SB Nation 2016-2017 College Football Final 4 and Bowl Projections

What a joke SB Nation  Michigan in final 4......... lmao

College Football PlayoffNational ChampionshipLSUClemsonJan. 9TampaFiesta winner vs. Peach winnerFiestaClemsonMichiganDec. 31Glendale, Ariz.Playoff rankings top 4PeachLSUTCUDec. 31AtlantaPlayoff rankings top 4

LSU returns a whole t o n, could play 12 bowl teams in 13 games, upgraded at defensive coordinator, and gets Bama and Ole Miss at home. But the quarterback, they shout. Brandon Harris was middlin' in the SEC as a true sophomore, has a horde of weapons, and doesn't exactly need to throw for 5,000 yards here. To bet on a Zombie Les Miles team is to cannonball into a volcano, so I am wearing moisture-wicking garments.

Clemson's my No. 2. Deshaun Watson's offense is going to eat souls, and the defense can't falltoo far.

Michigan might be the safest Playoff pick in the country; I don't think the Wolverines are the best team, but look at that schedule. 7-0 heading into East Lansing should be expected. 8-4 would be a disaster. The Wolverines should have a monstrous defense, and the only real Q is at quarterback, where there are decent options on paper.

[To clarify, I don't mean UM is some sort of Playoff lock. I mean if you had to pick just one team to make the Playoff, Michigan might be the best choice. Or Alabama. Live dangerously.]

Lastly, I think the Pac-12 will devour itself, Notre Dame's schedule has a bump too many, and it'll be a long time before a conference gets two teams in. So hey there, Big 12. The Frogs return a load, once you account for injuries, and the home schedule includes conference favorite Oklahoma and potential OOC prize Arkansas.

New Year's Six bowlsCottonTennesseeHoustonJan. 1Arlington, TexasAt-largeRoseOhio StateWashingtonJan. 1Pasadena, Calif.Big Ten 1 vs. Pac-12 1SugarOklahomaAlabamaJan. 1New OrleansBig 12 1 vs. SEC 1OrangeFlorida StateNotre DameDec. 30MiamiACC vs. Big Ten/SEC/ND

In this year's rotation, the whole NY6 slate is basically set by the Playoff rankings within each conference. There's only one at-large game, and that one has to include the Group of 5 auto bid.

So, yeah. This part's pretty easy for now.

I spent a lot of time debating Houston vs. Boise State or Western Michigan and Washington vs. its entire division.

Bowl (* = filling another conference's bid)Conference selection order, not based on standingsFoster FarmsWisconsinStanfordTBASanta Clara, Calif.Big Ten 5-7 vs. Pac-12 4OutbackNebraskaFloridaJan. 2TampaBig Ten 2-4 vs. SEC 3-8CitrusPenn StateOle MissDec. 31OrlandoBig Ten 2-4/ACC vs. SEC 2TaxSlayerMiamiGeorgiaDec. 31Jacksonville, Fla.ACC 3-6/Big Ten 5-7 vs. SEC 3-8Music CityIowaSouth CarolinaDec. 30NashvilleACC 3-6/Big Ten 5-7 vs. SEC 3-8LibertyTexas TechMissouriDec. 30MemphisBig 12 5 vs. SEC 3-8SunNorth CarolinaOregonDec. 30El PasoACC 3-6 vs. Pac-12 5ArizonaAir ForceGeorgia StateDec. 30TucsonMWC vs. Sun BeltAlamoTexasUSCDec. 29San AntonioBig 12 2 vs. Pac-12 2BelkVirginia TechAuburnDec. 29CharlotteACC 3-6 vs. SEC 3-8BirminghamCincinnatiTexas A&MDec. 29Birmingham, Ala.American vs. SEC 9PinstripePittMinnesotaDec. 28New York CityACC 3-6 vs. Big Ten 5-7Russell AthleticLouisvilleWest VirginiaDec. 28OrlandoACC 2 vs. Big 12 3TexasOklahoma StateArkansasDec. 28HoustonBig 12 4 vs. SEC 3-8CactusBaylorArizonaDec. 27Tempe, Ariz.Big 12 6 vs. Pac-12 7Heart of DallasMarylandWKUDec. 27DallasBig Ten vs. C-USAHolidayMichigan StateUCLADec. 27San DiegoBig Ten 2-4 vs. Pac-12 3MilitaryNC StateTempleDec. 27Annapolis, Md.ACC vs. AmericanIndependenceNorthwestern*Mississippi StateDec. 26Shreveport, La.ACC vs. SECSt. PetersburgGeorgia TechUSFDec. 26St. Petersburg, Fla.ACC vs. AmericanQuick LaneSyracuseIndianaDec. 26DetroitACC vs. Big TenHawaiiFIUUtah StateDec. 24HonoluluC-USA vs. MWCGoDaddyWMUAppalachian StateDec. 23Mobile, Ala.MAC 1 vs. Sun Belt 2Armed ForcesWashington State*NavyDec. 23Fort Worth, TexasBig 12 vs. NavyBahamasTulsaOhioDec. 23Nassau, BSAmerican vs. MACPotatoToledoColorado StateDec. 22Boise, IdahoMAC 2 vs. MWCPoinsettiaBYUSan Diego StateDec. 21San DiegoBYU vs. MWCBoca RatonMemphisSouthern MissDec. 20Boca Raton, Fla.American vs. C-USAMiami BeachUConnCMUDec. 19MiamiAmerican vs. MACLas VegasBoise StateUtahDec. 17Las VegasMWC 1 vs. Pac-12 6CameliaNIUGeorgia SouthernDec. 17Montgomery, Ala.MAC 3 vs. Sun Belt 3CelebrationN.C. CentralGrambling StateDec. 17AtlantaMEAC vs. SWACCureCal*TroyDec. 17OrlandoAmerican vs. Sun BeltNew MexicoMarshallNew MexicoDec. 17AlbuquerqueC-USA vs. MWCNew OrleansArkansas StateLA TechDec. 17New OrleansSun

