Shockwaves from the Oklahoma-Kansas State game were sent through Lincoln, Neb., Saturday night.
The Cornhuskers lost two games this season, but they were to the wrong two teams -- OU and K-State -- and now appear to be slipping down to the Alamo Bowl.
Kansas State's three-point loss to the top-ranked Sooners has the Wildcats and their fans holding their heads high, and the Cotton Bowl is expected to announce Sunday that it will take the Big 12 Northern Division champs to pair against Tennessee on Jan. 1 in Dallas.
The Holiday Bowl previously announced its marriage with Texas, which gives the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio -- the No. 4 pick among bowl with Big 12 ties -- the next choice. It's inconceivable that the Alamo would bypass a chance to have the Cornhuskers for the first time in the bowls' eight-year history.
That also skews the landscape for several other bowl games, probably moving Iowa State to the Insight.com against Pittsburgh. Consider, too, that the likely Oregon State invitation to the Fiesta Bowl should settle things for the Pac-10 and Big East teams (which were on hold waiting to see if Virginia Tech would gain a BCS bid).
Still, those situations will not become official until Sunday, with a few other invitations going to the wire.
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Mobile Alabama Bowl |
Mobile, Ala./Dec. 20, 7:30 p.m. ET |
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Southern Miss (7-4) vs. TCU (10-1) |
C-USA #2 vs. WAC #1 |
| A fine match of tough defense vs. nation's top rusher (LaDainian Tomlinson, 2,158 yds). |
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Las Vegas Bowl |
Las Vegas/Dec. 21, 8 p.m. ET |
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UNLV (6-5) vs. Arkansas (6-5) @ |
MWC #2 vs. at-large |
| UNLV repulsed Hawaii's late two-point conversion to qualify for Mountain West Conference position. This at-large spot is the most flexible of all the minor bowl invitations, with several last-minute scenarios possible. |
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Oahu Bowl |
Honolulu/Dec. 24, 8:30 p.m. ET |
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Virginia (6-5) vs. Ole Miss (7-4) @ |
ACC/Big East #5 vs. Pac-10 #5 |
| If Oregon St. isn't picked by Fiesta, Arizona State goes here; OSU in Fiesta means this spot opens up for at-large -- which is expected to be an SEC team (Georgia also possible). |
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Aloha Bowl |
Honolulu/Dec. 25, 3:30 p.m. ET |
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Arizona State (6-5) vs. Boston College (6-5) |
Pac-10 #4 vs. Big East/ACC #5 |
| If Oregon State isn't picked by Fiesta, Oregon would fall back to here from Holiday. There has been a lot of talk of ASU working out a deal to land in the Las Vegas Bowl via a trade. |
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Motor City Bowl |
Detroit/Dec. 27, 4 p.m. ET |
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Marshall (7-5) vs. Cincinnati (7-4) |
MAC champion vs. C-USA #4 |
| Marshall beat Western Michigan in MAC title game to advance to fourth straight Motor City Bowl. |
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galleryfurniture.com Bowl |
Houston/Dec. 27, 8 p.m. ET |
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East Carolina (7-4) vs. Texas Tech (7-5) |
CUSA #3 vs. Big 12 #7 |
| Oklahoma's victory very likely locks up this matchup. |
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Humanitarian Bowl |
Boise, Idaho/Dec. 28, 1:30 p.m. ET |
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Boise State (9-2) vs. UTEP (8-3) |
Big West champ vs. WAC #3 |
| A matchup of fine QBs: Bart Hendricks and Rocky Perez (No. 1 and 9 nationally in efficiency) |
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Music City Bowl |
Nashville/Dec. 28, 4 p.m. ET |
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West Virginia (6-5) vs. Georgia (7-4) |
Big East #4 vs. SEC team |
| Retiring Don Nehlen gets one more chance to win a bowl; lots of talk that Ole Miss could ace out the Bulldogs here. |
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Micronpc.com Bowl |
Fort Lauderdale/Dec. 28, 7 p.m. ET |
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Minnesota (6-5) vs. N.C. State (7-5) |
Big Ten #6 vs. ACC #4 |
| Two teams that got off to a great start and slumped in November land in same place. |
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Insight.com Bowl |
Phoenix/Dec. 28, 7:30 p.m. ET |
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Pittsburgh (7-4) vs. Iowa State (8-3) |
Big East #3 vs. Big 12 #5 |
| Iowa State's first bowl in 22 years makes it one of the wild-card drawing cards of the bowl season; could carry 20,000 fans. |
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Liberty Bowl |
Memphis/Dec. 29, 1:30 p.m. ET |
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Louisville (9-2) vs. Colorado State (9-2) |
C-USA champ vs. MWC champ |
