At Husker Locker, we try to let the bowl picture shake out a bit before we start handing out any predictions on the issues for Nebraska. Now that we've traversed ten games, we continue our weekly Bowl Watch.

Ready? Ready!

Now, remember – when reading through this, please remember two key things that most national pundits almost never do:

1. After the BCS, the slots are merely a guide. The No. 3 Big 12 team doesn't really have to go to the Holiday Bowl, for example. It'll be a cold day in hell before you ever see Florida or Georgia in the Cotton Bowl ever again, as another example. The slots are really meaningless. The bowls try to create games they think people will attend in person and often, the bowls work in concert to make it happen. That's how NU headed to the Gator Bowl last year despite finishing behind Missouri.

2.Teams with the best following get more preferential treatment. This includes Nebraska.

On with the watch, which takes the best game Nebraska could play in – the Fiesta Bowl – and works down to the worst - the Texas Bowl.

BCS Fiesta Bowl
Nebraska must: Win the Big 12 Championship.
Likely opponent: Boise State, Penn State
Odds: Very Poor. Texas is darn good.

Cotton Bowl
Nebraska must: Lose to Texas in the Big 12 title game
Likely opponent: LSU
Odds: Zero. Oklahoma St will land here.

Holiday Bowl
Nebraska must: Lose to UT
Likely opponent: Oregon State or USC
Odds: Good. We still think this is the spot.

Alamo Bowl
Nebraska Must: Goal achieved
Likely Opponent: Michigan State
Odds: Poor. Holiday will gobble up NU

Sun Bowl
Nebraska Must: Goal achieved
Likely Opponent: Stanford
Odds: Zero.

Insight Bowl
Nebraska Must: Goal achieved
Likely Opponent: Minnesota
Odds: Zero.

Independence Bowl
Nebraska Must: Goal achieved.
Likely Opponent: Georgia or Kentucky
Odds: Zero.

Texas Bowl
Nebraska Must: Goal achieved
Opponent: Navy
Odds: Zero.

Our Big 12 bowl projections:

BCS title: Texas vs. Florida
Cotton: Oklahoma State vs. LSU
Holiday: Nebraska vs. Oregon State
Alamo Bowl: Texas Tech vs. Michigan State
Sun Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Stanford
Insight Bowl: Missouri vs. Minnesota
Independence Bowl: Texas A&M vs. Kentucky
Texas Bowl: Iowa State vs. Navy


Join Husker Locker today - it's free!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

At Husker Locker, we try to let the bowl picture shake out a bit before we start handing out any predictions on the issues for Nebraska. Now that we've traversed ten games, we continue our weekly Bowl Watch.

Ready? Ready!

Now, remember – when reading through this, please remember two key things that most national pundits almost never do:

1. After the BCS, the slots are merely a guide. The No. 3 Big 12 team doesn't really have to go to the Holiday Bowl, for example. It'll be a cold day in hell before you ever see Florida or Georgia in the Cotton Bowl ever again, as another example. The slots are really meaningless. The bowls try to create games they think people will attend in person and often, the bowls work in concert to make it happen. That's how NU headed to the Gator Bowl last year despite finishing behind Missouri.

2.Teams with the best following get more preferential treatment. This includes Nebraska.

On with the watch, which takes the best game Nebraska could play in – the Fiesta Bowl – and works down to the worst - the Texas Bowl.

BCS Fiesta Bowl
Nebraska must: Win the Big 12 Championship.
Likely opponent: Boise State, Cincinnati
Odds: Very Poor. Texas is darn good.

Cotton Bowl
Nebraska must: Lose to Texas in the Big 12 title game
Likely opponent: Arkansas, Kentucky, LSU
Odds: Fair. Oklahoma St. might be BCS-bound.

Holiday Bowl
Nebraska must: win North lose to UT
Likely opponent: Oregon, Oregon State, USC
Odds: Good. We still think this is the spot.

Alamo Bowl
Nebraska Must: Goal achieved
Likely Opponent: Michigan State
Odds: Fair. Only if Holiday really wants Texas Tech

Sun Bowl
Nebraska Must: Goal achieved
Likely Opponent: Stanford
Odds: Zero.

Insight Bowl
Nebraska Must: Goal achieved
Likely Opponent: Minnesota
Odds: Zero.

