Never too early to think about next year's tourney

The one thing that comes out after the BCS championship or NCAA hoops championship is the inevitable first stab at the next season's rankings. ESPN.com cooperated, so here is the first projected college football tourney brackets for the 2010-2011,

First round:

#7 Texas Christian versus #10 Cincinnati. Are the Bearcats willing to try this again? Maybe they will refuse and ask to be in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. For my tourney rules, this match-up makes me think who would "regional advantage" and if I should clarify my position. TCU will officially be an at-large team (because Boise State gets the automatic bid, they are #3), and Cincy is the automatic Big East champ bid. So if I leave my rules as is, this will be played someplace like Lexington, Louisville, Indy, Columbus. If I anticipate Congress thinking I am anti-mid majors, then TCU will get regional ad and the game will be in, maybe, Austin, Waco, Houston.


#8 Nebraska versus #9 Iowa. There was a time when teams would come and go in my tourney, but Nebraska was there come heck or high water. Huskers, we miss you! (not really, I always thought Nebraska fans were spoiled expect to be so good when they rely on CA and TX talent at their skill positions). Iowa would return to the tourney, and this would be one great battle of neighbor states. I would probably play the game in Kansas City.

BCS Bowls:

SUGAR: #1 Alabama versus Nebraska/Iowa winner. Superdome folks would be drooling, literally (so shore up those levies) to have teams with such fan bases.

ROSE: #4 Oregon versus#6 Virginia Tech. My "no first game re-matches" made me switch VTU to this game because Boise State will play the Hokies in the regular season next fall. ACC is happy to get a serious football school back in the tourney, and Ducks hope to redeem themselves.

ORANGE: #2 Ohio State versus TCU/Cincinnati winner. Rose Bowl would pass on this game because TCU just played there, and OSU-Cincy would seem like such a regional match-up. But Miami will happily welcome Buckeye fans to their fair city.

FIESTA: #3 Boise State versus #5 Texas. Maybe this will be the new match-up that always seems to pop up in my tourney, like Miami-Oklahoma was for a while, LSU-USC then came up repeatedly, etc.

There was a time when Florida, Miami, and Florida State seemed like such regulars in my tourney, and too avoid re-matches, sometimes it was a challenge to bracket them. So now, I have my first semi-finals in St Petersburg FL, and will there be no Florida schools involved?

BCS Championship will be in Arizona, University of Phoenix stadium. Maybe the players will be able to use the U of Phoenix facilities to study for their classes.