Bryce Young cannot come back soon enough for Alabama. The Crimson Tide came within one play of taking their first loss of the season at home to Texas A&M on Saturday night. Jalen Milroe has done enough to win in Young's absence, but he turned it over three times against the Aggies with both his fumbles leading to eventual touchdowns.
Ball security will be important next week when Alabama travels to red-hot Tennessee, which will be looking for its first win over the Tide since 2006. Texas A&M's offense cannot make a team pay for turnovers the way Tennessee's can. The Tide will be in for a fight even if they are at full strength. If the Vols win, it could reasonably be argued that they become the favorite out of the SEC to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff.
As it stands, Alabama remains the projected No. 3 seed.
Elsewhere, things were much more comfortable for Georgia, Ohio State and Clemson, the other three projected playoff teams. Clemson will also have to be on guard next Saturday as the Tigers travel to an improved Florida State.
College Football Playoff
| Date | Game / Loc. | Matchup | Prediction |
|---|---|---|---|
Jan. 9 | National Championship | Title game | Semifinal winners |
Dec. 31 | Peach Bowl | Semifinal | |
Dec. 31 | Fiesta Bowl | Semifinal | (2) Ohio State vs. (3) Alabama |
There is a change in the New Year's Six matchups this week. UCLA's win over Utah has knocked the Utes out of the Rose Bowl. They have been replaced by USC, the newly projected Pac-12 champion.
Oregon is predicted to be the Pac-12 runner-up, and it should still remain high enough in the CFP Rankings to earn a spot in the Cotton Bowl, which has the only at-large spot in the New Year's Six games this season.
New Year's Six bowl games
| Date | Bowl / Location | Matchup | Prediction |
|---|---|---|---|
Jan. 2 | Rose | Big Ten vs. Pac-12 | Michigan vs. USC |
Jan. 2 | Cotton | at-large vs. at-large | Oregon vs. Coastal Carolina |
Dec. 31 | Sugar | SEC vs. Big 12 | Tennessee vs. Oklahoma State |
Dec. 30 | Orange | ACC vs. SEC/B1G/ND | NC State vs. Penn State |
Alabama and Clemson are not the only undefeated teams with big challenges this coming week. There are six other unblemished teams in action, including a top-10 matchup in the Big Ten when Penn State visits Michigan. The winner stays in the race for a spot in the CFP, although each team is currently projected to go to a New Year's Six game.
The Big 12 features another battle of unbeatens when Oklahoma State visits TCU. The Horned Frogs just handed Kansas its first loss of the season. The Big 12 is starting to look like it will be a crowded race to the championship.
USC also looks to stay in the CFP hunt when it travels to Utah. The Utes will be trying to remain in the Pac-12 race after their loss to UCLA. Two league losses may be one too many for Utah.
Finally, Syracuse, the lowest ranked of the Power Five unbeaten, hosts NC State and opens as a four-point underdog.
It is time to start the count to 82 bowl-eligible teams. Nine teams picked up their sixth win this weekend, which means there are only 73 to go!
There are still four bowl teams predicted to finish 5-7 in this week's projections. Army West Point is not one of those, but the Black Knights are expected to be 4-6 on Selection Sunday. That would mean the Independence Bowl would have to wait to see if Army beats Navy on Dec. 10 to become eligible. Army is actually projected to have six wins if it beats Navy, but two of those are against FCS schools, only one of which can count towards bowl eligibility. Army would qualify as a five-win team because of a good APR. If Army loses to Navy, the Independence Bowl would get another options, which would likely come from the pool of 5-7 teams.
Don't see your team? Check out the rest of Jerry Palm's bowl projections after Week 6.
