2011-2012 BCS Bowl Game Predictions (and a Heisman Winner, Too)
By Jason McIntyre
Ty Duffy
Jan. 2 Rose: Wisconsin (Big Ten) vs. Stanford (Pac 12) [Wisconsin emerges from muddled Big Ten. Stanford gets screwed out of title game. We have the great playoff debate again.]
Jan. 2 Fiesta: Notre Dame (At Large) vs. Oregon (At Large) [Fiesta has first pick. Grabs the sure thing.]
Jan. 3 Sugar: South Carolina (At Large) vs. Boise State (At Large) [SC loses title game, better candidate than Arkansas. Boise State is Boise State.]
Jan. 4 Orange: Virginia Tech (ACC) vs. West Virginia (Big East) [VaTech beats out FSU in title game. WVU the one decent team in the midst of mediocrity]
Jan. 9 BCS Championship: Alabama (BCS No. 1) vs. Oklahoma (BCS No. 2) [More than two undefeated teams. Dub this one the Inertia Bowl. Bama 28-14 Sooners]
Heisman Trophy: Andrew Luck [Sportswriters love a good story. Stanford had second-place finishers the past two years. Unless another Cam emerges, he’s the guy]
Jan. 2 Rose: Wisconsin (Big Ten champ) vs. Stanford (Pac-12 champ) [Russell Wilson vs. Andrew Luck!]
Jan. 2 Fiesta: Notre Dame (BCS at-large) vs. Oklahoma (BCS at-large) [Yes, I temporarily had the Irish in the title game.]
Jan. 3 Sugar: Boise St. (BCS at-large) vs. Oregon (BCS at-large) [Final score: 58-56, with the Broncos winning on a Kellen Moore buzzer-beater.]
Jan. 4 Orange: Virginia Tech (ACC champ) vs. West Virginia (Big East champ) [Due to the heated nature of this rivalry … this could be the best bowl game.]
Jan. 9 BCS Championship: Alabama (BCS No. 1) vs. South Carolina (BCS No. 2) [Impossible, you say? Rematches don’t happen? Well I didn’t want to go chalk, and I think Alabama and SC will go unbeaten, Alabama will narrowly win the SEC title game, and the computers will go with the Gamecocks here over unbeaten Boise St, 1-loss Oklahoma, 1-loss Stanford, 2-loss Notre Dame, 2-loss Virginia Tech and 2-loss Oregon. I think South Carolina wins the rematch, causing chaos. Boise State, despite not playing in the BCS title game, is your champ!]
Heisman Trophy: Just to be contrarian, I’ll go with Marcus Lattimore winning the Heisman over Andrew Luck. Also, regarding over/unders … my only two plays this year are Notre Dame over 9 (wish I had gotten 8.5, but oh well) and Penn State under 8. Remember, I went 3-for-3 on those last year!
Before making a prediction, remember: in the last five years, no team that has opened No. 1 in the AP poll has finished there.