Bowl season shakeup: Big Ten teams are big winners

We are approaching Thanksgiving, when much of the college football season ends and several conference championship games loom. The College Football Playoff rankings are getting more serious, and any slipup now could tank a team's title hopes.

It seems like a good time to update our midseason bowl predictions now that we have a bit of a better grasp on the standings and which teams are even bowl-eligible. We have used the current standings to try to predict where everyone might land. Understand that we have to take some liberties in guessing how the rest of the season will play out.

Peach Bowl: Alabama vs. Washington
Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State vs. Clemson

Obviously these aren't the four teams listed in the most recent College Football Playoff rankings. I am picking Ohio State to beat Michigan in their showdown, which, in turn, would move Washington into the playoff. Why Washington? Well I have the Huskies winning the Pac-12 championship and believe that fact would put them past Louisville.

Rose Bowl: Wisconsin vs. USC
Sugar Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Auburn
Cotton Bowl: Boise State vs. Penn State
Orange Bowl: Louisville vs. Michigan

Here are the other "New Year's Six" bowls. The Big Ten is well-represented here. Not only does the Rose Bowl get its Big Ten representative, but Michigan and Penn State get in as well. As of now, Boise State is the highest-ranking Group of 5 school, though this could change. The Broncos may not even win their conference, which would eliminate them from getting this spot.

Outback Bowl: Minnesota vs. Ole Miss
Citrus Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. LSU
Liberty Bowl: Kansas State vs. Florida
Sun Bowl: Pittsburgh vs. Stanford
Music City Bowl: Iowa vs. Arkansas
Birmingham Bowl: Kentucky vs. Houston
Belk Bowl: North Carolina vs. Tennessee
Alamo Bowl: Oklahoma State vs. Colorado
Pinstripe Bowl: Miami vs. Northwestern
Russell Athletic Bowl: Florida State vs. West Virginia
Foster Farms Bowl: Indiana vs. Utah
Texas Bowl: Baylor vs. Texas A&M

The next level of games is always fluid, and conferences like the Big Ten have certain rules about not letting teams play in certain bowls more than once in a certain time frame. Again, this takes into consideration what the standings look like now and not so much how things could shake out. Still, there are some intriguing matchups here.

Heart of Dallas Bowl: Texas-San Antonio vs. Army
Military Bowl: N.C. State vs. Temple
Holiday Bowl: Nebraska vs. Washington State
Cactus Bowl: TCU vs. California
St. Petersburg Bowl: Duke vs. SMU
Quick Lane Bowl: Syracuse vs. Maryland
TaxSlayer Bowl: Wake Forest vs. Georgia
Independence Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. South Carolina
Armed Forces Bowl: Texas vs. Navy
Las Vegas Bowl: Arizona State vs. San Diego State

Here is where you have a bit more crossover between the Power 5 schools and the Group of 5 schools. Navy is all but locked in the Armed Forces Bowl bid.

Hawaii Bowl: Air Force vs. Western Kentucky
Bahamas Bowl: Tulsa vs. Western Michigan
Dollar General Bowl: Ohio vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
Idaho Potato Bowl: Wyoming vs. Eastern Michigan
Arizona Bowl: Colorado State vs. Idaho
Poinsettia Bowl: UNLV vs. BYU
Boca Raton Bowl: South Florida vs. Old Dominion
Miami Beach Bowl: Memphis vs. Toledo
New Mexico Bowl: New Mexico vs. Middle Tennessee
Cure Bowl: Central Florida vs. Arkansas State
Camellia Bowl: Miami-OH vs. Appalachian State
New Orleans Bowl: Louisiana Tech vs. Troy

And, finally, you have the bowls that are pretty much Group of 5 schools facing off against each other. Usually these bowls select teams that make geographic sense so they can guarantee decent attendance figures.