Alabama Football: Lots to love in one set of Playoff and Bowl predictions
As the talking season winds down, Alabama football fans can enjoy one of the early predictions for the CFB Playoff and the New Year’s Six bowl games.
In the four New Year’s Six bowl games and the two CFB Playoff semi-finals, Jerry Palm of CBS has three SEC football teams. In one of the semi-finals, the Rose Bowl, Palm has the Alabama Crimson Tide taking on Michigan. His other semi-final matchup, in the Sugar Bowl is Georgia against the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Palm has LSU in a rematch with Florida State in the Orange Bowl.
Cue the Alabama Football Hate
If Palm is correct, the national whining will be immense. Two SEC teams and two Big Ten teams in the final Playoff four-team field will draw the ire of many college football fans. Perhaps it portends the first 12-team Playoff field when combined the SEC and the Big Ten might have six to eight participants.
Those that don’t like the above scenario might need to think back that the foundational concept of the Playoffs was to select the ‘four best teams.’ The closest the new format can get to the ’12 best’ teams is a debate being rekindled after the demise of the Pac-12.
Jerry Palm’s prediction for the other New Year’s Six bowl games are:
- Southern Cal and Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl – Both as at-large teams
- Clemson and Texas in the Peach Bowl
- Penn State and Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl
How many other SEC football teams will go bowling? A few weeks ago, Bama HammerAthlon Sports predictions for the bowl season. Based on Athlon the other SEC teams to go bowling will be:
- Auburn vs. North Carolina State in the Gasparilla Bowl
- Mississippi State vs. Marshall in the Birmingham Bowl
- Kentucky vs. Pitt in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl
- Texas A&M vs. TCU in the Texas Bowl
- Ole Miss vs. North Carolina in the Gator Bowl
- Missouri vs. Oklahoma State in the Liberty Bowl
- Arkansas vs. Minnesota in the Music City Bowl
- South Carolina vs. Miami in the ReliaQuest Bowl
- Tennessee vs. Wisconsin in the Citrus Bowl
Florida and Vandy fans would be disappointed. Fans of the Tennessee Vols would be dismayed with the Citrus Bowl as well.
According to Palm, his prediction results in only “79 bowl-eligible teams for the 82 bowl slots.” Maybe the Gators and the Dores can sneak into bowl season.
