Not much witty to say this week (or most weeks, for that matter), I'm super behind because students are meeting with me about their final projects. Look for some awesome shit transcribed on the National Archives or added to the Living New Deal sometime very soon.

College Football Playoff

Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, AZ)

December 28 | 3pm CT | ESPN

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

Peach Bowl (Atlanta, GA)

December 28 | 7pm CT | ESPN

[1] LSU Tigers vs. [4] Oregon Ducks

New Year's Six

Cotton Bowl (Arlington, TX)

December 28 | 11am CT | ESPN

Florida Gators [at-large] vs. Cincinnati Bearcats [G5]

Orange Bowl (Miami, FL)

December 30 | 7pm | ESPN

Virginia Tech Hokies [ACC] vs. Georgia Bulldogs [B1G/SEC/ND]

Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA)

January 1 | 4pm | FOX

Minnesota Golden Gophers [B1G] vs. Utah Utes [Pac-12]

Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, LA)

January 1 | 7:45pm | ESPN

Oklahoma Sooners [Big XII] vs. Alabama Crimson Tide [SEC]

Big Ten Bowl Games

Quick Lane Bowl (Detroit, MI)

December 26 | 7pm | ESPN

Michigan State Spartans vs. Louisville Cardinals

Pinstripe Bowl (New York, NY)

December 27 | 2:20pm | ESPN

Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Pittsburgh Panthers

Holiday Bowl (San Diego, CA)

December 27 | 7pm | FS1

Michigan Wolverines vs. USC Trojans

Redbox Bowl (Santa Clara, CA)

December 30 | 3pm | FOX

Iowa Hawkeyes vs. California Golden Bears

Citrus Bowl (Orlando, FL)

January 1 | 12pm | ABC

Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Auburn Tigers

Outback Bowl (Tampa, FL)

January 1 | 12pm | ESPN

Wisconsin Badgers vs. Tennessee Volunteers

Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL)

January 2 | 6pm | ESPN

Indiana Hoosiers vs. Kentucky Wildcats

Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, TX)

January 4 | 10:30am | ESPN

SMU Mustangs* vs. Air Force Falcons

Full Bowl Projections

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B1G Observations

• Obligatory Ohio State mention.
• At this point, it comes down to the question of who do you take if you're the Rose Bowl: 11-2 Minnesota with a head-to-head win, or 10-2 Penn State? We'll learn what direction it's going to go with the release of the CFP rankings tonight, but I'd take 11-2 Minnesota.
• In all honesty, Penn State vs. Auburn would be a banger of a Citrus Bowl, anyways.
• The down-ballot bowls are harder, and in part because I don't know what to make of Michigan. Are they an actually-good team that stomped Notre Dame and Michigan State, or are they just some middle club that deserves a crack at a decent Pac-12 team in San Diego? Could "both" be the answer?
• That Indiana dropped after their loss to Penn State is bad enough (I'm keeping them in the Gator Bowl but would love Music City to make a fuss and get another Big Ten game), but Shea Patterson clearly gives no fucks about the Hoosiers:

"We're gonna enjoy this win, but in the back of our minds we know we got one more big one to go," Shea Patterson told me.

"We gotta go on the road to Indiana, but our eyes are still set on the last one." pic.twitter.com/AA9rc1vNOP

— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) November 18, 2019

• Oh, right. wisconsin to the Outback Bowl unless they beat Minnesota, and then it goes Penn State to Rose, wisconsin to Citrus, Minnesota to Outback.
• Michigan State is going bowling, and if you are one of those MSU fans that wants to use this as a platform to trash Dantonio that's fine, but don't decouple from the reality that Sparty will be 6-6 and bowling in Detroit.
• New York City is only a 9.5-hour drive for you to watch Illinois in a bowl, Thump...

Other Observations

• Oregon State. Washington State. THIS ONE'S FOR A BOWL BID. (No, seriously, both are 5-5 and will go on the road to play their ranked in-state rivals in the finale. So...probably the play-in game.)
• Similarly, the North Carolina-N.C. State finale will likely be two 5-6 teams fighting for bowl eligibility. This is what you came back for, Mack.
• Elsewhere in the Pac-12, uh...well, Cal (@Stanford, @UCLA) have the best chance of all the 5-5 teams (Oregon State, Arizona State, Wazzu) to get to 7-5. So they get the conference's #4 seed and a date with Iowa in Santa Clara. Do not watch this game.
• Don't look now, but Pittsburgh at Virginia Tech will probably decide the Coastal. I know: Fucking Pitt.
• Would a repeat of the 2017 Liberty Bowl thriller with Memphis be appealing for the Iowa State Cyclones? I could not care any less. They're going. Though how funny would it be if the Cyclones got picked OVER TEXAS for the Texas Bowl?
• DWT;WT WATCH: My San Jose State Spartans, at 4-6, are clearly outside-looking-in right now. But hold on! So might be...the Fresno State Bulldogs? Yes, the memo line win for your Minnesota Golden Gophers (maybe...I haven't checked on South Dakota State lately) now sits at 4-6 with games with bowl-bound Nevada and at the Spartans, who head to UNLV this week. Could 5-6 Fresno face 5-6 San Jose State? Could it be a double-knockout, where 4-7 Fresno beats 5-6 San Jose State? STAY TUNED.
• By the way, MACtion has been glorious, glorious chaos and has created an absolute mess for bowl seedings and MAC Championship Game pairings, as Hustle Belt so nicely detailed. I have seven MAC teams (of the 10 eligible) bowling: Western Michigan, Central Michigan, and Miami Hydroxide in the bid for the top spots, Toledo also bowl-eligible, 5-5 Buffalo and Eastern Michigan sneaking in on Black Friday with wins over Bowling Green and Kent State, respectively (my apologies to Hustle Belt for the Anti-Kent State Agenda), and 4-6 Ohio going runner-runner on the road at Bowling Green and moribund Akron to sneak in at 6-6. One of 4-6 Ball State and Kent State will be eliminated this weekend (and I think both lose their finales to M-OH and EMU), while Northern Illinois will have to walk a narrow road at home against Eastern and Western. MACTION LIVES!

Let me know your thoughts in the comments.