{"id":1723,"date":"2016-10-01T07:00:48","date_gmt":"2016-10-01T11:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordoncollegefootball.com\/?p=1723"},"modified":"2016-09-30T20:02:05","modified_gmt":"2016-10-01T00:02:05","slug":"lwos-bowl-projections-week-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2016\/10\/01\/lwos-bowl-projections-week-4\/","title":{"rendered":"LWOS Bowl Projections: Week 4"},"content":{"rendered":"

Entering Week 5, with\u00a0a full weekend of important games on deck, here are the LWOS Bowl Projections for Week 4. All rankings reflect the Last Word on College Football Top 25<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
\n<\/strong>College Football Playoff\u00a0Semifinal
\nCFP #1 Alabama vs. CFP #4 Washington<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fiesta Bowl
\n<\/strong>College Football Playoff\u00a0Semifinal
\nCFP #2 Ohio State vs. CFP #3 Louisville<\/strong><\/p>\n

National Championship Game
\n#1 Alabama vs. #2 Ohio State<\/strong><\/p>\n

While the very top of the rankings took care of business in Week 4, the Wisconsin Badgers<\/strong> entered the Top 10 after stymieing then number 8 Michigan State<\/strong>, 30 – 6.<\/p>\n

My CFP picks remain the same from a week ago, with the games looming in Week 5 holding a ton of relevancy in determining who will play\u00a0in the New Year\u2019s Six.<\/p>\n

The weekend slate is highlighted by two Top 10 matchups: (3) Louisville at (5) Clemson<\/strong>, and (8) Wisconsin at (4) Michigan<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Friday night we get (7) Stanford<\/strong> traveling to (11) Washington to put the Huskies to the test in a game that will\u00a0provide a front-runner for the Pac-12 North.<\/p>\n

New Years Six Bowls<\/u><\/h3>\n

Rose Bowl<\/strong>
\nWisconsin vs. Stanford<\/p>\n

Allstate Sugar Bowl<\/strong>
\nOklahoma vs. Texas A&M<\/p>\n

Capital One Orange Bowl<\/strong>
\nFlorida State vs. Michigan<\/p>\n

Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic<\/strong>
\nClemson vs. Houston<\/p>\n

The games in Ann Arbor, Clemson, and Seattle will\u00a0give the three winners a signature win in their respective campaigns to reach conference title games. I have all six teams involved: Louisville, Clemson, Wisconsin, Michigan, Stanford, and Washington in my top tier bowl projections.<\/p>\n

Whatever the outcome in these games, I don’t see their places at the top in danger (barring a blowout). I can see some re-positioning, especially in the Pac-12, once we get a clearer picture in conference pecking order.<\/p>\n

Bowl Season Projections<\/u><\/h3>\n

Outback Bowl
\n<\/strong>Big Ten vs. SEC
\nMichigan State vs. Tennessee<\/strong><\/p>\n

TaxSlayer Bowl
\n<\/strong>SEC vs. ACC\/Big Ten\/Notre Dame
\nOle Miss vs. Virginia Tech\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl
\n<\/strong>SEC vs. ACC\/Big Ten\/Notre Dame
\nFlorida vs. Nebraska<\/strong><\/p>\n

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
\n<\/strong>ACC\/Big Ten vs. SEC
\nPenn State vs. Arkansas<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hyundai Sun Bowl
\n<\/strong>ACC\/Notre Dame vs. PAC-12
\nPitt vs. Utah<\/strong><\/p>\n

AutoZone Liberty Bowl
\n<\/strong>Big 12 vs. SEC
\nOklahoma State vs. Georgia<\/strong><\/p>\n

Arizona Bowl
\n<\/strong>Mountain West vs. Sun Belt
\nNevada vs. Bowling Green *<\/strong><\/p>\n

Valero Alamo Bowl
\n<\/strong>Big 12 vs. PAC-12
\nTexas vs. UCLA<\/strong><\/p>\n

Belk Bowl
\n<\/strong>ACC vs. SEC
\nNorth Carolina vs. Auburn<\/strong><\/p>\n

Birmingham Bowl
\n<\/strong>AAC vs. SEC
\nTulsa vs. Missouri<\/strong><\/p>\n

AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl
\n<\/strong>Big 12 vs. SEC
\nTCU vs. LSU<\/strong><\/p>\n

Foster Farms Bowl
\n<\/strong>Big Ten vs. Pac-12
\nIndiana vs. Oregon<\/strong><\/p>\n

Russell Athletic Bowl
\n<\/strong>ACC vs. Big 12
\nMiami (FL) vs. Baylor<\/strong><\/p>\n

New Era Pinstripe Bowl
\n<\/strong>ACC\/Notre Dame vs. Big Ten
\nNotre Dame vs. Minnesota<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cactus Bowl
\n<\/strong>Big 12 vs. Pac-12
\nKansas State vs. Colorado <\/strong><\/p>\n

