Bowl Projections 2014: Updated Predictions for Top 25 Teams Before Week 8
A wacky opening seven weeks of the 2014 college football season have turned bowl predictions upside down as we enter a Week 8 slate that promises to shake things up even more.
SEC powerhouses Auburn and Alabama have plummeted from the summit of the rankings after slip-ups in recent weeks, but they were quickly replaced. Mississippi State has taken a stranglehold of the No. 1 spot after three straight Top 10 wins, while Ole Miss has inserted itself into the College Football Playoff discussion as well.
There is still plenty of time left for things to change from top to bottom, as the meat of the conference slate awaits and some of the biggest tests for these national title contenders have yet to come.
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Alas, here's a look at how the bowl schedule—highlighted by four CFP teams—should currently play out.
| Championship Bowl | Jan. 12 | Arlington, Texas | Semifinal winners | Mississippi State vs. Florida State |
| Sugar Bowl | Jan. 1 | New Orleans, Louisiana | Semifinal | Mississippi State vs. Baylor |
| Rose Bowl | Jan. 1 | Pasadena, California | Semifinal | Florida State vs. Ole Miss |
| Cotton Bowl | Jan. 1 | Arlington, Texas | At-Large vs. At-Large | Auburn vs. Michigan State |
| Orange Bowl | Dec. 31 | Miami, Florida | ACC vs. SEC/Big Ten/Notre Dame | Clemson vs. Notre Dame |
| Fiesta Bowl | Dec. 31 | Glendale, Arizona | At-Large vs. At-Large | Oregon vs. Oklahoma |
| Peach Bowl | Dec. 31 | Atlanta, Georgia | At-Large vs. At-Large | Georgia vs. East Carolina |
The Associated Press Top 25 poll is available here.
Projected CFP Teams
Mississippi State
Mississippi State had its chance to prove its early-season success wasn't a fluke, and it came on the biggest stage possible. The Bulldogs toppled the reigning SEC champion Auburn Tigers at home—a victory that propelled them to No. 1 in the land.
Just five weeks ago, Dan Mullen's squad didn't even appear in the rankings. Now, there's no one ahead of them.
Paul Finebaum of ESPN also noted the Bulldogs were picked fifth in a division they now lead:
Dak Prescott didn't have his best game throwing the ball against Auburn, but still catapulted himself to the forefront of the Heisman Trophy conversation. Along with 14 touchdowns through the air, he has 576 rushing yards and eight scores on the ground.
Some of Mississippi State's toughest tests lie ahead. The Bulldogs will go to Alabama on Nov. 15 and play the Egg Bowl against Ole Miss in Oxford to end the season.
The Bulldogs will be able to prove once again in those games that they belong, and if they happen to enter the SEC championship undefeated, even a loss there might not be enough to bounce them from the CFP.
Florida State
Without losing a single game over the last two seasons, the Florida State Seminoles have been knocked from their perch of No. 1 with Mississippi State's meteoric rise to stardom.
And that doesn't sit right with ESPN's Joey Galloway, per ESPN College Football:
It's not about what they did last season, but rather what has transpired in 2014. The Seminoles' national title may have carried weight entering the year, but it's a lot harder to put that into account when Florida State has displayed numerous deficiencies throughout the year.
That doesn't change the fact that they're 6-0, however, but it will be easier said than done advancing to 7-0. The Seminoles face their toughest test of the season over the weekend when No. 5 Notre Dame comes to Tallahassee.
Florida State has shown flashes of the elite play that paved the way to an undefeated season last year, but also plenty of problems in between. Saturday's test against the Fighting Irish should answer most of the questions folks have about Jimbo Fisher's squad.
Ole Miss
Not to be outdone by their in-state rivals, the Ole Miss Rebels still find themselves comfortably in position for a spot in the CFP even with Mississippi State one-upping them in the standings.
When you play in the SEC, nothing is ever comfortable. But the Rebels have been defying that as of late, with a road drubbing of Texas A&M coming on the heels of an upset of Alabama—the program's biggest win in decades.
Smart, cerebral play from Bo Wallace has put Ole Miss in great position to move the ball at ease offensively, but a treacherous defensive line has been wreaking havoc on opposing quarterbacks, as Josh Ward of The Sports Animal noted:
Against Tennessee's youthful offensive line on Saturday, Ole Miss should continue getting after the quarterback and leading the way to wins. The Rebels face LSU and Auburn before the Egg Bowl, so their resolve will be tested once again before going up against their in-state foes.
Until they prove otherwise, though, the Rebels are more than deserving of a CFP spot.
Baylor
On the cusp of an embarrassing home defeat to TCU, Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty decided an early Big 12 dud wasn't his team's fate. He threw six touchdowns and over 500 yards, coming back from a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the ninth-ranked Horned Frogs.
That win kept Baylor in the CFP's final spot in a season where no one had convincingly made a case for No. 4, but there are still question marks as to how they would perform in the playoff, per Pete Roussel of 247Sports:
It wasn't pretty and there are certainly some defensive woes needing correction, but one of the Bears' biggest tests of the season is behind them. They'll have to face Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Kansas State—all currently in the Top 15—before the season is done.
With no championship game in the Big 12, though, the Bears could conceivably lose one of those games and still make the CFP—so long as they can hold off their conference foes in the standings.
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