New Year’s Six Bowl Projections Part I
Orange Bowl: Friday, Dec. 30 at 8 p.m.; Hard Rock Stadium; Miami Gardens, Fla.
Louisville Cardinals vs Ohio State Buckeyes
Even though the Louisville Cardinals suffered a shock against the Houston Cougars, they still are going to be a Top 8 team when it’s all said and done. And with another ACC team getting to the College Football Playoff, they’ll get the Orange Bowl lock that the ACC gets.
Meanwhile, all of our projections have the Ohio State Buckeyes losing to the Michigan Wolverines this week. When that happens, they’ll fall to third in the Big Ten East. Urban Meyer’s team will still be great enough to get a New Year’s Six bid, but they will fall to the Orange Bowl. A loss knocks them out of the Rose Bowl.
Cotton Bowl: Monday, Jan. 2 at 1 p.m.; AT&T Stadium; Arlington, Texas
West Virginia Mountaineers vs Boise State Broncos
Even in a loss, the West Virginia Mountaineers still have a great chance at a New Year’s Six Bowl. We have them finishing the season 10-2 and second in the Big 12, so our Bowl Projections place them in Texas to face the at-large team coming out of the Group of Five. Congratulations to Dana Holgorsen and his bunch.
That at-large team should be the Houston Cougars, but since they won’t win their own conference, they can’t be put in. That leaves the Boise State Broncos. Our projections have them winning out, and although the Western Michigan Broncos are undefeated, Boise State has a more impressive resume. As a result, they’ll face West Virginia in what should be an epic match-up in our bowl projections.