College Football Playoff Predictions: Bowl Projections For CFP Shift A Lot
College Football Playoff predictions reward Ohio State and punish Auburn severely now. The new College Football Playoff bowl projections come from an updated report on CBS Sports. The four schools now predicted to make the final bracket are Ohio State, TCU, Alabama, and Clemson. CBS has finally turned on Auburn after predicting the Tigers would win the SEC this year.
It might shock a lot of college football fans to see that Alabama received a No. 3 seed in these new predictions. The Crimson Tide just lost at home to Ole Miss, dropping the team into a tie for fourth place in the SEC West. Alabama trails Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and LSU when it comes to even making the 2015 SEC Championship Game.
The Ohio State Buckeyes won again on Saturday, September 19, moving to 3-0 and a likely unanimous vote in the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll for the No. 1 ranking. It’s not surprising at all to see the school at the top, nor is it shocking that TCU is now projected to finish No. 2. The Horned Frogs were ranked No. 3 in both major polls last week, but now have a good chance to replace Alabama.
As for the fourth team in the 2016 College Football Playoff predictions, CBS has Clemson taking the No. 4 seed. During Week 3, Clemson was ranked No. 11 overall, but the school did post a very nice win over Louisville during the week. The Tigers have tests against Notre Dame and Georgia Tech to begin October that should prove if the team is talented enough to win a championship.
Schools that might get frustrated about not receiving one of the top four seeds in these CBS predictions are numerous. Other schools that are 3-0 include Florida State (ACC), Michigan State (Big Ten), LSU (SEC), Notre Dame (Independent), Georgia (SEC), and UCLA (Pac-12). That doesn’t even mention the Ole Miss team that just improved to 3-0 by dominating Alabama for most of the day on Saturday.
As for the big bowl projections from CBS Sports, they are TCU vs. Alabama in the Cotton Bowl, Ohio State vs. Clemson in the Orange Bowl, Baylor vs. LSU in the Sugar Bowl, Wisconsin vs. Oregon in the Rose Bowl, Ole Miss vs. Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, and Florida State vs. Michigan State in the Peach Bowl. Oregon is the only Pac-12 school in those top 12 teams, with the Big 10 and SEC each project to have three. There are a lot of games left to be played before the 2016 College Football Playoff brackets are set, but it’s worth noting how much respect the analysts are still giving Alabama and Oregon.
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