The Bowl Championship Series or better known as the BCS or for those that favor a playoff the BCS could stand for the “Bull Crap System” as the BCS has had its share of controversy over the past 10 years, and this year is no different with Alabama and Oklahoma State each having a claim as who would play LSU. The BCS was originally created to pair the best two teams in the country against each other in a “so called” championship game. This came to be when in 1997 Michigan and Nebraska were Co-Champions because both finished #1 in the AP and USA Today/Coaches Poll, and that helped lead to the formation of the BCS in hopes that Co-National Champions would not happen again.
The BCS has had a mixed history of controversy since the first BCS game happened in 1998. That year #1 Tennessee would defeat #2 Florida State 23-16 in the Fiesta Bowl. The following year #1 Florida State defeated #2 Virginia Tech 46-29 in the Sugar Bowl. In 2000 #1 Oklahoma defeated #2 Florida State 13-2 to win the Orange Bowl. #1 Miami defeated #2 Nebraska 37-14 to win the 2002 Rose Bowl. #2 Ohio State defeated #1 Miami 31-24 in double overtime to win the 2003 Fiesta Bowl. In 2004 #2 LSU defeated #1 Oklahoma 21-14 to win the Sugar Bowl. #1 USC blew out #2 Oklahoma 55-19 to win the 2005 Orange Bowl, and #2 Texas defeated #1 USC 41-38.
After controversies had arisen a few of the past years the NCAA and the BCS decided to implement a BCS National Championship game. Instead of making it a one game playoff which many people had thought it would do, had simply added an extra Bowl game to the BCS bowls of the Rose, Sugar, Fiesta, and Orange to make a fifth BCS game. The first of the BCS National Championship games was played in Glendale, AZ a couple days after the Fiesta Bowl was played there. #2 Florida was the winner in the game easily tearing apart #1 Ohio State 41-24. In the 2008 BCS National Championship game #2 LSU defeated #1 Ohio State 38-24. The 2009 BCS National Championship was #2 Florida defeating #1 Oklahoma 24-14. In the 2010 BCS National Championship game #1 Alabama defeated #2 Texas 37-21, and in the 2011 BCS National Championship game it was #1 Auburn defeating #2 Oregon 22-19. This year #1 LSU will face #2 Alabama in the BCS National Championship game on January 9th at 8:30pm in a rematch of the November 5th game in which LSU would win 9-6 in overtime.
The BCS controversy doesn’t just start with this year on who would face LSU, but the controversy started almost from the onslaught of the BCS. Back during the 1999-2000 season Kansas State was 3rd in the BCS rankings and wasn’t in a BCS bowl game Tulane also had a reason to gripe that year as they went undefeated but were left out of a BCS bowl. The following year in the 2000-2001 season #3 Florida State was chosen to play in the National Championship game against undefeated #1 Oklahoma. #2 Miami was voted 2nd in both human polls but the BCS computers placed them 3rd behind Florida State even though Miami had defeated Florida State during the season. Florida State had 1 loss, Miami had 1 loss, and Miami’s lone loss was to #4 Washington who happened to have 1 loss themselves which meant that three teams had a reason to claim a spot in the title game. Florida State was subsequently defeated by #1 Oklahoma 13-2.
The 2001-2002 season brought with it more controversy, as #4 Nebraska found a way to get into the BCS Championship game after not even playing in the Big 12 Championship game. Nebraska was undefeated going into their regular season finale only to be beaten soundly 62-36 by Colorado. Colorado would win the Big 12 Championship but with 2 losses was hurt in the rankings, and even after winning the Big 12 and beating Nebraska they still were behind them in the BCS rankings. Oregon had a claim as well as they were 3rd in the polls but 4th ranked Nebraska was selected. Oregon defeated Colorado 38-16 in the Fiesta Bowl to claim that they should have been in the national championship, while Nebraska was easily defeated 37-14 by Miami in the National Championship game.
