Bowl Projections 2015: CFP Predictions Ahead of Saturday's Key Games

Although the race for the coveted College Football Playoff berths weeded out a few more hopefuls in recent weeks, there are plenty of questions left to answer. It's a situation where no team can afford a loss and expect to remain in the Top Four.

Andrew Flowers of FiveThirtyEight estimated coming into Week 13 that there were still 13 teams with various levels of hope to make the playoff field. Having that many programs in contention leaves very little margin for error regardless of a team's current standing.

With that in mind, let's check out predictions for how the final four will look when the dust finally settles in a couple of weeks. That's followed by a preview of the various impact games on Saturday's slate.

College Football Playoff Predictions

Rank	Team	Week 13
1	Clemson	at South Carolina
2	Alabama	at Auburn
3	Oklahoma	at No. 11 Oklahoma State
4	Michigan State	vs. Penn State

Preview of Saturday's Action

The Big 12 remains a point of focus after missing out on the inaugural College Football Playoff last year. Oklahoma gave the conference a boost by moving into the No. 3 position after the latest poll, but the situation could get murky once again if it falls to rival Oklahoma State.

The Sooners have risen up the rankings after back-to-back victories over Baylor and TCU. Beating the Cowboys would make for an outstanding trifecta of high-profile wins and should be enough to ensure them a spot in the Top Four.

ESPN Stats & Info noted Oklahoma would be a serious threat if it did reach the playoff, too:

That said, if Oklahoma State emerges with the Bedlam Series win, the question will be whether any of the top Big 12 teams have a good enough resume to make the playoff. It could leave the committee in a difficult spot, especially with so many teams in the mix.

Elsewhere, the top two teams in the country, Clemson and Alabama, are both facing off with unranked opponents this week. Though that makes them sizable favorites, both games are on the road, which raises the level of difficulty.

That's particularly true for the Crimson Tide as they get ready for the latest edition of the Iron Bowl. This season hasn't gone according to plan for Auburn, but a victory over its chief rival would change the way the campaign is viewed.

Meanwhile, the Tigers will battle South Carolina. Head coach Dabo Swinney is confident his group isn't worried about anything that could happen beyond this week, per Fox Sports:

"

That seems to be the question I get every week. When we're getting ready to play … I don't know, whoever. Every week it's been a trap game. Every week it's the same rhetoric that I get.

At some point people are going to quit asking me that because we've shown up and played every single week, so I don't know why you would think we would not do that this week.

"

Then there's the teams just outside the Top Four looking to make a statement.

Michigan State got the victory it really needed last week against Ohio State. Now the Spartans must make sure to avoid an emotional letdown against Penn State. The Nittany Lions, like Auburn, are a marquee program still looking for that season-defining moment.

Notre Dame suffered a setback last week, as a narrow victory over Boston College wasn't enough to retain its position in the Top Four. It puts a major onus on the Irish to shine against Stanford if they want to have a strong case to leapfrog back up the rankings.

All told, it's been a waiting game to see which teams falter down the stretch. It just hasn't happened on the same scale as usual. There hasn't been the typical "Upset Saturday" where a large number of contenders go by the wayside all at once.

That's a good development for those fans who love drama, because there should be no shortage of that over the next few weeks. Yet, barring a change in the outlook through high-profile losses, the committee could be forced into some tricky choices in the end.