The playoff picture is now crystal clear.

Posted by LWR (A) on November 30, 2015 at 05:50:58

Oklahoma is in, after throttling Oklahoma State to win the Big 12 outright. The Big Ten champion will be in, so the Iowa-Michigan State title game is essentially a play-in. If both Clemson and Alabama win their respective conference title games (both teams are heavy favorites), they're in.

That's your playoff field right there.

Should either Clemson or Alabama stumble, against North Carolina or Florida, respectively, then Stanford is next in line, provided it can beat USC for the Pac-12 title. Ohio State, with one loss but no conference title, would be next if the Cardinal also falter.

The only other team in the picture is North Carolina, which has a bad loss (to South Carolina) and two wins over FCS teams. But if the Tar Heels upset Clemson and all the other dominoes fall, they'll sneak into the playoff.

As for the rest of the New Year's Six bowls, here are the rules and our projection follows:

The Rose Bowl is for the conference champions from the Big Ten and Pac-12. If a conference champion is selected to the playoff, the Rose Bowl has the sole discretion to pick another team from that conference.

The Sugar Bowl will pit conference champions from the SEC and Big 12. The SEC replacement will be the highest-ranked team by the playoff committee. The Big 12 uses its own tiebreaker to determine the replacement team.

The selection committee will determine the rest of the matchups for both the playoff games (Cotton and Orange) and also the Peach and Fiesta. The highest-ranked Group of Five champion is guaranteed a berth.

With these protocols in mind, here's how we see things unfolding:

Orange Bowl (playoff): Clemson vs. Michigan State

Cotton Bowl (playoff): Oklahoma vs. Alabama

Rose Bowl: Stanford vs.

Ohio State

Sugar Bowl: Mississippi vs. Baylor

Peach Bowl: Houston vs. Florida State

Fiesta Bowl: Notre Dame vs. Iowa

Pac-12's bowl lineup

With Washington's victory over Washington State in the Apple Cup, the Pac-12 has a record 10 bowl-eligible teams. The Pac-12 has seven bowls, including the Rose Bowl, contracted to take conference teams.
SF Chron excerpt.

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Topic - The playoff picture is now crystal clear. - LWR 05:50:58 11/30/15 (30)

RE: The playoff picture is now crystal clear. - regmac 08:36:24 11/30/15 (29)

Where is the OSU signature win? - Rod M 09:07:05 11/30/15 (16)

The better question is: Where's Iowa's signature win? Northwestern? When... - regmac 09:27:37 11/30/15 (5)

If Iowa wins, they're 13-0 and won over MSU - Rod M 10:04:59 11/30/15 (4)

I understand that, Rod. But Iowa is ranked 4th. Where is their signature win to justify that ranking? - regmac 10:29:50 11/30/15 (3)

The committee rewards W/L record... - Rod M 10:40:25 11/30/15 (2)

RE: The committee rewards W/L record... - regmac 10:54:37 11/30/15 (1)

RE: The committee rewards W/L record... - Rod M 11:24:59 11/30/15 (0)

That new coach has zero experience beating Stanford - LWR 09:23:00 11/30/15 (7)

Shaw Bowl Record: 2-2 - Rod M 09:40:34 11/30/15 (6)

What is USC's bowl record for the last 5 years - LWR 09:49:56 11/30/15 (4)

2-1 with sanctions that Stanford didn't have (mt) - Rod M 10:07:36 11/30/15 (3)

Oh, that's right - LWR 10:12:32 11/30/15 (2)

Helton's Bowl Record: 1-0 (mt) - Rod M 10:35:17 11/30/15 (0)

Chuckle and smirk. If only our dear friend Tin were here to weigh in. - regmac 10:22:29 11/30/15 (0)

Sic 'em, Rod! - regmac 09:42:46 11/30/15 (0)

Don't need one, all else considered. - free.ranger 09:12:17 11/30/15 (1)

RE: Don't need one, all else considered. - regmac 09:50:42 11/30/15 (0)

Where did I read that? - LWR 08:48:49 11/30/15 (11)

Thanks... - regmac 08:54:32 11/30/15 (10)

And Mike & Mike are not? - LWR 08:55:17 11/30/15 (9)

So... - regmac 08:58:36 11/30/15 (1)

There is no way to know that - LWR 09:06:48 11/30/15 (0)

And from your link, the biggest winners - LWR 08:58:18 11/30/15 (6)

There are no common opponets where OSU and Stanford are concerned. That's one... - regmac 09:03:32 11/30/15 (5)

Well then.....we shall see - LWR 09:11:13 11/30/15 (4)

RE: Well then.....we shall see - regmac 09:39:02 11/30/15 (3)

Probably not - LWR 09:50:54 11/30/15 (2)

RE: Probably not - regmac 09:57:21 11/30/15 (1)

There is absolutley - LWR 09:58:53 11/30/15 (0)

The playoff picture is now crystal clear.

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