The 2003-2004 season had controversy as well as there was Co-National Champions. #1 LSU defeated Oklahoma in the National Championship game 21-14. Oklahoma however lost 35-7 in the Big 12 Championship game to Kansas State and was ranked 3rd in the polls, but the BCS picked them over #2 USC. #2 USC would go on to win the Rose Bowl 28-14 over Michigan. That season LSU, USC, and Oklahoma all had 1 regular season loss, as there was no FBS teams that were undefeated. After the BCS bowls USC and LSU would remain the only teams with one loss in the FBS. Many felt that USC was the better team amongst the three and finished ranked #1 in the AP Poll while LSU finished ranked #1 in the USA Today/Coaches Poll after winning the Sugar Bowl for the BCS Championship. This gave us Co-National Champions with LSU and USC sharing the crown.
The 2004-2005 had five undefeated teams left at the end of the regular season which led to many more people to believe that there should be a playoff in 1A. Auburn, Utah, Boise State, USC, and Oklahoma all finished undefeated and USC would meet Oklahoma for the National Championship where #1 USC would blowout #2 Oklahoma 55-19 in the Orange Bowl causing even more controversy by putting a weaker team in the championship game. #3 Auburn would go on to defeat #8 Virginia Tech 16-13 in the Sugar Bowl to finish undefeated. #6 Utah would go on to blowout #21 Pittsburgh 35-7. Boise State would lose their Bowl game having to go to the Liberty Bowl where Louisville barely defeated Boise State 44-40. After the Bowls were over USC, Auburn, and Utah were the three remaining undefeated teams left, but USC was the National Champion. Other controversy that year surrounded California and Texas. Even though California defeated Southern Mississippi 26-16 in a non conference game the final week of the regular season they were bypassed by Texas in the rankings after Texas Head Coach Mack Brown publicly lobbied for Texas to have a shot in the Rose Bowl to face Michigan instead of California. It worked to Texas’ advantage as they would play and defeat Michigan 38-37 in the Rose Bowl and California would get snubbed and missed out on a BCS Bowl game all together. California had to settle for the much weaker Holiday Bowl where they faced Texas Tech. California showed however that the pollsters were right in this case as Texas Tech defeated California 45-31.
The 2006-2007 college football season had #1 Ohio State lined up for a spot in National Championship game. USC was set to play Ohio State but was upset in their regular season finale by UCLA 13-9 opening up the door for either undefeated non BCS team Boise State or a one loss team in Michigan, Wisconsin, or Florida. Many fans were hoping for a rematch of Michigan versus Ohio State regular season finale in which Ohio State won 42-39. Wisconsin had a claim to but because Michigan and Ohio State are in the same conference they were not able to play in a BCS game. With USC losing to UCLA that placed USC into the Rose Bowl and out of the BCS Championship game leaving the spot versus Ohio State to either Michigan, Florida, or to Boise State. The pollsters decided to give the 2nd spot to Florida based off their 38-28 win over Arkansas. Michigan would go on to face USC in the Rose Bowl but USC would come out on top 32-18. #9 Boise State would go on to face #8 Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl where Boise State would win in overtime 43-42 in dramatic fashion in one of the best Bowl games in College Football history to remain undefeated. By being a non BCS school Boise State was left out of the National Championship picture. In the BCS National Championship game #2 Florida would pull off the upset of #1 Ohio State blowing the Buckeyes out 41-14. The win meant 1 loss Florida was the National Champion and undefeated Boise State was left on the sidelines.
