Hoosier Huddle's College Football Playoff and Bowl Projections - November 10

/

Written by T.J. Inman

No one really wanted to find out but we wondered how the Hoosiers would respond in a close game. On Saturday afternoon in Bloomington, IU fans and coaches found out exactly what would happen with intense pressure as Indiana prevailed over Michigan 20-15. That improved the Hoosiers to 10-0, giving IU their first ten-win season in program history. It was an ugly offensive performance in the second half but IU’s defense was dominant and deserves a lot of credit for limiting Michigan to their fewest yards in a game in nearly a decade. IU entered the game ranked eighth in the College Football Playoff rankings and slotted as the nine-seed in the initial bracket. Ahead of Indiana, Miami lost for the first time and Georgia fell at Ole Miss. BYU was incredibly fortunate but they did survive, winning at Utah with a last-second field goal. How will the Playoff Committee sort all of this out? That is anyone’s guess but we’re taking our best stab at how the rest of the season will play out.

College Football Playoff Projections

  1. Oregon Ducks – Big Ten Champion

  2. Texas Longhorns – SEC Champion

  3. Miami Hurricanes – ACC Champion

  4. Colorado Buffaloes – Big 12 Champion

  5. Ohio State Buckeyes vs. 12. Boise State Broncos (G5 Selection)

  6. Penn State Nittany Lions vs. 11. Alabama Crimson Tide

  7. Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. 10. Ole Miss Rebels

  8. Georgia Bulldogs vs. 9. Indiana Hoosiers

Big Ten Bowl Projections

I continue to have four Big Ten teams (Indiana, Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State) in the College Football Playoff so the Big Ten’s bowl slotting process begins after those top four teams. 

Citrus Bowl – Illinois vs. Tennessee

Reliaquest Bowl – Minnesota vs. Missouri

Duke’s Mayo Bowl – Syracuse vs. Iowa

Music City Bowl – Michigan vs. South Carolina

Independence Bowl – Nebraska vs. Utah

Pinstripe Bowl – Wisconsin vs. Georgia Tech

Holiday Bowl – Kansas State vs. Washington

Detroit Bowl – Michigan State vs. Northern Illinois 

Indiana at Georgia in College Football Playoff First Round

I currently have the Indiana Hoosiers projected to finish the regular season at 11-1 but missing out to Ohio State and Oregon for the Big Ten Championship Game. I do believe that would be enough to get the Hoosiers into the 12-team playoff field. Of course, how the game against Ohio State actually plays out is quite important. If Indiana is competitive and then blows out Purdue, I think that’s enough to get into the field (it definitely should be!). If the Hoosiers get blown out in Columbus, it could get dicey. In this projection, I have the Hoosiers playing in Athens against the Georgia Bulldogs with a trip to the Rose Bowl on the line to face Oregon. IU is on a bye week but there are a lot of things for Hoosier fans to watch. Tennessee plays at Georgia and I think IU fans should be rooting for a Georgia blowout win. If the Volunteers suffer a second loss, there really isn’t much on their resume that would place them ahead of Indiana. The Vols would have a loss at a middling Arkansas team and then at Georgia, a 7-point home win over Alabama and really nothing else of note. Of course, a third-loss for Georgia would also be very damaging for a fellow playoff hopeful but the Bulldogs have a very meaty schedule and a marquee win at Texas. Kansas is playing much better recently and they play at BYU with the Cougars as slight favorites. A loss by BYU would ensure the Big 12 is a one-bid league. 

The second College Football Playoff rankings will be unveiled on Tuesday evening at around 8:30pm and Hoosier Huddle will have ongoing coverage of this historic Indiana season.