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College Football Bowl Projections 2018: Texas rises into New Year’s Six

By John Mitchell

AUSTIN, TX - NOVEMBER 17: David Montgomery #32 of the Iowa State Cyclones is stopped at the line of scrimmage by Gary Johnson #33 of the Texas Longhorns and Anthony Wheeler #45 in the third quarter at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on November 17, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TX - NOVEMBER 17: David Montgomery #32 of the Iowa State Cyclones is stopped at the line of scrimmage by Gary Johnson #33 of the Texas Longhorns and Anthony Wheeler #45 in the third quarter at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on November 17, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
(Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) /

December 29

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl: Georgia vs. UCF
Noon ET, ESPN – Atlanta, Georgia

January 1

PlayStation Fiesta Bowl: Texas vs. Florida
1 pm ET, ESPN – Glendale, Arizona

Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual: Washington State vs. Ohio State
5 pm ET, ESPN – Pasadena, California

Allstate Sugar Bowl: Oklahoma vs. LSU
8:45 pm ET, ESPN – New Orleans, Louisiana

The skinny

UCF made the most of their opportunity on a national stage by dispatching Cincinnati with relative ease and delivering a statement to the selection committee. While the Knights aren’t likely to receive a significant boost in the rankings, they’ve now passed the biggest remaining hurdle in their path for a second straight trip to the New Year’s Six. Georgia still controls their playoff fate, and will be among the top four if they knock off Georgia Tech next week and then defeat Alabama in the SEC Championship Game.

Texas jumps back into the New Year’s Six for the first time in several weeks after they mustered an impressive two touchdown victory over Iowa State. The Longhorns are now back in the Big 12 title hunt, and can clinch a spot in Dallas if they beat Kansas on the road next week. Florida remains steady in the New Year’s Six this week, but will need to take care of business against rival Florida State next week to stay in. The Seminoles are coming off a big win over Boston College, and will fight tooth-and-nail against the Gators next week in hopes of extending their bowl streak.

Ohio State survived a thriller on the road against Maryland, dodging a two-point conversion and hanging on to a one-point win of the Terps. The win likely seals at least a Rose Bowl berth for the Buckeyes, regardless of whether or not they can beat Michigan next week. Washington State avoided what some thought might be a trap game against Arizona by throttling the Wildcats by 41 points, setting up a massive Apple Cup next week, with the winner earning a spot in the PAC-12 title game. The Cougars, like the Buckeyes, probably clinched an at-large berth into the New Year’s Six regardless of what happens next week.

Most prognosticators are picking Georgia for the Sugar Bowl as the next highest ranked SEC team following Alabama, but I think if the Tide knocks off the Bulldogs in Atlanta, there’s a good chance that LSU will be the second highest ranked team from the SEC due to their head-to-head win over Georgia. Obviously, that’s completely contingent on the Bengal Tigers beating Texas A&M on the road next week. Oklahoma continued to struggle defensively, but got five total touchdowns from Heisman hopeful Kyler Murray as they knocked off Kansas 55-40. The Sooners will have to play much better on defense if they want to go to Morgantown and secure a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game a week from now.

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