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The players claim they don't care.

"After the BCS, the bowls are pretty much the same," said Wake Forest defensive end Jeremy Thompson.

"If we could go play another game, just about anywhere in America, I'm willing to go," said N.C. State wide receiver Darrell Blackman.

But you care, don't you? And even if you don't, it's Thanksgiving and you really don't care that much about the Detroit Lions, do you?

So try to stay with us as we run through the projections on where State and Wake might end up -- assuming a Wolfpack win Saturday vs. Maryland.

Scenario No. 1: Virginia Tech beats Boston College to win the ACC.

This assumes the Hokies beat the Cavaliers on Saturday. We'll also assume BC beats Miami on Saturday to finish 6-2 in the conference.

Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech

Peach Bowl: Clemson. Yes, BC has the better conference record and the head-to-head win, but the Peach Bowl would rather have the Tigers.

Gator Bowl: Virginia. This isn't a sexy pick, but it's better than bringing back the Eagles after they've already played the ACC title game in Jacksonville.

Champs Sports Bowl: Boston College. This Orlando-based bowl would much rather have Florida State, but if BC finishes 6-2 in the ACC, they can't have a 4-4 Seminoles team.

Meineke Car Care Bowl: This is where it gets interesting. This bowl has always said it would prefer to bring in a team from the Carolinas as its ACC representative. If State wins, Wake and the Pack will be available. The Deacons would have the better conference record -- 5-3 -- and a win over the Wolfpack.

"There is, I guess, a respect issue," Wake's Thompson said. "If we beat a team, then we should go to a better bowl."

Ah, but there is also a financial issue. The Wolfpack has a much bigger fan base and showed in 2005 that it could sell tickets to a Charlotte bowl game. And since State and Wake are only a game apart in the conference standings, the bowl reps have the right to pick the Pack over the Deacons.

There is also a conference issue. The ACC wasn't thrilled in 2005 when State leapfrogged Boston College into the Meineke Car Care Bowl? Might commissioner John Swofford step in and "urge" the bowl to take Wake over State?

For his part, Wake athletics director Ron Wellman said he won't do any bowl politicking.

"We would be thrilled to go to any of them," he said. "We want to be good partners in this."

If that's really the case, then we're thinking State gets the bid to Charlotte. But if State loses to Maryland, Wake is the obvious choice.

If the ACC puts the squeeze on the Meineke Car Care Bowl to take Wake over the Pack, then State could make a trip to Frisco for the Emerald Bowl.

Music City Bowl: According to ACC rules, the Music City, Meineke Car Care and Emerald bowls are supposed to work as a collaborative unit in making their picks. But it's hard to imagine the Music City Bowl having a beef with the Meineke Car Care Bowl taking a North Carolina-based team. And it's hard to imagine the Emerald Bowl wants Florida State a second straight year -- and vice versa. So the trip to Nashville likely goes to the Seminoles ...

Emerald Bowl: ... which means the trip to San Francisco goes to the Demon Deacons if State wins Saturday.

Humanitarian Bowl: Technically, the Emerald Bowl could look past Wake to take Georgia Tech, which is 4-4 in league play. But given the total lack of enthusiasm in the Yellow Jackets' fan base, we're thinking the Emerald Bowl will leave Boise with Tech.

Scenario No. 2: Virginia Tech beats BC to win the ACC after BC loses to Miami in its last regular-season game.

Things will get really weird if this happens. We won't bore you with the gory details, but the ACC would have nine teams eligible, meaning one would be looking for a berth from another conference that couldn't fill all the slots from its bowl tie-ins.

Plus, if BC has a 5-3 conference record, it's now vulnerable to being leapfrogged by 4-4 conference teams, such as Florida State. Conference rules, though, stipulate that the Eagles can slip no further than the Music City Bowl. That's probably where they'd wind up. The rest plays out like Scenario No. 1, except FSU goes to Orlando.

Scenario No. 3: BC beats Virginia Tech to win the ACC and the league has two BCS berths.

The really wild possibility here is that the Hokies stay in the BCS top 14, allowing them to grab one of the four at-large BCS berths. If so, here's how the bowls might shake out -- assuming the Eagles beat the Hurricanes on Saturday.

Orange: BC

Sugar: Virginia Tech

Peach: Clemson

Gator: Virginia

Champs: Florida State

Meineke: N.C. State

Music City: Wake Forest

Emerald: Georgia Tech

Humanitarian: unfilled.

Most bowl observers seem to think Illinois would get the last BCS at-large instead of Virginia Tech, though. If that happens, cue up ...

Scenario No. 4: BC beats Virginia Tech in the ACC title game and there is no second BCS berth for the league.

In this scenario, the Hokies probably get the Peach, the Tigers get the Gator and Virginia goes to Orlando. The rest shapes up like Scenario No. 1.

Scenario No. 5: BC beats Virginia in the ACC title game.

Head hurting yet? If this happens, look for Virginia to go to the Peach Bowl, Virginia Tech to get a Gator Bowl berth, Florida State to head to the Champs Sports Bowl and Clemson to travel to the Music City Bowl.

Scenario No. 6: Virginia beats BC.

This one plays out like Scenario No. 1. Just put Virginia Tech in the Gator Bowl instead of the Cavaliers.

There, don't you feel better? Now go back to the Lions game and try to sleep this whole thing off.

Contact Rob Daniels at 373-7028 or rdaniels@news-record.com

Contact Jim Young at 373-7016 or jyoung@news-record.com