College Football Playoff 2014: Updated Rankings and Bowl Predictions

Championship Saturday is finally upon us, and the nation's top teams have one last chance to prove to the College Football Playoff selection committee they are deserving of a spot in the inaugural playoff. While many are eligible, few are worthy and only four get in.

One spot within the Top Four appears to be locked up by the Oregon Ducks following their 51-13 drubbing of the Arizona Wildcats in Friday's Pac-12 Championship Game. At the moment, the Ducks are ranked No. 2 overall by the selection committee, but will they stay there when the dust settles after Saturday's action?

Selection Sunday is now just a day away, and we'll soon know which four teams will comprise the 2014 College Football Playoff. Of course, that gives us very little time to speculate, so some predictions are in order. Here's a look at the current CFP rankings, followed by the predicted participants in the Sugar and Rose Bowls.

College Football Playoff Bowl Predictions

Sugar Bowl: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Baylor

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Don't look now, but Baylor is making a surprise appearance in the Top Four. The Bears own the nation's most prolific offense, accumulating an average of 49.8 points per game. Much of that success has stemmed from quarterback Bryce Petty and a passing game that ranks sixth in the nation.

Baylor received a bit of a scare when Petty was knocked out of the Bears' game against Texas Tech with a concussion; however, Sports Illustrated tweeted some very good news:

Kansas State has a solid defense, but it ranks 56th in the nation against the pass, allowing a total of 2,429 yards and 18 touchdowns through the air over the season. That's not a good sign for the Wildcats, as Petty has led Baylor to at least 48 points in five of the team's last six games.

The Wildcats are coming off a nice 51-point outing against Kansas, but quarterback Jake Waters and Co. are only averaging 36.6 points per game. While that's a very good number against most opponents, it simply won't get it done against the Bears.

Even though Baylor gets the win, it needs help to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff. That help will come from Florida State and Ohio State.

The Seminoles have barely been surviving unranked opponents of late, and their defense won't be able to withstand Georgia Tech's triple-option. The Yellow Jackets will earn the ACC crown, and Florida State will miss out on the playoff.

Need another reason why the Seminoles are bound to lose? Jameis Winston hasn't exactly been an efficient passer of late, which doesn't bode well for any kind of late-game heroics, via ESPN Stats & Info:

The Buckeyes really need dynamic quarterback J.T. Barrett in the Big Ten Championship Game. Unfortunately, the signal-caller was lost for the season, so backup Cardale Jones must step in. Expect the inexperienced quarterback to struggle against Wisconsin's fourth-ranked defense, which allows an average of just 16.8 points per game, while Heisman-hopeful Melvin Gordon runs all over Ohio State's defense.

Alabama is much easier to project into the College Football Playoff. Basically, the Crimson Tide need a win and they're in. That will come to fruition against Missouri in the SEC Championship Game.

The Tigers have a fearsome pass rush that has produced 40 sacks this season; however, Alabama's offensive line has been very good as well. In fact, here's a very telling statistic from College GameDay:

Alabama is too well-rounded for Missouri's pass rush to be extremely effective. The team is prolific through the air and on the ground thanks to the talents of running back T.J. Yeldon and wide receiver Amari Cooper. The efficient play of quarterback Blake Sims will keep the Tigers off balance and produce a win for Alabama, securing the No. 1 seed and a berth in the Sugar Bowl.

Rose Bowl: No. 2 Oregon vs. No. 3 TCU

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With Alabama claiming the No. 1 seed, Oregon is a lock at No. 2 following its huge 51-13 victory over Arizona in the Pac-12 Championship Game. The Ducks have looked dangerous throughout the season, but they took it to a whole new level on Friday night.

Quarterback Marcus Mariota was unstoppable against the Wildcats. He scored at will, racking up 313 passing yards and two touchdowns, as well as 33 rushing yards and three more scores. Surrounded by a bevy of weapons, Oregon was as potent as ever, with Royce Freeman rushing for 114 yards and both Darren Carrington and Charles Nelson eclipsing 100 receiving yards.

Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports tweeted the quarterback's impressive numbers for the season:

Although we all knew Oregon's offense was dominant, its defense was simply outstanding against Arizona.

The Wildcats just couldn't get anything going throughout the entire game, producing just 224 total yards of offense. Running back Nick Wilson could only muster 2.0 yards per carry, rushing 13 times for just 26 yards, and Arizona completed nine of its 26 passing attempts for 113 yards, one touchdown and one interception as a team—69 of those yards came on one play.

Oregon looks as dominant as ever, and Mariota may have secured the Heisman Trophy after his impeccable performance. This team is poised to do some damage in the College Football Playoff.

The Ducks are a sure thing for the playoff, but according to Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight, the Horned Frogs aren't far behind:

TCU is ranked third by the CFP selection committee entering Championship Saturday, and it needs a big win over the 2-9 Iowa State Cyclones to secure a berth in the playoff. Luckily, the matchup highly favors the Horned Frogs, so that shouldn't be an issue.

Quarterback Trevone Boykin leads the nation's fourth-ranked scoring offense, averaging 46.1 points per game, against a Cyclones defense that ranks 115th in the nation, giving up an average of 37.4 points. That may be the most lopsided statistic we'll see on Saturday.

ESPN College Football tweeted one big reason for Boykin's success this season:

Looking at the playoff scenario, TCU is in rather good shape with both Florida State and Ohio State losing to their respective opponents. This makes Georgia Tech and Wisconsin the two teams poised to make the biggest leaps up the rankings. Still, both are two-loss squads, and it would take some kind of monumental performance to warrant either surpassing the Horned Frogs in the rankings.

If TCU does what it is supposed to do and blows Iowa State out of the water, there should be no question that it will remain secured in the College Football Playoff as the No. 3 seed.

All team rankings and statistics courtesy of NCAA.com and current as of December 6 at 2 a.m. ET.