During the 2007-2008 season even more controversy would arise as the top two teams in the country would lose on consecutive weekends. #1 LSU was defeated in triple overtime 50-48 by Arkansas and #4 Missouri defeated #2 Kansas 36-28. The following week new #1 Missouri only had to defeat Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game, but was defeated 38-17. #2 West Virginia then needed to beat Pittsburgh to go to the National Championship game but was upset 13-9 by Pittsburgh. This led to the top two teams going down for 2 straight weeks which would set up controversy once again. Missouri who was defeated by Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game went from potentially playing in the National Championship game to not even being in a BCS game at all after finishing ranked 6th after the Oklahoma loss. LSU who was ranked 7th with two losses defeated Tennessee 21-14 in the SEC Championship game and would somehow find themselves in the National Championship game. LSU would bypass # 4 Georgia because Georgia did not get a chance to play in the SEC Championship game due to a similar 6-2 conference record with LSU, and #3 Virginia Tech was bypassed by LSU due in part by LSU soundly defeating the Hokies 48-7 in the first month of the season. This meant that a two loss team would fight for the National Championship against one loss Ohio State. #10 Hawaii would finish the regular season as the only undefeated team but didn’t have a chance to play in the National Championship game and had to settle to play perhaps the best team in the country at the time #4 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Georgia would prove to be too much for Hawaii as the Bulldogs would win 41-10. Two loss LSU would play and defeat Ohio State 38-24 in the BCS Championship game and thus became the first two loss team to be crowned as the BCS Champion.
During the 2008-2009 season the Big 12 conference helped in the controversy. Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas Tech all finished the season 11-1 but more importantly all three finished 7-1 in the Big 12 Conference. During the season Texas defeated Oklahoma 45-35, Texas Tech defeated Texas 39-33, and Oklahoma defeated Texas Tech 65-21. In the BCS rankings Oklahoma bypassed Texas even after losing head to head to Texas for a shot to play Missouri in the Big 12 Championship game leaving Texas and Texas Tech on the outside. Oklahoma would go on to defeat Missouri in the Big 12 Championship Game 62-21. Oklahoma would go on to the BCS Championship game where they would lose 24-14 to Florida. Utah and Boise State would be the only two teams that were undefeated entering Bowl Season, but #9 Boise State would fall to #11 Texas Christian 17-16 in the Poinsettia Bowl and #6 Utah would upset #4 Alabama 31-17 to win the Sugar Bowl. Utah would be the only undefeated team finishing 2nd in the AP but 4th in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Florida would win the National Championship with a 13-1 overall record.
The 2009-2010 college football season made a pretty substantial statement for having a college football playoff with 5 college teams undefeated entering Bowl games. #1 Alabama was 13-0, #2 Texas was 13-0, #3 Cincinnati was 12-0, #4 Texas Christian was 12-0, and #6 Boise State entered the bowl season at 13-0. This left five college teams with a legitimate reason for being in the National Championship game. #6 Boise State would defeat #4 TCU 17-10 in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. #3 Cincinnati would lose 51-24 to one loss Florida who was ranked 5th in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. #1 Alabama would go on to defeat #2 Texas 37-21 to win the BCS National Championship Game. This would leave only Alabama and Boise State undefeated at the end of the season. Boise State would finish their undefeated season ranked 4th.
Last season during the 2009-2010 college football season three teams were undefeated. #1 Auburn was 13-0 out of the SEC, #2 Oregon was 12-0 out of the PAC 10 (renamed PAC 12 this season), and Texas Christian was ranked 3rd at 12-0 and was out of the Mountain West Conference. The Mountain West Conference is a non BCS conference which meant TCU was on the outside and Oregon would face Auburn for the BCS National Championship game. #3 TCU would be selected to play in the Rose Bowl versus #5 Wisconsin and the Horned Frogs would win 21-19. In the BCS National Championship #1 Auburn would defeat #2 Oregon 22-19 leaving two undefeated teams left after the season. TCU would finish the season ranked 2nd just behind the National Champion Auburn Tigers.
