College football fans are eagerly awaiting the first release of the selection committee’s rankings. This will be the first look into the minds of the committee as they will pick not just the top four teams for the playoff, but also four other bowls.
With just a month to go in the season, my top four are Florida State, Oregon, Michigan State, and Alabama. Remember, this is based off the predicting the entire rest of the season, not just records up to this point.
The whole College Football Playoff, and the creation of a few new bowl games, it has created the issue of filling all of the bowls. Several conferences will have difficulty filling all of their commitments. It creates a need to dig into the ‘filling the bowls’ rules, which is why a FCS transitional team like Georgia Southern, might make a bowl game. Normally, they would not be allowed to play.
As the season winds down, this problem of filling all of the bowls will continue to be an issue. It all depends on where some of these teams that will toe the line of 5-7 or 6-6 right down to the end of the season. South Carolina, Boston College, Oklahoma State, and Maryland are all examples of teams that will make it close.
Here are the latest projections:
| COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF | TEAM | TEAM |
| Rose Bowl Game Presented By Northwestern Mutual
Rose Bowl – Pasadena, California Thursday, January 1st 5:00 p.m. – ESPN |
Florida State | Alabama |
| Allstate Sugar Bowl
Mercedes-Benz Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana Thursday, January 1st 8:30 p.m. – ESPN |
Oregon | Michigan State |
| College Football Playoff National Championship Game
AT&T Stadium – Arlington, Texas Monday, January 12th 8:30 p.m. – ESPN |
Rose Bowl Game Winner | Allstate Sugar Bowl Winner |
| OTHER ‘BIG’ BOWLS | TEAM | TEAM |
| Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
Georgia Dome – Atlanta, Georgia Wednesday, December 31st 1:00 p.m. – ESPN |
Georgia | Nebraska |
| Fiesta Bowl
University of Phoenix Stadium Glendale, Arizona Wednesday, December 31st 5:00 p.m. – ESPN |
Wisconsin | Oklahoma |
| Capital One Orange Bowl
Sun Life Stadium Miami Gardens, Florida Wednesday, December 31st 8:30 p.m. – ESPN |
Clemson | Mississippi State |
| Cotton Bowl
AT&T Stadium – Arlington, Texas Thursday, January 1st 1:00 p.m. – ESPN |
Marshall | Baylor |
| BOWL | TEAM | TEAM |
| R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Mercedes-Benz Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana Saturday, December 20th 11:00 am – ESPN |
San Diego State | Louisiana-Lafayette |
| Gildan New Mexico Bowl
University Stadium Albuquerque, New Mexico Saturday, December 20th 2:20 p.m. – ESPN |
Rice | Fresno State |
| Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl
Sam Boyd Stadium Las Vegas, Nevada Saturday, December 20th 3:30 p.m. – ABC |
Boise State | USC |
| Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Bronco Stadium – Boise, Idaho Saturday, December 20th 5:45 p.m. – ESPN |
Toledo | Air Force |
| Raycom Media Camellia Bowl
Cramton Bowl Montgomery, Alabama Saturday, December 20th 9:15 p.m. – ESPN |
Central Michigan | South Alabama |
| Miami Beach Bowl
Marlins Park – Miami, Florida Monday, December 22nd 2:00 p.m. – TBD |
BYU | East Carolina |
| Boca Raton Bowl
FAU Stadium Boca Raton, Florida Tuesday, December 23rd 6:00 p.m. – ESPN |
Akron | Bowling Green |
| San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, California Tuesday, December 23rd 9:30 p.m. – ESPN |
Colorado State | Navy |
| Popeyes Bahamas Bowl
Thomas Robinson Stadium Nassau, Bahamas Wednesday, December 24th 12:00 p.m. – ESPN |
UTEP | Ball State |
| Hawaii Bowl
Aloha Stadium Honolulu, Hawaii Wednesday, December 24th 8:00 p.m. – ESPN |
Middle Tennessee | Utah State |
| Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl
Cotton Bowl Stadium Dallas, Texas Friday, December 26th 1:00 p.m. – ESPN |
Georgia Southern | Louisiana Tech |
| Quick Lane Bowl
Ford Field – Detroit, Michigan Friday, December 26th 4:30 p.m. – ESPN |
Ohio | Boston College |
| BITCOIN St. Petersburg Bowl
Tropicana Field St. Petersburg, Florida Friday, December 26th 8:00 p.m. – ESPN |
North Carolina | Cincinnati |
| Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman
Navy-Marine Corps. Stadium Annapolis, Maryland Saturday, December 27th 1:00 p.m. – ESPN |
North Carolina State | Houston |
| Hyundai Sun Bowl
Sun Bowl Stadium El Paso, Texas Saturday, December 27th 2:00 p.m. – CBS |
Miami (FL) | Arizona State |
| Duck Commander Independence Bowl
Independence Stadium Shreveport, Louisiana Saturday, December 27th 4:00 p.m. – ESPN2 |
Duke | Oregon State |
| New Era Pinstripe Bowl
Yankee Stadium Bronx, New York Saturday, December 27th 4:30 p.m. – ESPN |
Virginia Tech | Maryland |
| National University Holiday Bowl
Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, California Saturday, December 27th 8:00 p.m. – ESPN |
Penn State | UCLA |
| AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Liberty Bowl Memphis, Tennessee Monday, December 29th 2:00 p.m. – ESPN |
Kansas State | Texas A&M |
| Russell Athletic Bowl
Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, Florida Monday, December 29th 5:30 p.m. – ESPN |
Louisville | West Virginia |
| AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl
NRG Stadium – Houston, Texas Monday, December 29th 9:00 p.m. – ESPN |
Utah | Florida |
| Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
LP Field – Nashville, Tennessee Tuesday, December 30th 3:00 p.m. – ESPN |
Minnesota | LSU |
| Belk Bowl
Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, North Carolina Tuesday, December 30th 6:30 p.m. – ESPN |
Notre Dame | South Carolina |
| San Francisco Bowl
Levi’s Stadium Santa Clara, California Tuesday, December 30th 10:00 p.m. – ESPN |
Rutgers | Arizona |
| Citrus Bowl
Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, Florida Thursday, January 1st 1:00 p.m. – ABC |
Ohio State | Auburn |
| Outback Bowl
Raymond James Stadium Tampa, Florida Thursday, January 1st 1:00 p.m. – ESPN2 |
Iowa | Missouri |
| Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, Texas Friday, January 2nd 12:00 p.m. – ESPN |
Nevada | Temple |
| TaxSlayer Bowl
EverBank Field Jacksonville, Florida Friday, January 2nd 3:20 p.m. – ESPN |
Georgia Tech | Ole Miss |
| Valero Alamo Bowl
Alamodome San Antonio, Texas Friday, January 2nd 6:45 p.m. – ESPN |
TCU | Washington |
| Cactus Bowl
Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, Arizona Friday, January 2nd 10:15 p.m. – ESPN |
Oklahoma State | Stanford |
| Birmingham Bowl
Legion Field Birmingham, Alabama Saturday, January 3rd 1:00 p.m. – ESPN/ESPN2 |
Arkansas State | UCF |
| GoDaddy Bowl
Ladd-Peebles Stadium Mobile, Alabama Sunday, January 4th 9:00 p.m. – ESPN |
Northern Illinois | Louisiana-Monroe |
Disclaimer: I have come up with these projections on my own, based on predicting each team’s record for the upcoming season. Any likenesses to the real experts is purely coincidental. If you wish to share, please give credit to where credit is due.
Long Name, Amazing Thoughts 