SeatownJay
Active member
The one constant in college football is that chaos will happen. I'm a fan of chaos in sports. Chaos makes things fun and interesting. Where, when, who, and how are hard to predict, but it will happen. So let's take a look at the possibilities for this year.
For the sake of simplicity, I'm just going to say that Clemson wins out and claims the ACC title at 13-0, providing the one bit of predictable normalcy that offsets everything else. As for the other power 5 conferences, here are the possibilities I'm looking forward to.
The Big Ten: The conference title comes down to undefeated Minnesota facing undefeated Ohio State, with Minnesota shocking the world and pulling off the upset.
The SEC: The conference title comes down to undefeated LSU against 1-loss Florida, with Florida claiming the championship. In the wings is 11-1 Alabama, who's only loss came to LSU.
The Big 12: The title game features 1-loss Oklahoma playing 1-loss Baylor, with Baylor avenging their regular season loss against the Sooners and winning the title.
The Pac-12: 11-1 Oregon faces 11-1 Utah, with the Ducks winning a close, hard fought battle.
Let's not forget the G5 conferences, and say that both SMU and Appalachian State win out and finish the season 13-0.
So let's look at the playoff contenders, Clemson and Minnesota are both in as undefeated P5 Conference Champions. That leaves two slots available for the following teams:
13-0 Appalachian State, Sun Belt Champion
13-0 SMU, AAC Champion
12-1 Baylor, Big 12 Champion
12-1 Florida, SEC Champion
12-1 LSU (lost conference title game)
12-1 Ohio State (lost conference title game)
12-1 Oregon, Pac-12 Champion
11-1 Alabama
And the following teams are also still in contention for a NY6 Bowl slot:
12-1 Boise State
11-2 Cincinnati
11-2 Oklahoma
11-2 Utah
10-2 Kansas State
10-2 Notre Dame
10-2 Penn State
10-2 Wake Forest
So, who makes your Final Four, and what are your NY6 Bowl matchups? For me, I'm going with the following:
Peach Bowl: #1 Clemson vs. #4 Oregon
Fiesta Bowl: #2 Florida vs. #3 Minnesota
Cotton Bowl: SMU vs. Oklahoma
Orange Bowl: Wake Forest vs. Alabama
Rose Bowl: Ohio State vs. Utah
Sugar Bowl: Baylor vs. LSU
For the sake of simplicity, I'm just going to say that Clemson wins out and claims the ACC title at 13-0, providing the one bit of predictable normalcy that offsets everything else. As for the other power 5 conferences, here are the possibilities I'm looking forward to.
The Big Ten: The conference title comes down to undefeated Minnesota facing undefeated Ohio State, with Minnesota shocking the world and pulling off the upset.
The SEC: The conference title comes down to undefeated LSU against 1-loss Florida, with Florida claiming the championship. In the wings is 11-1 Alabama, who's only loss came to LSU.
The Big 12: The title game features 1-loss Oklahoma playing 1-loss Baylor, with Baylor avenging their regular season loss against the Sooners and winning the title.
The Pac-12: 11-1 Oregon faces 11-1 Utah, with the Ducks winning a close, hard fought battle.
Let's not forget the G5 conferences, and say that both SMU and Appalachian State win out and finish the season 13-0.
So let's look at the playoff contenders, Clemson and Minnesota are both in as undefeated P5 Conference Champions. That leaves two slots available for the following teams:
13-0 Appalachian State, Sun Belt Champion
13-0 SMU, AAC Champion
12-1 Baylor, Big 12 Champion
12-1 Florida, SEC Champion
12-1 LSU (lost conference title game)
12-1 Ohio State (lost conference title game)
12-1 Oregon, Pac-12 Champion
11-1 Alabama
And the following teams are also still in contention for a NY6 Bowl slot:
12-1 Boise State
11-2 Cincinnati
11-2 Oklahoma
11-2 Utah
10-2 Kansas State
10-2 Notre Dame
10-2 Penn State
10-2 Wake Forest
So, who makes your Final Four, and what are your NY6 Bowl matchups? For me, I'm going with the following:
Peach Bowl: #1 Clemson vs. #4 Oregon
Fiesta Bowl: #2 Florida vs. #3 Minnesota
Cotton Bowl: SMU vs. Oklahoma
Orange Bowl: Wake Forest vs. Alabama
Rose Bowl: Ohio State vs. Utah
Sugar Bowl: Baylor vs. LSU
