The Selection Committee was once again gathered in a Marriott conference room on Tuesday as they prepared the Top 25 College Football Playoff rankings, which they then released on ESPN on Tuesday night.
Frankly, there wasn't a lot going on in terms of the top end of the rankings. Ohio State remained at No. 1, much to the chagrin of Georgia Bulldogs fans as their team came in at No. 2 despite a big win over Missouri in Week 10. Michigan and Florida State rounded out the Top 4 again while none of the top eight teams in the rankings moved from the initial Top 25 released a week ago.
Even though the four-team College Football Playoff has yet to make way for 12 teams, there are still major implications for the top of the rankings (and the highest-ranked Group of 5 team) as it pertains to the New Year's Six games.
So, looking at the Week 11 CFP rankings, here's what we project based on these for the New Year's Six bowl games, though they are sure to get shaken up quite dramatically.
New Year's Six Bowl projections based on Week 11 CFP rankings
- Sugar Bowl (College Football Playoff): 1 Ohio State vs. 4 Florida State
- Rose Bowl (College Football Playoff): 2 Georgia vs. 3 Michigan
- Fiesta Bowl: Washington vs. Texas
- Orange Bowl: Louisville vs. Alabama
- Peach Bowl: Tulane vs. Oregon
- Cotton Bowl: Penn State vs. Ole Miss
Obviously, we know that the Top 4 in the CFP rankings is likely to change and knock out the loser of the Ohio State-Michigan game, especially if Texas, Alabama, Washington, or Oregon wins out (or if multiple win out) and then also capture a conference championship.
Having said that, the way things currently stack up in the Top 25 rankings, this is the most likely outcome. Tulane remains the highest-ranked Group of 5 team, which will put them into the Peach Bowl. Conference tie-ins (and an admitted look to avoid a rematch with Ole Miss) will pit the Green Wave against Oregon.
There are a ton of intriguing matchups that could be on deck for the New Year's Six games if things were to play out and give us anything close to this. The most exciting outside of the CFP would clearly be Washington and Texas facing off in the Steve Sarkisian/Fiesta Bowl, but every matchup would be fascinating.
With some big matchups still remaining in the regular season, though, you can bet that these NY6 projections are going to change quite a bit over the final three weeks and, surely, conference championship weekend.