Bowl Projections 2011: Virginia Tech Now Michigan's Likely Opponent In Sugar Bowl?

Within the last hour, the Sugar Bowl matchup has gone from the one everybody expected to one that comes out of left field. The general consensus was that Michigan would take on Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl, but now it appears the Wolverines could be going up against the Virginia Tech Hokies. From Bryan Fisher:

And we have a bowl shake up.... Virginia Tech to Sugar, Virginia to Chick-Fil-A.

If Virginia Tech is in fact headed to New Orleans, this will turn out to be another case of a team that will travel better being picked over a more deserving team. Granted, the Hokies are 11-2 and have only lost to Clemson this season (twice, including on Saturday in the ACC Championship Game), but their schedule isn't all that impressive. That's why everybody was expecting Kansas State to be selected to play in the Sugar Bowl.

Of course, the only reason Michigan is considered a lock to play in the Sugar Bowl is because it will travel well and be good for ratings. Other teams, such as Boise State and Michigan State, have a case to be at-large selections, but it's unlikely either will receive one based on how the BCS is set up. It's all about money, and that often means disregarding what has happened on the field this season.

Bowl Projections 2011: Sugar Bowl Likely Will Be Michigan Vs. Kansas State

More and more bowl bids are starting to leak out. There is no direct word quite yet on where Michigan will be playing or what the Sugar Bowl matchup is, but by process of elimination, it appears the Wolverines will take on Kansas State in New Orleans.

At this point, Michigan to the Sugar Bowl is a foregone conclusion. Jerry Palm is reporting that LSU and Alabama will meet in the BCS National Championship, meaning the Sugar Bowl will likely use its first at-large pick on Michigan. Depending on the projection, Michigan has been tabbed to play TCU, Boise State or Kansas State. Right now it looks like the Wildcats will be the opponent considering TCU is reportedly headed to the Poinsettia Bowl and Boise State is reportedly off to Las Vegas for the Maaco Bowl.

Not too long ago it was looking like Kansas State was going to play in the Cotton Bowl, but Bryan Fischer reports that that isn't the case. This leaves only one logical conclusion: Kansas State has been selected to play in the Sugar Bowl.

Although Michigan's Sugar Bowl bid has not been announced, nothing has come out to suggest the Wolverines won't be playing in New Orleans during the bowl season. At this point it's really just a matter of the official announcement being made.

Bowl Projections 2011 Roundup: Michigan To Sugar, MSU To Outback

By the end of Sunday, we will know the matchups for all 35 of this season's bowl games. Already quite a few teams have accepted bowl bids, but none of them are from the Big Ten. This is because the Big Ten's bowl lineup depends on if Michigan receives an at-large bid from the BCS. If the Wolverines do, the rest of the lineup will all move up a spot. If Michigan doesn't, teams will slide down a spot, meaning Michigan State could end up in the Insight Bowl.

Based on the latest bowl projections from around the Web, Michigan can probably start getting its plans for New Orleans ready and Michigan State can probably start getting set for Tampa. The consensus across the board is for the Spartans to end up in the Outback Bowl against Georgia, and most analysts expect Michigan to play in the Sugar Bowl against Kansas State. Here's the breakdown:

Barring a massive turn of events, Michigan will be in the Sugar Bowl and Michigan State will take on Georgia in the Outback Bowl.

BCS Bowl Games Selection Show Set For Sunday Night

Update: Latest BCS Rankings are here.

The 2012 BCS bowl games will have their matchups announced on Sunday night on ESPN.

Bowl Projections 2011: Michigan State Likely Headed To Outback Bowl

UPDATE: Michigan State is headed to the Outback Bowl to play Georgia.

Bowl Projections 2011: Predictions, Scenarios For Michigan, BCS

UPDATE: Michigan is headed to the Sugar Bowl to play Virginia Tech.

2011 Bowl Projections: Michigan State Likely To Outback Bowl With Loss

Even though Michigan State won the Legends Division there is no guarantee that the Spartans will be the first team selected when the Big Ten affiliated bowls begin picking. Most experts agree that the Capital One Bowl, which has the first pick of Big Ten teams after the BCS selects its teams, will pick Nebraska since the Cornhuskers have never been to Orlando. That likely drops Michigan State to the Outback Bowl.

