LWOS Week 12 Bowl Projections

Another Change In The Playoff

With one exception things stayed pretty much true to form this week in college football. However, the one thing that wasn’t was Oregon getting hammered by Utah. As a result, we have a new team in our playoff picks this week. In addition, we have a couple of changes in some of our upper-tier bowl games. As always if you’d like to see how our picks changed from last week click here. There’s a lot to digest and let’s get right to it with our LWOS Week 12 Bowl Projections.

College Football Playoff

Orange Bowl- December 31st- (1) Georgia vs. (4) Cincinnati– As expected the top-ranked Bulldogs had no trouble with Charleston Southern. At this point, there’s really no way UGA isn’t in the playoffs. After several close calls, the Bearcats finally got that decisive victory beating a good SMU team 48-14. With Oregon’s loss hopefully, the selection committee finally makes the right call with Desmond Ridder and company.

Cotton Bowl- December 31st- (2) Ohio State vs. (3) Alabama- Speaking of statement games the Buckeyes did just that in a 56-7 destruction of Michigan State.   Ryan Day’s clubhead to Michigan on Saturday for another big match-up. Unless the Crimson Tide suffers a historic loss in the SEC title game it seems a foregone conclusion Alabama becomes the first two-loss team to make the playoffs.

College Football National Championship- January 10th- (1) Georgia vs. (2) Ohio State- These are the top two teams right now and it should be a great one.

Selection Committee Games

In all honesty, this week is the first time this year where I’ve had some trouble putting teams in this next set of games. Between Baylor, Michigan, Michigan State, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State it’s easy to make a case for any of them.

Peach Bowl- December 3oth- Notre Dame vs. Pittsburgh- The Fighting Irish are knocking on the door of the playoff. Although, they may need another team above them to lose. After rolling with Wake Forest for weeks we’ve moved the Panthers up a level following the Demon Deacons’ loss to Clemson.

Fiesta Bowl- January 1st- Baylor vs. Michigan State- Indulge us for a few minutes on this one. Yes, the Spartans got hammered by Ohio State. But assuming they beat Penn State on Saturday they’re still in good shape for a major bowl, just not the Rose Bowl. On the other side of the ball, we’re projecting the Cowboys to win on Saturday against Oklahoma. We also think Baylor beats Texas Tech. As a result that puts the Bears in the Big 12 title game.

Rose Bowl- January 1st- Michigan vs. Utah– Jim Harbaugh‘s club moves up from the Citrus Bowl to Pasadena. Not only did the Utes lay a beat down on Oregon we think they’ll do it again in a couple of weeks in the Pac-12 title game.

Sugar Bowl- January 1st- Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss- As mentioned earlier we think OSU beats OU on Saturday and beats Baylor in the Big 12 Championship. That puts the Cowboys in the Sugar Bowl. A matchup against Matt Corral and the Rebels has the makings of a classic.

Now that we have gone through the playoff and selection committee games let’s head to the next biggest games as we continue our LWOS Week 12 bowl projections.

New Year’s Day And After Games

Citrus Bowl- January 1st- Texas A&M vs. Wisconsin- With Michigan joining Michigan State in the selection committee games everyone else in the Big 10 moves up a slot. Winners of seven straight the Badgers continue to roll.

Outback Bowl- January 1st- Kentucky vs. Iowa- The Wildcats went out of conference and got an easy win over New Mexico State. At some point every year we try to match Mark Stoops against his alma mater and this matchup seems very possible now.

Texas Bowl- January 4th- Auburn vs. TCU

A couple of things to know going through the rest of our picks. We’re at that point where we have to look at teams with five wins. Right now there are 20 teams in college football with five wins. In addition, there are two Pac-12 teams with four wins and have two games left, California and USC. As it stands right now the list of teams in order of their APR are Middle Tennessee, Rutgers, Cal, Texas, Florida, and Illinois.

New Year’s Eve Games

Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl- December 31st- Kent State vs. Fresno State

Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl- December 31st- Louisville vs. Washington State

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl- December 31st- Arkansas vs. Clemson- The Razorbacks gave Alabama all they could handle on Saturday. It’s hard to believe based on the way they started but there’s still a chance for the Tigers to be the ACC representative.

Continuing our LWOS Week 12 Bowl Projections we now head to the games between Christmas and the New Year.

Duke’s Mayo Bowl- December 30th- North Carolina State vs. Tennessee

Music City Bowl- December 30th-  Mississippi State vs. Penn State

Las Vegas Bowl- December 30th- California vs. Purdue

Alamo Bowl- December 29th- Oklahoma vs. Oregon- As we mentioned earlier if the likely scenario in the Big 12 plays out then the Sooners are the odd team out. Following their big loss to Utah, the Ducks fall down to San Antonio.

Cheez-It Bowl- December 29th- Iowa State vs. Wake Forest

Fenway Bowl- December 29th- Boston College vs. Memphis

Pinstripe Bowl- December 29th-  Maryland vs. Miami (Ohio)

Continuing our LWOS Week 12 Bowl Projections we now head to the games between Christmas and the New Year.

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Bowl Games After Christmas

First Weekend Matchups

Bahamas Bowl- December 17th- Old Dominion vs. Western Michigan

Cure Bowl- December 17th- Liberty vs. Toledo

Boca Raton Bowl- December 18th- Charlotte vs. Illinois

Celebration Bowl- December 18th- Jackson State vs. South Carolina State

Independence Bowl- December 18th- BYU vs. Texas San-Antonio- The Roadrunners pulled it out in the final minute to keep their undefeated season alive. It’s unlikely the New Orleans Bowl takes the winners of both Conference USA and the Sun Belt. As a result, we’re moving UTSA to Shreveport for a really exciting game.

Lending Tree Bowl- December 18th- Appalachian State vs. Eastern Michigan 

Jimmy Kimmel Los Angeles Bowl- December 18th- San Diego State vs. Oregon State

New Mexico Bowl- December 18th- UTEP vs. Wyoming

New Orleans Bowl- December 18th- Louisiana vs. UAB- As mentioned earlier based on recent history the bowl usually takes the second-place team from Conference USA and we’re projecting the Blazers,

Thanks for checking out our LWOS Week 12 Bowl Projections. Of course, as we always say if you don’t like where your team is slotted just wait, it’s going to change from week to week.