Bowl Predictions 2020: Projections for College Football Playoff Teams

The top three teams in the College Football Playoff rankings reaffirmed their statuses through Week 13 victories.

However, that was not the biggest playoff story coming out of the weekend. The Ohio State Buckeyes did not play because of COVID-19 issues, and if they miss one more regular-season game, they may miss out on participating in the Big Ten Championship Game.

The new scenarios thrown into the mix in Week 13 could make the decision-making process even harder for the selection committee. A further complication came about when the Northwestern Wildcats lost to the Michigan State Spartans on Saturday afternoon.

If the Buckeyes are forced to cancel another game, we could stumble upon a messy situation in which undefeated Ohio State does not have a conference title while a one-loss team in the Big Ten does. 

With Northwestern's loss and the upset suffered by the Oregon Ducks in the Pac-12, there are seven clear contenders for the playoff positions.

If more upsets occur, the Cincinnati Bearcats, Texas A&M Aggies and Florida Gators could slide into the top four.

Alabama continued to prove why it is the top team in the country in its dominant Iron Bowl win over the Auburn Tigers.

The SEC West squad produced its seven consecutive 40-point performance and won by double digits for the eighth time this season.

Alabama has three Heisman Trophy candidates in Mac Jones, Najee Harris and DeVonta Smith, but Jones is getting the most buzz as the quarterback of the No. 1 team in the nation. He threw for 302 yards and five touchdowns, Harris picked up 96 yards and a score on the ground and Smith hauled in seven passes for 171 yards and made two trips to the end zone.

The Crimson Tide's scoring machine should roll through the LSU Tigers in Week 14 in a game that was rescheduled.

Nick Saban's team will then go into the SEC Championship Game as the favorite to beat Florida, and it could do so by double digits with all the offensive weapons it boasts.

The loser of the ACC Championship Game could be Alabama's national semifinal opponent if it is the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

The No. 2 team beat the North Carolina Tar Heels by two touchdowns Friday in their final serious tune-up for their likely rematch with the Clemson Tigers. Notre Dame concludes the regular season with games against the Syracuse Orange and Wake Forest Demon Deacons, both of whom it should beat by double figures.

If Brian Kelly's side remains at No. 2 going into the ACC Championship Game, it should be in the playoff even with a loss. Clemson and the Georgia Bulldogs only fell two positions after their respective top-five losses, and if the Irish lose a close affair with the Tigers, they should experience a similar drop.

As of right now, a potential semifinal rematch between Clemson and Ohio State would pit two conference champions against each other.

Clemson emerged from a three-week absence Saturday and looked like a title-winning side, putting up 31 points on the Pittsburgh Panthers in the first quarter.

Trevor Lawrence threw for 403 yards in his first start in more than a month, and Travis Etienne ran through the Pitt defense for a pair of touchdowns. Most importantly, the Clemson defense looked like its regular self, holding Pitt to 17 points and forcing three first-quarter turnovers.

If the Clemson defense continues to improve with James Skalski and Tyler Davis healthy, it could put more pressure on Ian Book in the ACC Championship Game and come away with a win that solidifies its spot in the playoff.

The Buckeyes are still in position to qualify for the Big Ten Championship Game. They have two games remaining against the Michigan State Spartans and Michigan Wolverines. But if one of those gets postponed, Ohio State would be short of meeting the threshold to qualify for the December 19 contest. They have had two of their six games cancelled because of COVID-19-related issues.

According to Big Ten Network's Dave Revsine, 12 of the 14 games left on the Big Ten regular-season schedule would have to be cancelled for the conference's minimum requirement of six games played to reach the title game to be lowered.

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said the program is "day-to-day" when it comes to its football activities and is "hoping to play" Michigan State next Saturday, per Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde.

If the Buckeyes do not play one of those two games and then win a crossover game December 19, they would be sitting at 6-0 without a conference championship. In that situation, the committee would have to weigh how much it values Ohio State's wins and its lack of a conference title.

Until one of the next two games is officially cancelled, the only thing we can do is speculate on how the situation may play out, but it is worth considering with Ohio State on the brink of missing out on a conference title game.

Cotton Bowl (December 30): Iowa State vs. Texas A&M

Peach Bowl (January 1): Georgia vs. Cincinnati

Fiesta Bowl (January 2): Indiana vs. USC

Orange Bowl (January 2): Miami vs. Florida

The losses by Northwestern and Oregon shook up the potential New Year's Six matchups.

If the Wildcats suffer a second defeat in the Big Ten Championship Game, the Indiana Hoosiers could slide into an at-large position and head to the Fiesta Bowl. Indiana was four spots behind Northwestern in Tuesday's playoff rankings release.

If the situation arises in which Ohio State does not play in Indianapolis on December 19, a potential Indiana-Northwestern title tilt would be for a New Year's Six position.

Oregon's defeat opens the door for the USC Trojans to become the Pac-12's highest-ranked team when the new rankings come out Tuesday. The Trojans were only three spots behind the Ducks and should be viewed as the favorite to win the Pac-12 now.

Texas A&M and Florida continued to win in dominant fashion in Week 13. The Aggies need Notre Dame to beat Clemson for a second time to have a shot at moving up from No. 5 to No. 4. Florida, meanwhile, needs to beat Alabama in the SEC Championship Game to get into the top four.

If neither situation unfolds, the Aggies and Gators will be headed to New Year's Six games. The latter should not drop more than four spots were they to lose to Alabama.

Cincinnati needs Florida to lose to Alabama and Notre Dame to beat Clemson to open up its playoff possibility. It then has to hope the committee does not want to see a second Alabama-Texas A&M matchup in the semifinal round if that situation plays out.

The Bearcats could be the lone the Group of Five representative in the New Year's Six since the BYU Cougars were ranked 14th on Tuesday and should only gain one spot in the next rankings following Northwestern's loss.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.