Changes At The Top This Week
Any Saturday with college football is a good week. However, this past weekend featured so many great match ups it made it one of the best in recent memory. As a result we have a new team in the playoff and changes in the selection committee games from last week. Let’s not keep you in any more suspense and get right to our LWOS Week Five Bowl Projections.
College Football Playoff
Orange Bowl- December 31st- (1) Alabama vs. (4) Oklahoma- The top ranked Crimson Tide cemented their hold on the top spot with a convincing win over Ole Miss. Truth be told with Iowa’s big win over Maryland we moved the Sooners out of the playoff. However with Oregon’s meltdown against Stanford the Sooners stay in this week.
Cotton Bowl- December 31st- (2) Georgia vs. (3) Iowa- Even without JT Daniels the Bulldogs relied on the running game and got their second straight shut out 37-0 over Arkansas. We thought about doing it last week however after their demolition of formerly unbeaten Maryland 51-14 we’re moving the Hawkeyes up to the playoff. They’ve got a huge game this week when they host Penn State.
College Football National Championship- January 10th- (1) Alabama vs. (2) Georgia– Right now it’s these two teams and everyone else. It seems a forgone conclusion the SEC powers meet twice in the span of a month.
Selection Committee Games
Peach Bowl- December 30th- Notre Dame vs. Wake Forest- The Demon Deacons pulled out a close one over Louisville to remain undefeated. Even with the loss to Cincinnati we’re keeping the Fighting Irish in the selection committee games for now.
Fiesta Bowl- January 1st- Cincinnati vs. Ohio State- What happens with the Bearcats is going to be very interesting. After beating Notre Dame in South Bend it’s likely Desmond Ridder and company don’t lose the rest of the year. Whether that’s enough to get them into the playoffs is the story to watch. The Buckeyes have won 12 straight over Cincinnati dating back to 1900.
Rose Bowl- January 1st- Penn State vs. Oregon- With two minutes to go the Ducks had a 99% chance of beating Stanford. Unfortunately for Duck fans their epic meltdown led to not only their first loss but falling out of the playoff too. Whoever wins between the Nittany Lions and Hawkeyes on Saturday gets the playoff spot and the other lands here.
Sugar Bowl- January 1st- Arkansas vs. Texas- There’s a real case to be made for Kentucky getting this slot. However for this week we are keeping the Razorbacks in this game as they are ranked higher. The committee doesn’t really want rematches but ever since their loss to Arkansas the Longhorns are playing inspired football.
New Year’s Day Games
Citrus Bowl- January 1st- Kentucky vs. Michigan State– As a result of their streak breaking win over Florida the Cats have a legitimate case for a bigger bowl. However we’re sending them to Orlando for the second time in four years. Michigan probably deserves this slot, however the Big 10 doesn’t like teams to play in the same game very often. The Wolverines were just there two years ago.
Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl- December 31st- Buffalo vs. Nevada
Tony Tiger Sun Bowl- December 31st- Arizona State vs. Pittsburgh
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl- December 31st- Clemson vs. Florida- It seems a foregone conclusion Dabo Swinney’s club won’t make the playoff for the first time since 2014.
Texas Bowl- January 4th- Iowa State vs. LSU
Games Before The New Year
Duke’s Mayo Bowl- December 30th- North Carolina vs. Auburn
Music City Bowl- December 30th- Maryland vs. Texas A&M- The wheels have come off for Jimbo Fisher’s squad with Alabama waiting on Saturday.
Las Vegas Bowl- December 30th- USC vs. Wisconsin- It’s been a really ugly stretch for the Badgers. So much so can they even get to six wins?
Alamo Bowl- December 29th- Oregon State vs. Texas Tech
Cheez-It Bowl- December 29th- North Carolina State vs. Oklahoma State
Fenway Bowl- December 29th- Boston College vs. Memphis
Continuing our LWOS Week Five Bowl Projections we now head to the games between Christmas and the New Year.
Bowl Games After Christmas
Birmingham Bowl– December 28th- East Carolina vs. Missouri
First Responder Bowl- December 28th- Houston vs. Virginia
Guaranteed Rate Bowl- December 28th- Baylor vs. Minnesota
Holiday Bowl- December 28th- Virginia Tech vs. UCLA- As a result of their big big loss to Arizona State, the Bruins fall from the Rose Bowl. However San Diego is never a bad place to visit.
Liberty Bowl- December 28th- Kansas State vs. Mississippi State
Military Bowl- December 27th- Central Florida vs. Syracuse
Quick Lane Bowl- December 27th- Indiana vs. Toledo
Christmas Holiday Games
Camellia Bowl- December 25th- Central Michigan vs. Louisiana-Monroe
Hawaii Bowl- December 24th- SMU vs. Utah State
We are in the home stretch with our LWOS Week Five Bowl Projections time for a look at the pre-Christmas set of games.
Union Home Mortgage Bowl- December 22nd- Rutgers vs. Tennessee- The Volunteers roar into our selections following their huge win over Missouri. In addition how interesting would a Greg Schiano versus Tennessee game be?
Armed Forces Bowl- December 22nd- Army vs. Boise State
Frisco Bowl- December 21st- Air Force vs. Louisiana Tech
Idaho Potato Bowl- December 21st- Bowling Green vs. Fresno State
Myrtle Beach Bowl- December 20th- Coastal Carolina vs. Marshall
As always we wrap up our LWOS Week Five Bowl Projections with a look at the early season games, including a whopping seven games on December 18th alone. In fact, two of the best potential bowl matchups happen on this first weekend.
First Weekend Matchups
Bahamas Bowl- December 17th- Florida Atlantic vs. Western Michigan
Cure Bowl- December 17th- Appalachian State vs. Liberty
Boca Raton Bowl- December 18th- South Alabama vs. Western Kentucky
Celebration Bowl- December 18th- Alabama A&M vs. North Carolina Central
Independence Bowl- December 18th- UAB vs. BYU- They have a couple of tough games left but if the Cougars still have hopes of earning the Group Of Five bid.
Lending Tree Bowl- December 18th- Eastern Michigan vs Troy
Los Angeles Bowl- December 18th- San Diego State vs. Stanford
New Mexico Bowl- December 18th- San Jose State vs. UTEP
New Orleans Bowl- December 18th- Louisiana vs. Texas San-Antonio- As a result of their strong 5-0 start we’re moving the Roadrunners into the game in place of Louisiana Tech.
Thanks for checking out our LWOS Week Five Bowl Projections. As we say every week, don’t like where your team is slotted? Just wait it will probably change every week until the official pairings are released. In fact, it’s another huge week highlighted by the Iowa-Penn State clash. In addition it’s the “Red River Rivalry” between Oklahoma and Texas. Seeing as this is the first time they’ve met since announcing they are headed to the SEC the crowd reaction is something to watch.
