Rest Easy, SEC Fans; Your Conference Will Be OK

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

Don't look now, but that Ohio State team that can't win on the big stage just won its second straight BCS bowl game.

The Buckeyes held on to beat SEC West runner-up Arkansas in a thrilling Sugar Bowl Tuesday night in New Orleans, 31-26.

OSU, long a target of SEC bloggers and that hurtful-words forum known as Twitter, raced to a 28-7 lead over the high-octane Razorbacks, then held on despite a Helter Skelter finish.

SEC fans will spin it this way: Ohio State almost choked the game away, the Buckeyes suited up a bunch of NCAA violators, they got lucky because Arkansas' receivers kept dropping passes, the Big Ten still sucks.

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BCS Bowl Game Projections

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

NEW YORK -- Once again, it seems doubtful that we'll have an unbeaten national champion this year. If you lose one game, like USC often seems to, then you better pray you're in the SEC or the Big XII. Once-beaten teams from any other conference don't have the strength of schedule each week to merit the BCS points.

And while the PAC 10, much like the ACC, boasts decent top-to-bottom depth, a one-loss team from Florida or Oklahoma State -- you read that correctly -- is clearly more deserving than a one-loss team from USC or Virginia Tech.

FIESTA BOWL
Texas vs. Boise State
Texas makes its second straight trip to Glendale, and disposes of the Broncos quite handily.

ROSE BOWL
USC vs. Penn State
USC's trend of losing one regular-season game it shouldn't keeps the Trojans out of the national championship, but an inferior Big Ten champ -- in this case Penn State for the second straight year -- is no match for Pete Carroll's speedy bunch. Southern Cal continues its January dominance and wins another Rose Bowl.

SUGAR BOWL
Ohio State vs. Alabama
The Buckeyes get another chance at redemption against an SEC team in a bowl game, and Terrelle Pryor launches his 2010 Heisman campaign with a huge individual performance. Alabama has been known for its solid defense over the years, but its offense can sometimes disappear. That will be the case and OSU will finally beat a team from the South.

ORANGE BOWL
Virginia Tech vs. West Virginia
The Hokies come out of an ACC that is becoming more competitive, while West Virginia reps the floundering Big East in a game that reads like a decent rivalry on paper, but delivers a disinteresting Virginia Tech wallop.

BCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Florida vs. Oklahoma State
The Gators show high-octane Oklahoma State what it hasn't seen all season -- a bully of a defense that mixes speed and athleticism with strength and overall nastiness. The Cowboys put some points on the board, but Florida can score too, and the Gators win another national championship.