Independence Bowl
Nebraska Must: Goal achieved.
Likely Opponent: Georgia or Tennessee
Odds: Zero.

Texas Bowl
Nebraska Must: Goal achieved
Opponent: Navy
Odds: Zero.

Our Big 12 bowl projections:

BCS title: Texas vs. Florida
Cotton: Oklahoma State vs. LSU
Holiday: Nebraska vs. Oregon State
Alamo Bowl: Texas Tech vs. Michigan State
Sun Bowl: Missouri vs. Stanford
Insight Bowl: Texas A&M vs. Minnesota
Independence Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Georgia
Texas Bowl: Iowa State vs. Navy


Join Husker Locker today - it's free!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

At Husker Locker, we try to let the bowl picture shake out a bit before we start handing out any predictions on the issues for Nebraska. Now that we've traversed ten games, we continue our weekly Bowl Watch.

Ready? Ready!

Now, remember – when reading through this, please remember two key things that most national pundits almost never do:

1. After the BCS, the slots are merely a guide. The No. 3 Big 12 team doesn't really have to go to the Holiday Bowl, for example. It'll be a cold day in hell before you ever see Florida or Georgia in the Cotton Bowl ever again, as another example. The slots are really meaningless. The bowls try to create games they think people will attend in person and often, the bowls work in concert to make it happen. That's how NU headed to the Gator Bowl last year despite finishing behind Missouri.

2.Teams with the best following get more preferential treatment. This includes Nebraska.

On with the watch, which takes the best game Nebraska could play in – the Fiesta Bowl – and works down to the worst - the Texas Bowl.

BCS Fiesta Bowl
Nebraska must: Win the Big 12 Championship.
Likely opponent: Boise State
Odds: Very Poor. Texas is peaking at the right time.

Cotton Bowl
Nebraska must: Lose to Texas in the Big 12 title game
Likely opponent: Arkansas or LSU
Odds: Very Poor. The first Les Miles Bowl looks probable

Holiday Bowl
Nebraska must: Beat OU, win North, lose to UT
Likely opponent: Stanford, Oregon State, USC
Odds: Good. But USC may be out of the mix

Alamo Bowl
Nebraska Must: Win 8, but lose North to KSU
Likely Opponent: Northwestern
Odds: Fair. We think NU wins the North.

Sun Bowl
Nebraska Must: Finish at least 7-5
Likely Opponent: Arizona
Odds: Poor. We like Texas Tech here. Natural fit.

Insight Bowl
Nebraska Must: Finish at least 6-6
Likely Opponent: Minnesota
Odds: Zero. NU's won 7.

Independence Bowl
Nebraska Must: Finish 6-6
Likely Opponent: Auburn or Georgia
Odds: Zero. NU's won 7

Texas Bowl
Nebraska Must: Finish 6-6
Opponent: Navy
Odds: Zero. Iowa State punched its ticket, we think.

Our Big 12 bowl projections:

BCS title: Texas vs. Florida
Cotton: Oklahoma State vs. LSU
Holiday: Nebraska vs. Stanford
Alamo Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Northwestern
Sun Bowl: Texas Tech vs. Arizona
Insight Bowl: Missouri vs. Michigan State
Independence Bowl: Texas A&M vs. Auburn
Texas Bowl: Iowa State vs. Navy


Join Husker Locker today - it's free!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

At Husker Locker, we try to let the bowl picture shake out a bit before we start handing out any predictions on the issues for Nebraska. Now that we've traversed eight games, we begin our weekly Bowl Watch.

Ready? Ready!

Now, remember – when reading through this, please remember two key things that most national pundits almost never do:

1. After the BCS, the slots are merely a guide. The No. 3 Big 12 team doesn't really have to go to the Holiday Bowl, for example. It'll be a cold day in hell before you ever see Florida or Georgia in the Cotton Bowl ever again, as another example. The slots are really meaningless. The bowls try to create games they think people will attend in person and often, the bowls work in concert to make it happen. That's how NU headed to the Gator Bowl last year despite finishing behind Missouri.

2.Teams with the best following get more preferential treatment. This includes Nebraska.

On with the watch, which takes the best game Nebraska could play in – the Fiesta Bowl – and works down to the worst - the Texas Bowl.

BCS Fiesta Bowl
Nebraska must: Win the Big 12 Championship.
Likely opponent: Boise State or TCU
Odds: Very Poor. Colt McCoy isn't Landry Jones.

