College Football’s drop got a major facelift with two surprising hits that caused half of the field to be modified.
The first entrant is Southern California. The Trojans’ path was clear three weeks ago. Can they navigate three games across UCLA, Notre Dame and the Pac-12 to secure a spot in the semifinals?
There are two moves in the books, and the final one brings an impressive defeat to the Fighting Irish. The last one will come against Utah, the only team to beat USC. The Trojans should get a better score on Friday and secure an unlikely berth in Lincoln Riley’s senior season.
The other team joining the field is Michigan after its impressive defeat of Ohio State effectively puts the Wolverines in the field even with one more game remaining against Purdue in the Big Ten title game.
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This week the Buckeyes, who had appeared to be a Big Ten class before the loss, and Clemson, who suffered a stunning loss at home to South Carolina, fell apart this week.
Other adjustments come this week in the New Year’s Six with Kansas State securing a spot in the Sugar Bowl and Washington’s defeat of Washington State moving the Huskies to the Rose Bowl. LSU drops out of the Sugar Bowl and clears a spot for Tennessee in the Orange Bowl.
Here’s the state of the rest of the bowl field: With 41 postseason games plus the national championship game, there are 82 spots for the six-win teams. There are 79 teams that entered the final weekend already qualified. Buffalo is 5-6 years old and plays the Akron. Even with a win, that means there are two spots available. Those can go to teams that finish 6-6 but have two wins in the minor league championship. That group is led by Appalachian State, who completed the season at 6-6. New Mexico State and Army are both 5-6 and NCAA waiver hopefuls. Army plays Navy on December 10, but will need approval to play at Independence Stadium by December 3.
If there are remaining places available, the 5-7 teams with the highest Academic Progress Report scores will get the first opportunity. Rice then UNLV in first place.
Reminder: Some conferences may not meet their bowl allocation. Asterisks indicate alternative selection. Teams written in bold on the sidewalks have accepted.
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