CBS bowl projection sends Clemson out West |
CBS Sports analyst Jerry Palm released his bowl projections on Thursday and he has the Tigers
doing some traveling in the postseason.
Palm projects Alabama ending the regular season as the nation's No. 1 team and therefore drawing an All-SEC battle in Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium with 4-seed Georgia in the Peach Bowl Playoff semifinal. That then sends Clemson to Glendale, Arizona for the third time in five seasons and a date with 3-seed Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl Playoff semifinal. "For the I-lost-count number of seasons in a row, I am picking Alabama as the preseason No. 1 team in the bowl projections," Palm said. "It is not entirely crazy. The Tide have been No. 1 in the Preseason AP Top 25, end-of-regular-season AP Top 25 or postseason AP Top 25 in each of the last 11 years. "Both teams have lost a fair amount of talent, as they always do, and Clemson is sticking with Alabama step for step not just on the field but on the recruiting trail as well. However, I believe Alabama's strength of schedule will push the Tide to the top of the rankings when the season comes to an end. That statement is not based as much on the perceived overall superiority of the SEC but rather that the ACC is down this season outside of the Tigers." Palm's picks do not include a projected final or championship winner. Other interesting bowl matchups include Miami staying home to host Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl and an LSU-Texas grudge match in the Sugar Bowl (they meet in the regular season in Austin, Texas this year). He has eight ACC bowl teams bowling in all, with Duke, Pittsburgh, Wake Forest, Louisville, North Carolina and Georgia Tech left out.
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