Yahoo Finance Bowl Projections: Despite being No. 5, Clemson is still a playoff favorite
The first set of College Football Playoff rankings don’t change our projected top four.
Clemson came in at No. 5 in Tuesday night’s top 25, but we still think the Tigers have a great shot at the playoff because No. 1 Ohio State and No. 4 Penn State play each other on Nov. 23. Continued wins by Clemson mean the Tigers will jump over the loser of that game into the top four. Throw in a possible 11-1 LSU team after a loss at Alabama on Saturday, and we’re comfortable with a top four of Ohio State, Alabama, Clemson and LSU.
The rankings did change some things in the New Year’s Six bowl games, however. A 10-2 Florida team will likely finish the season ahead of Notre Dame in the playoff standings. That drops Notre Dame from a New Year’s Six bowl to a possible Citrus Bowl berth and puts the Gators in the Orange Bowl as an at-large team.
Yes, four SEC teams could end up in the New Year’s Six bowl games. That’s what happens when you have four teams in the top 10 of the first set of rankings.
Here are our post-Week 10 bowl projections.
College Football Playoff
Peach Bowl, Dec. 28
Ohio State vs. LSU
Fiesta Bowl, Dec. 28
Alabama vs. Clemson
New Year’s Six
Cotton Bowl, Dec. 28
Utah vs. Cincinnati
Orange Bowl, Dec. 30
Florida vs. Wake Forest
Rose Bowl, Jan. 1
Penn State vs. Oregon
Sugar Bowl, Jan. 1
Oklahoma vs. Georgia
Other bowls
Bahamas Bowl, Dec. 20
Western Kentucky vs. Central Michigan
Frisco Bowl, Dec. 20
SMU vs. App State
New Mexico Bowl, Dec. 21
Wyoming vs. Marshall
Cure Bowl, Dec. 21
Hawaii vs. Florida International
Boca Raton Bowl, Dec. 21
Memphis vs. Toledo
Camellia Bowl, Dec. 21
Coastal Carolina vs. Charlotte
Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 21
Boise State vs. Washington State
New Orleans Bowl, Dec. 21
Georgia State vs. Louisiana Tech
Gasparilla Bowl, Dec. 23
UCF vs. Miami
Hawaii Bowl, Dec. 24
Navy vs. BYU
Independence Bowl, Dec. 26
Southern Miss vs. Liberty
Quick Lane Bowl, Dec. 26
Florida State vs. Michigan State
Military Bowl, Dec. 27
Temple vs. North Carolina
Pinstripe Bowl, Dec. 27
Pitt vs. Illinois
Texas Bowl, Dec. 27
Iowa State vs. Mississippi State
Holiday Bowl, Dec. 27
Iowa vs. USC
Cheez-It Bowl, Dec. 27
Oklahoma State vs. San Diego State
Camping World Bowl, Dec. 28
Kansas State vs. Virginia
First Responder Bowl, Dec. 30
TCU vs. UAB
Music City Bowl, Dec. 30
Kentucky vs. Virginia Tech
Redbox Bowl, Dec. 30
Indiana vs. Stanford
Belk Bowl, Dec. 31
Louisville vs. Missouri
Sun Bowl, Dec. 31
Boston College vs. Arizona State
Liberty Bowl, Dec. 31
Texas vs. Tennessee
Arizona Bowl, Dec. 31
Utah State vs. Arkansas State
Alamo Bowl, Dec. 31
Baylor vs. Washington
Citrus Bowl, Jan. 1
Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame
Outback Bowl, Jan. 1
Texas A&M vs. Minnesota
Birmingham Bowl, Jan. 2
NC State vs. Louisiana
TaxSlayer Bowl, Jan. 2
Auburn vs. Michigan
Potato Bowl, Jan. 3
Nevada vs. Ohio
Armed Forces Bowl, Jan. 4
Air Force vs. Tulane
Mobile Bowl, Jan. 6
Western Michigan vs. Georgia Southern
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
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