You get a Fanpost again this week, because we got an abnormally high amount of traffic on this nonsense last week and I'm trying something out to see if I can yell at Corporate. (It's been a privilege to manage OTE.)

College Football Playoff

Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, AZ)

December 28 | 3pm CT | ESPN

[2] Ohio State Buckeyes vs. [3] LSU Tigers

Peach Bowl (Atlanta, GA)

December 28 | 7pm CT | ESPN

[1] Alabama Crimson Tide vs. [4] Clemson Tigers

New Year's Six

Cotton Bowl (Arlington, TX)

December 28 | 11am CT | ESPN

Utah Utes (at-large) vs. Cincinnati Bearcats (G5)

Still no Appalachian State; I'm not sorry.

Orange Bowl (Miami, FL)

December 30 | 7pm | ESPN

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (ACC) vs. Georgia Bulldogs (B1G/SEC)

Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA)

January 1 | 4pm | FOX

Penn State Nittany Lions (B1G) vs. Oregon Ducks (Pac-12)

Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, LA)

January 1 | 7:45pm | ESPN

Oklahoma Sooners (Big XII) vs. Florida Gators (SEC)

Big Ten Bowl Games

Quick Lane Bowl (Detroit, MI)

December 26 | 7pm | ESPN

Michigan State Spartans vs. Duke Blue Devils

Pinstripe Bowl (New York, NY)

December 27 | 2:20pm | ESPN

Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Virginia Cavaliers

Holiday Bowl (San Diego, CA)

December 27 | 7pm | FS1

Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Washington Huskies

Redbox Bowl (Santa Clara, CA)

December 30 | 3pm | FOX

Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Stanford Cardinal

Citrus Bowl (Orlando, FL)

January 1 | 12pm | ABC

Wisconsin Badgers vs. Auburn Tigers

Outback Bowl (Tampa, FL)

January 1 | 12pm | ESPN

Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs

Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL)

January 2 | 6pm | ESPN

Michigan Wolverines vs. Tennessee Volunteers

Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, TX)

January 4 | 10:30am | ESPN

Indiana Hoosiers vs. Air Force Falcons

Full Bowl Projections

B1G Observations

• It is truly Ohio State and then everyone else.
• Prove me wrong if you want, Penn State -- I'd be more likely to believe you if it was in Happy Valley, but it'll take some massive bounces in the 'Shoe. You get the Rose Bowl for your trouble; no doubt three of your most vociferous defenders will be in the comments with thumbtacks and string.
• I don't think Minnesota has the name cache to circumvent the Citrus Bowl's six-year rule (and that game against Mizzou remains baffling to me), so wisconsin slides in as the 6-3 B1G West runner-up.\
• Michigan and Iowa are basically interchangeable at this point, as far as I'm concerned. Do with them, the Holiday Bowl, and the Gator Bowl what you'd like. I don't care, and it's probably just whether you'd rather play Washington Huskies or Tennessee Volunteers.
• I'll be honest: While I want Northwestern to win the remainder of its games, because I am a hack and a homer and want those little hits of feel-good even if it means Mick McCall stays because of a 6-6 finish, I am rooting for Indiana. And the utter disinterest surrounding the Michigan State Spartans means I would have no problem with them getting stuck in Detroit, and the Hoosiers playing a new but weird game in Fort Worth. It'd be a fun one against Air Force, though.
• Nebraska gets its chance to draw in New York.
• I love the Michigan State slot in Detroit because it opens up so many bowl games for the shittier programs, like Illinois, who gets a gift trip back to its last bowl victory and last bowl game, the San Francisco Emerald Fight Hunger at the Foster Farms Redbox Bowl (remember 2011? holy shit).
• There is a part of me that still can talk myself into Northwestern finishing 5-7 and lucking into a Gasparilla Bowl berth when the Sun Belt and AAC can't fill the slot against Western Kentucky. I hate myself, and you should hate me too. If I had kids, the county would've taken 'em months ago.