What can be even more frustrating is that many experts predict the Michigan wolverines will be a BCS selection as long as they reach the top 14 in the final BCS standings. one way they can do that is if the Spartans lose and fall behind hte Wolverines. SB Nation's Bowl projections have this happening:

Michigan is 16th, but they should leap both Georgia (if they lose to LSU) and the Michigan State/Wisconsin loser to get to 14th. Meanwhile, Oklahoma is currently 10th, and it is difficult to determine how far they will fall if they lose to Oklahoma State.

Western Michigan is also in the mix for a bowl game, as the Broncos could reach an open bowl left by a conference that does not have enough eligible teams to fulfill its obligations.

There is a wild scenario where three SEC teams could earn BCS bids, as Hammer & Rails explains:

The BCS is under contract to take the automatic qualifier of a conference champion (in that case Georgia) but they also must pair the top two teams in the BCS standings for the title game. If LSU loses a very close game to Georgia they may fall no lower than No. 2 while Alabama rises to No. 1.

In that case, Georgia would get an automatic bid as the SEC champion, but Alabama and LSU could still play a rematch for the national title as the top two ranked teams. With Stanford and Houston out there  it would also virtually assure that Michigan would not play in a BCS bowl.

2011 Bowl Projections: Michigan, Michigan State Among 10 Bowl Teams From Big Ten

The Big Ten conference regular season ended on Saturday with 10 teams winning at least six game to be bowl eligible. According to the latest bowl projections from College Football News, there will be enough bowl games to go around for all 10 teams, despite four teams (Ohio State, Purdue, Northwestern, Illinois) finishing with a 6-6 record.

Illinois finished 2-6 in the Big Ten losing their last six games. The Fighting Illini may play in a bowl game, but coach Ron Zook won't be coaching after being fired today. Defensive coordinator Vic Koenning will take over on an interim basis.

At the top of the conference, Wisconsin and Michigan State will play for a berth in the Rose Bowl at next Saturday's Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis. CFN has the loser missing out on the BCS and projects Wisconsin to win and meet Oregon in the Rose Bowl. That leaves the Spartans in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando to play against Arkansas.

Michigan is sitting sweet in third place with a 10-2 record, which keeps the Wolverines projected to land a BCS at-large bid in the Sugar Bowl against the Houston Cougars.

Here is how College Football News projects bowl games for the Big Ten:

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl - Dec. 27 in Detroit, MI, 4:30PM

Northern Illinois vs. Northwestern

Insight Bowl - Dec. 30 in Tempe, AZ, 10:00PM

Ohio State vs. Baylor

Meineke Car Care Bowl - Dec. 31 in Houston, TX, 12:00PM

Iowa vs. Texas

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl - Dec. 31 in San Francisco, CA, 3:30PM

UCLA vs. Illinois

Ticket City Bowl - Jan. 2 in Dallas,TX, 12:00PM

Purdue vs. Iowa State

Gator Bowl - Jan. 2 in Jacksonville, FL, 1:00PM

Nebraska vs. Florida

Outback Bowl - Jan. 2 in Tampa, FL, 1:00PM

Penn State vs. Georgia

Capital One Bowl - Jan. 2 in Orlando, FL, 1:00PM

Michigan State vs. Arkansas

Rose Bowl presented by VIZIO - Jan. 2 in Pasadena, CA, 5:00PM

Oregon vs. Wisconsin

Allstate Sugar Bowl - Jan. 3 in New Orleans, LA, 8:30PM

Houston vs. Michigan

Bowl Projections 2011: Predicting The Big Ten's Postseason

Will the Big Ten put two teams in the BCS? Where will the title game's loser end up? SB Nation Detroit forecasts the Big Ten's bowl lineup.

2011 Bowl Predictions: Michigan In Mix For Second Big Ten BCS Bid?

After Saturday's action, the Big Ten has plenty of bowl game intrigue building with the bowl picture improving for the conference.

While the Big Ten hasn't factored in the BCS for a few weeks, the big losses this week by Oregon, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State have jumbled the picture which could end up benefiting the Big Ten. According to the latest projections from College Football News, the Michigan Wolverines may be able to slip into a BCS game if they finish the season 10-2 by beating Ohio State.

