Bowl Projections 2020: Predictions for Top Teams Ahead of Final CFP Poll Reveal

Despite having the potential for chaos, college football's championship weekend went just about as everyone expected.

No. 3 Ohio State, which only got into the Big Ten Championship because the league voted to allow it to play, struggled against Northwestern but prevailed 22-10 in less-than-impressive fashion. The Buckeyes, despite only playing six games this season, are likely a lock for the College Football Playoff, if only off the potential most people around the sport think they have.

Likely meeting the Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl will be Clemson, which dominated No. 2 Notre Dame from start to finish in Saturday's ACC Championship Game, winning the rematch from earlier this season 34-10 and cementing a spot in the playoff.

For the Fighting Irish, their bowl destiny is complicated. Of the teams fighting for the final CFP spot, Notre Dame has the most impressive win (Clemson), but that came against a Tigers team missing Trevor Lawrence. The Irish also beat No. 15 North Carolina handily, and it's hard to imagine a team dropping from No. 2 all the way out of the playoff after a loss to a top-four team.

But the manner in which Notre Dame lost might be their downfall. Saturday's ACC title game was never particularly close, as Clemson led 31-3 after three quarters and coasted the rest of the way. Sitting at No. 5, though, is a Texas A&M that finished 9-1 in the toughest league in college football. The Aggies also have a win over No. 7 Florida, which proved it's no pushover in a close loss to Alabama on Saturday night.

Those two are arguably the only teams with a shot at the final spot in the CFP, though weaker cases could be made for Oklahoma and Cincinnati.

New Year's Six Bowl Games

Vasha Hunt/Associated Press

Goodyear Cotton Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Cincinnati
Chick Fil-A Peach Bowl: Georgia vs. Coastal Carolina
PlayStation Fiesta Bowl: Oregon vs. Indiana
Capital One Orange Bowl: Florida vs. Notre Dame

After losing two of its first three games, Oklahoma closed the regular season on a seven-game winning streak and earned a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game. The Sooners went up 24-7 over No. 6 Iowa State at halftime and held off a late Cyclones rally to win 27-21 and secure the program's sixth consecutive Big 12 championship. With a win over the sixth-ranked Cyclones, Oklahoma will move into the top 10 and could possibly climb as high as No. 6, but any hopes of jumping into the playoff are slim to none.

Oregon and Cincinnati receive automatic bids into the New Year's Six as winners of the Pac-12 and as the highest-ranked Group of Five team, respectively. Geographically, sending the Ducks to the Fiesta Bowl makes the most sense, and we could see a quasi-Rose Bowl if the Hoosiers are sent there too.

After its loss to Clemson, Notre Dame will be right on the cusp of the playoff. Should they get leapfrogged by Texas A&M, the Irish will be the ACC's representative in the Orange Bowl, where they would likely face either Florida or Georgia from the SEC. In the middle of a pandemic, limiting travel will be a strong consideration, so a showdown with the Gators makes the most sense.

And in what would be a first since the CFP started in 2014, two Group of Five teams—Coastal Carolina and Cincinnati—could make it into the New Year's Six. The Chanticleers' game with No. 19 Louisiana on Saturday was canceled because of COVID-19-related roster issues, but CCU is undefeated on the year and has a comparable enough resume to overtake Iowa State.

Cincinnati, which also completed an undefeated season with a win over Tulsa in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game, will be the highest-ranked G5 team and is guaranteed an NY6 spot.

College Football Playoff

John Bazemore/Associated Press

Allstate Sugar Bowl: No. 1. Alabama vs. No. 4 Ohio State

National Semifinal 2*: No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Texas A&M 

The only questions surrounding the College Football Playoff after Alabama's win over Florida are whether Clemson's win over Notre Dame was big enough to knock the Irish out of the playoff and whether Texas A&M would leapfrog Ohio State into the No. 3 spot to avoid a Buckeyes-Crimson Tide rematch in the national semifinal.

As mentioned, both Texas A&M and Notre Dame have legitimate cases for the final playoff spot; it will likely come down to whether the selection committee deems A&M's body of work in the SEC to be more impressive than the Irish's win over Trevor Lawrence-less Clemson earlier in the season. It's essentially splitting hairs, and whatever decision the committee makes will leave one team and its fanbase fuming.

*The second national semifinal was relocated from the Rose Bowl to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, because of California's protocols relating to COVID-19.

Follow Keegan on Twitter, @ByKeeganPope.