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If you don't want any problems it's best that you stay as far away from the state of Mississippi. Both Ole Miss and Mississippi State are perfect on the season and have wins over [insert supposedly really good SEC team here]. The only remaining tests for Ole Miss are a trip to Death Valley (sure LSU is down but it's still Death Valley), Auburn and obviously, the Egg Bowl. The Bulldogs still have Alabama on the schedule and have to play in Oxford, so they've arguably got the more difficult slate. As Ole Miss has already beaten Alabama and gets MSU at home, they're my SEC Champion and clinch a playoff seed.
Florida State also makes it in as they're the undefeated ACC champion, Baylor makes it as the Big 12 champion...and then there's Oregon. Oregon is currently 9th in the AP, just behind Michigan State, despite beating them earlier in the year. Ask yourself this question: if Oregon and Michigan State run the table who do you think makes the playoff? Oregon, for obvious reasons. I didn't think Oregon would bounce back so definitely but hey, there we go. Actually, Oregon getting their mandatory embarrassing loss early in the year is probably the best thing that could've happened.
That leaves Michigan State on the outside looking in along with Notre Dame (loses to FSU), Mississippi State (loses to Ole Miss), Alabama (lost to Ole Miss) etc.
Despite Sparty "falling" to a New Year's Bowl I've still got the Buckeyes joining them as their only losses will be to Virginia Tech and Michigan State. That leaves the question of remaining top three bowls: Citrus, Outback and Holiday. Usually, the loser of the Big 10 Championship game would head to the Citrus but considering it's looking like it could be Wisconsin or Nebraska again, I'm not sure how excited the selection committee will be. If Nebraska goes Citrus, [MYSTERY TEAM] will head to the Outback where they haven't been for a while and Iowa gets the Holiday Bowl. After that...see below.
The Rules:
- Four teams are chosen for the College Football Playoff.
- Six bowls rotate for the semifinals: Rose, Sugar, Cotton, Fiesta, Orange, Peach.
- The bowls hosting the semifinals this year are the Rose and Sugar.
- If the Big Ten Champion is eligible for a non-playoff bowl when the Rose and Sugar Bowls are hosting the semifinals, as they are this year, the Big Ten Champion will appear in the Fiesta, Peach or Cotton Bowl, but NOT the Orange Bowl.
- The highest ranked champion from the Group of Five mid-majors (AAC, C-USA, MAC, MWC, Sun Belt) is guaranteed a spot in the non-playoff bowls if they fail to make the playoff.
More rules/information appear below. Here's a look at the bowls themselves:
College Football Playoffs:
Bowl | Location | Date | Opponents |
Championship | Arlington, TX | 1/12/15 | Semi Winner v. Semi Winner |
Rose | Pasadena, CA | 1/1/15 | No. 2 v. No. 3 |
Sugar | New Orleans, LA | 1/1/15 | No. 1 v. No. 4 |
New Year's Bowls (Non-Playoff Bowls):
Bowl | Location | Date | Opponents |
Cotton | Arlington, TX | 1/1/15 | At-Large |
Fiesta | Glendale, AZ | 12/31/14 | At-Large |
Orange | Miami, FL | 12/31/14 | ACC vs. Big Ten/Notre Dame |
Peach | Atlanta, GA | 12/31/14 | At-Large |
Big Ten Bowls:
Bowl |
Location |
Opponent |
Last 5 |
Rose Bowl or Playoff |
Pasadena, CA or Playoff Site |
Pac-12 or Playoff Team |
MSU, UW, UW, UW, OSU |
Citrus Bowl or Orange Bowl* |
Orlando, FL or Miami, FL |
SEC or ACC |
UW, NU, NU, MSU, PSU |
Outback Bowl |
Tampa, FL |
SEC |
IA, UM, MSU, PSU, NW |
Holiday Bowl |
San Diego, CA |
Pac-12 |
New |
Music City or TaxSlayer Bowl** |
Nashville, TN or Jacksonville, FL |
SEC |
NU, NW, OSU, UM, NU |
San Francisco Bowl |
San Francisco, CA |
Pac-12 |
New |
Pinstripe Bowl |
New York City, NY |
ACC |
New |
Quick Lane Bowl |
Detroit, MI |
ACC |
New |
Heart of Dallas or Armed Forces Bowl**** |
Fort Worth, TX or Dallas, TX |
C-USA |
PU, PSU, NW |
* - The Big Ten, along with the SEC, will be eligible to face the ACC representative in the Orange Bowl at least three out of the eight seasons that it does not host a semifinal for the Playoff over a 12-year span. Notre Dame will be chosen the other two years if eligible. (It's from Wikipedia so it must be true). Also note that if the Big Ten is chosen for the Orange Bowl they give up their spot in the Citrus Bowl.
** - The Big Ten and ACC will switch between the Music City and Gator Bowl (now simply known as the TaxSlayer Bowl) on alternate years. In 2014 the Big Ten has the TaxSlayer Bowl.
*** - The San Francisco Bowl was the Fight Hunger Bowl and the Quick Lane Bowl is the new Detroit bowl game.
**** - The Big Ten and Big 12 will rotate these bowls in alternating years. In 2014 the Big Ten has the Heart of Dallas Bowl.
Now for the projections.
Bowl Projections:
Bowl |
Matchup |
Why |
Rose Bowl |
Ole Miss v. Baylor |
SEC Champ v. Big 12 Champ |
Sugar Bowl |
Florida State v. Oregon |
Undefeated FSU v. Pac 12 Champ |
Cotton Bowl |
TCU v. Michigan State |
TCU or OU, I'll say TCU |
Fiesta Bowl |
Alabama v. Ohio State |
2/3 SEC v. #2 Big Ten |
Orange Bowl |
Clemson v. Notre Dame |
ACC runner-up v. One loss ND |
Peach Bowl |
Mississippi State v. ECU |
ECU is the best of the G5 |
Citrus Bowl |
Nebraska v. Auburn |
Big 10 runner up v. the next best SEC |
Outback Bowl |
Minnesota v. Georgia |
THE WORLD HAS GONE CRAZY |
Holiday Bowl |
Iowa v. USC |
Remember the Orange Bowl! |
TaxSlayer Bowl |
Wisconsin v. Texas A&M |
Aggies dropping fast |
San Francisco Bowl |
Penn State v. ASU |
FIXED |
Pinstripe Bowl |
Maryland v. Virginia Tech |
Because Rutgers can't play in New York anymore |
Quick Lane Bowl |
Rutgers v. Boston College |
Why not? |
Heart of Dallas Bowl |
Northwestern v. UAB |
Team #MEEPMEEP is dead :( |
Queso Bowl Participants:
- No. 1 Seed in the Ro-Tel Queso Bowl: Illinois
- No. 2 Seed in the Ro-Tel Queso Bowl: Indiana
- No. 3 Seed in the Ro-Tel Queso Bowl: Purdue
- No. 4 Seed in the Ro-Tel Queso Bowl: Michigan
The injury to Nate Sudfeld puts Indiana as a firm #2 seed in the Queso Bowl. Purdue is showing signs of life as a football team but until they actual pull out a win, they're stuck behind Michigan. Speaking of, Michigan needs to win a few more football games or something.