Russell Athletic Bowl Projections Round-Up, Week 7
Jerry Palm (CBSSports) – Duke vs. Kansas State
Phil Steele (Phil Steele’s College Football Preview) – Notre Dame vs. Kansas State
Brett McMurphy (ESPN) – Clemson vs. Oklahoma State
Mark Schlabach (ESPN) – Louisville vs. Oklahoma State
Bill Bender (Sporting News) – Georgia Tech vs. Kansas State
David M. Hale (ESPN ACC Blog)/Brandon Chatmon (Big 12 Blog) – Georgia Tech vs. Kansas State
Brant Parsons (Orlando Sentinel) – Georgia Tech vs. TCU
After an upset-filled weekend of college football, the bowl projections have seen the biggest shakeup to date. Five of the seven media member switched their ACC picks for the bowl game while four of the seven changed their Big 12 picks.
Brett McMurphy and Mark Schlabach switched their prediction to Oklahoma State after the Cowboys knocked off Iowa State 37-20 to earn their fourth consecutive win. The Cowboys only loss so far came back in the opening week against top-ranked Florida State, 37-31. Parsons changed his pick from Kansas State to TCU after the Horned Frogs 37-33 upset victory over Oklahoma.
A week after being the overwhelming favorite as the pick of six of seven media members, Kansas State remains the favorite despite losing the pick of Brant Parsons, Brett McMurphy and Mark Schlabach. The Wildcats gained the vote of ESPN Big 12 Blogger Brandon Chatmon following their 45-13 win over Texas Tech.
Georgia Tech knocked off Miami to remain undefeated on the season and continue to gain popularity in the projections garnering support from Bill Bender, David M. Hale and Parsons. The Yellow Jackets are a perfect 3-0 in Orlando bowl games with their last visit coming in 2004. They defeated Syracuse 51-14 in the Champs Sports Bowl (now Russell Athletic Bowl).
Jerry Palm kept his matchup of Duke and Kansas State for the second consecutive week while Phil Steele kept his picks the same for the sixth week in a row.
Following their 17-14 win over Stanford, the Fighting Irish moved out of a lot of projections with a shot at the CFP looking brighter now that they are one of only nine remaining unbeatens in the nation.
McMurphy moved Clemson into his projections following their 41-0 win over NC State. The Tigers last visit came in the 2005 Champs Sports Bowl where they knocked off Colorado, 19-10. Louisville returns to the projections this week earning the pick of Schlabach following their 28-6 win on the road against Syracuse Friday night. Louisville would become the second team to make back-to-back appearances in this bowl game, and the first since NC State participated in the 2000 and 2001 games.