Not much changed at the top of our bowl projections for week 11. Despite the Pac-12’s bad day and Baylor tumbling out of the top six, Clemson, Alabama and Ohio State remain firmly entrenched in the College Football playoff conversation for the time being.
However, both Yesh and John believe that the two flagship programs from the Sooner State have positioned themselves favorably after the weekend’s action. And that school from Norman which takes the state nickname as its own may have made the biggest jump of any school with title aspirations after their road triumph over Baylor.
Heading into the latest release of the selection committee’s rankings on Tuesday, how far Oklahoma vaults upward will be the subject of much speculation. Though they have a bad loss to Texas, they’ve been on a tear since and that big win in Waco was just the latest example. Their final two games come against ranked foes and the season finale against “Bedlam” rivals Oklahoma State could end up being a de facto elimination game for the CFP should both teams win this Saturday.
Both the Sooners and Cowboys as well as Iowa (who moved to 10-0 for the first time in school history) may be heading upward in the rankings at the expense of Notre Dame. Stanford’s loss to Oregon may have the effect of making the Irish’s resume look less impressive in the eyes of the committee, even if they were to win when they face the Cardinal in two weeks time. As such, our current snapshot of the CFP has ND on the outside after projecting them in the semifinals last week.
With respect to the New Year’s Six bowl picture, specifically which Group of Five school is expected to get selected, we both agree that team is likely to come from the AAC. However, John anticipates the Fighting Tom Hermans of Houston continuing to roll while Yesh believes Navy’s impressive season will lead to a big-time bowl for the Midshipmen.
Given that there are 40 bowl games this year, it’s possible there won’t be enough .500 or better teams to fill all 80 bowl slots. In the event that occurs, the remaining bowl bids will be given to 5-7 teams that have the best academic performance rate (APR) for the 2013-14 academic year. As of right now, 62 teams have achieved that six-win threshold necessary for bowl eligibility, while 17 are one win away. With most schools having just two games remaining, it will be interesting how often, if at all, APR is used to send teams to bowls.
Below are the schools we anticipate qualifying for a bowl via APR along with their current score:
Nebraska (985), Rutgers (980), Virginia Tech (977)
Those schools will have an asterisk next to their name in our projections.
Where do we have your school traveling to for the holidays? Be sure to take a look below.
LWOS Bowl Projections (Through Week 11)
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF
NEW YEAR’S SIX BOWLS
REST OF THE BOWLS
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