Now we have some anonymous sources and actual polls to give us some room for speculation, though nothing can be certain ahead of time.
First, the L.A. Times, which nailed last year's pairing of Ohio State and Florida ahead of time.
Ohio State and Louisiana State will play for the Bowl Championship Series national title on Jan. 7 in the Louisiana Superdome, while Hawaii qualified for an at-large spot in a BCS game. ...
Also, as expected, USC will face Illinois in the Rose Bowl. ...
With the win, the Warriors moved to No. 10 in the final BCS standings and will likely play in the Jan. 1 Sugar Bowl.
Hopes of Kansas locking up an automatic spot appear to be fading, if the USA TODAY poll is any indication. The Jayhawks fall to 8th from 5th, an odd outcome for a poll that tends to follow the "drop-em-if-they-lose, bump-em-if-they-win, freeze-em-if-they're-idle" mindset.
The AP, though not part of the BCS, could give us an indication of the Harris Poll voters' mindset, and it is likewise bad news for Kansas. Down to 8th, from 7th in this case, meaning they will not play in the BCS.
Though KU has no real complaints in this department, Arizona State has likely sewn up what will be one of the easiest routes to a BCS game in history, second only to Hawaii's.
The lineup, near as I can tell, now looks thusly:
NATIONAL TITLE GAME: No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 LSU
ORANGE BOWL: Big East Champion West Virginia vs. ACC Champion Virginia Tech
FIESTA BOWL: At-Large Arizona State vs. Big XII Champion Oklahoma
SUGAR BOWL: At-Large Hawaii vs. At-Large Georgia
ROSE BOWL: At-Large Illinois vs. Pac-10 Champion Southern Cal
NOTE: I'll be live-blogging the BCS announcement show tonight at 8 p.m.