2012 bowl projections: ESPN picks Notre Dame, Nebraska for Rose Bowl

If the No. 2 Oregon Ducks stay on course and finish the season with a donut in the loss column, the Rose Bowl could take an at-large bid for the Pac-12's spot in the game. It looks like they may do just that with ESPN predicting the Rose Bowl would be without a Pac-12 team.

ESPN projects the No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish and No. 14 Nebraska Cornhuskers would be the combatants in the 2013 edition of the Granddaddy of 'em All. The Fighting Irish have appeared in the Rose Bowl just once, a win in 1925 over Stanford, 27-10. The Cornhuskers have appeared in the Rose Bowl twice, including a 21-13 loss to the Stanford Cardinal in 1941 and a 37-14 loss to the Miami Hurricanes in the 2002 National Championship.

Notre Dame will head home to face the Wake Forest Demon Deacons this Saturday before wrapping up the season in Los Angeles against the No. 18 USC Trojans. The Cornhuskers will face the Minnesota Golden Gophers in Lincoln this weekend, before heading on the road to finish the season against the Iowa Hawkeyes.