Purdue's stunning 49-20 upset of No. 2 Ohio State has caused a drastic shuffling of the Big Ten teams in the College Football Playoff and the New Year's Six games. Just five weeks ago, the Boilermakers lost 20-19 at home to Eastern Michigan to fall to 0-3 on the season. They haven't lost since.
Ohio State has dropped out of the CFP and been replaced by Michigan. The Wolverines won at Michigan State 21-7 and clearly look like the best team in the Big Ten through eight weeks. The Buckeyes are still projected to play in a New Year's Six game but will take the Big Ten's spot in the Rose Bowl and face Washington, a 27-13 winner over Colorado on Saturday.
Despite a win over Indiana, Penn State is the team that drops out of the New Year's Six projections after Michigan moves up. The Sugar Bowl is still projected to be LSU vs Oklahoma, representing the SEC and Big 12, respectively. LSU avoided the trap of a trap game by handling Mississippi State comfortably after a big win over Georgia last week. The Tigers now get a week off before the big showdown with No. 1 Alabama in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Nov. 3.
The Fiesta Bowl still pairs Georgia with UCF. The Bulldogs have a big showdown of their own next week when they face Florida in their annual rivalry game in Jacksonville, Florida. The loser has an uphill climb to get back into the SEC East race but could still have a shot at a New Year's Six berth. Kentucky is still projected to face Texas in the Peach Bowl. The Wildcats snoozed through a 14-7 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday. They face the explosive offense of Missouri next Saturday hoping to remain part of that battle in the SEC East.
2019 College Football Playoff
| Date | Game / Loc. | Time / TV | Matchup | Prediction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jan. 7 | National Championship | 8 p.m. | Title game | Semifinal winners |
Dec. 29 | Cotton Bowl | 4/8 p.m. | Semifinal | (1) Alabama vs. (4) Michigan |
Dec. 29 | Orange Bowl | 4/8 p.m. | Semifinal | (2) Clemson vs. (3) Notre Dame |
Selection committee bowl games
| Date | Bowl / Loc. | Time / TV | Matchup | Prediction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jan. 1 | Sugar | 8:45 p.m. | SEC vs. Big 12 | LSU vs. Oklahoma |
Jan. 1 | Rose | 5 p.m. | Big Ten vs. Pac-12 | Ohio State vs. Washington |
Jan. 1 | Fiesta | 1 p.m. | At-large vs. At-large | Georgia vs. UCF |
Dec. 29 | Peach | Noon | At-large vs. At-large | Texas vs. Kentucky |
As it stands now, I am projecting that only 73 teams will be eligible for the 78 places in this season's bowl games. That number is up one from last week. That means I have five teams expected to finish at 5-7 in this week's projection. The ACC dominates that group with three of the five teams; Georgia Tech, Pitt and Wake Forest are joined by Air Force and Indiana as 5-7 bowl teams.
Click here for for the rest of Jerry Palm's college football bowl projections.
