Alabama Crimson Tide

Bowl projections: Oklahoma draws Clemson, Alabama takes on Ohio State in playoff

Published Nov. 17, 2015 12:00 p.m. ET

Stewart Mandel

The Pac-12 may not boast a playoff team this year but it’s not exactly lacking for depth. As many as 10 teams may get eligible by season’s end, and if only the champion (in the Rose Bowl) makes a New Year’s Six game, three of those 10 will have to find spots in non-Pac-12 bowls. Possibilities currently range from New York to Hawaii.

All of the power conferences’ lower-tier bowls will be sweating out Selection Sunday. The Big 12 could earn as many as three or as few as one New Year’s Six spot. The Big Ten might get three. The ACC might get two. Whatever the case, the ripple effect will extend through the entire system.

One bit of good news for bowl organizers: This week for the first time I projected there to be exactly enough six-win teams (80). But that includes quite a few teams that still have work to do – most notably 3-6 Kansas State. The Wildcats have yet to win a Big 12 game but close with 3-7 Iowa State, 0-10 Kansas and 5-4 West Virginia. The whole system is counting on you, Bill Snyder.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF BOWLS

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

OTHER BOWLS

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

* -- replacement for a conference without enough eligible teams

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.

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