Bowl Predictions 2014: Playoff Projections After Rivalry Clashes
Rivalry week ruined the inaugural College Football Playoff.
Of course, that statement is all about perspective. But a wide-ranging set of rivalries did much to birth the chaos most knew was inbound in the final weeks to the postseason.
Florida State looks wobbly. The SEC continues to cannibalize itself. Mississippi State took a dive. Ohio State lost a starting quarterback and probably a postseason bid in the process.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
In the ashes of a wild weekend emerges a new-look CFP that is all about perspective. Fans of the sport in general can certainly agree it is an epic view.
Projected College Football Playoff After Week 14
1. Alabama
For a brief moment, the globe celebrated as the Alabama Crimson Tide dynasty came to a close, and the SEC took itself out of the CFP.
Then the second-half surge led by wideout Amari Cooper happened.
Alabama wound up with a 55-44 win over Auburn in the Iron Bowl but was down by halftime. Nick Saban must have one heck of a halftime speech, though, as ESPN CollegeFootball points out:
Cooper finished with 13 catches for 224 yards and three touchdowns, which proved enough to make up for 312 yards and four touchdowns to three interceptions by a shaky Blake Sims.
Alabama can rest easy now as it heads into a matchup with Missouri out of the SEC East.
ESPN Stats & Info explains why well enough:
While not necessarily as pretty as some may prefer, a win in the Iron Bowl is just that. For all the hoopla about this being a down year for the Crimson Tide, the team now has wins over Arkansas, Texas A&M, LSU, Mississippi State and Auburn.
Few teams have a better playoff resume at this point.
2. Oregon
Easily the most dominant CFP hopeful this past weekend, Marcus Mariota and the Oregon Ducks went out and made short work of Oregon State in the Civil War.
There, the Ducks ran up a 30-3 lead by halftime and never looked back before the 47-19 finish. Mariota was his usual self with a 19-of-25 mark for 367 yards and four touchdowns, but try not to forget another 39 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
SportsCenter even captured a strong sense of foreshadowing during the performance:
Of course, Mariota had help. Running back Royce Freeman tallied 135 yards on 22 carries. The defense held a top-25 passing attack to 162 yards and one touchdown.
It was just another strong performance in a long line of them as of late. Many continue to expect the Ducks to falter as they have in past years, but no dice. Up next is an encounter with the only team to take down the Ducks this season: the Arizona Wildcats.
3. Florida State
Yet again, Jameis Winston and the Florida State Seminoles have life.
Apparently the team just enjoys life on the edge. The team hardly got past Notre Dame. Same thing against Louisville. Ditto for Miami (Fla.) and Boston College.
The Seminoles were at it again Saturday, this time nearly taking a dive to the Florida Gators before a 24-19 victory. Joe Buscaglia of WGR 550 was one of many to point out how shaky the Seminoles look right now:
Winston has all but poured gasoline and struck a match over his Heisman chances at this point. Saturday, he completed 50 percent of his passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns to four interceptions. Luckily, Dalvin Cook rushed for 144 yards, and Nick O'Leary grabbed a pair of touchdowns to bail out the quarterback.
"I made a few mistakes that hurt us, but it's a family here," Winston said, per The Associated Press, via ESPN.com. "Defense had my back, offensive had my back, offensive line did a great job and, wow, Dalvin Cook did it again."
It is hard to imagine a reality in which the Seminoles do not make the postseason at this juncture, but that is if the playoff were to start next week.
It doesn't. The Seminoles must still overcome Georgia Tech, a team that just took down No. 9 Georgia, 30-24.
Rest assured a number of one-loss teams will have a watchful eye on that one.
4. TCU
What, forget about TCU over the holiday?
Truthfully, had Ohio State's J.T. Barrett not suffered a season-ending injury Saturday, the Buckeyes would likely be the pick here. But it is hard to envision a world in which the committee votes in a fringe team that will start a backup under center—especially for the inaugural spectacle.
LostLettermen.com put it best:
All the Horned Frogs did on Thanksgiving Day was beat down Texas, 48-10. Quarterback Trevone Boykin threw for 233 yards and a pair of scores and added 50 more and a score on the ground for good measure.
TCU now rests at 10-1 and has wins over ranked opponents such as Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, West Virginia and Kansas State this year. The lone blemish was a loss in a shootout to Baylor, but the Bears did not look so hot this past weekend in a near-upset loss to Texas Tech.
All that remains is for Boykin and Co. to take care of business against 2-9 Iowa State. TCU needed some help and got plenty of it.
Stats and information via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