In this scenario, the Michigan State Spartans are punished for making the Big Ten championship game and, according to the projection, losing to Wisconsin which would leave the Spartans with three losses and out of the BCS at-large discussion. Subjectivity kicks in from there since Michigan is a great draw for big bowl games thanks to their fan base and would be the BCS choice for the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

At the other end of the Big Ten bowl spectrum, the Northwestern Wildcats' win over the Minnesota Gophers added Northwestern to the group of bowl-eligible teams from the Big Ten which now stands at nine teams. If the Purdue Boilermakers can beat the Indiana Hoosiers next week for their sixth win, that number will grow to ten.

Nothing is guaranteed for a six-win team if there isn't a slot in a bowl game available, but projections point toward the Pac 12 and Conference USA not being able to fill all of their bowl games which should open up room for all of the bowl-eligible Big Ten teams.

Here is how College Football News projects the Big Ten bowl games:

Gildan New Mexico Bowl - Dec. 17 in Albuquerque, NM, 2:00PM ET

San Diego State vs. Northwestern

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl - Dec. 27 in Detroit, MI, 4:30PM

Northern Illinois vs. Illinois

Insight Bowl - Dec. 30 in Tempe, AZ, 10:00PM

Ohio State vs. Oklahoma

Meineke Car Care Bowl - Dec. 31 in Houston, TX, 12:00PM

Iowa vs. Texas A&M

Ticket City Bowl - Jan. 2 in Dallas,TX, 12:00PM

Purdue vs. Iowa State

Gator Bowl - Jan. 2 in Jacksonville, FL, 1:00PM

Nebraska vs. Florida

Outback Bowl - Jan. 2 in Tampa, FL, 1:00PM

Penn State vs. Georgia

Capital One Bowl - Jan. 2 in Orlando, FL, 1:00PM

Michigan State vs. Arkansas

Rose Bowl presented by VIZIO - Jan. 2 in Pasadena, CA, 5:00PM

Oregon vs. Wisconsin

Allstate Sugar Bowl - Jan. 3 in New Orleans, LA, 8:30PM

Houston vs. Michigan

2011 Bowl Projections: Michigan, Michigan State Look Set For Marquee Games

As the Big Ten season winds down it looks like both the Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans are set to play on January 2 in sunny Florida. According SB Nation's Off Tackle Empire and their weekly bowl projections, at least one team is expected to be playing in Florida on January 2. Michigan State is projected to be in Tampa to play Georgia in the Outback Bowl:

10-3 Legends champ Sparty versus 10-3 SEC East Champ Georgia Great matchup.

It is notable that Off Tackle Empire does project MSU as the Legends Division champion. As for Michigan, the Wolverines are expected to head out west to Tempe and play Baylor in the Insight Bowl. Such a game would pit two of the game's most dynamic quarterbacks against each other in Baylor's Robert Griffin III and Michigan's Denard Robinson.

Off Tackle Empire also projects Michigan to finish the regular season at 9-3, meaning they would have to split their remaining games against Nebraska and Ohio State.

2011 Bowl Projections: Michigan State, Michigan On Course For Sunny Florida Bowl Games

The Michigan State Spartans took care of business on Saturday with a strong win over the Iowa Hawkeyes to remain in control of the Big Ten's Legends Division. Meanwhile the Michigan Wolverines remained one game behind their intrastate rival with an impressive win over the Illinois Illini on the road.

The wins put both teams in position to look ahead to an extra game in sunny Florida as the latest college football bowl projects have both teams playing on January 2nd.

Michigan State controls their own destiny atop the Legends Division with a more favorable schedule (Indiana, @Northwestern) to close out the year. So while the Spartans will have a shot at a BCS bid in the Rose Bowl, both SB Nation's bowl projections and the College Football News projections predict Michigan State will come up short, instead landing the Big Ten's number two bid at the Capitol One Bowl in Orlando, Florida where they project to face the Arkansas Razorbacks. That also means the Big Ten will not see an at-large BCS bid has they have in previous seasons.

The two projections differ when it comes to Michigan's bowl future, which isn't surprising since the Wolverines finish the season with critical home games against Nebraska and Ohio State. If Michigan wins both they should secure the Big Ten's number three bowl slot, as CFN projects, which would have them playing in the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida against the Georgia Bulldogs.

