College Football Playoff and Bowl Projections

CBS Sports ^ | 12/7/2014

[iowamark]

College Football Playoff
Bowl	Date	Location	Matchup	Prediction
Championship Bowl	Jan. 12	Arlington, Texas	Semifinal winners	TBD
Sugar Bowl	Jan. 1	New Orleans, La.	Semifinal	Alabama* vs. Ohio State*
Rose Bowl	Jan. 1	Pasadena, Calif.	Semifinal	Oregon* vs. Florida State*

Selection Committee Bowl Games
Bowl	Date	Location	Matchup	Prediction
Cotton Bowl	Jan. 1	Arlington, Tex.	At-Large vs. At-Large	Baylor* vs. Michigan State*
Orange Bowl	Dec. 31	Miami, Fla.	ACC vs SEC/Big Ten/Notre Dame	Georgia Tech* vs. Miss. State*
Fiesta Bowl	Dec. 31	Glendale, Ariz.	At-Large vs At-Large	Arizona* vs. Boise State*
Peach Bowl	Dec. 31	Atlanta, Ga.	At-Large vs. At-Large	TCU* vs. Ole Miss*

Other Bowl Games
Bowl	Date	Location	Matchup	Prediction
GoDaddy.com Bowl	Jan. 4	Mobile, Ala.	MAC vs. Sun Belt	Toledo* vs. Ark. State*
Birmingham Bowl	Jan. 3	Birmingham, Ala.	American vs. SEC	East Carolina* vs. Florida*
Cactus Bowl	Jan. 2	Tempe, Ariz.	Big 12 vs. Pac-12	Okla. State* vs. Washington*
Alamo Bowl	Jan. 2	San Antonio, Tex.	Big 12 vs. Pac-12	Kansas State* vs. UCLA*
TaxSlayer Bowl	Jan. 2	Jacksonville, Fla.	ACC/Big Ten vs. SEC	Iowa* vs. Tennessee*
Armed Forces Bowl	Jan. 2	Fort Worth, Tex.	American vs. Army	Houston* vs. Pittsburgh*+
Outback Bowl	Jan. 1	Tampa, Fla.	Big Ten vs. SEC	Wisconsin* vs. Auburn*
Citrus Bowl	Jan. 1	Orlando, Fla.	ACC/Big Ten vs. SEC	Minnesota* vs. Missouri*
Foster Farms Bowl	Dec. 30	Santa Clara, Calif.	Big Ten vs. Pac-12	Maryland* vs. Stanford*
Belk Bowl	Dec. 30	Charlotte, N.C.	ACC vs. SEC	Louisville* vs. Georgia*
Music City Bowl	Dec. 30	Nashville, Tenn.	ACC/Big Ten vs. SEC	Notre Dame* vs. LSU*
Texas Bowl	Dec. 29	Houston, Tex.	Big 12 vs. SEC	Texas* vs. Arkansas*
Russell Athletic Bowl	Dec. 29	Orlando, Fla.	ACC vs. Big 12	Clemson* vs. Oklahoma*
Liberty Bowl	Dec. 29	Memphis, Tenn.	Big 12 vs. SEC	West Virginia* vs. Texas A&M*
Holiday Bowl	Dec. 27	San Diego, Calif.	Big Ten vs. Pac-12	Nebraska* vs. USC*
Pinstripe Bowl	Dec. 27	New York, N.Y.	ACC vs. Big Ten	Boston College* vs. Penn State*
Independence Bowl	Dec. 27	Shreveport, La.	SEC vs. ACC	South Carolina* vs. Miami (FL)*
Sun Bowl	Dec. 27	El Paso, Tex.	ACC vs. Pac-12	Duke* vs. Arizona State*
Military Bowl	Dec. 27	Annapolis, Md.	ACC vs. American	Virginia Tech* vs. Cincinnati*
Bitcoin Bowl	Dec. 26	St. Petersburg, Fla.	ACC vs. American	N.C. State* vs. UCF*
Quick Lane Bowl	Dec. 26	Detroit, Mich.	ACC vs. Big Ten	North Carolina* vs. Rutgers*
Heart of Dallas Bowl	Dec. 26	Dallas, Tex.	Big Ten/Big 12 vs. C-USA	Illinois* vs. Louisiana Tech*
Hawaii Bowl	Dec. 24	Honolulu, Hawaii	Mountain West vs. C-USA	Fresno State* vs. Rice*
Bahamas Bowl	Dec. 24	Nassau, Bahamas	C-USA vs. MAC	W. Kentucky* vs. C. Michigan*
Poinsettia Bowl	Dec. 23	San Diego, Calif.	Mountain West vs. Navy	San Diego State* vs. Navy*
Boca Raton Bowl	Dec. 23	Boca Raton, Fla.	C-USA vs. MAC	Marshall* vs. N. Illinois*
Miami Beach Bowl	Dec. 22	Miami, Fla.	American vs. BYU	Memphis* vs. BYU*
Camellia Bowl	Dec. 20	Montgomery, Ala.	MAC vs. Sun Belt	Bowling Green* vs. South Alabama*
Idaho Potato Bowl	Dec. 20	Boise, Idaho	MAC vs. Mountain West	W. Michigan* vs. Air Force*
Royal Purple Bowl	Dec. 20	Las Vegas, Nev.	Mountain West vs. Pac-12	Colorado State* vs. Utah*
New Mexico Bowl	Dec. 20	Albuquerque, N.M.	Mountain West vs. C-USA	Utah State* vs. Texas-El Paso*
New Orleans Bowl	Dec. 20	New Orleans, La.	Sun Belt vs. Mountain West	UL Lafayette* vs. Nevada*