This season has brought even more controversy to the BCS. #1 LSU the SEC Conference Champion is the unanimous #1 pick with a 13-0 record which consisted of a 42-10 win over #14 Georgia in the SEC Championship game to go along with key wins over Oregon, West Virginia, Arkansas, and Alabama. There is no questioning the fact that LSU deserves to be in the BCS National Championship game as the only undefeated team, the controversy was as to who would face them in the BCS Title Game. Going into the final week of the season five teams had a legitimate reason as to why they should be in the National Championship game. #6 Houston was 12-0 and besides LSU was the only other undefeated team in College Football. Houston however was defeated soundly by #24 Southern Miss in the Conference USA Championship game not only ending Houston’s undefeated season, but ending Houston’s hopes of a BCS game and a potential spot in the BCS National Championship game. #5 Virginia Tech thought they deserved a shot especially since they were ranked 3rd in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The Hokies were 11-1 with their loan loss being a 20-3 loss to Clemson. The Hokies had a rematch with Clemson in the ACC Conference Championship game and figured winning the rematch would help out Virginia Tech’s cause. Virginia Tech would go on to lose the rematch with Clemson in convincing fashion 38-10. The Hokies title hopes were dashed but Virginia Tech would still secure a spot in a BCS game as in at large team and will face Michigan in the Sugar Bowl. #4 Stanford thought they deserved a chance at a spot in the BCS Title game. Stanford’s loan loss came on November 17th to then 7th ranked Oregon 53-30. Stanford and Oregon would both finish tied in the PAC 12 North division with 8-1 records. Due to Oregon winning head to head over Stanford the Ducks would go on to the PAC 12 Championship where Oregon would defeat UCLA 49-31. Even though the Stanford Cardinal is 11-1 not being PAC 12 Champion and not even winning their conference division went against them. Stanford will play in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on January 2nd versus #3 Oklahoma State. Oklahoma State had the best case of any team to earn a spot in the National Championship game. OSU had wins over four Top 25 teams including a convincing 44-10 win over #10 Oklahoma in the unofficial Big 12 Championship Game. (Nebraska and Colorado left the Big 12 for the PAC 12 before the season decreasing the amount of teams from 12 to 10 which also lead to the Big 12 dropping the conference championship game.) Oklahoma State’s loan loss came to unranked Iowa State back on November 18th. Iowa State pulled off the upset with a 37-31 double overtime win over Oklahoma State on an emotional night. OSU would blow a 24-3 lead in the game on a night OSU was playing with heavy hearts following the plane crash involving coaches from the Oklahoma State Cowboys Women’s Basketball team. Even with the convincing win over Oklahoma for the conference title it would not be enough to get OSU into the BCS Title game. #2 Alabama would sneak into the BCS National Championship game facing #1 LSU in a rematch from November 5th when Alabama lost to LSU 9-6 in overtime. Alabama has four wins against Top 25 teams this season, but even at 11-1 the knock on the Crimson Tide was that they were not in the SEC Championship game, let alone they failed to win the West division of the SEC. Another argument against Alabama was the fact they lost to LSU at home and already had their opportunity against LSU but they couldn’t deliver.
These are many reasons as to why there should be a playoff system in place for the FBS. The FCS better known as has a 20 team playoff and Division II and Division III have playoff systems as well. An FBS playoff would be ideal but money and other financial matters would come into play. Most importantly the BCS has a contract with ESPN through 2014 excluding the Rose Bowl which has an exclusive contract with ABC. This deal will hinder any possible playoff because BCS and ESPN officials will claim that a playoff would violate the television contract and that the system is fine the way it is which isn’t true. President Barack Obama (D) has even stated that there should be a college football playoff for the FBS going all the way back to 2008. Obama stated in the past that he thought that there should be an 8 team playoff, but that’s where I disagree. I believe a 16 team playoff much would be an ideal situation. Many BCS officials claim that the student athletes would miss much needed class time especially around finals time in December and the beginning of class time in the spring semester in January. That is simply not true as the Bowl structure currently in place is during the Winter/Christmas Break where the student athletes wouldn’t be missing any class time.
