Did Ohio State’s Win Move Them Past LSU?
“Rivalry Week” has come and gone and for the most part there were hardly any upsets. However one big one in the “Iron Bowl” changed up our New Year’s Six games a little. You can see how things changed from last week as we give you our Bowl Projections Following Week 14.
College Football Playoff
Peach Bowl- December 28th- (1)- LSU versus (4)- Oklahoma- The answer to the question at the top is “no.” While Ohio State’s win over Michigan was impressive the Tigers manhandled Texas A&M. Furthermore an LSU win over Georgia next week is going to be better than an Ohio State win over Wisconsin so they stay at number 1.
Fiesta Bowl- December 28th- (2)- Ohio State versus (3)- Clemson- We’re not really sure what that rant was Dabo Swinney went on following their win against South Carolina. There’s no way the Tigers weren’t going to be in the playoff. As for the Buckeyes they keep on rolling and we can’t wait for the Justin Fields versus Trevor Lawrence match up.
College Football Championship- January 13th- (1)- LSU versus (2)- Ohio State– The game every one wants to see Joe Burrow versus his former school for the title.
Now that the playoff is out of the way let’s move on to the New Year’s Six games. As we mentioned earlier Alabama’s loss to Auburn changed things up a bit.
New Year’s Six/Selection Committee Games
Cotton Bowl- December 28th- Memphis versus Florida- All that stands between the Tigers and a trip to Texas is beating Cincinnati in the AAC title game. There will be a huge backlash should four SEC teams make the top bowls but that is what we are predicting.
Orange Bowl- December 30th- Alabama versus Virginia- The Crimson Tide lost two games in the regular season for the first time since 2010. However we think they still make the Orange Bowl. On the other side of the ball we correctly predicted the Cavaliers would beat Virginia Tech to represent the ACC in Miami.
Rose Bowl- January 1st- Utah versus Penn State- A lot has to happen for the Nittany Lions to make it to Pasadena. Should Ohio State beat Wisconsin handily like they did earlier in the season then the Badgers will be ranked lower than Penn State. As a result they head to the Rose Bowl. We gave the Utes a lot of consideration for that fourth spot but stayed with the Sooners.
Sugar Bowl- January 1st- Baylor versus Georgia- Unless they upset LSU the Bulldogs are a lock for New Orleans. The Bears go as the representative from the Big 12 whose two losses are both to Oklahoma.
Now it’s time for the remaining New Year’s Day games along with the New Year’s Eve ones.
New Year’s Eve and Day Games
Citrus Bowl- January 1st- Auburn versus Wisconsin- Their huge win over Alabama isn’t quite enough to send the Tigers to a bigger game. As mentioned earlier a lot has to happen for the Badgers to end up in Orlando.
Outback Bowl- January 1st- Minnesota versus Tennessee- As a result of their loss to Wisconsin the Golden Gophers now head to Tampa. The Vols won six of their last seven and are arguably the hottest team in the SEC not named LSU.
Alamo Bowl- December 31st- Kansas State versus Oregon
Arizona Bowl- December 31st- Georgia Southern versus Utah State
Belk Bowl- December 31st- Mississippi State versus Virginia Tech- There’s a real chance no SEC team plays in the final Belk Bowl. However for now we are sending the Bulldogs there to face the Hokies.
Liberty Bowl- December 31st- Iowa State versus SMU- The Mustangs fill the spot where an SEC school would have been.
Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl- December 31st- Arizona State versus Wake Forest
As we continue with our bowl projections following week 14 let’s look at the games after New Year’s Day. A few of the teams we had been watching all year fell by the wayside this past week. Missouri had their bowl ban upheld while Army, Nebraska and TCU all failed to garner six wins.
Post New Year’s Day Games
Birmingham Bowl- January 2nd- Florida State versus Tulane- With no SEC team available you get this interesting match up.
Taxslayer Gator Bowl- January 2nd- Indiana versus Kentucky- The Hoosiers are one of the better stories in 2019. For the last few weeks we’ve had the Wildcats in the Belk Bowl, now we’re sending them to Jacksonville. No doubt behind Lynn Bowden the Cats are a hot school following two blow out victories. These border rivals used to play every year. However the last meeting was in 2005.
Idaho Potato Bowl- January 3rd- Miami (Ohio) versus Nevada
Armed Forces Bowl- January 4th- Air Force versus Florida International
LendingTree Bowl- January 6th- Central Michigan versus Louisiana
Our next batch of games feature the ones after Christmas. There are some very interesting match ups here.
Post Christmas Games
First Responder Bowl- December 30th- Marshall versus Toledo
Music City Bowl- December 30th- Miami (Fl) versus Liberty- The last time an SEC team didn’t play in Nashville was 2005. That year Virginia beat Minnesota 34-31.
Redbox Bowl- December 30th- California versus Iowa
Camping World Bowl- December 28th- Notre Dame versus Oklahoma State
Cheez-It Bowl- December 27th- USC versus San Diego State- The Aztecs go as a replacement team for the Big 12.
Holiday Bowl- December 27th- Michigan versus Washington
Military Bowl- December 27th- Navy versus Louisville
Pinstripe Bowl- December 27th- Illinois versus Pittsburgh
Texas Bowl- December 27th- Texas versus Texas A&M- Obviously it’s not where either of these teams want to be. However having the former rivals play each other makes for a heck of a match up.
Independence Bowl- December 26th- Florida State versus Western Kentucky- The Hilltoppers head to Shreveport as a replacement for an SEC team.
Quick Lane Bowl- December 26th- Boston College versus Michigan State
As we wrap up our bowl projections following Week 14 time to look at all the early season games.
Games Before December 25th
Hawaii Bowl- December 24th- BYU versus Hawaii- The Cougars already accepted a bowl invite. There’s a possibility the Warriors could move off the island for their game but we are keeping them here for now.
Gasparilla Bowl- December 23rd- Florida Atlantic versus Cincinnati- This has the potential to be one of the best early season bowl games.
Boca Raton Bowl- December 21st- Ohio versus Central Florida
Camellia Bowl- December 21st- Arkansas State versus Western Michigan
Celebration Bowl- December 21st- Alcorn State versus North Carolina A&T
Cure Bowl- December 21st- Georgia State versus Temple
Las Vegas Bowl- December 21st- Boise State versus Washington State
New Mexico Bowl- December 21st- Southern Miss versus Wyoming
New Orleans Bowl- December 21st- Appalachian State versus UAB
Bahamas Bowl- December 20th- Buffalo versus Charlotte- Media reports say the two teams have already agreed to play. This is the 49ers first ever bowl game.
There you have our bowl projections following week 14 here at Last Word On College Football. We are going to have one last round of projections before the selections are announced next Sunday.
