Bowl Predictions 2018: Projections for Top Playoff Contenders Before Week 7
As the college football season enters Week 7, eight teams are already bowl eligible, including the top five teams in the AP Top 25.
Over a dozen programs can join that group with victories Saturday, as three teams from the SEC, Big 12 and Pac-12 all have five regular-season victories.
At the moment, the College Football Playoff picture is straightforward, as the SEC, Big Ten and ACC champions have a seat at the table and Notre Dame is on track to join them.
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There will be plenty of changes to playoff projections in the coming weeks, but a pair of teams appear to be in good shape, while others face a more difficult path.
Bowl Projections
College Football Playoff
Cotton Bowl (December 29): No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Clemson
Orange Bowl (December 29): No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Notre Dame
New Years' Six
Peach Bowl (December 29): UCF vs. Oregon
Fiesta Bowl (January 1): Texas vs. Wisconsin
Rose Bowl (January 1): Penn State vs. Washington
Sugar Bowl (January 1): West Virginia vs. Georgia
Other Bowls
New Mexico Bowl (December 15): New Mexico vs. Florida Atlantic
Cure Bowl (December 15): Army vs. Arkansas State
Las Vegas Bowl (December 15): San Diego State vs. Utah
Camellia Bowl (December 15): Toledo vs. Georgia Southern
New Orleans Bowl (December 15): UTSA vs. Western Michigan
Boca Raton Bowl (December 18): Temple vs. Marshall
Frisco Bowl (December 19): Houston vs. BYU
Gasparilla Bowl (December 20): Memphis vs. UAB
Bahamas Bowl (December 21): Ohio vs. Florida International
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (December 21): Boise State vs. Northern Illinois
Birmingham Bowl (December 22): South Florida vs. Vanderbilt
Armed Forces Bowl (December 22): Navy vs. Baylor
Dollar General Bowl (December 22): Buffalo vs. Appalachian State
Hawai'i Bowl (December 22): Hawai'i vs. Middle Tennessee State
First Responder Bowl (December 26): Indiana vs. Wake Forest
Quick Lane Bowl (December 26): Virginia vs. Illinois
Cheez-It Bowl (December 26): Texas Tech vs. USC
Independence Bowl (December 27): Florida State vs. South Carolina
Pinstripe Bowl (December 27): Northwestern vs. Pittsburgh
Texas Bowl (December 27): TCU vs. Missouri
Music City Bowl (December 28): Syracuse vs. Mississippi State
Camping World Bowl (December 28): Boston College vs. Iowa State
Arizona Bowl (December 28): Utah State vs. Troy
Alamo Bowl (December 28): Oklahoma vs. California
Belk Bowl (December 29): Miami vs. Texas A&M
Military Bowl (December 31): Virginia Tech vs. Cincinnati
Sun Bowl (December 31): Colorado vs. NC State
San Francisco Bowl (December 31): Fresno State vs. Washington State
Liberty Bowl (December 31): Oklahoma State vs. Auburn
Holiday Bowl (December 31): Stanford vs. Maryland
Gator Bowl (December 31): Michigan State vs. LSU
Outback Bowl (January 1): Kentucky vs. Iowa
Citrus Bowl (January 1): Florida vs. Michigan
Playoff Path Is Clear For Ohio State, Notre Dame
Of the teams in contention for places in the College Football Playoff entering Week 7, No. 3 Ohio State and No. 5 Notre Dame are in the best shape.
The Buckeyes passed their main test on the road against No. 8 Penn State and don't face another ranked foe until No. 12 Michigan in the final week of the regular season.
Ohio State's schedule got easier because of the struggles experienced by Michigan State and Nebraska failing to gain traction in Scott Frost's first year as head coach.
Three wins over ranked foes plus a Big Ten Championship victory over No. 15 Wisconsin would be plenty to bolster Ohio State's resume and put them in the playoff.
Notre Dame is in a similar situation, as it knocked off Michigan to start the season and then rolled past Stanford and Virginia Tech in the last two weeks.
The only concern about the Fighting Irish's resume is Stanford and Virginia Tech are both out of the Top 25 at the moment.
Although the wins over ranked foes still count because the Cardinal and Hokies were in the polls at the time, their results for the rest of the season will skew Notre Dame's strength of schedule.
Syracuse looks like the most difficult team left on Notre Dame's schedule since Florida State and USC are down, which means the Fighting Irish might have to blow out a few teams just to reinforce their spot among the top four teams in the nation.
If Ohio State and Notre Dame win out, they'll be on a collision course to play each other unless No. 1 Alabama slips up somewhere.
Plenty Left To Figure Out in SEC
The SEC is the conference most likely to receive two berths into the College Football Playoff.
No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Georgia would play each other in the SEC Championship if current form holds, and that would be the ideal situation for the league.
Beneath the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs, No. 13 LSU and No. 14 Florida could make compelling cases to the selection committee if they beat the top teams in the conference.
LSU has the opportunity to earn regular-season wins over Alabama and Georgia, while Florida could beat Georgia to earn a spot in the SEC Championship alongside Alabama.
Even though LSU and Florida would be worthy of entering the playoff as SEC champion, the better scenario to get two teams in features Alabama and Georgia given how well both teams have played.
There's always a chance that a one-loss Alabama or Georgia makes the playoff due to the strength of the SEC and the down years of the Big 12 and Pac-12.
There's plenty left to play for, but if Alabama and Georgia are both undefeated heading into the SEC Championship, one of them could knock out Clemson or Notre Dame, but as of now, we're sticking with the Crimson Tide to represent the SEC because of Georgia's difficult schedule over the next month.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90
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