With a loss, Michigan could slide to the number four slot, as SB Nation projects, which would have the Wolverines facing the Auburn Tigers in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida. Either way, Michigan is looking at a quality SEC opponent on January 2nd which should be plenty entertaining.

For more 2011 college football bowl projections make sure to head over to SB Nation's college football hub.

2011 Bowl Projections: Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans To Head South?

The 2011 bowl projections are an inexact science, to be sure, as it's pretty difficult to assume anything about the rest of the season for the Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans. It seems SB Nation's Bill Connelly has a pretty good feeling of how everything will end up, however, and it seems pretty solid for both of SB Nation Detroit's home teams.

Connelly projects the Wolverines to finish with a 10-2 record, but a less than favorable bowl draw. As it stands right now, SB Nation's expert projects Michigan to play the 6-6 Florida Gators in the newly-named TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl at Jacksonville, Fla. The Gator Bowl will have the fourth selection from the Big Ten, after BCS bowls, and the fifth selection of the SEC teams.

The Spartans, on the other hand, would also play in Florida on January 2. Sparty is currently projected to play in the Outback Bowl against the Georgia Bulldogs as the bowl game gets the third pick from both the Big Ten and SEC. The game would kick off at 1 p.m. ET on ABC.

For more 2011 college football bowl projections make sure to head over to SB Nation's college football hub.

2011 Bowl Projections: Michigan, Michigan State Headed To Florida According to CFN

Like many other bowl projections, College Football news sees both Michigan State and Michigan as solid bowl teams headed to Florida for January 2nd bowl games. The latest projections have both facing tough SEC opponents in the conference's back yard. Michigan State is expected to return to the Capital One Bowl to face Arkansas, while Michigan is expected to go to the Outback Bowl in Tampa to face South Carolina.

Here are the bowls for the Big Ten as CFN sees them:

December 27

Little Caesar's Pizza Pizza Bowl, Detroit, MI

Toledo vs. Illinois

December 30

Insight Bowl Tempe, AZ

Ohio State vs. Texas A&M

December 31

Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas, Houston, TX

Nebraska vs. Texas Tech

January 2

TicketCity Bowl, Dallas, TX

Iowa vs. SMU

Capital One Bowl, Orlando, FL

Michigan State vs. Arkansas

Gator Bowl, Jacksonville, FL

Penn State vs. Florida

Outback Bowl, Tampa, FL

Michigan vs. South Carolina

Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA

Wisconsin vs. Oregon

2011 Bowl Projections: Michigan, Michigan State Look Like Options For Jan. 2 Bowl Games

Bowl projections have Michigan State facing Arkansas in the Capital One Bowl, with Michigan playing South Carolina in the Outback Bowl.

2011 Bowl Projections: Michigan, Michigan State To Florida Bowls, Eastern Michigan To Military Bowl

SB Nation's Bill Connelly is thinking very highly of both the Spartans and Wolverines as we get closer to the bowl season. While he projects neither team to reach a BCS bowl, he does have them headed to Florida to face tough SEC opponent in prominent bowl games.

Connelly projects Michigan State to head to Orlando to play in the Capital One Bowl, while he has the Wolverines headed to Tampa to play in the Outback Bowl:

Jan. 2	Outback Bowl	Michigan (10-2)	Georgia (10-2)
Jan. 2	Capital One Bowl	Michigan State (10-3)	South Carolina (11-2)

The Spartans would be making their second straight trip to Orlando, where Alabama thrashed them last season. South Carolina, however, does not appear to be as daunting of a task as the Crimson Tide. The Michigan-Georgia game looks very appealing, as the Bulldogs have been playing solid football of late and are in the hunt for the SEC East title.

Also of note is Eastern Michigan in Connelly's projections. The Eagles have not been to a bowl game since 1987, but Connelly projects them to make the Military Bowl against the Miami Hurricanes.

2011 Bowl Projections: Where Will Michigan, Michigan State End Up?

Bowl projections have Michigan facing Arkansas or Georgia in the Capital One Bowl, whereas Michigan State could end up in the Gator or Insight Bowl.