Cotton Bowl
Nebraska must: Lose to Texas in the Big 12 title game
Likely opponent: Auburn, Arkansas or Tennessee
Odds: Very Poor. Oklahoma State's got this spot.

Holiday Bowl
Nebraska must: Beat OU, win North, lose to UT
Likely opponent: USC, Arizona, Oregon State
Odds: Good. The scenario lines up nicely.

Alamo Bowl
Nebraska Must: Win 8, but lose North to KSU
Likely Opponent: Northwestern
Odds: Fair. We think NU wins the North

Sun Bowl
Nebraska Must: Finish at least 7-5
Likely Opponent: California, Stanford or Arizona
Odds: Poor. We like Texas Tech here. Natural fit.

Insight Bowl
Nebraska Must: Finish at least 6-6
Likely Opponent: Big Ten scrub or at-large.
Odds: Very poor. Big Ten? This year? Blech.

Independence Bowl
Nebraska Must: Finish 6-6
Likely Opponent: Auburn or Georgia
Odds: Poor. We think Nebraska wins at least two more.

Texas Bowl
Nebraska Must: Finish 6-6
Opponent: Navy
Odds: Zero. This spot seems made for Iowa State or Texas A&M.

Our Big 12 bowl projections:

BCS title: Texas vs. Florida
Cotton: Oklahoma State vs. Auburn
Holiday: Nebraska vs. USC
Alamo Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Northwestern
Sun Bowl: Texas Tech vs. Arizona
Insight Bowl: Kansas State vs. Michigan State
Independence Bowl: Missouri vs. Georgia
Texas Bowl: Texas A&M vs. Navy


Join Husker Locker today - it's free!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

At Husker Locker, we try to let the bowl picture shake out a bit before we start handing out any predictions on the issues for Nebraska. Now that we've traversed eight games, we begin our weekly Bowl Watch.

Ready? Ready!

Now, remember – when reading through this, please remember two key things that most national pundits almost never do:

1. After the BCS, the slots are merely a guide. The No. 3 Big 12 team doesn't really have to go to the Holiday Bowl, for example. It'll be a cold day in hell before you ever see Florida or Georgia in the Cotton Bowl ever again, as another example. The slots are really meaningless. The bowls try to create games they think people will attend in person and often, the bowls work in concert to make it happen. That's how NU headed to the Gator Bowl last year despite finishing behind Missouri.

A key example of this: Oklahoma. Folks, OU isn't going to Dallas - better known as the place where Sam Bradford ended his college career - for a third time this year. That means the Cotton Bowl is out.

2.Teams with the best following get more preferential treatment. This includes Nebraska.

On with the watch, which takes the best game Nebraska could play in – the Fiesta Bowl – and works down to the worst - the Texas Bowl.

BCS Fiesta Bowl
Nebraska must: Win the Big 12 Championship.
Likely opponent: Boise State or TCU
Odds: Very Poor. NU can't beat Texas in its current state.

Cotton Bowl
Nebraska must: Win out but lose to Texas in the Big 12 title game
Likely opponent: Some SEC West leftover or Fightin Kiffins
Odds: Zero. One trip to Cowboys Stadium would be enough.

Holiday Bowl
Nebraska must: Beat OU, win North, lose to UT
Likely opponent: USC
Odds: Fair. But only if Nebraska beats Oklahoma.

Alamo Bowl
Nebraska Must: Win eight games, preferably the North title.
Likely Opponent: Minnesota or Northwestern
Odds: Good. We like NU to win North, but lose to OU.

Sun Bowl
Nebraska Must: Finish at least 7-5
Likely Opponent: California, Stanford or Arizona
Odds: Fair. If NU wins 7 but loses North, here's the spot.

Insight Bowl
Nebraska Must: Finish at least 6-6
Likely Opponent: Michigan State, Michigan, Northwestern.
Odds: Poor. NU would rather play in Shreveport, wethinks.

Independence Bowl
Nebraska Must: Finish 6-6
Likely Opponent: Arkansas, Ole Miss or Georgia
Odds: Poor. We think Nebraska wins at least two more.

Texas Bowl
Nebraska Must: Finish 6-6
Opponent: Navy
Odds: Very poor. This spot seems made for Iowa State or Texas A&M.

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