This is my projection for where the UCF Knights will be in the College Football Playoff rankings, after dropping to #11 in the Coaches’ and AP Polls:

1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Notre Dame
4. Michigan
5. Georgia
6. Oklahoma
7. Washington State
8. Ohio State
9. West Virginia
10. LSU
11. UCF

So what does that mean for UCF as far as bowl games?

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New Year’s Six Bowl Projections

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl

Saturday, December 29th

Noon, ESPN

Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA

At-large vs. At-large

Projection: West Virginia vs. LSU

PlayStation Fiesta Bowl

Tuesday, January 1st

1:00, ESPN

University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ

At-large vs. At-large

Projection: UCF vs. Kentucky

Rose Bowl

Tuesday, January 1st

5:00, ESPN

Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA

Big Ten vs. Pac-12

Projection: Ohio State vs. Washington State

Sugar Bowl

Tuesday, January 1st

8:30, ESPN

Mercedes-Benz Stadium, New Orleans, LA

Big 12 vs. SEC

Projection: Oklahoma vs. Georgia

UCF is looking more and more likely headed for the Fiesta Bowl. Georgia would be first choice to go to the Sugar Bowl, which drops LSU to the Fiesta or Peach. The Peach Bowl would take LSU.

That would leave Fiesta Bowl stuck with Kentucky as the last of the three SEC teams, if all three continue to win. West Virginia’s win over Texas makes the Mountaineers an attractive option for the Peach Bowl with Oklahoma going to the Sugar Bowl if they do not make the playoff. That would leave UCF as the last pick for the Fiesta Bowl. Of course, results down the road can change this drastically.

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If I had it my way. I would have a 8 team playoff with 6 auto bids for conference champions (ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 12, G5 Champ) with 2 at-larges:

1. Alabama (SEC Champ)
2. Clemson (ACC Champ)
3. Notre Dame (At-Large)
4. Michigan (Big Ten Champ)
5. Oklahoma (Big 12 Champ)
6. UCF (G5 Champ)
7. Washington State (Pac-12 Champ)
8. Georgia (At-Large)

Last three teams out: West Virginia, Ohio State, LSU

Matchups

• 1 Alabama vs. 8 Washington State (Cotton Bowl)
• 4 Michigan vs. 5 Oklahoma (Rose Bowl)
• 3 Notre Dame vs 6 UCF (Fiesta Bowl)
• 2 Clemson vs 7 Georgia (Orange Bowl)

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Update on College Gameday

Earlier this season, I wrote about possibility of ESPN’s College Gameday coming to UCF for the Cincinnati game on November 17.

What I did not anticipate when I wrote that article was Syracuse having the successful season that they are currently having. As of now, Notre Dame, who is ranked 3rd, would play Syracuse, a top-20 team, at Yankee Stadium on November 17th in primetime on NBC.

Being in the New York market, there is a unique possibility of doing GameDay from Yankee Stadium, with the Irish involved. All of these scenarios make Syracuse-Notre Dame the favorite over Cincinnati-UCF for College GameDay on November 17th. However it is expensive to do a show outside in New York. Especially in a location like Yankee Stadium which may present some logistic issues. So UCF is strongly in the mix. We should officially know by Saturday night.