Cougar fans rooting for Texas today

We thought we had the bowl situation figured out. Then, Bowling Green upset Northern Illinois on Friday, clearing a BCS at large spot. That could be a very good thing for WSU.

Heading into this week, it appeared the Pac-12 would have one BCS bowl team -- the winner of the Pac-12 Championship -- but now it's possible the Pac-12 could get an at large BCS team. That would move everyone in the Pac-12 up a spot in bowl order. WSU would then be in play for the Kraft Fight Hunger bowl in San Francisco and would likely be a lock for the New Mexico Bowl.

For that to happen, however, a couple things still need to work out. The Pac-12 will likely need Oregon to be an at large selection. It's possible Stanford could lose the Pac-12 title game and get an at large bid, but the Ducks seems like a better bet. For Oregon to get picked, we need at least one Big 12 team to go down.

As far as I and the other CougCenter authors can tell, the best-case-scenario is for Texas to beat Baylor. The Bears are a popular pick as the at large team for the Sugar Bowl. If they lose, Oregon could jump into the Sugar Bowl and the Cougs might be headed to San Francisco to fight hunger. It could also work out where Oklahoma State loses to Oklahoma, Baylor gets the Big 12 bid and the Ducks get an at large. Either way, either Oklahoma State or Baylor need to lose, so for today at least, it's Boomer Sooner and Hook 'em Horns.

Aside from the Pac-12 bowls, a Michigan State win over Ohio State would likely open the Heart of Dallas Bowl, which could still be a possibility for WSU.

If you want a complete picture of what bowls are possible and who is headed where, Brian Anderson did a fantastic job of rounding up everything you could possibly want and putting it in one place. I'm essentially just stealing all of his knowledge from the email thread and using it for my own post.

Go Cougs. Go Longhorns. Let's go fight hunger.

Football:

WSU bowl update: Fight Hunger Bowl - SportsLink - Spokesman.com - Dec. 6, 2013
Tied with Oregon State and Arizona for seventh in the Pac-12 conference, Washington State will likely be competing with those programs for a place in the New Mexico Bowl, which selects last among the Pac-12 affiliated bowl games. The other two teams will have to hope for a spot as an at-large team in a bowl game affiliated with a conference with an insufficient number of eligible teams.

Last would not be least as WSU eyes bowl bid - Spokesman.com - Dec. 6, 2013
It’s never fun in sports to be the last one picked, but that’s what Washington State is hoping for when it comes to Pac-12 bowl selections.

Basketball:

Cougars play Vandals at UI - Spokesman.com - Dec. 7, 2013
Last week the Washington State men’s basketball team traveled about as far from Pullman as one can while still remaining in the continental United States to take part in the Old Spice Classic.

Women's soccer:

Micaela Castain Earns All-America Award - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
Washington State senior forward Micaela Castain was named to the 2013 NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division I Women’s All-America Second Team, Friday.

Baseball:

Former Cougar Coach Finding Success in Windy City - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
In 1996, Donnie Marbut and Matt Dorey were teammates on the baseball diamond at Portland State.