Finally some clarity, and a Bo Jackson like jump by Auburn into the projected brackets

With Stanford's win over Oregon, and Baylor's "how do you like me now" win over Oklahoma, we have now come to the point that the top of the tournament has solidified.  Sometimes this does not happen until the end of the regular season (like when Alabama and Florida were number 1 and 2 going into the SEC Championship), but the current top six teams are not projected to play one other until the post-season.  So if the top six win out, they will still be the top six seeds in the tourney.

So as of now...

1) Alabama looks to be in position for another easy Sugar Bowl win, so Tide fans probably are starting to buy up Final Four Indy tickets.  Three of the last four seasons, Alabama teams seeded in the top 2 have easily handled Ohio State, West Virginia, and, yes, last season's Florida State team.

2) Florida State solidified a top 2 seed, which is quite valuable, particularly in their home state Orange Bowl. 

3)  Oregon and Clemson are kind of in the nice position that Florida was last year.  A single loss but no need to play a conference championship game.  Like Florida, who handled FSU in their last game in 2012, Clemson and Oregon's at-large "elimination game" may well be against their respective in-state rivals.  But I bet Oregon is pretty much in line for an at-large, although Clemson's South Carolina match-up seems more hazardous.

4) Where did Auburn come from?  They jumped past Clemson and Missouri, to knock the latter Tigers out of the projections.  But Auburn still has 'Bama to deal with.

5) Fresno State is still in line to have geographic advantage in a First Round game, but with the National Championship game in Pasadena, that may help find a location for a First Round game.  See, there is a guideline that teams should not have home state advantage for more than one game.  So are the Bulldogs likely to make it to Pasadena.  Duh, no, but the guideline allows the game to be sent to Las Vegas, and the small venue won't look embarrassingly empty, plus might be a nice draw to bring fans in even from a distance.

So, here are the projections!

First Round:

In Gainesville:

#7 Auburn (at-large) versus #10 Central Florida (AAC) 

 

In Las Vegas:

#8 Clemson (at-large) versus #9 Fresno State (automatic non-AQ) 

 

Quarterfinals:

Sugar Bowl:

#1 Alabama (SEC) versus Clemson/Fresno State

Fiesta Bowl:

#4 Stanford (Pac-12) versus #5 Baylor (Big XII)

Orange Bowl:

#2 Florida State (ACC) versus Auburn/Central Florida winner

 

Rose Bowl:

#3 Ohio State (Big Ten) versus #6 Oregon (at-large) 

 

Semi-Finals in Indianapolis, Championship in Pasadena