Random Observations, P5 Edition

• SEC Math (oh god): As it stands, the SEC will put at least 4 in the CFP/NY6: #1 Alabama Crimson Tide and #2 LSU Tigers to the College Football Playoff, #6 Florida Gators to the Sugar Bowl, and #8 Georgia Bulldogs to the Orange Bowl when they outrank Penn State. Sorry, Nitty Kitties, it's happening, and we all know why. That means the SEC has 6 Tier I bowls to fill after the next-best team goes to the Citrus: Outback, Texas, Liberty, Music City, Gator, BELK.
• SEC Math, continued (help): Mizzou, at 5-3, is ineligible for postseason play this year. They're out. Then there's 4-4 Kentucky Wildcats (TN, @Vandy, TN-Martin, Louisville); 3-5 Tennessee Volunteers (UAB, @KY, @Mizzou, Vandy); 3-5 Mississippi State Bulldogs (@Arky, Bama, Abilene Christian, Ole Miss); 3-5 South Carolina Gamecocks (Vandy, App State, @TAMU, Clemons); and 3-5 Ole Miss (@Aub, NMSU, LSU, @MissSt).
• SEC Conclusions (save me): Kentucky goes 7-5ish, and because I don't want to try and do any more math, we're just squinting and saying Tennessee (UAB, Mizzou, Vandy) and Mississippi State (duh) get there.
• SEC Ramifications: So, after Auburn Tigers go to the Citrus Bowl, that means there's Kentucky to the Liberty Bowl, the Texas A&M Aggies to the Texas Bowl (it seemed logical), Tennessee to the Gator Bowl, and CLANGA to the Outback Bowl entirely undeservedly. Hopefully, in the context of the G5 killing it this season, that means we'll get to see the Cincinnati Bearcats, UAB Blazers, Appalachian State Mountaineers, and Marshall Thundering Herd in some more marquee slots.
• Regarding the ACC, your guess remains as good as mine. I don't know why Notre Dame can't grab the conference's Orange Bowl slot (I believe it's because they have a tie-in on the other side, highest-ranked of B1G/SEC/ND), but that means Wake Forest could go 10-2 and slide under the radar right into a New Year's Six mollywhopping at the hands of Florida or Georgia. But there are so many 4-4 or 5-3 teams in that conference that if you can say with certainty why Louisville will be in the Music City Bowl or Virginia Tech will go BELKing, you are a liar and probably have a Pentagon meeting to get to.
• Don't look too closely, but the Utah Utes are quietly sneaking around the Pac-12 at #9 in the country. If the Pac-12 Championship Game is a 6-vs-8 kind of matchup between the Oregon Ducks and the Utes, the Pac-12 could be a two-bid league for the NY6 again. That's my guess, anyways.
• lol at the Big XII. "One True Champion" indeed, and it's gonna be one-loss Baylor Bears and one-loss Oklahoma Sooners knocking each other out of the whole shebang.

Random Observations, G5 Edition

• Look for Charlotte 49ers-Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders this Saturday (2:30pm, ESPN3) to serve as a potential de facto play-in game. Both are 3-5, but Charlotte has road games at moribund UTEP and Old Dominion, while MTSU gets Rice and ODU at home, along with 100 Miles of Hate at Western Kentucky.
• Another de facto play-in: the 3-4 Troy Trojans take on the 3-4 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in Conway, SC, this weekend (2pm, ESPN3). There is an open Sun Belt slot out there, and I think the Trojans get the win on the road, win at Texas State on the 16th, and steal one at home from Georgia Southern's anemic offense.
• My San Jose State Spartans are back in the mix! They went out to Michie Stadium and got a road upset of suddenly-scuffling Army Black Knights, and now they're 4-4 with winnable games @Hawaii and @UNLV. With Boise and Fresno coming to CEFCU Stadium, it's not impossible for SJSU, but they've still got a narrow tightrope to walk.
• Speaking of, the Cadets are now 3-5 and head to Colorado Springs to take on a frisky Air Force Falcons squad that clubbed Utah State like a baby seal. With a row to hoe of UMass, VMI, @Hawaii, and vs. Navy to close it out, Jeff Monken & Co. have to find an upset somewhere in there. As of now, I have them OUT of a bowl game.
• As far as the MAC goes? It's a complete clusterfuck. In the East, Ohio, Miami Hydroxide, and Buffalo all sit at 4-4, and in the West no team has more than 5 wins (WMU, CMU, Toledo) or less than 3 (NIU). I said last week that we may see a 5-7 representative from the East in the MAC Championship Game, and that's less likely now, but you could have anywhere from five to eight MAC teams bowl eligible! That would mean some people will get left home: My picks are the Miami-Ohio Redhawks, and Eastern Michigan Eagles, with the Buffalo Bulls ready to swoop in if/when the Sun Belt doesn't fill all its slots.

Agree? Disagree? I'm sure you do. Sound off in the comments.