In the new, expanded 12-team playoff, the five highest-ranked conference champions will make the field along with the next seven highest-ranked teams. The four highest-ranked conference champions will be awarded first-round byes, with the other eight teams meeting at the campus sites of the Nos. 5-8 seeds.

That result has given the College Football Playoff portion of the bowl projections an unexpected look. I now have Colorado winning the Big 12 over the Cougars, but I also have the Buffaloes topping out in the final rankings at 13.