College Football Bowl Predictions
By Jerry Trotta
Bowl season might be a little over a month away, but there are just two weeks remaining in the 2019 college football season.
Therefore, it's appropriate to start making projections on how the playoff pairings and bowl games might look by the time the CFB Playoff selection committee rendezvous in December.
With the Week 13 rankings set to drop on Tuesday night, let's dive into what programs we will see featured in the Playoff and New Year's Six slate.
6. Cotton Bowl: Oregon vs Penn State
Everybody kind of wrote off Oregon after their opening weekend loss to Auburn. Since then, however, Mario Cristobal's side has rattled off nine consecutive victories. In our eyes, they'll fall just short of being named to the Playoff and will land a date with Penn State, who should be content with a Cotton Bowl nod if they (competitively) come up short versus Ohio State.
5. Orange Bowl: Florida vs Cincinnati
Don't fool yourselves, folks, the committee LOVES a good strength of schedule, and the Gators have endured exactly that in 2019. They defeated a good Auburn side and fell just short of toppling Georgia and LSU. That'll see Florida play in the Orange Bowl versus a Cincinnati team that's riding an eight-game win streak. Their showdown against Memphis to close out the campaign will prove pivotal in their chances to play on New Year's, but we predict the Bearcats to come out on top in that contest.
4. Rose Bowl: Minnesota vs Utah
Utah has an outside shot of making it to the Playoff, but their strength of schedule will ultimately be their downfall and see them slated in the Rose Bowl. Minnesota's undefeated run surprisingly came to an end this past weekend in an upset against Iowa. However, the committee will reward their efforts with a spot in one of CFB's most iconic bowl games, especially if they knock off Wisconsin to close out the year.
3. Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs Oklahoma
Unfortunately for the Crimson Tide, Tua Tagovailoa's devastating hip injury will be enough to see them fall short of the Playoff. Oklahoma's historic comeback win over Baylor last weekend will not be enough to convince the committee that they are deserving of a spot in the Playoff, even if they win the Big 12 Championship. That loss against Kansas State will loom too large.
2. Fiesta Bowl: LSU vs Georgia
It kills us to have to choose between LSU and Ohio State for the No. 1 spot, but ultimately the Tigers have been more deserving with wins over Texas, Florida, Auburn and Alabama. Joe Burrow and Co. will link up against Georgia, who have bounced back from their humiliating loss against South Carolina with wins against Florida and Auburn. Expect Kirby Smart's team to continue to roll right into a semifinal berth against Ed Orgeron and LSU.
1. Peach Bowl: Ohio State vs Clemson
It goes without saying that this the most intriguing matchup of the bunch, right? Barring an unprecedented turn of events, Ohio State and Clemson will be ranked No. 2 and No. 3 in the final rankings. So long as they don't slip up in the final week of the regular season and in their respective conference championships, these two CFB powerhouses are destined to meet in the Peach Bowl with a chance to advance to the National Championship game.