Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas

For most of the college football world, the 2011 regular season is over and today begins a week of uncertainty and anticipation leading up to Selection Sunday, when bowl pairings are announced. For the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas, this week will be filled with phone calls, meetings and projections as the time to extend invitations draws near.

Big Ten play has wrapped up for all but two teams, with Michigan State and Wisconsin set for a rematch in the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game Saturday at 7:00 p.m. CST. The other eight bowl-eligible teams will spend the week wondering where they’ll travel in December and January.

While Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will play for the Big 12 Championship and a spot in the BCS on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m., other Big 12 schools such as Baylor and Texas (Saturday, 2:30 p.m.) and Kansas State and Iowa State (Saturday, 11:30 a.m.) will aim to finish the year on a high note and raise their standing in the eyes of bowl selection committees.

The 2011 Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas will feature teams from the Big 12 and Big Ten conferences and will kick off at 11:00 a.m. CST on Saturday, Dec. 31 and will be televised nationally on ESPN. The Bowl holds the fifth choice among non-BCS bowls in each conference.

After 12 weeks of play, there are 10 bowl-eligible teams in the Big Ten and eight in the Big 12.

Following are some projected Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas matchups from selected national media outlets:

ESPN.com (Mark Schlabach): Missouri vs. Iowa
ESPN.com (Brad Edwards): Texas A&M vs. Iowa
CBSSports.com: Texas A&M vs. Penn State
SportsIllustrated.com: Texas A&M vs. Penn State
CollegeFootballNews.com: Texas vs. Iowa
ESPN.com (Big 12 Blog): Texas A&M
ESPN.com (Big Ten Blog): Penn State

Following are the bowl-eligible teams from the Big 12 and Big Ten following Week 12:

Big 12 Conference

• Oklahoma State (10-1)
• Oklahoma (9-2)
• Kansas State (9-2)
• Baylor (8-3)
• Missouri (7-5)
• Texas (7-4)
• Texas A&M (6-6)
• Iowa State (6-5)

Big Ten Conference

• Michigan State (10-2)
• Wisconsin (10-2)
• Michigan (10-2)
• Penn State (9-3)
• Nebraska (9-3)
• Iowa (7-5)
• Ohio State (6-6)
• Illinois (6-6)
• Northwestern (6-6)
• Purdue (6-6)