Florida State once again survived by the skin of its teeth, this time against archrival Florida, but it was maybe the fourth-biggest story from Week 14 in the College Football Playoff race.
That is certainly a testament to the unpredictable nature of this sport on a week-to-week basis, especially as the schedule winds down. After all, fans saw the No. 4 team in the rankings lose, Alabama put on an aerial show in a second-half comeback against Auburn and a disheartening injury to a Heisman Trophy candidate all within the course of a few hours Saturday.
With all that in mind, read on for some updated playoff projections and a brief look ahead to Week 15.
Scott Polacek's Playoff Projections
Sugar Bowl: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Ohio State
Rose Bowl: No. 2 Oregon vs. No. 3 Florida State
Championship Bowl (in Arlington, Texas): TBD (semifinal winners)
Odds Shark National Championship Odds
*Odds to win national championship courtesy of Odds Shark, as of Sunday morning at 1:30 a.m. ET.
Week 15 Playoff Implications Preview
Oregon and Arizona will jump-start Week 15’s slate of conference championship tilts Friday night in the Pac-12 title game.
That matchup is certainly juicy enough on its own, but the Wildcats were the only team to beat the Ducks this entire season. Arizona pressured Marcus Mariota the entire game and picked up timely scores from its offense to shock the college football world.
While the Wildcats have lost twice since then, Oregon has been a completely different team, as Dan Rubenstein of The Solid Verbal pointed out:
Saturday’s most intriguing matchup is the Big Ten Championship between Wisconsin and Ohio State for a number of reasons.
For one, it will be a showdown between two potential Top 10 teams when the updated College Football Playoff rankings are released Tuesday. It will also give the nation and selection committee a chance to see what the Buckeyes look like without J.T. Barrett, who broke his ankle in devastating fashion in Saturday’s win over Michigan.
Paul Myerberg of USA Today had a rather amusing take on the situation:
While much of the discussion surrounding this game will be about Barrett’s injury, Melvin Gordon gets to go up against a run defense that allowed 228 yards to Tevin Coleman and 145 yards to David Cobb. He could solidify his Heisman Trophy campaign with a big game and a victory.
Elsewhere Saturday, Alabama takes on Missouri in the SEC Championship.
Missouri lost to Indiana earlier in the season, and that is the only thing that is ever mentioned when discussing the Tigers. Still, they won seven out of eight SEC games, although that is largely because they avoided Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and LSU on the schedule. They were blown out by Georgia and simply don’t have the talent to deal with Alabama.
The Crimson Tide are a machine that have won seven in a row and will be playing for an assured playoff spot.
The other marquee conference title clash comes in the ACC between Florida State and Georgia Tech.
We know how this is going to end—Florida State will flirt with disaster all game and then find a way to win in the final minutes, just like it always does. One thing to watch out for, though, is Georgia Tech’s powerful running attack out of the triple-option formation. If the Yellow Jackets get a lead, they can bleed the clock by continuously moving the chains on the ground.
The Big 12 games between Kansas State and Baylor and Iowa State and TCU will be somewhat forgotten about with all the conference championships across the sport, but there are major playoff implications in those ones as well.
The Horned Frogs and Bears are battling with Ohio State for the No. 4 seed, but TCU coach Gary Patterson was more worried about what he can control, according to The Associated Press, via ESPN.com:
"You know, this team deserves to go home and win a championship," Patterson said. "We've got one more to do it, and I'm very proud of them. I'm finally going to go maybe smile once, but we've got to get ready to play Iowa State."
While it would make Patterson happy, TCU beating 2-9 Iowa State would do absolutely nothing for its playoff resume, but Baylor beating No. 12 Kansas State would shrink the perceived gap between the Bears and the Horned Frogs.
If that was the case, that head-to-head victory that Baylor boasts over TCU may finally come into play in the playoff race.
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