Bowl season is a long way out in the world of college football, but that won't stop anyone from projecting what will transpire in late December and early January. Stewart Mandel of FOX Sports is one pundit who has taken on the task of putting together projections and, in this week's edition, one glaring omission emerged.
First, Mandel projects No. 1 Alabama to take on the Washington Huskies in the 1-vs-4 match-up in the Peach Bowl and, in the night cap, the writer pegs a game between Clemson and Ohio State in the 2-vs-3 battle. In short, Mandel is banking on a victory for the Buckeyes in the season finale against Michigan and the Wolverines are (easily) the highest ranked team left out of the proceedings.
Later in the piece, Mandel describes a scenario in which Michigan (at 11-1) could sneak into the CFB Playoff if Utah can topple Washington this week, but that workaround likely won't satisfy fans of the Wolverines. To be fair, "The Game" is set to take place in Columbus and Ohio State is seen as the Las Vegas favorite at this point, but Michigan Men everywhere are drinking the Jim Harbaugh Kool-Aid and this won't go over well.
Anything can happen, though, and that is the fun of college football.