{"id":2030,"date":"2016-10-06T10:02:15","date_gmt":"2016-10-06T14:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordoncollegefootball.com\/?p=2030"},"modified":"2016-10-06T10:02:15","modified_gmt":"2016-10-06T14:02:15","slug":"lwos-bowl-projections-week-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2016\/10\/06\/lwos-bowl-projections-week-5\/","title":{"rendered":"LWOS Bowl Projections Week 5"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a Week 5 that saw the ACC and Pac-12 pictures become clearer, the College Football Playoff scenario\u00a0remains nearly identical to prior weeks.\u00a0We will see teams get their sixth wins this coming weekend, locking up bowl eligibility. While bowl season seems an eternity away, we are nearly half way through the season. After a week that created separation at the top of conferences, here are the LWOS Bowl Projections Week 5.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
\n<\/strong>CFP Semifinal
\n#1 Alabama vs. #4 Washington<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fiesta Bowl
\n<\/strong>CFP Semifinal
\n#2 Ohio State vs. #3 Clemson<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Washington and Clemson made the biggest impacts in Week 4, but in very different ways.<\/p>\n

While at home, both teams got victories over Top 10<\/a>\u00a0teams. Clemson won an instant classic 42 \u2013 36 over Louisville<\/strong>, whereas\u00a0<\/strong>Washington proved the hype is real with a 44 \u2013 6 dismantling of then number seven Stanford<\/strong>. The Huskies were superior in every facet of the game, and have cemented their spot atop the Pac-12. With the rest of the conference slate looking very manageable, Washington needs to run the table to leave no doubt in the College Football Playoff Committee\u2019s minds as to whether they belong or not.<\/p>\n

Louisville and Houston<\/strong> will be the teams to cause problems\u00a0for Power Five teams. I still think the Big 12 has played itself out of the playoff already. This leaves the ACC, Pac-12, and Houston to slug it out over those final two spots.<\/p>\n

Clemson can win the ACC with a loss, as they own the tiebreaker over Louisville. Florida State<\/strong> looks like a win for the Tigers given their play in conference thus far.<\/p>\n

The national implications could not be higher when Louisville visits Houston on November 17. Houston can stake a claim to the CFP if they beat the Cardinals. If Louisville beats the Cougars, they have a very legitimate shot of getting in as a one-loss team. If the loser of Ohio State and Michigan the very next week also finishes with one loss, we will have our first major chaos scenario in the CFP era.<\/p>\n

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

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

Allstate Sugar Bowl
\nOklahoma vs. Tennessee<\/strong><\/p>\n

Capital One Orange Bowl
\nLouisville vs. Wisconsin<\/strong><\/p>\n

Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
\nTexas A&M vs. Houston<\/strong><\/p>\n

Explanation
\n<\/em>I\u2019m leaving Stanford in the Rose Bowl as a replacement team for Pac-12 champion Washington. The defenses that Stanford will face the rest of the way should allow them to get back in the groove offensively. If the Cardinal can\u2019t get their act together and they drop another game, they will concede a New Year\u2019s Six and fall in line with the rest of the conference.<\/p>\n

Tennessee and Texas A&M will find out who will slide in behind Alabama as the second best option for the SEC in the playoff hunt. If the Tide holds sway and beats both the Vols and Aggies, they will likely have jumped their toughest hurdles on the way to a national title repeat.<\/p>\n

Tennessee or Texas A&M could fill the Sugar Bowl slot, but if the Volunteers win the SEC East they will make a compelling case as the SEC representative. A potential rematch of last year\u2019s two overtime classic in Knoxville awaits if Oklahoma comes out of the Big 12. I think they do.<\/p>\n

Imagine the hype around a Texas A&M\/Houston matchup in the Cotton Bowl. This game will sellout no matter who the combatants are, but given the offensive prowess of Houston, and how defensively smothering the Aggies are, this could be one for the ages.<\/p>\n

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

Outback Bowl
\n<\/strong>Big Ten vs. SEC
\nMinnesota vs. Missouri<\/strong><\/p>\n

TaxSlayer Bowl
\n<\/strong>SEC vs. ACC\/Big Ten\/Notre Dame
\nOle Miss vs. North Carolina\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
\nMichigan State vs. Arkansas<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hyundai Sun Bowl
\n<\/strong>ACC\/Notre Dame vs. Pac-12
\nFlorida State vs. Utah<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Arizona Bowl
\n<\/strong>Mountain West vs. Sun Belt
\nNevada vs. UL-Lafayette <\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Belk Bowl
\n<\/strong>ACC vs. SEC
\nVirginia Tech vs. Auburn<\/strong><\/p>\n

Birmingham Bowl
\n<\/strong>AAC vs. SEC
\nTulsa vs. Army *<\/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. California<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

New Era Pinstripe Bowl
\n<\/strong>ACC\/Notre Dame vs. Big Ten
\nNotre Dame vs. Maryland<\/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
\nPenn State 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
\nPitt vs. Iowa<\/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
\nLouisiana Tech vs. UNLV<\/strong><\/p>\n

Explanation
\n<\/em>While I haven\u2019t been able to fit them in so far, the Eastern Michigan<\/strong> Eagles<\/strong> have quietly gone 4 – 1 to start the season. They have dates with Toledo and Ohio in the next two weeks to see if they are truly in contention to make their first bowl since the 1987 California Bowl (their only bowl game) and turn around a truly abysmal 1-11 campaign from a year ago.<\/p>\n

Florida State dropped a home shocker<\/a> to UNC. A last second 54-yard field goal sealed the deal for the Heels, and has dropped the Seminoles to 0-2 in the ACC.<\/p>\n

After starting the season as CFP favorites, Florida State finds themselves in the regular ACC pecking order. Louisville, Clemson, Miami and UNC will land ahead of the Noles when the dust settles if their defense does not step it up.<\/p>\n

* = Replacement team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After a Week 5 that saw the ACC and Pac-12 pictures become clearer, the College Football Playoff scenario\u00a0remains nearly identical to prior weeks.\u00a0We will see teams get their sixth wins this coming weekend, locking up bowl eligibility. While bowl season seems an eternity away, we are nearly half way through the season. After a week […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1048,"featured_media":1018,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[300,536,40],"class_list":["post-2030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fbs","tag-bowl-projections","tag-bowl-season","tag-college-football-playoff"],"modified_by":"Tony Siracusa, CFB Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1048"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2030\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}