{"id":519,"date":"2016-09-08T11:56:41","date_gmt":"2016-09-08T15:56:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordoncollegefootball.com\/?p=519"},"modified":"2016-09-08T11:56:41","modified_gmt":"2016-09-08T15:56:41","slug":"2016-17-bowl-projections-week-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2016\/09\/08\/2016-17-bowl-projections-week-1\/","title":{"rendered":"2016-17 Bowl Projections: Week 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

After the “Biggest Opening Weekend Ever,” we have a shakeup near the top of the polls. The Houston Cougars<\/strong> made the most noise by beating Oklahoma<\/strong>, and have vaulted themselves into the national title picture. With a week under our belts, here are my Week 1\u00a0Bowl Projections.<\/p>\n

College Football Playoff<\/strong><\/p>\n

Peach Bowl
\n#1 Alabama vs. #4 Michigan<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

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

Yes, I am projecting the first conference to get two teams into the College Football Playoff to be the Big Ten<\/strong>. Not only from the Big Ten, but the Big Ten East<\/strong>, to be exact.<\/p>\n

Our former format of determining a National Champion, the Bowl Championship Series, set such a precedent in the 2012 BCS Title Game<\/a>\u00a0when fellow SEC West<\/strong> members Alabama<\/strong> and LSU<\/strong> met for the title.<\/p>\n

While we now have a committee instead of polls and computers, I still see one or two losses total between rivals Ohio State<\/strong> and Michigan<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

From my initial projections<\/a> a week ago, I have left Alabama\u00a0and Michigan\u00a0in the final four. I switched Florida State<\/strong> for Clemson<\/strong>, and dropped my darkhorse UCLA Bruins<\/strong> out of the New Year\u2019s Six completely.<\/p>\n

The Bruins were a long shot\u00a0guess, and were on thin ice to begin with. Their valiant 31-24\u00a0OT loss at Texas A&M<\/strong> puts them on pace to lose just enough games to be on the outside looking in.<\/p>\n

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

Rose Bowl
\nIowa vs. Washington<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Orange Bowl
\nClemson vs. Notre Dame<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cotton Bowl
\nTCU vs. Houston<\/strong><\/p>\n

Houston made a strong case to be in the playoff conversation, and I have them right up there with the elite in the country. For the Cougars to make the playoff, they will need to go unbeaten.<\/p>\n

It’s possible that Houston passed their toughest test right out of the gate with a win over\u00a0Oklahoma. Still to come are\u00a0some sneaky road games in the AAC<\/strong> this season. Houston\u2019s conference road games are at Cincinnati<\/strong>, Navy<\/strong>, SMU<\/strong>, and Memphis<\/strong>. The real game I see knocking Houston out of contention is the home game versus Louisville<\/strong> in their penultimate regular season game.<\/p>\n

Iowa<\/strong> gets a second consecutive Rose Bowl<\/strong> berth by losing the Big Ten title, yet being the best option with the league\u2019s top two teams going to the CFP.<\/p>\n

I see Washington<\/strong> beating UCLA in the Pac-12 title game, but having two losses at the least.<\/p>\n

I mentioned the CFP Committee\u2019s emphasis on conference championships last week in this piece, and we shall see how much they value those if Ohio State and Michigan are at or near the top of the heap\u00a0once the season is over.<\/p>\n

The Big 12<\/strong> may beat itself into mediocrity, along with the Pac-12<\/strong>. Oklahoma, TCU<\/strong>, Texas<\/strong>, and Baylor<\/strong> will be the class of the conference, but can any of them hold their losses to one?<\/p>\n

My scenario calls for a one-loss Big Ten team, who won\u2019t play for their own conference title to make the leap to the CFP. Will the committee give the Wolverines and Buckeyes a second chance (that they didn’t get in 2007<\/a>)? Will they also follow the BCS era\u2019s lead and value teams they believe to the best no matter what conference?<\/p>\n

The \u201cBest opening weekend ever\u201d lived up to the billing, and now the next several weeks of college football have big shoes to fill.<\/p>\n

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

Outback Bowl: Big Ten vs. SEC
\nMichigan State vs. Texas A&M<\/strong><\/p>\n

TaxSlayer Bowl: SEC vs. ACC\/Big Ten\/Notre Dame
\nLSU vs. Miami (FL)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Citrus Bowl: SEC vs. ACC\/Big Ten\/Notre Dame
\nGeorgia vs. Wisconsin<\/strong><\/p>\n

Music City Bowl: ACC\/Big Ten vs. SEC
\nNorthwestern vs. Arkansas<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hyundai Sun Bowl: ACC\/Notre Dame vs. PAC-12
\nVirginia Tech vs. USC<\/strong><\/p>\n

AutoZone Liberty Bowl: Big 12 vs. SEC
\nTexas Tech vs. Ole Miss<\/strong><\/p>\n

Arizona Bowl: Mountain West vs. Sun Belt
\nNevada vs. Troy<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Belk Bowl: ACC vs. SEC
\nUNC vs. Auburn<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Texas Bowl: Big 12 vs. SEC
\nBaylor vs. Florida<\/strong><\/p>\n

Foster Farms Bowl: Big Ten vs. Pac-12
\nIndiana\u00a0vs. Oregon<\/strong><\/p>\n

Russell Athletic Bowl: ACC vs. Big 12
\nLouisville vs. Oklahoma St<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pinstripe Bowl: ACC vs. Big Ten
\nPitt vs. Minnesota<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Holiday Bowl: Big Ten vs. Pac-12
\nPenn State vs. Stanford<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Heart of Dallas Bowl: Big Ten vs. C-USA
\nWashington State * vs. Western Kentucky<\/strong><\/p>\n

Independence Bowl: ACC vs. SEC
\nGeorgia Tech vs. UL-Lafayette *<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

St. Petersburg Bowl: AAC vs. ACC
\nSouth Florida vs. Toledo<\/strong> *<\/p>\n

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

Dollar General Bowl: MAC vs. Sun Belt
\nWestern Michigan vs. Arkansas State<\/strong><\/p>\n

Armed Forces Bowl: Navy vs. Big 12
\nNavy vs. West Virginia<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Camellia Bowl: MAC vs. Sun Belt
\nCentral Michigan vs. Georgia Southern<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

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

Explanation<\/em>
\nI dropped Wake Forest and Boston College from last week\u2019s projections, leaving open spots in the ACC\u2019s bottom tier bowls.
\nI moved Army and UNLV into the bowl mix, facing each other in the Quick Lane Bowl. I had Army on the fringe of bowl eligibility, and that was without a win at Temple in my season predictions.
\nThe Black Knights haven\u2019t been to a bowl since 2010. If they reach six wins, and there are not enough bowl-eligible teams, they will be an attractive option to replace a team.<\/p>\n

* = Replacement team<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Main Photo:<\/p>\n

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