Oklahoma's loss at Kansas not only resulted in the drowning of goal posts in Lawrence, Kansas, it also shipped the Sooners out of the Cotton Bowl and over to the Peach Bowl in this week's bowl projections. The appeal of Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl against projected Pac-12 champion Oregon was a battle of one-loss teams. However, the Sooners' profile changed significantly Saturday afternoon.
Now, Oklahoma is projected to have two losses, and since it would have just played the Big 12 Championship Game at AT&T Stadium (which also hosts the Cotton Bowl), it is more appealing to have Oklahoma head to Atlanta to take on Penn State.
Alabama moves over to the Cotton Bowl to face Oregon in a premier New Year's Six game outside the College Football Playoff.
The CFP are unchanged again this week. While I do not expect Georgia to be No. 1 in the initial CFP Rankings -- released this Tuesday evening -- I do expect the Bulldogs to finish atop the final CFP Rankings once the conference championship games conclude.
College Football Playoff
| Date | Game / Loc. | Matchup | Prediction |
|---|---|---|---|
Jan. 8 | National Championship | Title game | Semifinal winners |
| Jan. 1 | Sugar Bowl New Orleans | Semifinal | (1) Georgia vs. (4) Texas |
Jan. 1 | Rose Bowl | Semifinal | (2) Michigan vs. (3) Florida State |
New Year's Six bowl games
| Date | Bowl / Location | Matchup | Prediction |
|---|---|---|---|
Jan. 1 | Fiesta Bowl | at-large vs. at-large | Washington vs. Air Force |
Dec. 30 | Orange Bowl | ACC vs. SEC/B1G/ND | Louisville vs. Ohio State |
Dec. 30 | Peach Bowl | at-large vs. at-large | Oklahoma vs. Penn State |
Dec. 29 | Cotton Bowl | at-large vs. at-large | Alabama vs. Oregon |
North Carolina and Clemson were expected to be contenders in races for the ACC championship and New Year's Six bowl spots this season, but both have fallen on hard times. The Tar Heels have now lost two straight games after falling at Georgia Tech. Fortunately for the Tar Heels, they play FCS Campbell this Saturday, which gives them a chance to right the ship. UNC needs to do just that because there are no gimmes remaining on the schedule.
Clemson hosts North Carolina on Nov. 18, and the Tigers also need to turn things around. First, Notre Dame visits this week. Losses in those two games leaves Clemson looking at a .500 season -- at best. That is quite a drop from a program that has been in New Year's Six games across six of the past seven seasons.
There are still a high number of teams projected to bowls that would not otherwise be eligible. I have nine teams in this week's projections as fill-ins for a lack of 6-6 or better teams. Two of those nine are James Madison, the still-undefeated leader of the Sun Belt, and Jacksonville State. Both teams are in their second year of transition from FCS to FBS, which makes them ineligible for the postseason. However, they can become fill-ins if they post qualifying records and there are not enough eligible teams.
The other seven spots are filled by teams projected to finish 5-7. As always, those are decided by APR scores.
Don't see your team? Check out Jerry Palm's bowl projections after Week 9.
