Bowl Predictions 2018: Playoff Projections Heading into Week 9
The College Football Playoff is about to make a permanent entrance into every conversation surrounding the sport.
When the first rankings come out Tuesday night, Alabama will be on top since it's off in Week 9. The two programs expected to be directly underneath the Crimson Tide, meanwhile, should earn victories Saturday.
Championship favorites have been knocked off in recent weeks, with Ohio State being the latest team to be upset in Week 8, which means there's no guarantee the teams under Alabama will be in those positions after Week 9.
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If form holds in the Top 10 during Week 9, the SEC should place three teams in the playoff and New Year's Six bowls because of the strength of its league and the lack of contenders from other conferences.
Bowl Projections
College Football Playoff
Cotton Bowl (December 29): No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Michigan
Orange Bowl (December 29): No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Notre Dame
New Year's Six
Peach Bowl (December 29): UCF vs. Georgia
Fiesta Bowl (January 1): Oklahoma vs. Iowa
Rose Bowl (January 1): Ohio State vs. Washington State
Sugar Bowl (January 1): Texas vs. LSU
Other Bowls
New Mexico Bowl (December 15): San Diego State vs. Southern Miss
Cure Bowl (December 15): Eastern Michigan vs. Arkansas State
Las Vegas Bowl (December 15): Fresno State vs. USC
Camellia Bowl (December 15): Toledo vs. Louisiana-Monroe
New Orleans Bowl (December 15): North Texas vs. Western Michigan
Boca Raton Bowl (December 18): Nevada vs. Marshall
Frisco Bowl (December 19): Houston vs. BYU
Gasparilla Bowl (December 20): Cincinnati vs. Louisiana Tech
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): Army vs. Appalachian State
Dollar General Bowl (December 22): Buffalo vs. Troy
Hawaii Bowl (December 22): Hawaii vs. Middle Tennessee State
First Responder Bowl (December 26): UAB vs. Georgia Tech
Quick Lane Bowl (December 26): Virginia Tech vs. Indiana
Cheez-It Bowl (December 26): TCU vs. Colorado
Independence Bowl (December 27): Florida State vs. Mississippi State
Pinstripe Bowl (December 27): Maryland vs. Boston College
Texas Bowl (December 27): Oklahoma State vs. Missouri
Music City Bowl (December 28): Syracuse vs. Tennessee
Camping World Bowl (December 28): NC State vs. Iowa State
Alamo Bowl (December 28): West Virginia vs. Washington
Belk Bowl (December 29): Virginia vs. South Carolina
Arizona Bowl (December 29): Utah State vs. Georgia Southern
Military Bowl (December 31): Duke vs. Temple
Sun Bowl (December 31): Stanford vs. Miami
Redbox Bowl (December 31): Purdue vs. Oregon
Liberty Bowl (December 31): Texas Tech vs. Auburn
Holiday Bowl (December 31): Utah vs. Northwestern
Gator Bowl (December 31): Wisconsin vs. Texas A&M
Outback Bowl (January 1): Kentucky vs. Penn State
Citrus Bowl (January 1): Florida vs. Michigan State
Playoff Projections
No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Michigan
Alabama is the clear favorite to win the College Football Playoff, and there's no reason to think otherwise until it looks susceptible to losing.
The Crimson Tide have Week 9 off ahead of their clash with LSU in Week 10, which will serve as their toughest test to date.
The Tua Tagovailoa-led offense has put up at least 39 points in each of its eight games, and it's smallest margin of victory was 22 points against Texas A&M.
After LSU, Alabama's schedule isn't as daunting as it looked a few weeks ago, as Mississippi State and Auburn have both displayed flaws and dropped out of the Top 25.
Even if the Crimson Tide lose as an undefeated team in the SEC Championship Game, they might end up in the playoff given how poor the other conferences are this season.
Michigan has established itself as a playoff contender with back-to-back victories over Wisconsin and Michigan State, and its resume will be solidified more with a win out of the bye week over Penn State.
As long as the Wolverines take care of business in the first three weeks of November, they will be in a position to clinch the Big Ten East with a victory over Ohio State.
Beating the Buckeyes and the Big Ten West representative in the Big Ten Championship won't be easy for Jim Harbaugh's team, but it is trending in the right direction.
Because of its Week 1 loss to Notre Dame, Michigan will be the No. 4 seed if the teams predicted above make the CFP, which would set it up for a clash with college football's juggernaut.
No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Notre Dame
On paper, Clemson and Notre Dame have easy paths to the College Football Playoff.
Clemson produced a statement in Week 8 with a 41-7 victory over NC State, and because the rest of the ACC is down, its final four conference games are likely to be blowouts.
The Tigers travel to Florida State on Saturday, and after that, they only have to leave South Carolina once to take on Boston College November 10.
Clemson needs to be wary of those two roads trips, but it will learn from last season's stumble in Syracuse and run the table in the ACC.
The ACC Championship Game opponent for Dabo Swinney's team could any one of four teams.
Virginia leads the ACC Coastal, while Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Miami are still in the mix for the division title.
None of those programs would send a scare into the Clemson locker room, which is why there's so much confidence that the Tigers will return to the CFP.
If Notre Dame wins out, a spot in the College Football Playoff will be open for it since it hasn't been the best year for a few power conferences.
The Big 12 and Pac-12 don't have too much room to gripe about the inclusion of an undefeated Notre Dame because the best they could offer are one-loss champions.
Notre Dame's trip to the CFP seems inevitable because it also possesses a weak remaining schedule, with no ranked opponents left.
Sure, the Fighting Irish will receive a challenge from at least one of their final five opponents, but they proved against Pittsburgh that they are capable of grinding out a tough result.
Moving forward, the biggest question surrounding both programs will be their placement in the College Football Playoff rankings.
Since Notre Dame has five ACC opponents on its schedule, three of which are similar opponents to Clemson's, the playoff committee should be able to compare the Fighting Irish and Tigers in that regard.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
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