Well folks, the day is here.  Minnesota is expected to accept its bowl bid just after 4 p.m.  I’ll be heading over to the football complex in a few minutes for the announcement and posting the Gophers destination as soon as possible after the interviews.  But first, a final look at their possibilites.

It looks like USC’s victory has cleared the way for Ohio State to join Penn State in a BCS game.  This means the Big Ten will not have enough eligible teams to fill up the bowls it has ties to; this is good news for Minnesota, which sits at the bottom of the conference’s bowl pecking order but should now avoid a trip to Detroit for the Motor City Bowl and instead end up somewhere nice and warm.  Barring a surprise, the Gophers should end up either in Tempe for the Insight Bowl or Orlando for the Champs Sports Bowl.  My guess is Insight, but there’s been speculation that Wisconsin is shooting for Arizona to avoid a fifth straight trip to Florida for its bowl game.  My reasoning is this, however: Florida has treated the Badgers well and Wisconsin fans have traveled well to bowls in the Sunshine State – Champs is where the Badgers will be.  That’s just my logic.  Take it, leave it, argue with it.  Feel free to post your thoughts, I’ll be posting Minnesota’s bowl big as soon as I can.

Be sure to keep it locked on Upon Further Review and check out player reactions in tomorrow’s Minnesota Daily.