+ - Replacement team. * - Teams have accepted bid. One member of the Group of Five (American Athletic Conference, MAC, Mountain West, Conference-USA and Sun Belt) will be selected to play in the Cotton, Fiesta or Peach Bowl. If Army is bowl-eligible, it will play in the Armed Forces Bowl. If Navy is bowl-eligible, it will play in the Poinsettia Bowl. If BYU is bowl-eligible, it will play in the Miami Beach Bowl.

[dfwgator]

Went 1-2 against them as QB.

[yarddog]

Back in the 60s the state track meet was held in Gainesville every years. I was competing in 64 and 65.

Florida football players were running some or maybe all of the field events. In my memory, Steve Spurrier was running the shot put in 64, but I have discovered my memory for things back then was really bad.

For some reason, I was certain that Tommy Durrance was running the long jump but when I looked him up, he was several years later. Now I wonder who it really was.

[Qwackertoo]

I feel bad for all my TCU fan relatives back home in Fort Worth, they were all decked out in their purple at the game yesterday. Daughter will be traveling with the band to the Outback Bowl in Tampa . . . I think she is happy about that . .. she was thinking they might be in the Music City bowl up the road in Nashville . . .

Husband and son were in Nashville today for the Titans game . .. YIKES . .. and they stayed for the WHOLE game. Glad I stayed home.

[OKSooner]

Ping.

[Clump]

They (FSU) will get their chance against Oregon.
We will find out if they have been playing down to the competition or if they really are just the best (although not by much) team in a very weak conference.
I was a little stunned yesterday when they (with their super awesome defense) could barely hold on against GA Tech by two points even when they knew they faced a one dimensional offense.
But hey they are undefeated.
My Baylor Bears can’t say that, although I think they are among the best.
And personally I think TCU deserves a shot too.
But six deserving teams and four spots just doesn’t add up.
If the Noles get smashed by the Ducks then I guess we will get an answer to the above question.
I would have loved to see Baylor get a chance to prove themselves on the field. Beating TCU, K-State, and OU (in Norman) just wasn’t enough in the end.
That said, I’d rather not make the playoff than get in (controversially) and get smashed. We will never know how it would have played out. I could see it going either way. You never know how the matchups will go and which teams decide not to show up.
So good luck to Ohio State and FSU. People will remember next year if the semifinals are over in the first half.
And if either team manages to win, big kudos to them.

