Big Ten team jumps into latest bowl projections and no, it’s not Iowa
Just when it seemed at least two pieces of the College Football Playoff were figured out, along comes the biggest upset of the season to make you question everything.
Alabama and Georgia looked preordained to meet for the SEC title as unbeaten teams with the winner getting the top seed in the semifinals and the loser comfortably slotting into the other side of the bracket as the best one-loss team in the country.
That scenario blew up when the Crimson Tide were stunned by Texas A&M and it creates the possibility they could get left out of the field with a loss to the Bulldogs and no conference title. As well as Alabama is regarded, having a twoloss, at-large team in the field - even in this crazy season - would appear unlikely.
Among the other notable results from the weekend, Iowa looked shaky against Penn State for a half before the Nittany Lions lost their starting quarterback, opening the door for the Hawkeyes to rally at home for a massive win. Oklahoma survived Texas to remain unbeaten and keep its favorite spot in the Big 12.
So how did this weekend change this edition of the bowl projections? Alabama is keeping its spot with the expectation it wins the rest of its regular-season games and gets by Georgia in the SEC title game. There's not a ton of confidence with this pick, but it still seems to be the most likely result despite the unpredictable nature of the season. Iowa is not so fortunate as the Hawkeyes drop out in favor of Ohio State, now the favorite to win the Big Ten East. Oklahoma also remains in the field.
There also were changes with the New Year's Six bowls as Notre Dame and Arizona State move in, while Oregon and Brigham Young fall out.