The top six all won this week to stay undefeated. Contenders Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh & Oklahoma State all lost to bitter rivals last week, with OSU losing it's chance at an at-large spot. Championship weekend is here and BCS spots will be chosen on Sunday. Some conference pictures are extremely clear, and others aren’t. The title game, of course, is still up for grabs, as we see every year (see last year). And just projecting the 10 BCS participants (regardless of who goes where) is no easy task. See below to get the projections from some of our Gatorsfirst.com contributors...

Before getting to the projections, it is important to have a little knowledge of the selection process. The entire process is described in great detail here. But the important points are:

1. Obviously the #1 and #2 make the BCS Championship game in Pasadena. But there are also the conference tie-ins, which pretty much everyone knows as well:
   • Sugar - SEC Champ v BCS at-large
   • Rose - Big Ten Champ v Pac 10 Champ
   • Orange - ACC Champ v BCS at-large
   • Fiesta - Big 12 Champ v BCS at-large
   • The Big East Champ has to be chosen as one of the at-larges
   • Notre Dame has to be chosen as an at-large if they are in the top 8 of the BCS
   • One non-BCS conference champ has to be chosen if they are in the top 12 OR the top 16 if the non-BCS champion’s rank is higher than any of the BCS conference champions.
2. No conference can have 3 teams chosen in a BCS bowl.
3. The at-large pool, in most realistic scenarios, is the top 14 of the BCS final standings. More detailed rules are given in the link above. The current BCS standings are here.
4. The first at-large chosen is chosen by the bowl who lost the #1 team, if that team has an automatic tie-in to a bowl. (Last year, the Fiesta picked Texas first, after losing Oklahoma to the BCS Championship game, as the Sooners were #1). If the #1 team doesn’t have such a tie-in, move on to the next step.
5. The second at-large chosen is chosen by the bowl who lost the #2 team, if that team has an automatic tie-in to a bowl. (Last year, the Sugar picked Alabama second for losing Florida to the BCS Championship game, as the gators were #2). If the #2 team doesn’t have such a tie-in, move on to the next step.
6. The other selections follow this order for games played in 2009: Orange, Fiesta, and then Sugar. Note that the Rose has two automatic tie-ins, so would be complete before this step. This order is based on the rotation of the BCS Championship game among the four bowls.

With that out of the way, here are our picks with a short explanation. These are not necessarily what we want to happen, but what we think will happen:

BCS Championship

The #1 and #2 teams in the BCS get the auto bid to this game in Pasadena.

James: Florida vs. Texas - We can definitively say that the SEC Championship is a play-in game for this contest. And Texas only needs to beat Nebraska. They will. If they don't, and Cincy wins, it'll be the Bearcats here.

Chris: Florida vs Texas – Texas finishes with Nebraska in the Big XII championship game. Unless they suffer a massive upset, they will play the winner of the Florida/Alabama SEC championship game. All three teams are clearly better than everyone else in the country. If Texas loses though, does TCU get the chance to play? What about an SEC CG rematch?


With both of us taking Florida and Texas, the new order for bowl selections would be (read below):

1. Any conference tie-in – Rose #1 & #2 (Pac-10 & Big Ten+1) & Orange #1 (ACC)
   • James selects Oregon, Ohio State, & Georgia Tech; Chris selects Oregon, Ohio State, & Georgia Tech
2. Sugar #1 (lost #1 Florida)
   • James selects Alabama; Chris selects Alabama
3. Fiesta #1 (lost #2 Texas)
   • James selects Cincinnati; Chris selects TCU
4. Orange #2 (Big East, eligible non-BCS team, eligible ND, or At-Large)
   • James selects Penn State; Chris selects Iowa
5. Fiesta #2 (Big East, eligible non-BCS team, eligible ND, or At-Large)
   • James selects TCU; Chris selects Cincinnati
6. Sugar #2 (Big East, eligible non-BCS team, eligible ND, or At-Large)
   • James selects Virginia Tech; Chris selects Boise State

Rose Bowl

Auto bids go to the Pac-10 and Big Ten+1 champions, respectively.

James: Oregon v. Ohio State - Maybe it just seems like the Big Eleven hasn't played football since 1994. Ohio State has had this game clinched for a while. So they can look forward to getting blown out by the winner of Thursday's War of Northern Aggression (oops, wrong Civil War). I'm taking Chip Kelly over The Brothers Rodgers.

Chris: Oregon vs Ohio State – Ohio State is the Big Ten+1 champion. The winner of Thursday night's Oregon/Oregon St game in Eugene will be the Pac-10 champion. I think Oregon wins a close one at home.