10 Stats to Know for the NBA Finals

10 Stats to know for the NBA Finals

The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers begin the NBA Finals on Thursday, and it's a completely different series than last year. We've looked at what the Warriors and Cavaliers have to do to win, and we've examined some role players to watch. Now, let's get numerical. Here are 10 stats to keep in mind as Game 1 approaches:

1. The Cavs' 3-point shooting has been insane. In the playoffs, they are taking 34.6 3-pointers per game and making 43.4 percent of them. Both of those marks lead the league. This long-distance shooting is absurd, and it is the reason they are scoring 116.2 points per 100 possessions in the playoffs.

2. In the regular season against the Warriors, Cleveland struggled from the 3-point line. The Cavs took 49 3s, and made 24.5 percent of them. Both of those marks were lower against Golden State than any other team.

3. This is the first time that the two top teams in 3-pointers made have met in the NBA Finals, per ESPN Stats and Info. The defending champs set an NBA record with 1,077 made 3s this season -- no team had ever finished with 1,000 before. The Cavaliers made 880 3-pointers.

4. Cleveland is the only team scoring more points on catch-and-shoot opportunities than the Warriors in the playoffs. The Cavs are averaging 34.4 points that way in each game, and making 45.8 percent of their catch-and-shoot jumpers, per NBA.com.

5. Golden State has contested 66.2 percent of its opponents' shots in the postseason, which is third-highest among playoff teams, per NBA.com. It will need to keep that up against Cleveland. The Cavs, meanwhile, have contested only 57.1 percent of their opponents' shots, which is worse than any playoff team other than the Memphis Grizzlies.

6. The pass-happy Warriors are averaging a league-high 25 assists per game and a league-high 7.9 secondary assists per game, per NBA.com. The crazy thing is that both of those marks are lower than their regular-season numbers.

7. Golden State's "death lineup" -- Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green -- destroyed teams all year long, scoring 142 points per 100 possessions and allowing 95 points per 100 possessions in the regular season. This is the starting lineup that swung last year's NBA Finals, but it did not play against Cleveland in the two regular-season two meetings.

8. The Cavs also have a deadly lineup -- Matthew Dellavedova, Iman Shumpert, Richard Jefferson, LeBron James and Channing Frye -- but they only discovered it in the playoffs. That group has scored 133.2 points per 100 possessions and allowed 86.6 points per 100 possessions in the postseason, and Cleveland has made an outrageous 54.3 percent of its 3s with those five on the floor.

9. LeBron James has taken 251 shots in the playoffs, and 132 of them have come in the restricted area, where he has shot 72 percent. That's quite a ratio, but it makes sense because he has shot 42-for-119 (35 percent) outside of the restricted area.

10. The Warriors were second in the league in pace in the regular season, while the Cavs were 28th. In the playoffs, that has not changed -- Golden State has been the fastest team, and Cleveland has been slower than everybody but the Grizzlies and Detroit Pistons. Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said they would try to push the pace, though. This is probably because they have scored 1.25 points per possession in transition in the postseason.

Now is the Best Time for LeBron and the Cavs

Now or Never for LeBron and the Cavs



CLEVELAND – LeBron James, as he often is, was in control of the music in the Cleveland Cavaliers' locker room. This was after Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals here last week, after Kevin Love returned to form, after a complete annihilation of Toronto made the NBA Finals feel like the inevitability it was. The Cavs open at Golden State on Thursday.

