The Cotton Bowl Classic is, like the name suggests, one of the classic bowl games that the bowl season has to offer. It's been in play since 1937 and there had been talks of making it a BCS game before ESPN purchased the rights to the BCS games. Nevertheless, the Cotton Bowl Classic is one of the more prestigious non-BCS bowl games.
↵This year, it looks like the Big 12 is only likely to send one team to a BCS bowl game and that will be the winner of the conference title game. Oklahoma State is the only one-loss team left in the conference, and the only way they will earn a BCS bid is if they win the conference; a second loss this late in the season would end all hope of that. Whether or not they even get to the title game hinges on their game against the Oklahoma Sooners. It's a given, though, that the winner of the Big 12 South will face off against Nebraska in the Big 12 title game, since all they have to do is defeat Colorado to earn their trip there.
↵With that said, I don't believe in the Huskers to beat either the Cowboys or the Sooners in the title game. I do believe the Big 12 champion will be whoever is the winner of the Oklahoma v. Oklahoma State game, and one of those two teams will earn the Big 12's BCS bid.
↵Given that, I think the Cotton Bowl would likely select Nebraska to represent the Big 12 in the Cotton Bowl - the last year they will be eligible since they'll no longer be a member of the Big 12 next year. The SEC would offer a division winner and runner up to play in the Cotton Bowl. Given that Auburn and South Carolina are the division winners, with LSU and Florida currently in second in the SEC divisions, I'd say that South Carolina, who aren't likely to win the SEC title game, would be selected to play in the Cotton Bowl.
↵Of course, this is all subject to change in the coming weeks as the BCS continues to unfold, but as of today I project Nebraska to face off against Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks in the Cotton Bowl.
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