College football bowl projections: New Year’s Six predictions from first CFP rankings
With the release of the first College Football Playoff rankings on Halloween night, we can already start to think about the possibilities for the Top 4 that we could see play out over the final month of the regular season. In the end, the CFP rankings really wind up focusing on the four teams that make it into the Playoff, not so much the ones left out.
Having said that, the CFP rankings are also crucial for the other major games of bowl season in college football, the New Year's Six. Obviously, that includes the Top 4 and the College Football Playoff semifinal matchups, but there are eight other teams whose berths in the remaing NY6 games are determined by their place in the rankings.
So now that the first Top 25 CFP rankings have been revealed by the Selection Committee, let's take a look at the New Year's Six bowl projections based on what we're seeing here.
New Year's 6 Bowl Projections after first CFP Rankings
Bowl Game | Home Team | Away Team |
|---|---|---|
Rose Bowl (CFP Semifinal) | Ohio State Buckeyes | Florida State Seminoles |
Sugar Bowl (CFP Semifinal) | Georgia Bulldogs | Michigan Wolverines |
Fiesta Bowl | Washington Huskies | Texas Longhorns |
Peach Bowl | Ole Miss Rebels | Tulane Green Wave |
Orange Bowl | Alabama Crimson Tide | Louisville Cardinals |
Cotton Bowl | Oregon Ducks | Oklahoma Sooners |
There is a ton of intrigue in the matchups that we could see should this play out. The Fiesta Bowl showdown between Steve Sarkisian's Texas Longhorns and his former employer, the Washington Huskies, would be a phenomenal matchup.
Meanwhile, the Cotton Bowl would be fascinating with Oregon and Oklahoma, two programs trending up under second-year head coaches, trying to get a leg up on one another before they move to a different conference in the 2024 season.
Beyond that, though it could be a one-sided affair on the field, there's a bit of curiosity with Louisville facing Alabama. The Cardinals have been one of the bigger pleasant surprises this season, while Alabama has been a letdown in the eyes of many. So seeing these two trends collide in the postseason would be quite fine.
The only matchup of these New Year's Six projections that doesn't offer as much as the others is Tulane-Ole Miss, a matchup we've already seen in the regular season. But even then, getting to see the Green Wave have Michael Pratt for a rematch when he was out injured in the first meeting still adds a layer of intrigue.
These rankings will obviously change over the final month, as will the NY6 projections. But let's hope we get a slate something close to this.
Next. First CFP rankings Winners Losers. Winners and losers from the first College Football Playoff rankings. dark