| With the Rose, Sugar and Orange, it's a rare bowl that pits conference champions. |
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Sun Bowl |
El Paso/Dec. 29, 2:15 p.m. ET |
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Wisconsin (7-4) vs. UCLA (6-5) |
Big Ten #5 vs. Pac-10 #3 |
| UCLA slips in since Oregon played here last year and has played Wisconsin this season. |
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Peach Bowl |
Atlanta/Dec. 29, 5 p.m. ET |
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Georgia Tech (9-2) vs. LSU (7-4) |
ACC #3 vs. SEC team |
| LSU appears to be solid here after blowing Cotton bid with last-game defeat. |
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Holiday Bowl |
San Diego/Dec. 29, 8:30 p.m. ET |
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Oregon (9-2) vs. Texas (9-2) |
Pac-10 #2 vs. Big 12 #3 |
| Oregon hoping like crazy that Oregon State gets Fiesta, or else the Ducks get bumped by OSU and Oregon goes to Hawaii. |
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Alamo Bowl |
San Antonio/Dec. 30, 8 p.m. ET |
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Northwestern (8-3) vs. Nebraska (9-2) |
Big Ten #4 vs. Big 12 #4
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| Shocking slide for Cornhuskers, who until last week were still trying to talk their way into BCS. |
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Silicon Valley Bowl |
San Jose, Calif./Dec. 31, 6:30 p.m. ET |
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Fresno State (7-4) vs. Air Force (8-3) |
WAC #2 vs. MWC #3 |
| Some complicated scenarios being looked at, but Fresno's Red Wave of fans still appears most likely -- although the fact that they made the trip for the last regular-season game could be a minus (could Silicon take UTEP instead?). |
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Independence Bowl |
Shreveport, La./Dec. 31, 8 p.m. ET |
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Texas A&M (7-4) vs. Mississippi State (7-4) |
Big 12 #6 vs. SEC team |
| SEC is a mess (five 7-4 teams), but since Ole Miss has been here often lately; MSU's turn. |
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Cotton Bowl |
Dallas/Jan. 1, 11 a.m. ET |
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Kansas State (10-2) vs. Tennessee (8-3) |
Big 12 #2 vs. SEC team |
| Great matchup of quality programs; Neb-Tenn would have been their third bowl matchup in four years. |
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Outback Bowl |
Tampa, Fla./Jan. 1, 11 a.m. ET |
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Ohio State (8-3) vs. South Carolina (7-4) |
Big Ten #3 vs. SEC #3 |
| Lou Holtz and fired-up Gamecocks take on the Buckeyes, who have a second home in Florida (six bowls in 12 years). |
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Gator Bowl |
Jacksonville, Fla./Jan. 1, 12:30 p.m. ET |
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Clemson (9-2) vs. Virginia Tech (10-1) |
ACC #2 vs. Big East #2 |
| Virginia Tech will be the highest-ranked team of the season to not be invited to a BCS bowl; something to prove? |
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Florida Citrus Bowl |
Orlando, Fla./Jan. 1, 1 p.m. ET |
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Michigan (8-3) vs. Auburn (9-3) |
Big Ten #2 vs. SEC #2 |
| Wolverines shared Big Ten title, Tigers won SEC Western Division title. |
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Rose Bowl |
Pasadena, Calif./Jan. 1, 5 p.m. ET |
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Washington (10-1) vs. Purdue (8-3) |
Pac-10 champ vs. Big Ten champ |
| If FSU wins Orange, Miami wins Sugar, Huskies can claim "we're No. 1," too, if they win. |
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Fiesta Bowl |
Tempe, Ariz./Jan. 1, 8 p.m. ET |
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Notre Dame (9-2) vs. Oregon State (10-1) |
Big 12 champ* vs. BCS pick #1 |
| Fiesta gets to choose two from this pool: 9-2 Notre Dame, 10-1 Oregon State, 10-1 Miami, and 10-1 Virginia Tech ... not a tough call since Miami is such a good fit in the Sugar Bowl. |
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Sugar Bowl |
New Orleans/Jan. 2, 8 p.m. ET |
|
Florida (10-2) vs. Miami (10-1) |
SEC champ vs. BCS pick #2 |
| One night before Orange, Miami's presence makes this a game with potential, partial national championship implications. |
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Orange Bowl |
Miami/Jan. 3, 8 p.m. ET |
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Oklahoma (11-0) vs. Florida State (11-1) |
BCS #1 vs. BCS #2 |
| It looks like FSU is safe in BCS rankings; OU can make the controversy go away by winning. |
*BCS pool: After Orange Bowl gets teams ranked #1 and #2 in BCS rankings, Fiesta gets to replace Oklahoma and then make first at-large pick; then Sugar gets remaining team to match with SEC champion.
@ Indicates at-large selection.
All times are Eastern