The symphonic tastes of professional athletes rarely extend past a month ago, but LeBron isn't your normal young, rich and famous star. For one, he's old school. Second, he's got a hokey, suburban dad angle to him – he's a self-professed fan of HGTV, the Food Network and the "Pitch Perfect" movies. He's also cool enough to cop to it without concern.

Winning a big game called for more than just the latest hits, and besides, what's current that's better than the O'Jays? So the 1972 classic "Back Stabbers" rang through the place, LeBron loudly singing along.

"They smile in your face," James crooned. "All the time they want to take your place. The back stabbers … back stabbers."

LeBron said it was just a great song and wasn't meant to symbolize anything. Moments later the O'Jay's "For the Love of Money" – which Donald Trump used as the opening of his reality show – came on.

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LeBron James is headed to his sixth straight NBA Finals. (Getty Images)

LeBron sat there and sang that one too. He was entertaining himself, if no one else.

"I didn't appreciate last year personally on getting to The Finals," James said.

That's not an issue this year. The playoffs have been a blast for LeBron James, a 12-2 record, relatively little drama with a team that is well rested and fully operational – most notably with a healthy Love and Kyrie Irving.

The journey thus far has been enjoyable, but now comes the hard part, the pressurized part, the legacy stuff he signed up for when he returned to Cleveland.

These NBA Finals remain about whether James can deliver a desperate, title-starved city to the ultimate destination. Nothing else will suffice. It's all-or-nothing again, no matter how good the music sounds along the way.

James knows this, he's just trying to take the challenge with less internal pressure, in part because he isn't required to do as much. He's averaging just 36.4 minutes a game, down nearly five minutes from a year ago.

"Just so much was going on in my mind [last year], knowing that Kev was out for the rest of the season and knowing that Ky was dealing with injuries all the way from the first round," LeBron said. " … Having these guys right here at full strength, having our team at full strength, and the way I feel personally, I appreciate this moment, to be able to be a part of it and to be there once again."

This is LeBron's sixth consecutive NBA Finals appearance, 2011-14 in Miami, 2015-16 in Cleveland. The only other players to do that came from the Boston Celtics' dynasty of the late 1960s and 1970s.

He's a June regular. So saying this might be his last chance, or that a frantic feeling should settle in, is ridiculous. That said, this is his 13th season and while he's only 31, there are miles on the tread. You can tack 192 playoff games and counting to his 987 regular-season ones. He already ranks 42nd all-time in regular-season minutes played and sixth in playoff minutes. Plus, there has been plenty of work for USA Basketball, including three Olympics.

While it's certainly not now-or-never for LeBron to win one for Cleveland, now sure would be a good time to get it done. You get only so many cracks at this, and championship windows – for players and teams – tend to shut faster than anticipated. You never want chances to slip by.

As good as Golden State is, the opportunity is right there.

For LeBron, the sense of drama is amplified by his return to Cleveland, just 35 miles north of his hometown of Akron and where he played the first seven seasons of his career, reaching the 2007 Finals but then bailing to Miami in heartbreaking fashion in the summer of 2010.

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LeBron James and the Cavs should have a healthy roster for the Finals this year. (AP)

His time with the Heat proved fruitful with two championships, but in addition to satisfaction and excitement, one of the emotions James said he felt when he finally won his first title in 2012 was relief. This isn't uncommon for the truly great athlete, for whom a championship isn't just a dream, but an expectation that can become a burden when a career drags along without one.

Getting that off your back can be exhilarating, freeing, even life changing.

Only James decided to put the burden back on his back; at least sort of. In returning to Cleveland, which hasn't won a championship in any major professional sport since the 1964 (pre-Super Bowl) Browns, he reset the clock in a way that wouldn't have existed had he stayed in Miami. It also felt like he was coming back to make things right in the town he left behind. Anything less will be unsatisfying.

"I don't really get caught up in all of that," James said of Cleveland's doldrums, which is the smart answer. "We're going to prepare ourselves. Our coaching staff will prepare us, and we're going to go out and give it our all, and we're going to live with the results."

"I know our city deserves it," he continued. "Our fans deserve it. But that gives us no sense of entitlement. We've still got to go out and do it."

A year ago he nearly solo-teamed it to the championship, pushing Golden State to six games while averaging, out of necessity, 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 8.8 assists in the Finals. During this year's playoffs he's gladly avoided taking over games, using the team's diversity of attack. He's down in nearly every stat, most telling: 9.3 fewer shots per game.

Love and Irving have "been the reason why we've played at such a high level," James said. "They've accepted the challenge. They wanted to get back to this moment."

The moment is here. It's an old, familiar Finals opponent, an old, familiar stage and old, familiar challenge for LeBron James, who's sitting at his locker, singing along to old, familiar songs