My plan for college football is a simple one keeps the Bowls intact and has them similar to the NIT Basketball tournament for colleges who didn’t qualify for the big dance of a NCAA College Football National Championship Playoff. In the plan that I have come up with all of the games would be on the weekend and the student athletes missing classes would be at a minimum. The sixteen team playoff that I have come up with for this year would begin play on Saturday December 17th. There would be an eight game “Super Saturday.” The following Saturday December 24th would be an off weekend due to Christmas Eve and Christmas the following day. On Saturday December 30th there would be an eight team four games 2nd round quarterfinals. There would be an off week on January 7th with two Semi Finals games with the winners facing off in the National Championship game which would be played on Sunday January 26th. The reason for the move to Sunday in Prime Time would there would be a bye week for the NFL before the Super Bowl on Sunday February 5th. This BCS National Championship game if moved to an earlier start time such as 7:00pm instead of the 8:30pm start time so that the east coast would be able to stay up and watch the game, which would bring in very high ratings and make the BCS National Championship game into more of a premier sporting event each and every year then it already is.
The plan might be controversial to some because some teams that might not warrant a major bowl would be involved in the playoffs. The BCS Conferences would be thrown out and all eleven FBS conferences would send a team to the playoffs based off of the conference winner. The final five slots would be at large bids taken from the top five BCS teams that were non conference winners. The current top 25 in the BCS is as follows.
BCS Top 25 Standings
1. LSU 13-0
2. Alabama 11-1
3. Oklahoma State 11-1
4. Stanford 11-1
5. Oregon 11-2
6. Arkansas 10-2
7. Boise State 11-1
8. Kansas State 10-2
9. South Carolina 10-2
10. Wisconsin 11-2
11. Virginia Tech 11-2
12. Baylor 9-3
13. Michigan 10-3
14. Oklahoma 9-3
15. Clemson 10-3
16. Georgia 10-3
17. Michigan State 10-3
18. Texas Christian 10-2
19. Houston 12-1
20. Nebraska 9-3
21. Southern Miss 11-2
22. Penn State 9-3
23. West Virginia 9-3
24. Texas 7-5
25. Auburn 7-5
My plan based on current projections would be a top 16 playoff team seeding that looks something like this.
FBS BCS College Football Playoff Seeding Scenario
1. LSU 13-0 SEC Champion
2. Alabama 11-1 SEC At-Large
3. Oklahoma State 11-1 Big 12 Champion
4. Stanford 11-1 PAC 12 At-Large
5. Oregon 11-2 PAC 12 Champion
6. Arkansas 10-2 SEC At-Large
7. Boise State 11-1 Mountain West At-Large
8. Kansas State 10-2 Big 12 At-Large
9. Wisconsin 11-2 Big 10 Champion
10. Clemson 10-3 ACC Champion
11. Texas Christian 10-2 Mountain West Champion
12. Southern Miss 11-2 Conference USA Champion
13. West Virginia 11-2 Big East Champion
14. Northern Illinois 10-3 Mid American Champion
15. Arkansas State 10-2 Sun Belt Champion
16. Louisiana Tech 8-4 WAC Champion
Many people would be wondering as to why college teams such as Northern Illinois, Arkansas State, and Louisiana Tech would be in the playoffs, but all conference winners would all qualify which would include all of the non BCS conference champions. Missing from the playoffs and the BCS standings is 10-2 USC. The Trojans are ranked 5th in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll, but are currently under probation which includes a postseason ban. LSU is the SEC conference champion, Oklahoma State is the Big 12 conference champion, Oregon the PAC 12 conference champion, TCU is the Mountain West conference champion, Wisconsin is the Big 10 conference champion, Louisiana Tech the WAC conference champion, West Virginia the Big East conference champion, Clemson is the ACC conference champion, Southern Miss the C-USA conference champion, Northern Illinois is the MAC conference champion and Arkansas State is the Sun Belt conference champion. These eleven conference winners leave five at large bids that based off of the BCS standings would be claimed by Alabama, Stanford, Arkansas, Boise State, and Kansas State.
