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Bowl Predictions:

ROSE BOWL Jan. 4 Pasadena, Calif. BCS #1 vs. BCS #2 Comment: Southern Cal (Pac-10) and Texas (Big 12) face off in the Rose Bowl as the top two ranked teams in the BCS. As long as these two teams stay undefeated, they will meet for the national title.

ORANGE BOWL Jan. 3 Miami, Fla. BCS vs. BCS Comment: Virginia Tech lands here as the champion of the ACC, while Penn State earns a spot as Big Ten champ. If the Fiesta takes Penn State, Notre Dame lands here.

SUGAR BOWL Jan. 2 Atlanta, Ga. BCS vs. BCS Comment: West Virginia lands here as the champion of the Big East, while LSU wins the SEC and goes to the Sugar Bowl. Georgia could still claim the SEC title.

FIESTA BOWL Jan. 2 Tempe, Ariz. BCS vs. BCS Comment: Notre Dame lands here as an at-large, while Oregon lands here as the second at-large. Penn State, Ohio State or Auburn could also end up in Tempe.[/b]

Mike,
Either the Fiesta or Orange Bowls will take Ohio State before they take Auburn, or Oregon.

What If:

To simplify things, I am making one assumption -- that Virginia Tech beats Florida State (which is only slightly more certain than whether the 'Noles will score) ...

If Texas loses: Unless they remain in the BCS top four (not likely), the Longhorns would likely be left out altogether, because the Fiesta is not going to stage a Colorado-Texas rematch, and the Orange would almost certainly use its selection on Notre Dame. My guess:

Rose: USC vs. Penn State
Fiesta: Colorado vs. Oregon
Sugar: LSU/Georgia vs. West Virginia
Orange: Virginia Tech vs. Notre Dame

If USC loses: Believe it or not, the Trojans would still get the Pac-10's automatic berth, winning a three-way tie with UCLA and Oregon because, of all things, the Bruins lost to Arizona. Don't ask. ...

Rose: Texas vs. Penn State
Fiesta: USC vs. Ohio State
Sugar: LSU/Georgia vs. West Virginia
Orange: Virginia Tech vs. Notre Dame

If USC and Texas lose and LSU beats Georgia: If Virginia Tech wasn't playing a four-loss team, it might have had a chance to move ahead of LSU for No. 2. ...

Rose: Penn State vs. LSU
Fiesta: USC vs. Colorado
Sugar: West Virginia vs. Notre Dame
Orange: Virginia Tech vs. Texas

If USC and Texas lose and Georgia beats LSU: The Orange Bowl would get the top two picks. ...

Rose: Penn State vs. Virginia Tech
Fiesta: USC vs. Colorado
Sugar: Georgia vs. West Virginia
Orange: Notre Dame vs. Texas

And if the Hokies, USC, Texas, and LSU all lose, it would be OSU vs. Penn State in the Rose Bowl.