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College Football Bowl Projections 2018: Playoff Shakeup in Week 8

By John Mitchell

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - OCTOBER 20: Isaac Zico #7 of the Purdue Boilermakers makes a touchdown catch in the end zone as Kendall Sheffield #8 of the Ohio State Buckeyes defends at Ross-Ade Stadium on October 20, 2018 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - OCTOBER 20: Isaac Zico #7 of the Purdue Boilermakers makes a touchdown catch in the end zone as Kendall Sheffield #8 of the Ohio State Buckeyes defends at Ross-Ade Stadium on October 20, 2018 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
(Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

December 29

Belk Bowl: NC State vs. Mississippi State
Noon ET, ESPN – Charlotte, North Carolina 

December 31

Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman: Temple vs. Syracuse
Noon ET, ESPN – Annapolis, Maryland 

Hyundai Sun Bowl: Utah vs. Virginia Tech
2 pm ET, CBS – El Paso, Texas

Redbox Bowl: Stanford vs. Northwestern
3 pm ET, Fox – Santa Clara, California

AutoZone Liberty Bowl: Iowa State vs. Tennessee
3:45 pm ET, ESPN – Memphis, Tennessee 

San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl: Oregon vs. Iowa
7 pm ET, FS1 – San Diego, California

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl: Purdue vs. Auburn
7:30 pm ET, ESPN – Jacksonville, Florida 

January 1

Outback Bowl: Texas A&M vs. Penn State
Noon ET, ESPN2 – Tampa, Florida 

Citrus Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Kentucky
1 pm ET, ABC – Orlando, Florida

The Skinny

Iowa still has a very good shot of making it into the New Year’s Six and they were the first team out for me this week. The Hawkeyes have a good shot at ending up with 10 wins, which could potentially be enough to elevate them into one of the coveted bowl slots. If not, it’ll likely be the Citrus or the Holiday Bowl for Kirk Ferentz’s team due to the Big Ten’s bowl contracts requiring five different teams during a six-year span, if possible. That makes it unlikely that Iowa will play in the Outback, Gator, or Pinstripe bowls.

Oregon drops down to the Holiday Bowl from the Rose Bowl last week after their 34-20 loss to Washington State. The Ducks’s second conference loss, both coming to in-divisional opponents, means Oregon’s path to the PAC-12 Championship game is very murky. Even still, Mario Cristobal has the Ducks trending in the right direction on the field and on the recruiting trail.

Northwestern remains a likely bowl team even if they are unable to get to six wins due to their NCAA leading APR score. The Wildcats are one win away from becoming a virtual lock, but they did have a scare against the bottom of the Big Ten in Rutgers yesterday. Northwestern still sits at 4-1 in the Big Ten and controls their own destiny in the West race, though.

Purdue’s upset win over Ohio State has them trending upward in this week’s bowl projections. The Boilermakers are a Northwestern loss away from controlling their own destiny in the Big Ten West. They get both Iowa and Wisconsin in West Lafayette later this season. Purdue has won four straight games after their 0-3 start where they lost those three by a combined margin of eight points. Purdue is a bounce here and a bounce there from being an easy Top 25 team and a serious threat for the New Year’s Six. Jeff Brohm has done some outstanding work for the Boilermakers, and the administration should do whatever it takes to keep him in town.

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