Bowl Predictions 2017: Projecting College Football Playoff Field After Week 7

Alabama is leading the charge toward the College Football Playoff after a wild Week 7 that saw a few high-profile upsets—including Syracuse over Clemson, Arizona State over Washington and California over Washington State—shake up the CFP outlook with about half the regular season still to play.

Penn State should benefit from the situation by sliding into the No. 2 slot. Things get a little more murky from there, with a group of undefeated teams that can all make a solid case for inclusion. Luckily for the committee, those things tend to figure themselves out along the way.

Let's present a prediction for how the College Football Playoff field could look following seven weeks of action. That's followed by a preview for the game with the best chance to send prognosticators back to the drawing board after Week 8.

College Football Playoff Projections

Sugar Bowl: (1) Alabama vs. (4) TCU

Rose Bowl: (2) Penn State vs. (3) Georgia

First Team Out: Wisconsin

Game of the Week—Week 8

Michigan at Penn State

Although games between the Wolverines and Nittany Lions almost always carry key implications, this one is particularly interesting because of the wide range of possibilities. The only outcome that would come as a shock is a Michigan blowout win similar to last year's meeting.

In addition, Happy Valley will be even more engulfed in the critical matchup because College GameDay announced it will emanate from State College on Saturday morning:

Michigan is coming off a narrow escape, as it scored a 27-20 overtime victory against Indiana. Running back Karan Higdon was outstanding with 200 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries. But the rest of the offense put up just 129 yards combined.

Land of 10's Wayne Staats passed along comments from Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, who was pleased with the overall effort: "The effort is really there, and it was last week. Mistakes made, and we've just got to grow from it and get them corrected. We knew what we were in for today. We were in for a football fight."

The Wolverines managed to dominate possession with over 35 minutes on offense. A similar ball-control approach will be necessary to keep Penn State at bay, but the Nittany Lions had a bye week to prepare for the ground-and-pound style.

Meanwhile, the key for Penn State will be avoiding turnovers. Michigan would have probably been upset by the Hoosiers on Saturday if not for winning the turnover battle 2-0. Creating those extra possessions is vital without many big plays through the air offensively.

Nittany Lions quarterback Trace McSorley has consistently seen teams stack the box to slow down star running back Saquon Barkley. That means he gets to attack a lot of man-to-man coverage on the outside. He must help his receivers win those battles and avoid costly interceptions.

If Penn State plays a clean game, it should beat Michigan by at least a touchdown. The margin for error will reduce exponentially with every turnover, though.

One thing's for sure: The Big Ten clash will have an impact on the CFP rankings regardless of which side comes out on top Saturday night.