It will likely happen again. The projection here is that once again, the Big 12 Conference will not be filling all of its eight bowl contracts.
A year ago, the league sent seven teams bowling, but with Oklahoma in the national championship game, it left the Independence and Texas Bowls scrambling to find at-large entries.
This year with multiple teams staggering through the month of September, it’s realistic that only seven teams will reach the six-win figure needed for postseason play.
With Big 12 play heading into its first full weekend of play, it’s postseason prediction time:
BCS TITLE GAME? -- 10-12 WINS:
Texas is the elite of the elite. If it can run through the Big 12, the Longhorns are playing for the national title.
UPPER-TIER BOWLS -- 8-9 WINS:
The Oklahomas – Sooners and Cowboys – plus Kansas and Missouri from the North. In the last two seasons, OU has 23 wins, MU 22 wins, and KU 20 wins.
LOWER-TIER BOWLS -- 6-7 WINS:
Texas Tech and Nebraska
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS -- 4-5 WINS:
Kansas State, Texas A&M, Baylor, Iowa State
COACHING CHANGE? -- 0-3 WINS:
Colorado
BIG 12 SOUTH WINNER:
Texas too good; Oklahoma too uncertain, and the same for Oklahoma State.
BIG 12 NORTH WINNER:
Kansas can run it (209 yards per game), Missouri can’t (143); the Jayhawks can stop the run (59), the Tigers can’t (134).
BIG 12 TITLE GAME:
The South prevails for the sixth season in a row with Texas defeating Kansas for the second time during the 2009 season.
THE 2009 BOWL LINEUP:
BCS National Championship, Jan. 7, Pasadena, Calif.
Fiesta Bowl, Jan. 4, Tempe, Ariz.
Cotton Bowl, Jan. 2, Dallas, Texas
Holiday Bowl, Dec. 30, San Diego, Calif.
Alamo Bowl, Jan. 2, San Antonio, Texas
Sun Bowl, Dec. 31, El Paso, Texas
Insight Bowl, Dec. 31, Tempe, Ariz.
Independence Bowl, Dec. 28, Shreveport, La.
Texas Bowl, Dec. 30, Houston, Texas
NEW BOWL AGREMENTS FOR 2010
The Big 12 Conference announced that it has renewed agreements with the AT&T Cotton, Valero Alamo, Insight, Pacific Life Holiday and Texas Bowls, while adding a new game in New York City to its lineup for the 2010-13 seasons.
"We are very pleased to have renewed and extended our agreements with five of our current bowl partners," said Big 12 Conference commissioner Dan Beebe. "These outstanding games have served as the foundation of our bowl contracts for several years."
In an arrangement with the New York Yankees, the Big 12 adds a new partner to its football postseason.
"We are also in the process of discussing further options and exploring the possibility of adding an additional game to our bowl lineup," Beebe said.
This marks the final season of the current four-year cycle of Big 12 bowl agreements.
Beginning in 2010, the Big 12 bowl lineup will feature: Bowl Game Opponent
Tostitos Fiesta and/or
BCS National Championship Game
AT&T Cotton SEC
Valero Alamo Pac-10
Insight Big Ten
Pacific Life Holiday Pac-10
Texas
Big Ten New York Yankees Big East