standings. The Sugar could still go with the projected championship game from a month ago and set up Tide vs. Ducks, but it seems unlikely.

Orange Bowl (January 3): Ohio State vs. Clemson

The Orange Bowl gets to replace ACC champion Florida State and does so by taking Clemson, honoring their current and future partnership with the league. After the Sugar takes Alabama, the Orange can get he best team left on the board, taking a Buckeyes squad that’s 24-1 in its last 25 games and was banned from a bowl last year. Ohio State last played in a postseason game in Miami in 1977.

Fiesta Bowl (January 1): Baylor vs. Central Florida

Oklahoma State’s loss in Bedlam opened the door for the Baylor/Texas winner and the Bears took the league crown, cementing their trip to Arizona for the postseason. With the final pick, the bowl will be forced to take American champion Central Florida.

And here are the rest of the bowls. A * denotes a team filling in for another conference that couldn’t fulfill all of its postseason obligations. A # and bolded team name denotes that the team has already accepted the bid. As you’ll see, a few match ups are already set:

Gildan New Mexico Bowl
Albuquerque, N.M. – Dec. 21
Pac-12 No. 7 vs. MW No. 4 or 5

Washington State vs. Boise State

Las Vegas Bowl
Las Vegas - Dec. 21
MW No. 1 vs. Pac-12 No. 5

Fresno State vs. USC

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Boise, Idaho – Dec. 21
MAC No. 3 vs. MW No. 6

Buffalo vs. Colorado State

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
New Orleans – Dec. 21
C-USA No. 6 vs. Sun Belt No. 1

Tulane# vs. Louisiana-Lafayette#

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St Petersburg
St Petersburg, Fla. – Dec. 23
C-USA No. 4 vs. AAC No. 6

Florida Atlantic vs. Syracuse*

Sheraton Hawai`i Bowl
Honolulu – Dec. 24
C-USA No. 2 vs. MW No. 5

East Carolina vs. San Jose State

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl
Detroit – Dec. 26
MAC No. 1 vs. Big Ten No. 8

Bowling Green vs. Pittsburgh*

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
San Diego – Dec. 26
Army/MAC vs. MW No. 2

Northern Illinois vs. Utah State

Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman
Annapolis, Md. – Dec. 27
C-USA No. 5 vs. ACC No. 8

Marshall# vs. Maryland

Texas Bowl
Houston – Dec. 27
Big Ten No. 6 vs. Big 12 No. 6

Minnesota vs. Arizona*

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl
San Francisco – Dec. 27
BYU vs. Pac-12 No. 6

BYU# vs. Washington

New Era Pinstripe Bowl
New York – Dec. 28
AAC No. 4 vs. Big 12 No. 7

Rutgers# vs. Notre Dame*#

Belk Bowl
Charlotte, N.C. – Dec. 28
AAC No. 3 vs. ACC No. 5

Cincinnati# vs. North Carolina

Russell Athletic Bowl
Orlando, Fla. – Dec. 28
ACC No. 3 vs. AAC No. 2

Duke vs. Louisville#

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl
Tempe, Ariz. – Dec. 28
Big Ten No. 4 of 5 vs. Big 12 No. 4

Nebraska vs. Kansas State

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl
Fort Worth, Texas – Dec. 30
MWC No. 3 vs. C-USA No.3/Navy

UNLV vs. Navy#

Music City Bowl
Nashville, Tenn. – Dec. 30
SEC No. 7 vs. ACC No. 6

Ole Miss vs. Georgia Tech

Valero Alamo Bowl
San Antonio – Dec. 30
Pac-12 No. 2 vs. Big 12 No. 3


Oregon vs. Texas

Holiday Bowl
San Diego – Dec. 30
Big 12 No. 5 vs. Pac-12 No. 3

Texas Tech vs. Arizona State

AdvoCare V100 Bowl
Shreveport, La. – Dec. 31
ACC No. 7 vs. SEC No. 10

Boston College vs. Western Kentucky*

Hyundai Sun Bowl
El Paso, Texas – Dec. 31
ACC No. 4 vs. Pac-12 No. 4

Virginia Tech vs. UCLA

AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Memphis, Tenn. – Dec. 31
C-USA No. 1 or American vs. SEC No. 8 or 9

Rice# vs. Mississippi State

Chick-fil-A Bowl
Atlanta – Dec. 31
ACC No. 2 vs. SEC No. 5

Miami (FL) vs. Texas A&M

TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl
Jacksonville, Fla. – Jan. 1
Big Ten No. 4 or 5 vs. SEC No. 6

Michigan vs. Georgia

Heart of Dallas Bowl
Dallas – Jan. 1
Big Ten No. 7 vs C-USA

Oregon State* vs. North Texas

Capital One Bowl
Orlando, Fla. – Jan. 1
Big Ten No. 2 vs. SEC No. 2

Wisconsin vs. South Carolina

Outback Bowl
Tampa, Fla. – Jan. 1
Big Ten No. 3 vs. SEC No. 3

Iowa vs. LSU

AT&T Cotton Bowl
Arlington, Texas – Jan. 3
Big 12 No. 2 vs. SEC No. 3 or 4

Oklahoma State vs. Missouri

BBVA Compass Bowl
Birmingham, Ala – Jan. 4
SEC No. 8 or 9 vs. American No. 5

Vanderbilt vs. Houston

GoDaddy Bowl
Mobile, Ala. – Jan. 5
Sun Belt No. 2 vs. MAC No. 2

Arkansas State# vs. Ball State