Holiday Bowl
\n<\/strong>Big Ten vs. Pac-12
\nIowa vs. USC<\/strong><\/p>\n

Military Bowl
\n<\/strong>AAC vs. ACC
\nUConn vs. NC State<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zaxby\u2019s Heart of Dallas Bowl
\n<\/strong>Big Ten vs. C-USA
\nTexas Tech * vs. Western Kentucky<\/strong><\/p>\n

Camping World Independence Bowl
\n<\/strong>ACC vs. SEC
\nGeorgia Tech vs. South Carolina<\/strong><\/p>\n

Quick Lane Bowl
\n<\/strong>ACC vs. Big Ten
\nArmy * vs. Maryland<\/strong><\/p>\n

St. Petersburg Bowl
\n<\/strong>AAC vs. ACC
\nUSF vs. Wake Forest<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hawai\u2019i Bowl
\n<\/strong>C-USA vs. Mountain West
\nOld Dominion vs. Air Force<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dollar General Bowl
\n<\/strong>MAC vs. Sun Belt
\nWestern Michigan vs. Georgia Southern <\/strong><\/p>\n

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
\n<\/strong>AAC vs. Big 12
\nNavy vs. West Virginia<\/strong><\/p>\n

Popeyes Bahamas Bowl
\n<\/strong>C-USA vs. MAC
\nSouthern Mississippi vs. Ohio<\/strong><\/p>\n

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
\n<\/strong>MAC vs. Mountain West
\nToledo vs. Utah State<\/strong><\/p>\n

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
\n<\/strong>BYU vs. Mountain West
\nBYU vs. San Diego State<\/strong><\/p>\n

Marmot Boca Raton Bowl
\n<\/strong>AAC vs. C-USA
\nCincinnati vs. Marshall<\/strong><\/p>\n

Miami Beach Bowl
\n<\/strong>AAC vs. MAC
\nTemple vs. Northern Illinois<\/strong><\/p>\n

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
\n<\/strong>C-USA vs. Sun Belt
\nMiddle Tennessee vs. Appalachian State<\/strong><\/p>\n

AutoNation Cure Bowl
\n<\/strong>AAC vs. Sun Belt
\nMemphis vs. Troy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Raycom Media Camellia Bowl
\n<\/strong>MAC vs. Sun Belt
\nCentral Michigan vs. South Alabama<\/strong><\/p>\n

Las Vegas Bowl
\n<\/strong>Mountain West vs. Pac-12
\nBoise State vs. Arizona State<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gildan New Mexico Bowl
\n<\/strong>C-USA vs. Mountain West
\nUTEP vs. UNLV<\/strong><\/p>\n

Explanation<\/h3>\n

Adios California,<\/strong> welcome to the party Colorado.<\/strong> The Buffaloes<\/strong> went into Autzen Stadium<\/strong> and beat the Oregon Ducks<\/strong> 41\u201338 to move to 3\u20131 on the season. Colorado is just three\u00a0wins away from their first bowl since 2007.<\/p>\n

Cal<\/strong> took a step back by giving up 31 points in the fourth quarter\u00a0to drop a crucial game 51-41\u00a0at Arizona State.<\/strong> The Sun Devils<\/strong> move to 4\u20130 on the season and go to The Coliseum<\/strong> to take on USC<\/strong> this weekend.<\/p>\n

Defending Sun Belt<\/strong> champions Arkansas State<\/strong> have finally exited this week. After dropping their first four\u00a0games, the Red Wolves<\/strong> do not look like the team that went 9-4\u00a0a year ago. The defense has never been the strong suite of Arkansas State, but with the offense not making up for its deficiencies, there may not\u00a0be a bowl game in their future, which is a rarity for the team from Jonesboro.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Toledo<\/strong>\u00a0has quietly moved itself into contention in the MAC.<\/strong> After losing coach Matt Campbell<\/strong> to Iowa State,<\/strong> the Rockets<\/strong> have shown no signs of letting up. Toledo is off to a 3-0, and have outscored\u00a0their opponents 128-30.<\/p>\n

Still tumbling are the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.<\/strong> Their “ACC schedule” is looking more and more dire as the weeks go by. Duke<\/strong> went into South Bend<\/strong> and won a thriller 38-35. Notre Dame responded by firing defensive coordinator\u00a0Brian VanGorder.<\/strong> The Irish have a couple (likely) gimmes left on the slate with Syracuse, Army, and NC State.<\/p>\n

On the road at Syracuse<\/strong> will be the true test if Notre Dame will go down as the one of the biggest letdowns in recent memory. After contending for the playoff a year ago, the Irish will be fighting for any bowl game come December.<\/p>\n

* = Replacement team<\/p>\n

Main Photo<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n