Bowl Projection Blog: Nov. 21 Edition

By Chris Williams, CycloneFanatic.com Publisher

A quick look at different bowl projections from around the country and where the "experts" have Iowa State going. Some of my thoughts on these potential destinations as well…

WARNING: These are all educated guesses and nothing more. There’s still a lot of football left to be played and things that Iowa State can’t control will impact where the Cyclones will end up for the holidays. So what I’m trying to say is this: Do not make any travel plans off of any of this Cyclone Nation!

*** CollegeFootballNews.com (Scout.com) and ESPN.com’s Big 12 blogger David Ubben the Cyclones playing in the TicketCity Bowl in Dallas on Jan. 2 against Purdue from the Big Ten.

(ESPN LINK)

Personally, I’d love this scenario. It would be great for recruiting. I like the matchup vs. a Big Ten opponent. Jan. 2 is pretty much News Years Day (from football standpoint) this year as the Capital One, Outback and Gator Bowls are all scheduled for that day as well. National exposure would be high.

Note that the TicketCity Bowl is not a Big 12 affiliated bowl game, but Scout and ESPN are projecting that Conference USA will not fill its allotments and as of right now, the Big 12 already has eight bowl eligible teams. If Texas Tech wins a home game with Baylor next weekend, that number will grow to nine.

*** CBSSports.com’s Jerry Palm is currently projecting Iowa State to play in the Military Bowl on Dec. 28 in Washington D.C. vs. North Carolina from the ACC. The Military Bowl traditionally features the ACC’s eighth place team vs. Navy but with the Midshipmen currently sitting on four wins with only one game to play, they are out of the picture.

Selfishly, I think this bowl would be cool. I’m a politics junkie and I’ve never visited D.C. I’d love to do some sightseeing. An ACC opponent would be okay, but a bowl in Texas would do much more for recruiting than anything on the east coast.

*** This next bowl projecting brings a big, fat smile to my face. What would you say if I told you that Iowa State could end up in the Hawaii Bowl? Ahh yes. That’s where the good folks at the Orlando Sentinel have the Cyclones slotted at this time.

Of course, this game takes place on Christmas Eve.

Who cares right?

Mele Kalikimaka Cyclone Nation.

*** I know that you’ve all had dreams of watching the Cyclones line up in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl… Before you laugh at the title, consider the fact that this bowl goes down in St. Petersburg, Fla. Much like Hawaii, sign me up! NBC is projecting Iowa State vs. Pittsburgh in this year’s Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl on Dec. 20. In this scenario, Iowa State would be filling the slot of a Conference USA team.

*** The St. Petersburg Times has Iowa State playing in the Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 30 vs. Rutgers. For those who don’t know, this bowl is in Yankee Stadium in New York City. Yes, it’d be cool but also expensive. I’m not sure how Iowa State’s fan base would travel to this game, but who knows right?

I know that there are other bowl projections out there and feel free to post them on our forums. These are just a few that I thought were interesting.