Minnesota is back in the bowl projections.
With nine weeks in the books, college football’s bowl picture is starting to clear.
The second release of the BCS standings saw an expected change, as Oregon passed Florida State for the No. 2 spot. The Ducks have the edge in strength of schedule for the second half of the season, which should help Mark Helfrich’s team hold onto the No. 2 position over the Seminoles – assuming both teams win out.
The SEC’s East Division continues to be a nightmare to sort out. Missouri lost to South Carolina, which puts the Gamecocks back in the mix for the division crown. And the bowl bids for the SEC will be a battle, especially to be the team that replaces Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Texas A&M, Auburn, LSU, Missouri and South Carolina all have a case to be projected for that spot, but a slight edge goes to the Aggies for now.
With the Big 12 likely short on bowl-eligible teams, a spot should open for Notre Dame in the Pinstripe Bowl. The Fighting Irish do not have a guaranteed bowl spot for 2013, but the Fighting Irish won’t be left out of the postseason.
The bowl season doesn’t start until December, but with one month to go in the season, it's never too early to take a look at what the matchups might look like.
The post-Week 9 bowl projections are a mixture between projections for the next few weeks, how things would look if the season ended today, and the results from the first nine weeks of action. Expect more changes over the next few weeks.
A few teams barely missed the projections this week, including West Virginia, TCU, NC State and Boston College from BCS conferences. And Texas State, Buffalo, Toledo, Western Kentucky and Arkansas State from the non-BCS ranks.
As the season progresses, it will be easier to project which teams will get to the six-win mark or finish below.
College Football's Post-Week 9 Bowl Projections for 2013
| Bowl | Tie-In | Date | Projection |
| New Mexico | Dec. 21 | Pac-12 vs. MWC |  Colorado State vs. USC |
| Famous Idaho Potato | Dec. 21 | MAC vs. MWC |  Bowling Green vs. UNLV |
| Las Vegas | Dec. 21 | Pac-12 vs. MWC |  Boise State vs. Arizona |
| New Orleans | Dec. 21 | Sun Belt vs. CUSA |  UL Lafayette vs. Tulane |
| Beef 'O' Brady's | Dec. 23 | American vs. CUSA |  Ohio* vs. MTSU |
| Hawaii | Dec. 24 | MWC vs. CUSA |  SJSU vs. Rice |
| Little Caesars Pizza | Dec. 26 | MAC vs. Big Ten |  No. Illinois vs. N'Western |
| Poinsettia | Dec. 26 | Army vs. MWC |  SDSU vs. North Carolina* |
| Military | Dec. 27 | CUSA vs. ACC |  Marshall vs. Maryland |
| Texas | Dec. 27 | Big 12 vs. Big Ten |  K-State vs. Indiana |
| Fight Hunger | Dec. 27 | BYU vs. Pac-12 |  BYU vs. Washington |
| Pinstripe | Dec. 28 | American vs. Big 12 |  Rutgers vs. Notre Dame* |
| Belk | Dec. 28 | American vs. ACC |  Houston vs. Duke |
| Russell Athletic | Dec. 28 | American vs. ACC |  Louisville vs. Clemson |
| Buffalo Wild Wings | Dec. 28 | Big 12 vs. Big Ten |  Okla. State vs. Nebraska |
| Armed Forces | Dec. 30 | MWC vs. Navy |  Navy vs. Utah State |
| Music City | Dec. 30 | ACC vs. SEC |  Ga. Tech vs. Ole Miss |
| Alamo | Dec. 30 | Big 12 vs. Pac-12 |  Texas Tech vs. UCLA |
| Holiday | Dec. 30 | Pac-12 vs. Big 12 |  Arizona State vs. Texas |
| AdvoCare V100 | Dec. 31 | ACC vs. SEC |  Pittsburgh vs. Vanderbilt |
| Sun | Dec. 31 | Pac-12 vs. ACC |  Va. Tech vs. Oregon State |
| Liberty | Dec. 31 | SEC vs. CUSA |  Tennessee vs. E. Carolina |
| Chick-fil-A | Dec. 31 | SEC vs. ACC |  Miami vs. Auburn |
| Gator | Jan. 1 | SEC vs. Big Ten |  Georgia vs. Iowa |
| Heart of Dallas | Jan. 1 | Big Ten vs. CUSA |  North Texas vs. Minnesota |
| Outback | Jan. 1 | SEC vs. Big Ten |  Michigan vs. Missouri |
| Capital One | Jan. 1 | SEC vs. Big Ten |  Mich. State vs. S. Carolina |
| Rose | Jan. 1 | BCS vs. BCS |  Ohio State vs. Stanford |
| Fiesta | Jan. 1 | BCS vs. BCS |  Fresno State vs. Baylor |
| Sugar | Jan. 2 | BCS vs. BCS |  Texas A&M vs. UCF |
| Cotton | Jan. 3 | SEC vs. Big 12 |  LSU vs. Oklahoma |
| Orange | Jan. 3 | BCS vs. BCS |  Florida State vs. Wisconsin |
| BBVA Compass | Jan. 4 | SEC vs. American |  Florida vs. Cincinnati |
| GoDaddy | Jan. 5 | MAC vs. Sun Belt |  Ball State vs. Troy |
| National Title | Jan. 6 | BCS vs. BCS |  Alabama vs. Oregon |
* Indicates conference is not expected to fill its alloted bowl slots, leaving an at-large spot available.
Bold indicates team has accepted bid to bowl.
Related College Football Content
Stats to Know from Week 9
ACC Post-Week 9 Power Rankings
Big 12 Post-Week 9 Power Rankings
Big Ten Post-Week 9 Power Rankings
Pac-12 Post-Week 9 Power Rankings
SEC Post-Week 9 Power Rankings
