Bowl Projections 2020: Postseason Predictions, College Football Playoff Outlook

Saturday is a crucial day in the College Football Playoff fight.

A pair of top-10 matchups should provide more clarity as to which teams belong in the final four, as well as the New Year's Six bowls.

The Clemson Tigers will try to pass their first major test of the 2020 season in a similar fashion as the Alabama Crimson Tide and Ohio State Buckeyes.

Alabama used a second-half surge to down the Georgia Bulldogs, and the Buckeyes controlled most of their matchup with the Penn State Nittany Lions.

If Dabo Swinney's side flexes its muscle against Notre Dame, it could make a case to remain the No. 1 team in the polls with a few weeks to go until the first CFB Playoff rankings release. Clemson beat out Alabama by two points in the Week 10 AP Top 25.

Georgia has an opportunity to confirm its position beneath the top three by beating the Florida Gators to gain an upper hand in the SEC East.

If the Bulldogs win, they will be mentioned alongside the loser of Clemson's clash with the Fighting Irish as the top contenders for the No. 4 seed.

Alabama should eventually take over the top spot in the rankings.

The Crimson Tide were within two points and four first-place votes of Clemson in the latest AP Top 25 and should finish with the more complete resume.

Nick Saban's side could end with two quality wins over Georgia and victories against the Texas A&M Aggies and Auburn Tigers. The win over Texas A&M in early October may be especially important to Alabama's resume since the Aggies have not lost since and have emerged as the second-best team in the SEC West.

If Texas A&M continues to win and Alabama sweeps its remaining games, the Crimson Tide's resume will look better than what Clemson can produce.

Clemson owns a top-10 win over the Miami Hurricanes at home, but they are four spots back of Texas A&M in the Week 10 rankings.

Notre Dame's playoff qualification formula may be as simple as beating Clemson once in two tries combined with a second Alabama win over Georgia. The Fighting Irish's best chance to beat Clemson should come Saturday, with quarterback Trevor Lawrence out and D.J. Uiagalelei starting his first road game.

The 6-0 Irish have held five of their opponents under 20 points this season, and if their defense finds a way to contain Uiagalelei and running back Travis Etienne, they can knock off Clemson.

Beating the Tigers twice in one season seems like a monumental task, especially if Lawrence returns to the lineup.

With undefeated teams dropping by the week and Alabama in control of its rivalry with Georgia, Notre Dame could be in position to qualify for the playoff with one win over the current No. 1 team.

Ohio State asserted its dominance in its first two Big Ten games by defeating the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Penn State by a combined 48 points.

With the Indiana Hoosiers climbing up the Top 25, Ohio State has an additional chance to land a ranked victory November 21. Ryan Day's team also has to hope that the Michigan Wolverines are good enough to remain in the Top 25 by the time they square off December 12.

If the Buckeyes' resume boasts a handful of ranked wins, they should have no problem clearing any of the one-loss contenders beneath them.

Ohio State's ceiling is the No. 2 seed if Alabama remains undefeated, which could come with a Rose Bowl berth this season since the Crimson Tide would likely choose to play at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

The biggest playoff question surrounding Clemson is how the committee will judge its performance with and without Lawrence.

The Tigers dominated their first six games of the season with the junior under center, and similar results are expected when he returns. If Lawrence plays and shines in the ACC Championship Game, it could erase whichever doubts emerge about the Tigers if they lose on the road to Notre Dame in Week 10.

As long as Clemson splits with Notre Dame, it should land in the playoff if Alabama goes undefeated.

Although a loss would not be ideal, Clemson may only drop a spot or two in the rankings, much like Georgia did when it came up short at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Week 7.

If a slight tumble occurs, Clemson could easily recover from a loss to Notre Dame and land back in the CFP.

Cotton Bowl: Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M

Peach Bowl: Cincinnati vs. Georgia

Fiesta Bowl: Oregon vs. BYU

Orange Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Florida

If Florida suffers its second defeat of the season Saturday, it still has a path to the New Year's Six bowls.

The Gators would have losses to Georgia and the Texas A&M Aggies on their resume, but if they win out, they should finish in the top 10 and keep an at-large position.

Texas A&M can't qualify for the SEC Championship Game unless Alabama loses twice because the Crimson Tide hold a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Aggies. If Jimbo Fisher's side wins out and certain results fall its way, it could creep into the playoff conversation, but that would require the Clemson-Notre Dame loser and Georgia to both have two losses.

The order of contenders beneath Ohio State in the Big Ten is less clear because the Wisconsin Badgers were forced to cancel their past two games.

The Badgers won't meet the threshold to qualify for the Big Ten Championship with one more cancellation, so they will have a smaller margin of error to land a New Year's Six spot. In their first game, the Badgers looked strong with Graham Mertz at quarterback, and they still have opportunities to beat two ranked teams if they return for Week 11.

The Oregon Ducks are the Pac-12's best playoff hope, but they need to be perfect to get into contention. They face a tricky opener against the Stanford Cardinal and have to play three of their next four games on the road.

The Big 12 took itself out of playoff contention with the Oklahoma State Cowboys' Week 9 loss, so whichever team wins that conference will likely land in the New Year's Six.

The BYU Cougars and Cincinnati Bearcats are both ranked in the top 10, and were they to win out, they could force an intriguing CFP conversation depending on results elsewhere. At minimum, they deserve New Year's Six positions if they remain undefeated.