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Celebration Bowl, December 14th, Atlanta, GA; 12 PM ET on ABC (SWAC Champ vs. MEAC Champ):
Jackson State Vs NC Central
Jackson State has the upper hand in the SWAC East after its electric comeback against Florida A&M last week.
Camellia Bowl, December 14th, Montgomery, Alabama; 9 PM ET on ESPN (Sun Belt vs MAC):
Old Dominion vs. Western Michigan
Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl, December 17th, Frisco, TX; 9 PM ET on ESPN (Group B of Five vs Group of Five):
Arkansas State vs. San Jose State
Boca Raton Bowl, December 18th, Boca Raton, FL; 5:30 PM ET on ESPN (Group of Five vs. Group of Five):
Buffalo vs. East Carolina
LA Bowl, December 18th, Los Angeles, CA; 9:00 PM ET on ESPN (Mountain West vs. Former PAC-12 member):
UNLV vs. Cal
I project Boise State to get into the Playoff with wins against Washington State and Oregon State and a narrow loss to projected Playoff team Oregon. This sends league runner-up UNLV to the LA Bowl.
New Orleans Bowl, December 19th, New Orleans, LA; 7 PM ET on ESPN (Conference USA vs. Sun Belt):
Sam Houston vs. Louisiana-Monroe
Let’s have some fun here. Louisiana-Monroe has never appeared in the New Orleans Bowl despite 24 years as a member of the Sun Belt. Louisiana-Monroe is off to a 3-1 start with great defense and a solid run game. The Warhawks could end up taking the New Orleans Bowl bid over Louisiana who not only appeared in the game last year, but have played in the bowl seven times. I think the Ragin’ Cajuns will be fine not playing in New Orleans this year.
Cure Bowl, December 20th, Orlando, FL; 12 PM ET on ESPN (Group of Five vs. Group of Five):
Northern Illinois vs. Marshall
Former MAC rivals clash in this one. Marshall was a member of the MAC from 1997 to 2004 and met the Rockets in the 1997, 1998, and 2002 MAC Championship games.
Gasparilla Bowl, December 20th, Tampa FL; 3:30 PM ET on ESPN (Group of Five vs. ACC):
South Florida vs. Miami (OH)
Myrtle Beach Bowl, December 23rd, Conway, SC; 11:00 AM on ESPN (Group of Five vs. Group of Five):
Coastal Carolina vs. Charlotte
Charlotte must go 3-1 down the stretch against Tulane, USF, UAB, and FAU, but the 49ers’ near upset of Memphis on Saturday has me inclined to think they can upset USF to get to that 3-1 plateau.
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, December 23rd, Boise, ID; 2:30 PM on ESPN (Sun Belt vs. MAC):
Fresno State vs. UConn
Hawaii Bowl, December 24th, Honolulu, HI; 8:00 PM ET on ESPN (Mountain West vs. Conference USA):
Colorado State vs. Jacksonville State
Detroit Bowl, December 26th, Detroit, MI; 2:00 PM ET on ESPN (MAC vs. Big Ten):
Ohio vs. Michigan State
The Bobcats play their first bowl against a Power Five opponent in this one.
Guaranteed Rate Bowl, December 26th, Phoenix, AZ; 5:30 PM ET on ESPN (Big 12 vs. Big Ten):
Texas Tech vs. Iowa
68 Ventures Bowl, December 26th, Mobile, AL; 9 PM ET on ESPN (MAC vs. Sun Belt):
Georgia Southern vs. Toledo
Armed Forces Bowl, December 27th, Fort Worth, TX; 12 PM ET or 3:30 PM ET on ESPN (Big 12 vs. Group of Five):
Texas State vs. Utah
Birmingham Bowl, December 27th, Birmingham AL; 3:30 PM ET on ESPN (Group of Five vs. ACC/SEC):
NC State vs. Memphis
Liberty Bowl, December 27th, Memphis, TN; 7:00 PM ET on ESPN (Big 12 vs SEC):
Cincinnati vs. Tennessee
Tennessee makes its first Liberty Bowl due to playing in the Music City Bowl in 2021 and appearing in a kickoff game at Nissan Stadium last season. It also does not help the Vols’ case that Vanderbilt is having an outstanding year and has not appeared in the Music City Bowl since 2012. It is the Vols’ first appearance in the Liberty Bowl since 1986.
Las Vegas Bowl, December 27th, Las Vegas, NV; 10:30 PM ET on ESPN (Former Pac-12 Member vs. SEC):
Washington vs. Arkansas
Fenway Bowl, December 28th, Boston, MA; 11:00 AM ET on ESPN (AAC vs. ACC):
Syracuse vs. Army
The Independence Bowl’s change from being Army’s bowl tie-in to the American’s sends Army “Shipping Up to Boston” to play Syracuse for just the third time since 1989.
