Bowl Predictions 2018: Updated CFP Projections After Week 12 Rankings
The path to the College Football Playoff is straightforward for the teams currently in the Top Four of the rankings.
Alabama, Clemson and Michigan need three wins each to clinch their respective places in the playoff, while Notre Dame needs two more victories to assure itself of a spot in a national semifinal.
Given the way each program has performed throughout the season, it's hard to imagine them slipping up over the next three weeks.
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With that in mind, we've been able to ponder what the potential playoff matchups would look like instead of creating scenarios for other teams to slide into the Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl.
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. Florida
Rose Bowl (January 1): Ohio State vs. Washington State
Sugar Bowl (January 1): West Virginia vs. LSU
Other Bowls
New Mexico Bowl (December 15): San Diego State vs. North Texas
Cure Bowl (December 15): Toledo vs. Arkansas State
Las Vegas Bowl (December 15): Fresno State vs. USC
Camellia Bowl (December 15): Western Michigan vs. Appalachian State
New Orleans Bowl (December 15): Marshall vs. UL Monroe
Boca Raton Bowl (December 18): South Florida vs. Florida International
Frisco Bowl (December 19): Nevada vs. Colorado
Gasparilla Bowl (December 20): Memphis vs. Florida Atlantic
Bahamas Bowl (December 21): Ohio vs. Middle Tennessee State
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (December 21): Boise State vs. Eastern Michigan
Birmingham Bowl (December 22): Cincinnati vs. Arizona
Armed Forces Bowl (December 22): Temple vs. Army
Dollar General Bowl (December 22): Buffalo vs. Georgia Southern
Hawaii Bowl (December 22): Hawaii vs. Louisiana Tech
First Responder Bowl (December 26): BYU vs. UAB
Quick Lane Bowl (December 26): Northern Illinois vs. Georgia Tech
Cheez-It Bowl (December 26): Baylor vs. California
Independence Bowl (December 27): Virginia vs. Oregon
Pinstripe Bowl (December 27): Purdue vs. Duke
Texas Bowl (December 27): Texas Tech vs. Tennessee
Music City Bowl (December 28): NC State vs. Missouri
Camping World Bowl (December 28): Syracuse vs. Iowa State
Alamo Bowl (December 28): Texas vs. Utah
Belk Bowl (December 29): Boston College vs. South Carolina
Arizona Bowl (December 29): Utah State vs. Troy
Military Bowl (December 31): Wake Forest vs. Houston
Sun Bowl (December 31): Arizona State vs. Pittsburgh
Redbox Bowl (December 31): Iowa vs. Stanford
Liberty Bowl (December 31): Oklahoma State vs. Auburn
Holiday Bowl (December 31): Washington vs. Northwestern
Gator Bowl (December 31): Wisconsin vs. Texas A&M
Outback Bowl (January 1): Mississippi State vs. Penn State
Citrus Bowl (January 1): Kentucky vs. Michigan State
Playoff Projections
No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Michigan
If chalk holds between now and the first weekend of December, the nation's third-best offense will take on the top defense in the FBS in one of the national semifinals.
No. 1 Alabama averages 540 yards and 48.6 points per game, and it ranks in the top 10 in passing yards per contest and in the top 30 of rushing yards per contest.
Simply put, Nick Saban has an offensive machine on his hands with Heisman Trophy favorite Tua Tagovailoa in charge of it.
The Crimson Tide can hit opponents from all angles, which is why even Michigan's defense will have a hard time containing them.
In addition to Tagovailoa, Alabama has three strong running backs in Damien Harris, Najee Harris and Josh Jacobs, plus a stable of wide receivers led by Jerry Jeudy, Jaylen Waddle and Henry Ruggs.
While the Wolverines have played well defensively, there's no comparable team on their schedule to Alabama.
What we do know about Michigan's defense is it has let up 21 points over the last three weeks and concedes 12.9 points per game.
The Wolverines give up an average of 116 passing yards and 103.8 rushing yards per game, which are totals Alabama can easily put up in a quarter.
As if that wasn't a tough enough matchup to deal with, Michigan's offense would have to go up against Alabama's ninth-rated defense.
Shea Patterson and Co. have led Michigan to a wealth of offensive success in recent weeks, but they are going to have to be at their best to beat the Crimson Tide.
Jim Harbaugh and his staff are going to have to come up with a perfect game plan to stop the top-ranked team in the country, and while it's possible, we just don't see anyone stopping Alabama.
No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Notre Dame
Clemson has put itself in the same category as Alabama, and because of how dominant Dabo Swinney's team looks, we're salivating over another rematch between the Tigers and Crimson Tide.
The Tigers haven't had many tests to pass, but they've steamrolled through what some people thought would be challenging opponents.
The latest example of that was Saturday's dominant performance against Boston College, as the Tigers defense held an opponent under 10 points for the fifth time.
Clemson's offense is coming together at the right time as well, as the Trevor Lawrence-led unit put up 163 points over the last three games.
Duke, South Carolina and a team with four or five losses from the ACC Coastal stand in Clemson's way of a return to the playoff, and given the way the Tigers have played, the No. 2 seed appears to be theirs.
As for Notre Dame, it just needs two wins to secure an undefeated season and end up as the No. 3 seed by way of a head-to-head victory in Week 1 over Michigan.
No matter what happens around them in the coming weeks, the Fighting Irish will be playoff-bound with wins over Syracuse and USC, but it doesn't hurt if Brian Kelly's team wins those games in dominant fashion.
Unlike the other three teams sitting atop the playoff rankings, Notre Dame's found a way to win close games, as it's won four one-possession contests.
Although the Fighting Irish have had some close calls, they've imposed themselves more in recent weeks, even with starting quarterback Ian Book sidelined for the win over Florida State.
Notre Dame's margin of victory in its last three wins is 61 points, which is a good sign for its final regular-season games.
If the Fighting Irish get to the playoff, they'll have quite the task on their hands, as they have to stop Clemson's dominant defensive line full of future NFL players and find a way to limit Lawrence, running back Travis Etienne and the rest of the Tigers' weapons on offense.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90
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