Thanksgiving weekend always gives us a lot to be thankful for in the College Football world. One of those things is shakeups in the top ten. The top two teams in the College Football Playoff went down this weekend which will beg two burning questions over the next week. Even with Miami losing to Pittsburgh, do the Hurricanes still control their own destiny? Does Alabama have a strong enough resume to get in as a one-loss team that didn’t win their own division in the SEC? How will these results impact our 2017 Bowl Projections heading into championship weekend?
There are four monumental championship games that will impact the College Football Playoff and the remainder of the bowls as they fall into place. Oklahoma, Clemson, Auburn, and Wisconsin are all in a win and you’re in scenario but certainly, that will be easier said than done. Oklahoma and Auburn are in similar positions as they head into a conference championship game against teams they won easily against just three weeks ago. The Sooners won by 18 points, while the Tigers won by 23. Both of those were home games, but now they face TCU and Georgia on a neutral field.
Meanwhile, Clemson will take on Miami in the ACC championship game where it looks like both teams may be going in opposite directions. The Hurricanes have struggled over the last couple of weeks against inferior opponents in Virginia and Pittsburgh. However, they have played their best when the lights are the brightest. Clemson was dominant on both sides of the ball in their victory against South Carolina. In Indianapolis, perhaps the most intriguing of matchups will be between Ohio State and Wisconsin. Wisconsin is undefeated and Ohio State has lost twice and the Buckeyes are favored? If Ohio State wins this game, let the madness begin. You won’t want to miss a second of these tremendous games this weekend.
R + L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, New Orleans (1 p.m., ESPN)
Troy vs Louisiana Tech
AutoNation Cure Bowl, Orlando, Fla. (2:30 p.m., CBSSN)
UCLA vs Georgia State
Las Vegas Bowl, Las Vegas (3:30 p.m., ABC)
Boise State vs Arizona
Gildan New Mexico Bowl, Albuquerque (4:30 p.m., ESPN)
Middle Tennessee vs San Diego State
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl, Montgomery, Ala. (8 p.m., ESPN)
Akron vs. Arkansas State
TUESDAY, DEC. 19
Boca Raton Bowl, Boca Raton, Fla. (7 p.m., ESPN)
Temple vs. Florida International
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 20
Frisco Bowl, Frisco, Texas (8 p.m., ESPN)
Houston vs. Marshall
THURSDAY, DEC. 21
Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl, St. Petersburg, Fla. (8 p.m., ESPN)
South Florida vs. Florida Atlantic
FRIDAY, DEC. 22
Bahamas Bowl, Nassau, Bahamas (12:30 p.m., ESPN)
UAB vs. Ohio
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Boise (4 p.m., ESPN)
Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State
SATURDAY, DEC. 23
Birmingham Bowl, Birmingham, Ala. (12 p.m., ESPN)
Memphis vs Western Kentucky
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl, Fort Worth, Texas (3:30 p.m., ESPN)
UTSA vs. Army
Dollar General Bowl, Mobile, Ala. (7 p.m., ESPN)
Toledo vs Appalachian State
SUNDAY, DEC. 24
Hawaii Bowl, Honolulu, (8:30 p.m., ESPN)
SMU vs. Colorado State
TUESDAY, DEC. 26
Heart of Dallas Bowl, Dallas (1:30 p.m., ESPN)
Texas Tech vs. North Texas
Quick Lane Bowl, Detroit (5:15 p.m., ESPN)
Central Michigan vs. Duke
Cactus Bowl, Phoenix (9 p.m., ESPN)
Kansas State vs Oregon
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 27
Independence Bowl, Shreveport, La. (1:30 p.m., ESPN)
Florida State vs Southern Mississippi
New Era Pinstripe Bowl, New York (5:15 p.m., ESPN)
Boston College vs. Iowa
Foster Farms Bowl, Santa Clara, Calif. (8 p.m., FOX)
Northwestern vs Washington State
Texas Bowl, Houston (9 p.m., ESPN)
Texas vs Utah
THURSDAY, DEC. 28
Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman, Annapolis, Md. (1:30 p.m., ESPN)
Virginia vs Navy
Camping World Bowl, Orlando, Fla. (5:15 p.m., ESPN)
Virginia Tech vs. Iowa State
Valero Alamo Bowl, San Antonio, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Oklahoma State vs. Washington
Michigan vs. Stanford
FRIDAY, DEC. 29
Belk Bowl, Charlotte, N.C. (1 p.m., ESPN)
Wake Forest vs. Mississippi State
Hyundai Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas (2 p.m., CBS)
Louisville vs. Arizona State
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl, Nashville, Tenn. (4:30 p.m., ESPN)
Kentucky vs. Purdue
Arizona Bowl, Tucson, Ariz. (5:30 p.m., CBSSN)
Wyoming vs New Mexico State
SATURDAY, DEC. 30
TaxSlayer Bowl, Jacksonville, Fla. (12 p.m., ESPN)
NC State vs Texas A&M
AutoZone Liberty Bowl, Memphis, Tenn. (12:30 p.m., ABC)
West Virginia vs. Missouri
MONDAY, JAN. 1, 2018
Outback Bowl, Tampa, Fla. (12 p.m., ESPN2)
South Carolina vs. Michigan State
Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Fla. (1 p.m., ABC)
Notre Dame vs LSU
NEW YEAR’S SIX BOWLS
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, Arlington, Texas (Dec. 29, 8:30 p.m., ESPN)
Penn State vs TCU
PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, Glendale, Ariz. (Dec. 30, 4 p.m., ESPN)
USC vs. Ohio State
Capital One Orange Bowl, Miami Gardens, Fla. (Dec. 30, 8 p.m., ESPN)
Miami vs Alabama
Central Florida vs. Georgia
Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual, Pasadena, Calif. (Jan. 1, 5 p.m., ESPN)
Oklahoma vs. Auburn
Allstate Sugar Bowl, New Orleans (Jan. 1, 8:45 p.m., ESPN)
Clemson vs Wisconsin
College Football Playoff National Championship, Atlanta (Jan. 8, 8 p.m., ESPN)
Clemson vs Oklahoma
