Bowl Predictions 2017: Full Projections for CFP Final and More Top Games

The committee's job in deciding the College Football Playoff could be self-explanatory.

The SEC Championship Game is a play in. Either Georgia or Auburn will be one of the four teams making the trip. 

The same can essentially be said for the ACC Championship Game between Clemson and Miami, though the committee has not been fond of the Hurricanes all season. Despite having similarly bad losses to unranked teams, Clemson currently sits first heading into Saturday while Miami is seventh. The Tigers have a better overall resume and have a far superior point differential, but the disparity is noteworthy in the event of a Miami win.

Oklahoma and Wisconsin can also wrap up their spots with wins in their respective conference title games. The Sooners are 7.5-point favorites over TCU—a team they soundly defeated in Norman three weeks ago. Oklahoma scored all 38 of its points in the first half on its way to a 18-point victory.

"There's always things you see on tape after playing somebody that you say, 'Maybe we do that differently,'" Baker Mayfield said, per John E. Hoover of Sporting News. "I'm sure they'll have, scheme-wise, some just minor changes here and there. You said it, they do what they do and they've been great at it for a long time. So they're not going to have anything major, majorly change. We have to be ready to adjust on the fly and see how they come out and have the little changes like you said."

Oklahoma has won seven straight games, the last five coming by double digits. Of the two non-play-ins, this is the less interesting contest.

The most interesting matchup of the weekend is the Big Ten Championship Game, where Wisconsin will try to finally prove itself worthy and Ohio State will attempt to throw everything into chaos.

If the Badgers win, they're in. They're the only undefeated Power Five team. While their schedule lacks the same strength as the three teams ranked ahead of them, they've managed to get the job done every week—something their counterparts cannot say.

Wisconsin will undoubtedly move up to at least No. 3 with a win over the Buckeyes, who are playing either for themselves or Alabama.

Should Ohio State win, the committee will find itself in a somewhat similar situation to last year when Penn State won the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions held a head-to-head win over Ohio State but had two losses. The Buckeyes were ultimately awarded the final spot and went on to get shut out by Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl.

There won't be any head-to-head advantages here. Alabama will be simply sitting there with one loss, with its resume stacked against a two-loss Ohio State team with a conference title.

"I think this team deserves an opportunity to get in the playoff by what they've been able to accomplish and what they've been able to do," Alabama coach Nick Saban told reporters. "Certainly not maybe in this game, but I think the team we played tonight is a very good football team, probably one of the best teams in the country.

"They won 11 games, and not many teams are able to do that. I really don't know what all the scenarios might be where we'd have an opportunity to do it, but I'd certainly like to see this team get an opportunity to do it."

The Buckeyes might be playing at a bit of a disadvantage after J.T. Barrett underwent surgery on his knee after injuring it in last week's win against Michigan. Barrett will be in the lineup.

         

CFB Projections

No. 1 Clemson vs. No. 4 Alabama

No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Georgia

        

Final

No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 2 Oklahoma

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