College Football Playoff 2015: Updated Rankings and Bowl Predictions

When Saturday concludes and champions are crowned, there will be a better idea of who will be in the College Football Playoff.

The Oklahoma Sooners are the one virtual lock in the final four barring any drastic circumstances. Other than that, the ACC, SEC and Big Ten champions should more than likely determine who will play for the national championship come January.

Here's a look at the updated CFP rankings as well as some bowl projections and more. 

Rank	Team	Record
1	Clemson	12-0
2	Alabama	11-1
3	Oklahoma	11-1
4	Iowa	12-0
5	Michigan State	11-1
6	Ohio State	11-1
7	Stanford	10-2
8	Notre Dame	10-2
9	Florida State	10-2
10	North Carolina	11-1
11	TCU	10-2
12	Baylor	9-2
13	Ole Miss	9-3
14	Northwestern	10-2
15	Michigan	9-3
16	Oregon	9-3
17	Oklahoma State	10-2
18	Florida	10-2
19	Houston	11-1
20	USC	8-4
21	LSU	8-3
22	Temple	10-2
23	Navy	9-2
24	Utah	9-3
25	Tennessee	8-4

Bowl Projections

College Football Playoff Semifinals	Date	Location	Game
Selection Committee Bowls	Date	Location	Game
Capital One Orange Bowl	Dec. 31	Miami, Florida	No. 1 Clemson vs. No.4 Michigan State
Goodyear Cotton Bowl	Dec. 31	Arlington, Texas	No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 3 Oklahoma
Sugar Bowl (Big 12 vs. SEC)	Jan. 1	New Orleans, Louisiana	TCU vs. Ole Miss
Rose Bowl (Big Ten vs. Pac-12)	Jan. 1	Pasadena, California	Iowa vs. Stanford
Fiesta Bowl (At-Large vs. At-Large)	Jan. 1	Glendale, Arizona	Ohio State vs. Temple
Peach Bowl (At-Large vs. At-Large)	Dec. 31	Atlanta, Georgia	Notre Dame vs. Florida State

Temple Wins the AAC

All of the participants for the other bowl games appear to be foregone conclusions except for the winner of the AAC title game.

There's a lot on the line when Houston and Temple go at it Saturday, as ESPN's Brett McMurphy explains:

With the game being held in Houston, the Cougars are no doubt the favorites. Odds Shark has the Cougars as six-point favorites Saturday.

But this could be the perfect chance for an upset.

A high-scoring affair is projected here. Houston is seventh in the country, scoring 42 points per game, and the Owls have averaged 32 points per game. But Temple's defense has been stellar for most of the year. After giving up 84 points combined in two games against Southern Methodist and South Florida, the Owls responded by giving up only 12 points to Memphis. 

Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer details how much that Memphis game changed the complexion of the Owls defense:

"

With its confidence on the brink of wavering, Temple had to face Memphis and 6-foot-7, 245-pound quarterback Paxton Lynch, a potential first-round NFL draft pick.

Before the game, [Matt] Ioannidis made an honest admission when talking to Snow. "I said I was nervous about how we would play," Ioannidis said. "I wasn't embarrassed about it because when you are nervous about it, that means you aren't being complacent."

The nerves quickly dissipated.

The Owls stuffed the running game, took away the deep passes that Lynch likes to throw, and handed the Tigers a 31-12 loss, limiting an offense that was averaging 43.7 points per game to four harmless field goals.

"

If there's any team that can contain a high-octane offense, it's Temple, led by all-conference defensive tackle Matt Ioannidis, who has recorded 10.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks this year.

It's a tough task to ask Temple to win on the road, but the Owls are not rattled by the big stage. They almost knocked off the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Oct. 31. They're capable of hanging with teams like that, and that'll be the difference Saturday when the Owls win the AAC.