Hoosier Huddle's College Football Playoff and Bowl Projections - October 20
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Written by T.J. Inman
FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff was in town to see the 6-0 Indiana Hoosiers and the nation was curious: who are these Indiana Hoosiers and are they for real? After a 60-minute beatdown of the previously 5-1 Nebraska Cornhuskers and a 56-7 win for Indiana, the answer ringing out from a sold-out Memorial Stadium was a resounding “YES!” There was a negative from the impressive victory though. Kurtis Rourke injured his thumb in the first half and stood in street clothes during the second half as Tayven Jackson finished the job at quarterback. Rourke is a doubt for the Washington game this weekend and the uncertainty at the most important position in the game is enough to keep them from a projection in the College Football Playoff.
College Football Playoff Projections
Georgia Bulldogs – SEC Champion
Ohio State Buckeyes – Big Ten Champion
Clemson Tigers – ACC Champion
Iowa State Cyclones – Big 12 Champion
Oregon Ducks vs. 12. Boise State Broncos (G5 Selection)
Texas Longhorns vs. 11. LSU Tigers
Miami Hurricanes vs. 10. Texas A&M Aggies
Penn State Nittany Lions vs. 9. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Big Ten Bowl Projections
I have three Big Ten teams (Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State) in the College Football Playoff so the Big Ten’s bowl slotting process begins after those top three teams.
Citrus Bowl – Indiana vs. Ole Miss
Reliaquest Bowl – Illinois vs. Missouri
Duke’s Mayo Bowl – Syracuse vs. Wisconsin
Music City Bowl – Michigan vs. Oklahoma
Independence Bowl – Nebraska vs. Utah
Pinstripe Bowl – Rutgers vs. Georgia Tech
Holiday Bowl – Colorado vs. Washington
Liberty Bowl – Cincinnati vs. Northwestern
Guaranteed Rate Bowl – Arizona State vs. Iowa
Detroit Bowl – Michigan State vs. Northern Illinois
Indiana vs. Ole Miss in Cheez-it Citrus Bowl (December 31)
I currently have the Indiana Hoosiers projected to finish the regular season at 10-2 and being selected for the Citrus Bowl against the Ole Miss Rebels. The Hoosiers hammered Nebraska and definitively placed themselves well ahead of the Huskers in the conference pecking order. Elsewhere, Iowa lost at Michigan State to leave both teams at 2-2 in the league. Michigan fell to Illinois and they now have two league losses. Outside of wanting to win over Washington, IU fans should be rooting for Wisconsin to knock off Penn State and Oregon to take care of business of Illinois and give the Illini a second league loss. Other bowl games to consider for IU fans are the Music City Bowl, the Duke’s Mayo Bowl and the Reliaquest Bowl but a 10-2 or 11-1 record brings the College Football Playoff into play. It certainly appears to me that an 11-1 IU team (loss to Ohio State and misses qualifying for the Big Ten Championship Game by losing the head-to-head tiebreaker to OSU) would make the College Football Playoff but would the Hoosiers squeak in at 10-2? Or, would they miss out to teams like Notre Dame, Texas A&M or LSU?