Bowl projections: Florida State-Auburn set for BCS title game

Erick Smith, USA TODAY Sports 8:02 a.m. EST December 8, 2013

Dramatic until the end, the college football regular season is over, so it's time to predict which teams will fill the 70 available bowl slots.
Florida State and Auburn are headed to the Bowl Championship Series title game, but not without some uncertain moments.
The Tigers got past Missouri in the SEC title game. Then they watched Ohio State stumble in the fourth quarter against Michigan State in the Big Ten title game, which knocked the Buckeyes out of a trip to Pasadena. Ohio State will have to settle for a spot in the Orange Bowl, while the Spartans take a Rose Bowl berth.
There also was shuffling among other BCS games. Oklahoma first got help from Northern Illinois' loss friday in the MAC title game, then stunned Oklahoma State in the final seconds Saturday to earn a place in the Sugar Bowl. The loss by the Cowboys gave Baylor the opportunity to reach the Fiesta Bowl with an outright Big 12 championship.
A reminder: Some conferences may not fulfill their allotment. An asterisk indicates a school that is a replacement pick. Bold indicates a school that has accepted a bid.

Date	Bowl	Matchup	Projection
Mon., Jan. 6	BCS title game	BCS No. 1 vs. BCS No. 2	Florida State vs. Auburn
Wed., Jan. 1	Rose	BCS vs. BCS	Michigan State vs. Stanford
Wed., Jan. 1	Fiesta	BCS vs. BCS	Baylor vs. Central Florida
Thu., Jan. 2	Sugar	BCS vs. BCS	Alabama vs. Oklahoma
Fri., Jan. 3	Orange	BCS vs. BCS	Clemson vs. Ohio State

Sat., Dec. 21	New Mexico	Mountain West vs. Pac-12	UNLV vs. Arizona
Sat., Dec. 21	Las Vegas	Mountain West vs. Pac-12	Fresno State vs. USC
Sat., Dec. 21	Idaho Potato	MAC vs. Mountain West	Ball State vs. Colorado State
Sat., Dec. 21	New Orleans	C-USA vs. Sun Belt	Tulane vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
Mon., Dec. 23	Beef 'O' Brady's	American Ath. vs. C-USA	*Ohio vs. Middle Tennessee
Tue., Dec. 24	Hawaii	Mountain West vs. C-USA	San Diego State vs. East Carolina
Thu., Dec. 26	Little Caesars	Big Ten vs. Mid-American	*Syracuse vs. Bowling Green
Thu., Dec. 26	Poinsettia	Army vs. Mountain West	*Toledo vs. Utah State
Fri., Dec. 27	Military	ACC vs. C-USA	Maryland vs. Marshall
Fri., Dec. 27	Texas	Big 12 vs. Big Ten	*Washington State vs. Minnesota
Fri., Dec. 27	Fight Hunger	BYU* vs. Pac-12	BYU vs. Washington
Sat., Dec. 28	Pinstripe	American Ath. vs. Big 12	Rutgers vs. *Notre Dame
Sat., Dec. 28	Belk	ACC vs. American Ath.	North Carolina vs. Cincinnati
Sat., Dec. 28	Russell Athletic	ACC vs. American Ath.	Miami (Fla.) vs. Louisville
Sat., Dec. 28	Buffalo Wild Wings	Big 12 vs. Big Ten	Kansas State vs. Michigan
Mon., Dec. 30	Armed Forces	Navy vs. Mountain West	Navy vs. Boise State
Mon., Dec. 30	Music City	ACC vs. SEC	Georgia Tech vs. Mississippi
Mon., Dec. 30	Alamo	Big 12 vs. Pac-12	Texas vs. Oregon
Mon., Dec. 30	Holiday	Big 12 vs. Pac-12	Texas Tech vs. Arizona State
Tue., Dec. 31	AdvoCare V100	ACC vs. SEC	Pittsburgh vs. *W. Kentucky
Tue., Dec. 31	Sun	ACC vs. Pac-12	Virginia Tech vs. UCLA
Tue., Dec. 31	Liberty	C-USA vs. SEC	Rice vs. Vanderbilt
Tue., Dec. 31	Chick-fil-A	ACC vs. SEC	Duke vs. Texas A&M
Wed., Jan. 1	Heart of Dallas	Big Ten vs. C-USA	*Boston College vs. North Texas
Wed., Jan. 1	Gator	Big Ten vs. SEC	Iowa vs. Georgia
Wed., Jan. 1	Outback	Big Ten vs. SEC	Nebraska vs. LSU
Wed., Jan. 1	Capital One	Big Ten vs. SEC	Wisconsin vs. Missouri
Fri., Jan. 3	Cotton	Big 12 vs. SEC	Okla. State vs. South Carolina
Sat., Jan. 4	BBVA Compass	American Ath. vs. SEC	Houston vs. Mississippi State
Sun., Jan. 5	GoDaddy.com	Mid-American vs. Sun Belt	No. Illinois vs. Arkansas State