LSU Tigers

Bowl projections: Clemson-Stanford, OSU-Alabama comprise playoff field after Week 10

Published Nov. 10, 2015 12:29 p.m. ET

Stewart Mandel

In 2011, many (myself included) felt 11-1 Big 12 champ Oklahoma State should have played 13-0 LSU in the BCS title game in New Orleans instead of 11-1 non-division champ Alabama. Four years later, in my projected lineup, Les Miles’ current and former employers finally meet in New Orleans after all, albeit for a Sugar Bowl championship.

Right now I have the Big 12 as the playoff odd man out (again), which means Oklahoma State’s upset of TCU caused quite the ripple effect. The Horned Frogs fell to the Russell Athletic Bowl in my latest projections. Similarly, Nebraska’s stunner against previously undefeated Michigan State dropped the Spartans from the Rose Bowl to the Citrus Bowl.

And hey, that Nebraska win had other implications as well. The Huskers may now get to 5-7, which -- with only 79 eligible teams currently projected for 80 spots -- put them in a bowl this week (Armed Forces).

Without further ado …

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF BOWLS

DATE	BOWL	LOCATION	MATCHUP
Dec. 31	Peach	Atlanta	Florida (at-large) vs. Temple (Group of 5)
Dec. 31	Cotton	Arlington, Texas	Ohio St. (CFP No. 2) vs. Alabama (CFP No. 3)
Dec. 31	Orange	Miami	Clemson (CFP No. 1) vs. Stanford (CFP No. 4)
Jan. 1	Fiesta	Glendale, Ariz.	Notre Dame (at-large) vs. Baylor (at-large)
Jan. 1	Rose	Pasadena, Calif.	Iowa (B1G) vs. Utah (Pac-12)
Jan. 1	Sugar	New Orleans	LSU (SEC) vs. Oklahoma St. (Big 12)

OTHER BOWLS

DATE	BOWL	LOCATION	MATCHUP
Dec. 19	Cure	Orlando, Fla.	USF (American) vs. Arkansas St. (Sun Belt)
Dec. 19	New Mexico	Albuquerque	New Mexico (MWC) vs. Rice (C-USA)
Dec. 19	Las Vegas	Las Vegas	Boise St. (MWC No. 1 or BYU) vs. Cal (Pac-12 No. 6)
Dec. 19	Camellia	Montgomery, Ala.	South Alabama (Sun Belt) vs. Ohio (MAC)
Dec. 19	New Orleans	New Orleans	Appalachian St. (Sun Belt) vs. Southern Miss (C-USA)
Dec. 21	Miami Beach	Miami	Houston (American) vs. W. Kentucky (C-USA)
Dec. 22	Idaho Potato	Boise	Utah State (MWC) vs. C. Michigan (MAC)
Dec. 22	Boca Raton	Boca Raton, Fla.	Tulsa (American) vs. NIU (MAC)
Dec. 23	Poinsettia	San Diego	San Diego St. (MWC) vs. Akron* (Army)
Dec. 23	GoDaddy	Mobile, Ala.	Bowling Green (MAC) vs. Ga. Southern (Sun Belt)
Dec. 24	Bahamas	Nassau	Toledo (MAC) vs. La. Tech (C-USA)
Dec. 24	Hawaii	Honolulu	Washington* (American) vs. BYU (MWC or BYU)
Dec. 26	St. Petersburg	St. Petersburg	Memphis (American) vs. Marshall (C-USA)
Dec. 26	Sun	El Paso, Texas	Pittsburgh (ACC Nos. 3-6) vs. Oregon (Pac-12 No. 5)
Dec. 26	Heart of Dallas	Dallas	Buffalo* (Big 12) vs. Middle Tennessee (C-USA)
Dec. 26	Pinstripe	Bronx, N.Y.	Va. Tech (ACC Nos. 3-6) vs. Northwestern (B1G Nos. 5-7)
Dec. 26	Independence	Shreveport, La.	NC State (ACC Nos. 7-9) vs. Colorado St.* (SEC Nos. 9-10)
Dec. 26	Foster Farms	Santa Clara, Calif.	Washington St. (Pac-12 No. 4) vs. Penn St. (B1G Nos. 5-7)
Dec. 28	Military	Annapolis, Md.	Miami (ACC Nos. 7-9) vs. Navy (American)
Dec. 28	Quick Lane	Detroit	Western Michigan* (B1G Nos. 8-9) vs. Louisville (ACC Nos. 7-9)
Dec. 29	Arizona	Tucson	Nevada (MWC) vs. La.-Lafayette* (C-USA)
Dec. 29	Armed Forces	Fort Worth, Texas	Air Force (MWC) vs. Nebraska+ (B1G Nos. 8-9)
Dec. 29	Russell Athletic	Orlando, Fla.	Florida St. (ACC No. 2) vs. TCU (Big 12 No. 3)
Dec. 29	Texas	Houston	Texas A&M (SEC Nos. 3-8) vs. Texas Tech (Big 12 No. 4)
Dec. 30	Birmingham	Birmingham, Ala.	Cincinnati (American) vs. Kentucky (SEC No. 9-10)
Dec. 30	Belk	Charlotte, N.C.	Arkansas (SEC Nos. 3-8) vs. Duke (ACC Nos. 3-6)
Dec. 30	Music City	Nashville, Tenn.	Auburn (SEC Nos. 3-8) vs. Indiana (B1G Nos. 5-7)
Dec. 30	Holiday	San Diego	UCLA (Pac-12 No. 3) vs. Wisconsin (B1G Nos. 2-4)
Jan. 1	Outback	Tampa, Fla.	Michigan (B1G Nos. 2-4) vs. Tennessee (SEC Nos. 3-8)
Jan. 1	Citrus	Orlando, Fla.	Mississippi St. (SEC No. 2) vs. Michigan St. (B1G Nos. 2-4)
Jan. 2	TaxSlayer	Jacksonville, Fla.	Ole Miss (SEC Nos. 3-8) vs. North Carolina (ACC Nos. 3-6)
Jan. 2	Liberty	Memphis, Tenn.	Georgia (SEC Nos. 3-8) vs. Kansas St. (Big 12 No. 5)
Jan. 2	Alamo	San Antonio	Oklahoma (Big 12 No. 2) vs. USC (Pac-12 No. 2)
Jan. 2	Cactus	Tempe, Ariz.	West Virginia (Big 12 No. 6) vs. Arizona St. (Pac-12 No. 7)

* replacement for a conference without enough eligible teams

+ projected 5-7 team

Stewart Mandel is a senior college sports columnist for FOXSports.com. He covered college football and basketball for 15 years at Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter @slmandel and Facebook. Send emails and Mailbag questions to Stewart.Mandel@fox.com.