College Football Bowl Projections Week 2: Is Lane Kiffin’s LSU a Legitimate Playoff Contender?

What better way to celebrate an exhilarating college football Week 1 slate than to project what comes after the conclusion of the regular season?

PFN’s latest college football bowl projections forecast which teams will make it to six wins, who they might face in the postseason party, and where they might play, powered by PFN’s College Football Playoff Meter (FPM).

College Football Bowl Projections | Playoff Bowls

Peach Bowl
Miami (FL) vs. LSU

Cotton Bowl
Texas Tech vs. Notre Dame

Rose Bowl
Ohio State vs. Indiana

Fiesta Bowl
Georgia vs. Texas

Orange Bowl
Notre Dame vs. Indiana

Sugar Bowl
Miami (FL) vs. Texas

The College Football Playoff first-round games will once again be held on campus and aren’t technically classified as bowl games. But for those readers wondering where their favorite team is in our college football bowl projections, the James Madison Dukes, Alabama Crimson Tide, Oregon Ducks, and Ole Miss Rebels are the teams to fall by the wayside short of the quarterfinals.

The LSU Tigers enter our latest college football bowl projections after a dominant opening day performance against the Clemson Tigers. Time will tell if Lane Kiffin’s team is the real deal or if Dabo Swinney’s Tigers are even less of a force than we’ve seen in the last couple of seasons. However, the Bayou Bengals appear to be on a collision course with postseason competition.

According to PFN’s College FPM, the Texas Tech Red Raiders have a 30.1% chance of winning the Big 12 and a 42.3% shot of making it to the College Football Playoff for a second successive season. Our college football bowl projections pit Joey McGuire’s program against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a clash of two of the nastiest defenses in all of college football.

PREDICT THE CFB SEASON:PFN’s Free CFB Playoff Predictor

The reigning national champion Indiana Hoosiers face the Ohio State Buckeyes in Bloomington on Oct. 17, in a game that will likely decide the direction of the Big Ten championship. That matchup will have dramatic seeding consequences, but as our latest college football bowl projections show, a showdown under the sunset at the Rose Bowl is a legitimate possibility.

In our latest college football bowl projections, the Georgia Bulldogs and Texas Longhorns complete the quarterfinal bracket with a trip to the Fiesta Bowl. You couldn’t find two more contrasting quarterbacks for these teams, with Arch Manning receiving all the hype and media attention while Gunner Stockton quietly positions Kirby Smart’s team as a contender.

For a full analysis of our projected bracket, check out our College Football Playoff predictions, which include a breakdown of every round and predict a national championship winner.

College Football Bowl Projections | Non-Playoff Bowls

• Celebration Bowl
  South Carolina State vs. Alabama State
• IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl
  Appalachian State vs. Buffalo
• Frisco Football Classic
  Liberty vs. Louisiana
• Boca Raton Bowl
  East Carolina vs. Kennesaw State
• Gasparilla Bowl
  UTSA vs. Syracuse
• Myrtle Beach Bowl
  Washington State vs. Coastal Carolina
• Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
  UNLV vs. Miami (OH)
• Cure Bowl
  Ohio vs. UConn
• Puerto Rico Bowl
  San Diego State vs. Air Force
• Independence Bowl
  Houston vs. UCLA
• New Orleans Bowl
  South Alabama vs. Western Kentucky
• Armed Forces Bowl
  Army vs. Kansas State
• Frisco Bowl
  Memphis vs. Jacksonville State
• New Mexico Bowl
  New Mexico vs. Oregon State
• Hawai’i Bowl
  San Jose State vs. Delaware
• Pinstripe Bowl
  NC State vs. Michigan State
• Fenway Bowl
  Virginia Tech vs. Navy
• Duke’s Mayo Bowl
  Pittsburgh vs. Minnesota
• 68 Ventures Bowl
  Western Michigan vs. Old Dominion
• Cactus Bowl
  Michigan vs. TCU
• Military Bowl
  Clemson vs. USF
• Birmingham Bowl
  Tulane vs. Florida
• Pop-Tarts Bowl
  Louisville vs. Cincinnati
• Alamo Bowl
  BYU vs. USC
• Gator Bowl
  Virginia vs. Tennessee
• Music City Bowl
  Penn State vs. Auburn
• ReliaQuest Bowl
  Illinois vs. Oklahoma
• Sun Bowl
  Georgia Tech vs. Arizona
• Las Vegas Bowl
  Nebraska vs. Utah
• Texas Bowl
  Oklahoma State vs. Missouri
• Citrus Bowl
  Iowa vs. Texas A&M
• First Responder Bowl
  North Texas vs. Duke
• Liberty Bowl
  Baylor vs. South Carolina
• Arizona Bowl
  Toledo vs. North Dakota State
• Holiday Bowl
  SMU vs. Washington
• Poinsettia Bowl
  Boise State vs. Arizona State

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.