[petenmi]

The Big 12 needs to rethink their decision not to have a Championship Game.

[EnigmaticAnomaly]

At least your team GETS to BOWLS! My team (Indiana University) makes a bowl once every decade maybe...

[yarddog]

I have read that a conference needs 12 teams to have a playoff but I am not sure if that is right. Anyway doesn’t the Big 12 actually have only 10 teams.

[Delta Dawn]

Check out Baylor’s non-conference schedule, weak is too kind a word for it, toss in Kansas, Texas Tech and Iowa State, it’s like a bye almost every week...one dimensional offense...yeah, ok that’s cute, we both know that they utilize an option offense that has three possibilities on every play. FSU must have done a good enough job of containing it as they are in the playoffs and Baylor is not...Good luck in the Cotton Bowl, should not be a problem for a great team like Baylor, I mean, like, the Spartans are from the north for gosh sakes...

[dfwgator]

Big 12 has been hanging on for the last few years, barely.

This most likely kills it for good.

If you are going to have a four team playoff, you need four conferences, and the Big XII is the odd man out.

[tatown]

TCU falls 3 spots after winning by 52, yet FSU jumps 1 spot after another nail biter??

[TexasFreeper2009]

TCU and Baylor are the best teams in the country. The ONLY team that could have beat TCU was Baylor (which they did).

It's a complete joke that BOTH of them didn't make it to the top four.

Either of them would have completely demolished Florida State in particular.

But the people in charge obviously had an agenda that had NOTHING to do with determining who the best team was. They were mostly interest in some match up of coaches and two Heisman qb’s, no one remotely normal could care less about.

[Clump]

Seriously I give credit to FSU for going undefeated.
And Baylor would be in if they had only beat WV.
That's reality.
I'm not sure what your gripe is with what I said. I know the Bears non conference schedule is weak. Most of the teams had their share of cupcakes.
FSU played Oklahoma state and beat them by 6, so that's a good non conference game. Much tougher than any non conference game Baylor played.
I'm not sure FSU would have beat TCU, K-State, and OU. But they did beat everyone on their schedule, which is why they are in and deservedly so.
If FSU is the real deal then at least they have the chance to prove it and will do so.
I look forward to watching.
Who knows, they might win both games and the national title by one or two points and they are just the team that refuses to lose. I won't complain about that.
It would be more fun to see a playoff that includes the champion ea h each P5 conference and 3 at large selections.
Just my opinion. There's too much serious things that matter in our nation now for people to be mean to each other over sports.
Relax man.

[TexasFreeper2009]

Yep Florida is a complete joke, and had no business even being in the top 10 much less the top four.

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

Yes. I think TCU is better than Baylor even though Baylor beat TCU. Both teams seem better than all others this year.

No justice in college football.

[MHGinTN]

The first run of this sham-off should have had six teams, with the top two getting a bye in the first round. It will serve the ‘committee’ right if Ohio State loses by forty points, when a TCU team or Baylor would have been a real challenging game ... and I’m a dyed in the wool Alabama fan!

[TexasFreeper2009]

I think they were both evenly matched and could either win on any given day honestly.

They were both head and shoulders better than most of the four who got in.

Think of it this way... What if Baylor really was the best team in the country? just because they had an easier non conference schedule doesn't mean they weren't the best.... that would mean that TCU only lost to the #1 team, which would of made them #2.

The assumptions going into the season make all the difference.

[Clump]

We will never know how it would have played out.
That’s a damn shame. But like I’ve said before, six deserving teams and four spots doesn’t make for anything but controversy.
One spot for each P5 conference champion and three at large selections would make for a vastly more fair playoff that allows all the teams that could win it all the chance to do so.
Just my opinion.

[TexasFreeper2009]

The committee should have the power when desires and it is deemed need to expand the number of teams that qualify for the playoff.

So, it's not necessary a set number, but can vary depending upon how the season turn out. 6 teams this year was a no brainer.

[yarddog]

It is impossible to know but I suspect Ole Miss and Mississippi State could beat any Big 12 team this year. SEC teams really do get beat up in conference play.