Based off of the Conference champions and the final BCS standings the playoff pairings would be as follows.
16. Louisiana Tech
1. LSU
9. Wisconsin
8. Kansas State
11. Texas Christian
6. Arkansas
13. West Virginia
4. Stanford
14. Northern Illinois
3. Oklahoma State
12. Southern Miss
5. Oregon
10. Clemson
7. Boise State
15. Arkansas State
2. Alabama
LSU as the #1 seed would have an easier matchup versus WAC Conference champion #16 Louisiana Tech in a in state rivalry. #2 Alabama would face #15 Arkansas State the Sun Belt conference champion. #3 Oklahoma State would face 14th seeded Northern Illinois out of the MAC. 4th seeded Stanford would face Big East winner #13 West Virginia. #5 Oregon would face #12 Southern Miss. #6 Arkansas would face #11 Texas Christian out of the Mountain West. #7 Boise State would face #10 Clemson, and #8 Kansas State would face the 9th seed Wisconsin in an intriguing Big10 – Big 12 matchup.
2nd Round Quarter Final matchups would be as follows:
Louisiana Tech/LSU
Wisconsin/Kansas State
TCU/Arkansas
West Virginia/Stanford
Northern Illinois/Oklahoma State
Southern Miss/Oregon
Clemson/Boise State
Arkansas State/Alabama
The Semi Final Matchups would be as follows:
Louisiana Tech/LSU/Wisconsin/Kansas State
TCU/Arkansas/West Virginia/Stanford
Northern Illinois/Oklahoma State/Southern Miss/Oregon
Clemson/Boise State/Arkansas State/Alabama
The BCS College FBS National Championship would be as follows:
Louisiana Tech/LSU/Wisconsin/Kansas State/TCU/Arkansas/West Virginia/Stanford
Versus the winner of
Northern Illinois/Oklahoma State/Southern Miss/Oregon/Clemson/Boise State/Arkansas State/Alabama
This playoff scenario I believe would be a fascinating playoff system that could give us the hype of the NFL Playoffs and be similar to “March Madness” in College Basketball. Unfortunately, that will not the case this season as there is no FBS playoff and LSU and Alabama are the only two college teams that will be battling for the BCS National Championship this season. The model that I created would be the fairest system you could have by included each FBS conference. The only college who would maybe take issue would be 9th ranked South Carolina who would be the only Top 10 team to not make the playoffs based off of 5 at large teams in front of them in the Top 10. For those who like the Bowl system the bowl eligible college teams would still be able to go bowling like they presently do, but the bowls would be more like the NIT in college basketball except just 1 game like how the bowls are presently. Down the road if college football decides on a playoff this would be a playoff system that should get a look at, but for now we still have college bowl games that will get underway starting on December 17th with Wyoming and Temple.
The Bowl Schedule is as follows. All game times are Eastern Standard Time.
