Bowl projections, Week 15: Utah to Fiesta, Penn State to Rose, Alabama to Cotton Bowl

The latest college football bowl projections have Utah in the Fiesta, Alabama in the Cotton and Penn State going to the Rose Bowl.

We have made it through the 2019 college football regular season. All five Power 5 conference championship games have been set. Here are the five big games we get to look forward to next weekend, many of which with major College Football Playoff implications.

The Georgia Bulldogs will face the LSU Tigers in the SEC Championship, the Virginia Cavaliers will face the Clemson Tigers in the ACC Championship, the Baylor Bears will face the Oklahoma Sooners in the Big 12 Championship, the Wisconsin Badgers will face the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship and the Oregon Ducks will face the Utah Utes in the Pac-12 Championship.

At this time, there are seven teams still alive for the College Football Playoff entering Championship Weekend with two eliminated during Rivalry Weekend. The Alabama Crimson Tide lost to the Auburn Tigers in the Iron Bowl and the Minnesota Golden Gophers lost to the Wisconsin Badgers for Paul Bunyan’s Axe and a Big Ten title date vs. Ohio State.

The seven teams still alive are Ohio State, LSU, Clemson, Georgia, Utah, Oklahoma and Baylor. The first three are undefeated heading into their conference title bouts, while the latter four all have a pathway to get in. Here is what the New Year’s Six bowl projections look like heading into Championship Weekend. Who is getting into the College Football Playoff this holiday season?

College Football Playoff

PlayStation Fiesta Bowl (State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ, Saturday, Dec. 28)

No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes (13-0) vs. No. 4 Utah Utes (12-1)

Ohio State projects as the No. 1 seed as an undefeated Big Ten Champion after knocking off Wisconsin at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The Buckeyes will choose the Playstation Fiesta Bowl as their preferred national semifinal destination. They will face the No. 4 seed in a Pac-12 Champion Utah, whose only loss was to the USC Trojans early in the year down in Los Angeles.

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA, Saturday, Dec. 28)

No. 2 LSU Tigers (13-0) vs. No. 3 Clemson Tigers (13-0)

LSU would get the No. 2 seed as the undefeated SEC Champion after getting past Georgia in Atlanta. Ohio State would take the Fiesta Bowl anyway, so LSU is thrilled to be going back to Atlanta for the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Waiting for them will be an undefeated ACC Champion Clemson, who would have just obliterated Virginia at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

New Year’s Six

Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX, Saturday, Dec. 28)

Memphis Tigers (12-1) vs. Alabama Crimson Tide (10-2)

The Memphis Tigers will beat the Cincinnati Bearcats in back-to-back weeks to win the AAC and be the Group of 5 team to make the New Year’s Six. They will get to play a two-loss, non-champion Alabama team, who may not want to play in this bowl game after losing the Iron Bowl. Look for Mike Norvell’s team to play with passion in what’ll be his last game coaching in Memphis.

Capital One Orange Bowl (Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL, Monday, Dec. 30)

Virginia Cavaliers (9-4) vs. Florida Gators (10-2)

Since Clemson will already be playing in the Peach Bowl, somebody has to represent the ACC in the Capital One Orange Bowl. It’s a tad controversial, but a four-loss Virginia team gets in, thanks to being a division winner. They will face a two-loss, non-champion Florida Gators team, whose only losses on the year would be to Georgia and LSU. Not a bad ACC vs. SEC matchup here.

Rose Bowl presented by Northwestern Mutual (Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA, Wednesday, Jan. 1)

Penn State Nittany Lions (10-2) vs. Oregon Ducks (10-3)

With Ohio State reaching the Playoff to play in the Fiesta Bowl, the next best team to come out of the Big Ten to fulfill the Rose Bowl obligation will be the Penn State Nittany Lions. Penn State gets in as a two-loss, non-champion, who will face the Pac-12 North winner in a three-loss Oregon team that will regret tremendously losing to the Arizona State Sun Devils in late November.

Allstate Sugar Bowl (Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA, Wednesday, Jan. 1)

Georgia Bulldogs (11-2) vs. Baylor Bears (12-1)

Since LSU will be in the Peach Bowl, the second-best team in the SEC will be Georgia, who will fall to LSU in the conference title bout. Unlike last year, the Dawgs will be fired up for this game, knowing that LSU was the better team. Facing them in New Orleans will be Big 12 champion Baylor, who is playing great ball since losing to Oklahoma, who they’ll beat in Arlington next week.

There are a handful of teams that’ll just miss out on New Year’s Six bowl bids. The Boise State Broncos and the Appalachian State Mountaineers will miss out on the Cotton Bowl. The Virginia Tech Hokies will miss out on the Orange Bowl. Oklahoma, Auburn, Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Michigan Wolverines are other nine-win teams that just miss out on a New Year’s Six bowl bid.

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