New Year’s Six Bowl Projections: Week 9
– The College Football Playoff committee wants to create the best matchups possible. Geography will matter a wee bit.
– All Power Five conferences get a team into either the New Year’s Six or the College Football Playoff. The ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC all get a top team into one of the big games, and the top-ranked Group of Five champion is in, too.
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
Thursday, December 30
ESPN, 7:00 pm
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
Bowl Tie-Ins: At-Large vs. At-Large
Bowl Projection: Michigan vs Notre Dame
Last Year: Georgia 24, Cincinnati 21
This is the dream for the bowl types.
There’s a chance Notre Dame could get sent out to the Fiesta, but the idea of putting these two teams on the same field would get everyone fired up.
The call is that Notre Dame wins out, but isn’t able to do enough to get into the College Football Playoff. Michigan beats everyone but Ohio State for a strong 10-2 run.
Playstation Fiesta Bowl
Saturday, January 1
ESPN, 1:00 pm
State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ
Bowl Tie-Ins: At-Large vs. At-Large
Bowl Projection: Pitt vs Texas A&M
Last Year: Iowa State 34, Oregon 17
The ACC representative in the New Year’s Six will be interesting. Wake Forest is about to run into a buzzsaw with at North Carolina, NC State, at Clemson, at Boston College to close. NC State is in the mix for the Atlantic, and yup … Clemson is lurking with a whole lot of help. Pitt vs Virginia will likely decide the Coastal, and that’s in Pittsburgh.
Flip a coin between an SEC team and Notre Dame being in this to face the ACC Champion. It should come down to who wins the Auburn – Texas A&M game to take that extra New Year’s Six spot.
Rose Bowl Game
Saturday, January 1
ESPN, 5:00 pm
Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA
Bowl Tie-Ins: Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Bowl Projection: Michigan State vs Oregon
Last Year: Alabama 31, Notre Dame 14
Oregon will lose to Utah once – in Salt Lake City on November 20th – but it’s not going to happen twice as it wins the rematch in the Pac-12 Championship. The Ohio State – Michigan State loser will likely end up here.
Allstate Sugar Bowl
Saturday, January 1
ESPN, 8:45 pm
Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA
Bowl Tie-Ins: Big 12 vs. SEC
Bowl Projection: Oklahoma State vs Alabama
Last Year: Ohio State 49, Clemson 28
The entire New Year’s Six puzzle blows up if 1) Alabama runs the table with a win over Georgia in the SEC Championship, or 2) it’s a close loss to the Dawgs and the CFP two SEC teams in over, say, Cincinnati. This could also get interesting if there isn’t a one-loss or unbeaten Big 12 Champion.