Bowl projections: Clemson, Florida State in good shape for Playoff

The wild opening weekend illustrated the increasing parity in college football — aside from Alabama, perhaps — and revealed the dangers for College Football Playoff contenders. Upsets are going to happen. Lots of them.

That increases the probability of multiple champions from the major five conferences having more than one loss. That scenario opens the door for a non-champion to make a legitimate claim to a berth.

Both Florida State and Clemson would have outstanding arguments if that is how the season plays out. They both will have strong résumés with two SEC victories. Unless the four champions separate themselves, the committee is going to have a hard time keeping out both the Seminoles and Tigers if one finishes unbeaten and the other with one loss from their Oct. 29 showdown.

That debate will be decided Dec. 4. For now, we have to sit back and see if both avoid the pitfalls that already caught preseason top-six teams Oklahoma and LSU.

Some conferences may not fulfill their bowl allotment. Asterisks denote a replacement pick. Bold indicates teams that have accepted berths.