Rivalry Week Leads To “Bedlam”
For the majority of “Rivalry Weekend” things went according to form. However things took a big turn as the day went on leading to what can only described at “Bedlam.” As a result we’ve got massive changes in our playoff this week with half of the field changing. Like we do every week if you’d like to see how things changed from week to week click here. There’s a lot to get to so let’s go through it all with our LWOS Week 13 Bowl Projections.
College Football Playoff
Orange Bowl- December 31st- (1) Georgia vs. (4) Oklahoma State– Pardon the really bad pun but the Bulldogs “wrecked” Georgia Tech 45-0. They remain the top team heading into the SEC Championship against Alabama. The Cowboys fly into the playoff after knocking off Oklahoma. They play Baylor in the Big 12 title game.
Cotton Bowl- December 31st- (2) Michigan vs. (3) Cincinnati– It took a few years but Jim Harbaugh finally did the job he was hired for. Not only did the Wolverines finally beat Ohio State, they did it emphatically. They take the Buckeyes’ spot in the playoff. On the other side of the ball Desmond Ridder and the Bearcats beat a good East Carolina team and move up a spot this week. They meet Houston for the AAC Championship in what could be one of the best games of the weekend.
College Football National Championship- January 10th- (1) Georgia vs. (2) Michigan– It’s safe at assume no one had this as their title game coming into this past weekend.
Selection Committee Games
Peach Bowl- December 30th- Ole Miss vs. Wake Forest- After a week out of this game we have the Demon Deacons back in Atlanta. The Rebels wrapped up their best season ever at 10-2. A matchup of Matt Corral and Sam Hartman should be a great one.
Fiesta Bowl- January 1st- Michigan State vs. Notre Dame- The Fighting Irish still have a chance at making the playoff, however they are going to need some help. Mel Tucker and the Spartans finished 10-2 and are rewarded with a trip to Arizona.
Rose Bowl- January 1st- Ohio State vs. Utah- The Buckeye’s loss to Michigan drops them out of the playoff and into Pasadena. We still think the Utes beat Oregon again in the Pac-12 championship game.
Sugar Bowl- January 1st- Alabama vs. Baylor- The Crimson Tide kept their playoff hopes alive with the huge comeback against Auburn. Much like Michigan State the Bears have had a great year and are rewarded with a trip to New Orleans.
Now that we’ve gone through our playoff and selection committee games let’s move onto the January 1st games with our LWOS Week 13 Bowl Predictions.
New Year’s Day And After Games
Citrus Bowl- January 1st- Iowa vs. Kentucky- The folks in Orlando have an interesting decision to make. They usually take the highest ranked available SEC team which is Arkansas. In addition Texas A&M is also ranked higher than the Cats. However at 9-3 the Wildcats have the better record. Throw in Mark Stoops facing his alma mater and the fact 35,000 members of the Big Blue Nation will head south we think they go with the Cats.
Outback Bowl- January 1st- Texas A&M vs. Wisconsin- Both teams lost on Saturday and as a result we keep the match up but switch the game.
Texas Bowl- January 4th- Auburn vs. Texas Tech
It’s funny how things change from week to week with the projections. Last week we were looking at which 5-7 teams would be bowl eligible if needed. However almost every team on the fence won giving us 84 eligible teams for 82 spots. That list includes Hawaii who won six games but finished 6-7. Of course that means someone is getting left out. Furthermore the SEC became the first conference ever to have 13 schools make a bowl (Sorry Vanderbilt). We have 12 slots for the league which means we have to find a spot for the other school. Four teams have accepted bids, they have an * by their name.
New Year’s Eve Games
Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl- December 31st- Kent State vs. Fresno State
Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl- December 31st- Miami vs. Washington State
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl- December 31st- Arkansas vs. Clemson
Continuing our LWOS Week 13 Bowl Projections we now head to the games between Christmas and the New Year.
Duke’s Mayo Bowl- December 30th- North Carolina vs. Tennessee
Music City Bowl- December 30th- Minnesota vs. Mississippi State
Las Vegas Bowl- December 30th- Arizona State vs. Purdue
Alamo Bowl- December 29th- Oklahoma vs. Oregon- A couple of weeks ago this was a potential playoff matchup. In addition the Sooners are now in the market for a new coach as Lincoln Riley is headed to USC.
Cheez-It Bowl- December 29th- Iowa State vs. Pittsburgh
Fenway Bowl- December 29th- Boston College vs. Houston
Pinstripe Bowl- December 29th- Louisville vs. Penn State
Continuing our LWOS Week 13 Bowl Projections we now head to the games between Christmas and the New Year.
Bowl Games After Christmas
Birmingham Bowl– December 28th- Tulsa vs. South Carolina
First Responder Bowl- December 28th- Miami (Ohio) vs. Nevada
Guaranteed Rate Bowl- December 28th- Kansas State vs. Maryland
Holiday Bowl- December 28th- North Carolina State vs. UCLA- The Bruins continued their late-season surge with a huge win over California.
Liberty Bowl- December 28th- Missouri vs. West Virginia
Military Bowl- December 27th- East Carolina * vs. Virginia Tech- The Pirates finished 7-5 and became the first team to officially accept a bowl bid.
Quick Lane Bowl- December 27th- Northern Illinois vs. Old Dominion- With no Big 10 team available we’re sending the Monarchs to Detroit.
Christmas Holiday Games
Camellia Bowl- December 25th- Central Michigan vs. Georgia State
Hawaii Bowl- December 24th- Memphis * vs. Utah State- On Monday afternoon the Tigers became the fourth team to officially accept a bowl bid.
We are in the home stretch with our LWOS Week 12 Bowl Projections time for a look at the pre-Christmas set of games.
Union Home Mortgage Bowl- December 22nd- Central Florida vs. Florida
Armed Forces Bowl- December 22nd- Army vs. SMU
Frisco Bowl- December 21st- Air Force vs. Marshall
Idaho Potato Bowl- December 21st- Boise State vs. Western Michigan
Myrtle Beach Bowl- December 20th- Coastal Carolina vs. North Texas- The “Mean Green” were just that in ending UTSA’s undefeated season. As a result they head to a bowl game.
First Weekend Matchups
Bahamas Bowl- December 17th- Middle Tennessee * vs. Toledo *- Media reports say these two schools have already accepted a bid to this game. This was done in advance due to the travel involved.
Cure Bowl- December 17th- Liberty vs. LSU- We need a game for the Tigers so why not this one. Coach Ed Orgeron says he won’t coach in the bowl game for LSU.
Boca Raton Bowl- December 18th- UAB vs. Virginia
Celebration Bowl- December 18th- Jackson State vs. South Carolina State
Independence Bowl- December 18th- BYU vs. Texas San-Antonio- The Roadrunners are no longer undefeated but we’re keeping the game anyway.
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. Western Kentucky- The Ragin’ Cajuns lost their coach Billy Napier to Florida. He will coach them in the Sun Belt title game against Appalachian State. No word yet on if he’s staying through the bowl season.
At least for this round of projections Ball State is the odd team out. Thanks for checking out our LWOS Week 13 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. We’ll be back on Sunday with our final projections before all the pairings are announced.
