Another fun-filled Saturday of college football is in the books, and the results of a few key games definitely require some changes to the teams John and Yesh have in their bowl projections. Though the top-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs went down this weekend, the consensus was that the Tide were going to roll anyways and so it’s difficult to classify that as an upset. The surprise of the day, at least among the teams still in the hunt for the CFP, took place in Corvallis and ended a few minutes short of 2 am on the East Coast. Arizona State’s hopes to make college football’s final four in all likelihood came to an end in a 35-27 loss to Oregon State. TCU fell behind by as much as ten to the home standing upset minded Kansas Jayhawks but found a way to squeak out a 34-30 win.
The CFP selection committee are going to have their hands full once again. Florida State trailed late but finished the game on top in the only stat that truly matters: the final score. Do they reclaim the top spot as the only Power Five undefeated team? Will Alabama leapfrog TCU after the Crimson Tide ended the Bulldogs push for a perfection while the Horned Frogs had trouble against arguably the worst team in the big-time conferences? Does Oregon’s bye week affect their standing?
Marshall remained unbeaten but has still found it difficult to break into that New Year’s Six bowl slot in either John or Yesh’s projections. Colorado State was idle this week, but have been rolling at 9-1 and have two wins over Power Five conference teams. The problem facing the Rams is the fact that their only loss was to Boise State, so the Broncos currently own the tiebreaker in the Mountain Division of the MWC. If Boise State runs the table, they’ll win the division and appear in the conference championship, which would eliminate CSU from contention for a New Year’s Six bowl since the selection committee will only consider conference winners for that spot.
Without further ado, we present our second edition of the Last Word On Sports bowl projections for 2014. John’s picks will be listed first, followed by Yesh’s. Later tonight, we’ll find out if the committee’s top four for this week mirror’s our projected CFP match ups.
LWOS Bowl Projections (Week 12)
NATIONAL SEMIFINALS
Rose Bowl – Pasadena, CA: January 1, 2015, 5 pm
(1) Oregon vs. (4) TCU
(1) Florida State vs. (4) Alabama
Sugar Bowl – New Orleans, LA: January 1, 2015, 8:30 pm
(2) Florida State vs. (3) Alabama
(2) Oregon vs. (3) TCU
College Football Championship Game – Arlington, TX: January 12, 2015, 8:30 pm
Rose Bowl Winner vs. Sugar Bowl Winner
OTHER NEW YEAR’S SIX BOWLS
Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl – Atlanta, GA: December 31, 2014, 1 pm
Georgia vs. Michigan State
Georgia vs. Boise State
Vizio Fiesta Bowl – Glendale, AZ: December 31, 2014, 5 pm
Colorado State vs. UCLA
Arizona State vs. Ole Miss
Capital One Orange Bowl – Miami Gardens, FL: December 31, 2014, 8:30 pm
Ohio State vs. Georgia Tech
Mississippi State vs. Georgia Tech
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic – Arlington, TX: January 1, 2014, 1 pm
Baylor vs. Mississippi State
Baylor vs. Ohio State
THE REST OF THE BOWLS
December 20, 2014
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl – New Orleans, LA – 11 am
Louisiana-Lafayette vs. Ohio
Louisiana-Lafayette vs. Middle Tennessee State
Gildan New Mexico Bowl – Albuquerque, NM – 2:20 pm
San Diego State vs. UTEP
Nevada vs. UTEP
Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl – Las Vegas, NV – 3:30 pm, ABC
Boise State vs. Stanford
Colorado State vs. Stanford
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl – Boise, ID – 5:45 pm
Nevada vs. Bowling Green
Central Michigan vs. San Diego State
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl – Montgomery, AL – 9:15 pm
Central Michigan vs. Arkansas State
Western Michigan vs. South Alabama
December 22, 2014
Miami Beach Bowl – Miami, FL – 2 pm
East Carolina vs. BYU
Houston vs. BYU
December 23, 2014
Boca Raton Bowl – Boca Raton, FL – 6 pm
UAB vs. Western Michigan
UAB vs. Toledo
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl – San Diego, CA – 9:30 pm
Navy vs. Utah State
Navy vs. Utah State
December 24, 2014
Popeyes Bahamas Bowl – Nassau, Bahamas – noon
Marshall vs. Toledo
Louisiana Tech vs. Bowling Green
Hawai’i Bowl – Honolulu, HI – 8 pm
Air Force vs. Louisiana Tech
Air Force vs. Marshall
December 26, 2014
Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl – Dallas, TX – 1 pm
Rutgers vs. Rice
Penn State vs. Rice
Quick Lane Bowl – Detroit, MI – 4:30 pm
N.C. State vs. Maryland
Virginia Tech vs. Rutgers
Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl – St. Petersburg, FL – 8 pm
Central Florida vs. Middle Tennessee State
Central Florida vs. North Carolina
December 27, 2014
Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman – Annapolis, MD – 1 pm
Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech
Memphis vs. N.C. State
Hyundai Sun Bowl – El Paso, TX – 2 pm, CBS
Miami (FL) vs. Utah
Miami (FL) vs. Utah
Duck Commander Independence Bowl – Shreveport, LA – 4 pm, ESPN2
Boston College vs. Western Kentucky
Notre Dame vs. California
New Era Pinstripe Bowl – The Bronx, NY – 4:30 pm
Notre Dame vs. Penn State
Boston College vs. Minnesota
National University Holiday Bowl – San Diego, CA – 8 pm
Nebraska vs. Arizona State
Nebraska vs. USC
December 29, 2014
Autozone Liberty Bowl – Memphis, TN – 2 pm
West Virginia vs. Tennessee
West Virginia vs. Florida
Russell Athletic Bowl – Orlando, FL – 5:30 pm
Clemson vs. Kansas State
Clemson vs. Kansas State
AdvoCare Texas Bowl – Houston, TX – 9 pm
Texas A&M vs. Texas
South Carolina vs. Texas
December 30, 2014
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl – Nashville, TN – 3 pm
Louisville vs. LSU
Duke vs. Missouri
Belk Bowl – Charlotte, NC – 6:45 pm
Duke vs. Florida
Louisville vs. Tennessee
Foster Farms San Francisco Bowl – Santa Clara, CA – 10 pm
Michigan vs. Arizona
Maryland vs. Arizona
January 1, 2015
Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl – Orlando, FL – 1 pm, ABC
Wisconsin vs. Auburn
Wisconsin vs. Auburn
Outback Bowl – Tampa, FL – 1 pm, ESPN2
Iowa vs. Ole Miss
Michigan State vs. LSU
January 2, 2015
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl – Fort Worth, TX – noon
Houston vs. Northwestern
East Carolina vs. Northwestern
TaxSlayer Bowl – Jacksonville, FL – 3:20 pm
Minnesota vs. Missouri
Iowa vs. Texas A&M
Valero Alamo Bowl – San Antonio, TX – 6:45 pm
Oklahoma vs. Southern Cal
Oklahoma vs. UCLA
Cactus Bowl – Tempe, AZ – 10:15 pm
Oklahoma State vs. California
Temple vs. Washington
January 3, 2015
Birmingham Bowl – Birmingham, AL – 1 pm, ESPN2
Memphis vs. South Carolina
Cincinnati vs. Ohio
January 4, 2015
GoDaddy Bowl – Mobile, AL – 9 pm
Northern Illinois vs. South Alabama
Northern Illinois vs. Arkansas State
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