Russell Athletic Bowl Projections Round-Up, Week 14
Phil Steele (Phil Steele’s College Football Preview) – Clemson vs. Kansas State
Brett McMurphy (ESPN) – Florida State vs. Oklahoma
Mark Schlabach (ESPN) – Georgia Tech vs. Oklahoma
Stewart Mandel (Fox Sports) – Clemson vs. Kansas State
David M. Hale (ESPN ACC Blog)/Jake Trotter (Big 12 Blog) – Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma
Jerry Palm (CBSSports) – Georgia Tech vs. Oklahoma
Bill Bender (Sporting News) – Georgia Tech vs. Oklahoma
Brant Parsons (Orlando Sentinel) – Clemson vs. Oklahoma
Oklahoma remains the favorite to play in this year’s Russell Athletic Bowl, finding a spot in six of the eight projections for the second consecutive week. The Sooners have three losses on the season, but all three have come to teams currently ranked in the top 12 of the College Football Playoff Rankings.
Georgia Tech received more recognition this week, earning three picks. The Yellow Jackets close out their regular season on the road against Georgia this weekend. Despite the loss to Georgia Tech two weeks ago, Clemson finished their conference season in second place behind the undefeated Florida State Seminoles and are projected to visit Orlando by Phil Steele, Stewart Mandel and Brant Parsons.
Brett McMurphy altered his pick this week, predicting that Florida State falls out of the College Football Playoff and into the Russell Athletic Bowl. The Seminoles knocked off Notre Dame 18-14 in the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl during their last visit to the Orlando Citrus Bowl.
Steele and Mandel both projected Kansas State to make their first trip to Orlando in this week’s projections. The Wildcats are currently ranked No. 12 in the rankings but still have to play No. 7 on the road. David M. Hale keeps Notre Dame in his projections this week despite losses in four of their last five games.