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Time once again for the Sunday morning look at the college football bowl picture, now with another week's worth of information to factor in. As always, these are guesses of how things will look at the end of the season.
The College Football Playoff paths appear clear in four Power 5 conferences, with Alabama and Ohio State beating AP top-10 conference opponents on Saturday (Tennessee and Wisconsin, respectively) and Clemson surviving an overtime threat by NC State. The paths are a little too clear, if you ask me, and we can expect a mayhem weekend somewhere down the line to wreck much of this. It always happens; there's just no way to tell when it's about to strike.
Below, picks for each bowl game, from the New Orleans Bowl to the National Championship. Your team is underrated, and I apologize.
Also, a few notes on the Playoff and New Year's Six sections, which hold steady this time around.
| College Football Playoff | |||
| Fiesta Dec. 31, Glendale, AZ |
Clemson | Michigan | Playoff rankings top 4 |
| Peach Dec. 31, Atlanta |
Alabama | Washington | Playoff rankings top 4 |
| National Championship Jan. 9, Tampa |
Alabama | Michigan | Fiesta winner vs. Peach winner |
This week, sticking with Michigan again over Ohio State. Regular readers know this particular spot changes frequently, drawing great angst in the comment section, my Twitter mentions, and my email inbox, no matter what.
After their respective games against Wisconsin, I'm slightly more comfortable at this point in saying the Wolverines have looked good enough to win at OSU.
| New Year's Six bowls | |||
| Cotton Jan. 2, Arlington, TX |
Boise State | Baylor | At-large |
| Rose Jan. 2, Pasadena, CA |
Ohio State | Utah | Big Ten 1 vs. Pac-12 1 |
| Sugar Jan. 2, New Orleans |
Oklahoma | Texas A&M | Big 12 1 vs. SEC 1 |
| Orange Dec. 30, Miami |
Louisville | Tennessee | ACC vs. Big Ten/SEC/ND |
After accounting for all of Week 7 and changing some games later on, I don't have anything to change in the whole New Year's Six this week. I considered Stanford over Utah. Houston, Western Michigan, and others of course remain in the mix for the Group of 5 autobid. Let's see after next week.
| Conference selection order, not based on standings | |||
| Outback Jan. 2, Tampa |
Wisconsin | Florida | Big Ten 2-4 vs. SEC 3-8 |
| Citrus Dec. 31, Orlando |
Nebraska | LSU | Big Ten 2-4/ACC vs. SEC 2 |
| TaxSlayer Dec. 31, Jacksonville |
Miami | Arkansas | ACC 3-6/Big Ten 5-7 vs. SEC 3-8 |
| Music City Dec. 30, Nashville |
Indiana | Ole Miss | ACC 3-6/Big Ten 5-7 vs. SEC 3-8 |
| Liberty Dec. 30, Memphis |
Oklahoma State | Georgia | Big 12 5 vs. SEC 3-8 |
| Sun Dec. 30, El Paso, TX |
Pitt | Stanford | ACC 3-6 vs. Pac-12 5 |
| Arizona Dec. 30, Tucson |
Utah State | Georgia Southern | MWC vs. Sun Belt |
| Alamo Dec. 29, San Antonio |
Texas | Washington State | Big 12 2 vs. Pac-12 2 |
| Belk Dec. 29, Charlotte |
Virginia Tech | Missouri | ACC 3-6 vs. SEC 3-8 |
| Birmingham Dec. 29 |
Houston | Syracuse** | American vs. SEC 9 |
| Foster Farms Dec. 28, Santa Clara, CA |
Iowa | USC | Big Ten 5-7 vs. Pac-12 4 |
| Pinstripe Dec. 28, New York City |
North Carolina | Maryland | ACC 3-6 vs. Big Ten 5-7 |
| Russell Athletic Dec. 28, Orlando |
Florida State | West Virginia | ACC 2 vs. Big 12 3 |
| Texas Dec. 28, Houston |
TCU | Auburn | Big 12 4 vs. SEC 3-8 |
| Cactus Dec. 27, Tempe, AZ |
Kansas State | Arizona State | Big 12 6 vs. Pac-12 7 |
| Heart of Dallas Dec. 27 |
Minnesota | WKU | Big Ten vs. C-USA |
| Holiday Dec. 27, San Diego |
Penn State | Colorado | Big Ten 2-4 vs. Pac-12 3 |
| Military Dec. 27, Annapolis, MD |
Wake Forest | USF | ACC vs. American |
| Independence Dec. 26, Shreveport, LA |
Akron* | Army* | ACC vs. SEC |
| St. Petersburg Dec. 26 |
Georgia Tech | Cincinnati | ACC vs. American |
| Quick Lane Dec. 26, Detroit, MI |
UCF** | Northwestern | ACC vs. Big Ten |
| Hawaii Dec. 24, Honolulu |
MTSU | Hawaii | C-USA vs. MWC |
| Dollar General Dec. 23, Mobile, AL |
WMU | South Alabama | MAC 1 vs. Sun Belt 2 |
| Armed Forces Dec. 23, Fort Worth, TX |
Idaho* | Navy | Big 12 vs. Navy |
| Bahamas Dec. 23, Nassau |
Tulsa | EMU | American vs. MAC |
| Potato Dec. 22, Boise, ID |
CMU | Air Force | MAC 2 vs. MWC |
| Poinsettia Dec. 21, San Diego |
BYU | San Diego State | BYU vs. MWC |
| Boca Raton Dec. 20 |
Memphis | Southern Miss | American vs. C-USA |
| Miami Beach Dec. 19 |
UConn | Ohio | American vs. MAC |
| Las Vegas Dec. 17 |
Wyoming | UCLA | MWC 1 vs. Pac-12 6 |
| Camelia Dec. 17, Montgomery, AL |
Toledo | Appalachian State | MAC 3 vs. Sun Belt 3 |
| Cure Dec. 17, Orlando |
Temple | Troy | American vs. Sun Belt |
| New Mexico Dec. 17, Albuquerque |
UTSA | New Mexico | C-USA vs. MWC |
| New Orleans Dec. 17 |
UL Lafayette | LA Tech | Sun Belt 1 vs. C-USA |
* = filling another conference's bid
** = here thanks to APR scores
OK, what do we think here?