NCAA Pipe Dream Playoffs: Bowl Quarterfinals

For Round 1's results, check here.

This weekend serves as Round 2 of the playoffs as the actual Bowl season gets underway: a crappy system of games that puts money in the bowl administrators' pockets by robbing the very schools it puts on the field. I started reading Death to the BCS Friday night, which also endorses a 16 team playoff, though the teams in it are different than the system below.

Speaking of which, we're set to see who moves closer to a more legit national title as well as the other bowl games.

This year, the Rose Bowl will serve as the 9th place game (whoever wins in the loser's bracket). In the winner's bracket, every team will go to a major bowl game. The Fiesta Bowl (oh, the Fiesta Bowl...) will serve as the 7th place game, the Sugar Bowl 5th, and the Orange Bowl 3rd. These will rotate on a yearly basis, though I'm considering keeping the Rose Bowl as the 9th place game (makes more sense with the teams that go there getting roses after winning their conference titles to get there). More on that later.

For now, the games. Higher seeds get home field advantage, and weather is taken into account from Saturday, December 17th. Simulations are once again provided by WhatIfSports.com.

Loser's Bracket

(16)Georgia vs. (9)South Carolina                   (15)Clemson vs. (10)Wisconsin
Game 1: UGA 17, SC 12                                    Game 1: WIS 45, CLE 27
Game 2: SC 23, UGA 13                                    Game 2: WIS 38, CLE 13
Game 3: UGA 48, SC 22                                    Game 3: WIS 46, CLE 39 (2OT)
Final: UGA 26, SC 19                                       Final: WIS 43, CLE 26

(13)Michigan vs. (12)Baylor                            (14)Oklahoma vs. (11)Virginia Tech
Game 1: MICH 45, BAY 24                               Game 1: OU 28, VT 24
Game 2: BAY 52, MICH 13                               Game 2: OU 37, VT 24
Game 3: BAY 45, MICH 16                               Game 3: OU 40, VT 10
Final: BAY 40, MICH 25                                    Final: OU 35, VT 19

 South Carolina, Clemson, Virginia Tech, and Michigan are all eliminated from the playoffs.

Winner's Bracket

(1)LSU vs. (8)Kansas State                             (2)Alabama vs. (7)Boise State
Game 1: LSU 27, KSU 20                                 Game 1: ALA 48, BSU 30
Game 2: LSU 47, KSU 6                                   Game 2: ALA 57, BSU 7
Game 3: LSU 42, KSU 0                                   Game 3: ALA 34, BSU 21
Final: LSU 39, KSU 9                                      Final: ALA 46, BSU 19

(4)Stanford vs. (5)Oregon                                (3)Oklahoma State vs. (6)Arkansas
Game 1: STAN 34, ORE 31                               Game 1: OSU 41, ARK 21
Game 2: ORE 45, STAN 40                               Game 2: OSU 38, ARK 33
Game 3: ORE 37, STAN 34                               Game 3: OSU 45, ARK 42
Final: ORE 38, STAN 36                                   Final: OSU 41, ARK 32

A couple upsets in the loser's bracket makes things interesting, and I thought it was going to be 3 after the first Michigan-Baylor sim, though obviously that didn't happen. We're left with a couple fascinating games to decide who goes to the Rose Bowl down there. Meanwhile in the winner's bracket, we had only the one mild upset in Oregon over Stanford (5 over 4). Almost seems like even with a playoff, we're due for an LSU-Alabama rematch, barring Oregon or Oklahoma State throwing a wrench into things.

We have to wait another week now for the semis, and I'll end up doing some of these games on the Friday since it's Christmas Eve on Saturday. For now, hopefully the bowl games offer some good matchups in exchange for the greed that runs deep through them.