Fiesta Bowl

The Fiesta bowl should have the second pick, due to the loss of Big XII champion (Texas) to the BCS NC game. There are pretty much four spots left, for 7 remaining teams. They consist of the Big East winner (winner of Cincy/Pitt), highest ranked non-BCS team (undefeated Boise or TCU), and two at-large teams (from possible 1-loss Cincy/undefeated Boise or TCU/2-loss Penn St or Iowa)

James: Cincinnati vs. TCU - I still think Cincy will have the most appeal of the at-large pool, outside of the SEC runner-up. They have a high-scoring offense and the future head coach of Notre Dame, Brian Kelly (he didn't hide that very well over the holiday). They'll also be the highest ranked outside of the current top 3/The Fiesta will reach for the Frogs here, even though they won't bring as many fans to the area as Virginia Tech would, or Oklahoma would have, because the undefeated matchup is too good to pass up. There is an interesting provision in the BCS where the bowls can change the teams around from the way they are selected, and I could see something weird like that happening (impossible to predict, however) just so they could eliminate the possibility of a split title. All they'd have to claim is that Cincy and TCU don't have traditionally large enough fan bases to justify this pairing, and they could get around this consolation-ish matchup.

Chris: TCU vs Cincinnati – I think the Fiesta Bowl goes with a regional team that qualifies or a nationally recognized powerhouse with a large and loyal fan base. TCU made the leap into the ''teams that can beat anyone on any given day'' category with their slaughter of Utah, and wins at Clemson, Virginia, & BYU. They are really good. I think the Fiesta bowl would be foolish not to pick them.

As for their opponent, they’ll have to choose from probable undefeateds Cincy/Boise or Pitt if they beat Cincy. In other years, a 1-loss BCS or very strong 2-loss BCS would jump both for this spot. However, there are none of these left. At this point, you'd have to think Cincy would take this spot, ensuring the first non-championship BCS bowl with two undefeateds.

Orange Bowl

The ACC winner gets the auto bid into this game.

James: Georgia Tech vs. Penn State - I still like Paul Johnson's team here, despite the look-ahead loss last week. Besides, Clemson did the look-ahead thing, too. Penn State gets the nod over Iowa, as Penn State has a larger following and a history with the Orange Bowl. One of those teams is guaranteed a BCS berth somewhere, and I think the bowl folks will see the Nittany Lions as more desirable.

Chris: Georgia Tech vs Iowa – Anyone who was claiming that the ACC was inching closer to the SEC should eat their words, as their top two teams lost to the 3rd and 4th best teams from the SEC East (yes, rankings from the division, not conference). I would have picked Clemson if they beat USC and GT lost to Georgia, but I think GT handles them like they did earlier in the season.

With Alabama (Sugar) and TCU (Fiesta) already taken, they’ll be picking from a group that’ll probably consist of undefeateds Cincy/Boise, and 2-loss Iowa/Penn State. Thinking that the Big Ten+1 schools will bring more fans than Cincy/Boise, I think the choice is Iowa. They should have the edge over Penn state, whom they beat earlier this year.

Sugar Bowl

The loser of the SEC championship game will definitely be the choice here.

James: Alabama v. Virginia Tech - I'm very aware this is a rematch. And there is a provision that the pairings can be adjusted to prevent the rematch from happening. So I think some sort of negotiating goes on, and they rework the above pairings somehow to get Virginia Tech's large following into a BCS game over giving Boise State the bid. It's impossible to predict exactly how that plays out. Conspiracy theorists would have a field day of Nebraska were to win the Big XII on some sort of dubious call, and sort of force the BCS' hand at excluding the second non-AQ conference member. Also not helping the eventual outcry over the inclusion of the Hokies: mid-level SEC teams exposing the top ACC teams as frauds this past weekend.

This is where the BCS really got hosed by Oklahoma State, as a two-loss team would be stomached a little easier than a 3-loss team getting the bid over the Broncos. It's important to note that &doing the right thing& should be perceived- as it pertains to bowl games, which are nothing more than college football exhibitions- as allowing the teams, bowls, and conferences that have put in the money to build these games to their present state to earn the reward and financial windfall that results from receiving the bowl bid. The &right thing& has nothing whatsoever to do with &rewarding& Boise State for winning their one tough game in August, and coasting over the St Augustine School for the Deaf and Blind-type teams.

Chris: Alabama vs Boise State – At this point, it's basically the undefeated Boise State team, unless Nebraska or Pitt win their ''championship games''. I think the commitee does the right thing and puts Boise in the Sugar Bowl.