Top-ranked Florida State did its job Saturday night. But second-ranked Ohio State was upset 34-24 by Michigan State in the Big Ten title game, and as a result, the Seminoles are expected to face Auburn in the final BCS national championship game.
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Auburn beat Missouri in the SEC championship game, then settled in to watch FSU in the ACC title game and Ohio State in the Big Ten championship on Saturday night. As expected, FSU trounced Duke. But Ohio State didn't get its high-powered offense totally untracked and a shaky Ohio State secondary was exploited again, this time by Spartans quarterback Connor Cook, as the Spartans ended the Buckeyes' title hopes.
The BCS bowl pairings will officially be announced on Sunday night.
FSU would be in the national title game for the fourth time overall and the first since the 2000 season. Auburn would be playing for the national title for the second time in four seasons; the Tigers won it all behind Cam Newton in the 2010 season.
Here are all our bowl projections for the last season with the BCS in place.
There will be four at-large spots in the BCS. Alabama and Ohio State are givens; the question is which bowls take the Tide and Buckeyes. Clemson, Oklahoma and Oregon are the other contenders. BCS at-large candidates must have at least nine victories and finish in the top 14 in the final BCS standings. All three of those teams have won 10 and each almost certainly will finish in the top 14.
Remember that a bowl's tie-in with a league doesn't necessarily mean it will get the third- or fourth-, etc., place team from the league; instead, it means it gets the third or fourth, etc., selection from that league.
BCS MATCHUPS
ROSE BOWL
FIESTA BOWL
SUGAR BOWL
ORANGE BOWL
BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
THE OTHER BOWLS
NEW MEXICO BOWL
LAS VEGAS BOWL
FAMOUS IDAHO POTATO BOWL
NEW ORLEANS BOWL
BEEF 'O' BRADY'S BOWL
HAWAII BOWL
LITTLE CAESARS PIZZA BOWL
POINSETTIA BOWL
MILITARY BOWL
TEXAS BOWL
KRAFT FIGHT HUNGER BOWL
PINSTRIPE BOWL
BELK BOWL
RUSSELL ATHLETIC BOWL
BUFFALO WILD WINGS BOWL
ARMED FORCES BOWL
MUSIC CITY BOWL
ALAMO BOWL
HOLIDAY BOWL
ADVOCARE V100 BOWL
SUN BOWL
LIBERTY BOWL
CHICK-FIL-A BOWL
HEART OF DALLAS BOWL
GATOR BOWL
CAPITAL ONE BOWL
OUTBACK BOWL
COTTON BOWL
BBVA COMPASS BOWL
GODADDY.COM BOWL
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