The Gildan New Mexico Bowl
Wyoming (8-4) vs. Temple (8-4)
Saturday December 17th at 2:00pm on ESPN
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Utah State (7-5) vs. Ohio (9-4)
Saturday December 17th at 5:30pm on ESPN
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Louisiana-Lafayette (8-4) vs. San Diego State (8-4)
Saturday December 17th at 9:00pm on ESPN
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl
Marshall (6-6) vs. Florida International (8-4)
Tuesday December 20th at 8:00pm on ESPN
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
#18 Texas Christian (10-2) vs. Louisiana Tech (8-4)
Wednesday December 21st at 8:00pm on ESPN
Maaco Bowl
#7 Boise State (11-1) vs. Arizona State (6-6)
Thursday December 22nd at 8:00pm on ESPN
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
#21 Southern Miss (11-2) vs. Nevada (7-5)
Saturday December 24th at 8:00pm on ESPN
AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl
North Carolina (7-5) vs. Missouri (7-5)
Monday December 26th at 5:00pm on ESPN2
Little Caesars Bowl
Purdue (6-6) vs. Western Michigan (7-5)
Tuesday December 27th at 4:30pm on ESPN
Belk Bowl
North Carolina State (7-5) vs. Louisville (7-5)
Tuesday December 27th at 8:00pm on ESPN
Military Bowl
Air Force (7-5) vs. Toledo (8-4)
Wednesday December 28th at 4:30pm on ESPN
Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl
#24 Texas (7-5) vs. California (7-5)
Wednesday December 28th at 8:00pm on ESPN
Champs Sports Bowl
Notre Dame (8-4) vs. Florida State (8-4)
Thursday December 29th at 5:30pm on ESPN
Valero Alamo Bowl
#12 Baylor (9-3) vs. Washington (7-5)
Thursday December 29th at 9:00pm on ESPN
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl
Tulsa (8-4) vs. Brigham Young (9-3)
Friday December 30th at 12:00pm on ESPN
New Era Pinstripe Bowl
Iowa State (6-6) vs. Rutgers (8-4)
Friday December 30th at 3:20pm on ESPN
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
Wake Forest (6-6) vs. Mississippi State (6-6)
Friday December 30th at 6:40pm on ESPN
Insight Bowl
#14 Oklahoma (9-3) vs. Iowa (7-5)
Friday December 30th at 10:00pm on ESPN
Meineke Car Care Bowl
Northwestern (6-6) vs. Texas A&M (6-6)
Saturday December 31st at 12:00pm on ESPN
Hyundai Sun Bowl
Utah (7-5) vs. Georgia Tech (8-4)
Saturday December 31st at 2:00pm on CBS
Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl
UCLA (6-7) vs. Illinois (6-6)
Saturday December 31st at 3:30pm on ESPN
AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Vanderbilt (6-6) vs. Cincinnati (9-3)
Saturday December 31st at 3:30pm on ABC
Chick-fil-A Bowl
#25 Auburn (7-5) vs. Virginia (8-4)
Saturday December 31st at 7:30pm on ESPN
TicketCity Bowl
#19 Houston (12-1) vs. #22 Penn State (9-3)
Monday January 2nd at 12:00pm on ESPNU
Capital One Bowl
#9 South Carolina (10-2) vs. #20 Nebraska (9-3)
Monday January 2nd at 1:00pm on ESPN
TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl
Florida (6-6) vs. Ohio State (6-6)
Monday January 2nd at 1:00pm on ESPN
Outback Bowl
#16 Georgia (10-3) vs. #17 Michigan State (10-3)
Monday January 2nd at 1:00pm on ABC
Rose Bowl
#5 Oregon (11-2) vs. #10 Wisconsin (11-2)
Monday January 2nd at 5:00pm on ESPN
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
#3 Oklahoma State (11-1) vs. #4 Stanford (11-1)
Monday January 2nd at 8:30pm on ESPN
Allstate Sugar Bowl
#11 Virginia Tech (11-2) vs. #13 Michigan (10-2)
Tuesday January 3rd at 8:30pm on ESPN
Discover Orange Bowl
#15 Clemson (10-3) vs. #23 West Virginia (9-3)
Wednesday January 4th at 8:30pm on ESPN
AT&T Cotton Bowl
#6 Arkansas (10-2) vs. #8 Kansas State (10-2)
Friday January 6th at 8:00pm on FOX
BBVA Compass Bowl
Pittsburgh (6-6) vs. Southern Methodist (7-5)
Saturday January 7th at 1:00pm on ESPN
GoDaddy.com Bowl
Northern Illinois (10-3) vs. Arkansas State (10-2)
Sunday January 8th at 9:00pm on ESPN
Allstate BCS National Championship
#1 LSU (13-0) vs. #2 Alabama (11-1)
Monday January 9th at 8:30pm on ESPN
