College football playoff projections

My projection of the four teams for the College Football Playoff and the four other New Year's bowls.

The top four teams, as ranked by the 12-person selection committee, will be placed in the Orange and Cotton Bowls and meet on Dec. 31. The winners will meet on Jan. 11 in Glendale, Ariz. for the national title.

College Football Playoff

Orange: No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 4 Clemson

Cotton: No. 2 LSU vs. No. 3 TCU

Is Baylor the new Ohio State? The Bears lost quarterback Seth Russell to a season-ending neck injury with their four toughest games of the season coming up. Ohio State handled such transitions with ease last season. Maybe Baylor can do the same but that’s asking a lot of backup Jarrett Stidham, a freshman.

The Alabama-LSU game could lead to some interesting scenarios for the SEC. What if Alabama, already with one loss, runs the table and LSU closes out at 11-1?

Could the SEC sneak in two one-loss teams? Does one-loss Notre Dame or one-loss Stanford, after close calls, still have a pulse?

The committee’s first rankings come out on Tuesday.

New Year’s bowls

Sugar: Alabama (SEC) vs. Baylor (Big XII)

Rose: Iowa (Big Ten) vs. Stanford (Pac-12)

Fiesta: Michigan State (at large) vs. Houston (Group of 5)

Peach: Michigan (at large) vs. Notre Dame (at large)

Season-long reminder: The Sugar and Rose bowls, which were playoff games last year, are “contract” bowls this year. The SEC and Big 12 are the only conferences that can play in the Sugar and the Rose is only open to Big Ten and Pac-12 teams. Those four teams will still be placed into those games based on the CFP selection committee rankings.

Also, the highest-rated champion from the “Group of 5” conferences is guaranteed one spot.

This story was originally published November 1, 2015 at 3:54 PM with the headline "College football playoff projections."