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VICE Sports Bowl Predictions: Iowa and Michigan State Are Fighting For The Final Playoff Spot

The college football regular season is almost over. Time to predict which schools will end up in postseason bowls.
Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

College football's regular season is now mostly over, with just a few games left to play next week. And that means it's time for the third VICE Sports College Football Bowl Predictions of 2015, our best educated guesses as to where schools will end up this postseason.

Read More: Vice Sports Heisman Watch: Christian McCaffery Breaks The Modern Mold

A few things to remember:

● These projections are based on what we think will happen at the end of the year, not what would happen if the season ended today.

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● The Playoff committee selects the top four seeds and places the top seed in the semifinal game closest to their campus. This year, the Orange Bowl and the Cotton Bowl host semifinals.

● The committee also places teams in the Fiesta and Peach bowls. The Rose and Sugar bowls technically choose their own replacements this year, but they will rely heavily on the rankings.

● Outside the New Year's Six, bowls sometimes have to pick schools based on conference standings, but largely are allowed to put together their favorite matchups so long as the participants fit within the event's tier. For instance, in the past, the Citrus Bowl got the second Big Ten pick and the Outback Bowl got the third. Now the Citrus, Outback, and Holiday are all equal in the Big Ten 2-4 tier.

● If a bowl runs out of eligible teams for its conference tie-in, it can look elsewhere.

● This might be the first year there aren't enough bowl-eligible teams (finishing with at least a 6-6 record) to fill out the total bowl lineup. If that happens, teams that finish 5-7 can be chosen.

TFW you're on the outside of the playoff, looking in. Photo by RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports

With that out of the way, our predictions:

Bowl

Date

Matchup

Tie-ins

National Championship

January 11

No. 1 Clemson vs. No. 3 Oklahoma

Playoff

Orange (Playoff)

December 31

No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 3 Oklahoma

Playoff

Cotton (Playoff)

December 31

No. 1 Clemson vs. No. 4 Iowa

Playoff

Fiesta (New Year's Six)

January 1

Notre Dame vs. Ohio State

At-large vs. At-large

Rose (NY 6)

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January 1

Michigan State vs. Stanford

Big Ten 1 vs. Pac-12 1

Sugar (NY 6)

January 1

TCU vs. Ole Miss

Big 12 1 vs. SEC 1

Peach (NY 6)

December 31

Houston vs. Florida State

At-large vs. At-large

Alamo

January 2

Baylor vs. USC

Big 12 2 vs. Pac-12 2

Cactus

January 2

Kansas State vs. Washington

Big 12 6 vs. Pac-12 7

Liberty

January 2

Texas Tech vs. Texas A&M

Big 12 5 vs. SEC 3-8

TaxSlayer

January 2

Miami vs. Georgia

ACC 3-6/Big Ten 5-7 vs. SEC 3-8

Citrus

January 1

Michigan vs. Florida

Big Ten 2-4 vs. SEC 2

Outback

January 1

Northwestern vs. Tennessee

Big Ten 2-4 vs. SEC 3-8

Belk

December 30

Pitt vs. Arkansas

ACC 3-6 vs. SEC 3-8

Birmingham

December 30

Memphis vs. Mississippi State

AAC vs. SEC 9

Holiday

December 30

Wisconsin vs. Oregon

Big Ten 2-4 vs. Pac-12 3

Music City

December 30

Penn State vs. Mississippi State

ACC 3-6/Big Ten 5-7 vs. SEC 3-8

Arizona

December 29

Marshall vs. Utah State

C-USA vs. MWC

Armed Forces

December 29

Nebraska vs. Boise State

Big Ten vs. MWC

Russell Athletic

December 29

North Carolina vs. Oklahoma State

ACC 2 vs. Big 12 3

Texas

December 29

West Virginia vs. LSU

Big 12 4 vs. SEC 3-8

Military

December 28

NC State vs. Navy

ACC vs. AAC

Quick Lane

December 28

Arizona State vs. San Jose State

ACC vs. Big Ten

Foster Farms

December 26

Indiana vs. Utah

Big Ten 5-7 vs. Pac-12 4

Heart of Dallas

December 26

Cal vs. Western Kentucky

Big 12 7 vs. C-USA

Independence

December 26

Duke vs. Auburn

ACC vs. SEC

Pinstripe

December 26

Virginia Tech vs. Arizona

ACC 3-6 vs. Big Ten 5-7

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St. Petersburg

December 26

South Florida vs. Akron

AAC vs. C-USA

Sun

December 26

Louisville vs. UCLA

ACC 3-6 vs. Pac-12 5

Bahamas

December 24

Middle Tennessee vs. Ohio

C-USA vs. MAC 4/5

Hawaii

December 24

Tulsa vs. BYU

AAC vs. MWC/BYU

GoDaddy

December 23

Bowling Green vs. Appalachian State

MAC 1 vs. Sun Belt 2

Poinsettia

December 23

San Diego State vs. Nevada

MWC vs. Army

Boca Raton

December 22

Temple vs. Western Michigan

AAC vs. MAC

Potato

December 22

Northern Illinois vs. Colorado State

MAC 2 vs. MWC

Miami Beach

December 21

UConn vs. Louisiana Tech

AAC vs. C-USA

Camelia

December 19

Toledo vs. Georgia Southern

MAC 3 vs. Sun Belt 3

Cure

December 19

Cincinnati vs. Missouri

AAC vs. Sun Belt

Las Vegas

December 19

Air Force vs. Washington State

MWC 1/BYU vs. Pac-12 6

New Mexico

December 19

Central Michigan vs. New Mexico

C-USA vs. MWC

New Orleans

December 19

Arkansas State vs. Southern Miss

Sun Belt 1 vs. C-USA

Playoffs? Playoffs. Photo by Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports

And now, our reasoning:

● We have Iowa in the Playoff! That said, we really have no idea who is going to win the Big Ten Championship Game between Iowa and Michigan State. These teams are built similarly, and they each have weaknesses. Expect quarterbacks for both schools to have big days against inconsistent opposing secondaries. The winner of the game will go to the College Football Playoff, and the loser probably will go to the Rose Bowl. We chose Iowa because that sounds hilarious and fun, and for a lot of fans, a national semifinal game against Clemson would be the first time they've seen the Hawkeyes play.

● There will be at least two 5-7 teams in bowls this year. We still don't know exactly how they'll be assigned to games, but the general consensus is that the 5-7 teams with the best Academic Progress Rates will get in. (Major college football is all about education, which is why crummy teams will miss valuable potential study and vacation time practicing for crummy made-for-TV bowl games). Nebraska and Missouri are probably in. We have Kansas State winning next week, but even if they don't, the Wildcats are in good shape. San Jose State should sneak in as well. What a time to be alive!

● The battle for the last few New Year's Six spots will be close. Right now, we have them going to TCU and Ole Miss. Northwestern, Oklahoma State and North Carolina are also contenders. The rest of the possible New Year's Six matchups—Michigan State-Stanford, then mix-and-match Ohio State, Notre Dame, Florida State and upstart Houston—look very good.

●The Playoff field of Clemson, Alabama, Oklahoma and the Big Ten winner looks pretty set in stone. Oklahoma already has essentially clinched a spot—just as VICE Sports previously predicted, ahem—as has the Big Ten. If Clemson or Alabama lose, that opens up an opportunity for Ohio State and/or Stanford.