Pinstripe Bowl, December 28th, Bronx, NY; 12:00 PM ET on ABC (Big Ten vs. ACC):
Wisconsin vs. Duke
New Mexico Bowl, December 28th, Albuquerque, NM; 2:15 PM ET on ESPN (Mountain West vs. Group of Five/at-large):
North Texas vs. James Madison
Pop Tarts Bowl, December 28th, Orlando, FL; 3:30 PM ET on ABC (Big 12 vs. ACC):
Iowa State vs. Pitt
Arizona Bowl, December 28th, Tucson, AZ; 4:30 PM ET on The CW (MAC vs. Mountain West):
Bowling Green vs. San Diego State
Military Bowl, December 28th, Annapolis, MD; 5:45 PM on ESPN (American vs. AAC):
Navy vs. NC State
Alamo Bowl, December 28th, San Antonio, TX; 7:30 PM ET on ABC (Big 12 vs. Former PAC-12 member):
Kansas State vs USC
This will be USC’s first appearance in the Alamo Bowl despite the Alamo Bowl being tied to the PAC-12 since 2010.
Independence Bowl, December 28th, Shreveport, LA; 9:15 PM ET on ESPN (Former PAC-12 member vs. Army):
Tulane vs. Washington State
Tulane seems to be a shoe-in for the Independence Bowl after having not appeared in the nearby bowl since 1987.
Music City Bowl, December 30th, Nashville, TN; 2:30 PM ET on ESPN (SEC vs. Big Ten):
Vanderbilt vs. Michigan
Reliaquest Bowl, December 31st, Tampa, FL: 12:00 PM ET on ESPN (SEC vs. Big Ten):
Nebraska vs. Ole Miss
Sun Bowl, December 31st, El Paso, TX; 2:00 PM ET on CBS (ACC vs. Former PAC-12 member):
Louisville vs. Arizona State
Citrus Bowl, December 31st, Orlando, FL; 3:00 PM on ABC (Big Ten vs. SEC):
Alabama vs. Illinois
These two schools have just one meeting, the 1982 Liberty Bowl, Bear Bryant’s final game as coach. A chance at Alabama for just the third time since 1995 and the first time since 2019 is too good to pass up.
How does Illinois end up here instead of Michigan? Big Ten bowl procedures prevent Michigan from jumping Illinois unless there is a one-game gap in conference records between them.
Texas Bowl, December 31st, Houston, TX; 3:30 PM ET on ESPN (SEC vs. Big 12):
LSU vs. TCU
Gator Bowl, January 2nd, Jacksonville, FL; 7:30 PM ET on ESPN (ACC vs. SEC):
Georgia Tech vs. Missouri
First Responder Bowl, January 3rd, Dallas, TX; 4:00 PM ET on ESPN (Group of Five vs. at-large):
Liberty vs. Louisiana
Duke’s Mayo Bowl, January 3rd, Charlotte, NC; 7:30 PM ET on ESPN (ACC vs. Big Ten) Virginia Tech vs. Minnesota
Bahamas Bowl, January 4th, Nassau, Bahamas; 11:00 AM ET on ESPN (MAC vs. Conference USA):
Eastern Michigan vs. Western Kentucky
Holiday Bowl, December 27th, 8 PM ET, Fox, San Diego, CA; (ACC vs. PAC-12):
Colorado vs. SMU
Washington State will likely have a better record than Colorado. However, due to the crazy PAC-12 bowl selection process involving its legacy members, conference standings or records play no role in where teams go. The Holiday Bowl has the second choice of eligible former Pac-12 schools. Colorado and the media attention that comes with them are arguably the second-most desirable non-playoff team out of the pool of former Pac-12 members. Thus, the Buffaloes look bound for San Diego.
College Football Playoff
First Round Matchup #1:
12-seed Boise State vs. 5-seed Texas
First Round Matchup #2:
11-seed Notre Dame vs. 6-seed Ohio State
First Round Matchup #3:
10-seed Texas A&M vs. 7-seed Penn State
First Round Matchup #4:
9-seed Clemson vs. 8-seed Indiana
Quarterfinal #1: Fiesta Bowl, Glendale, AZ, December 31st; 7:30 PM ET on ESPN
4-seed BYU vs. 5-seed Texas
Quarterfinal #2: Peach Bowl, Atlanta, GA, January 1st; 1:00 PM ET on ESPN
2-seed Georgia vs. 7-seed Penn State
Quarterfinal #3: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA, January 1st; 5:00 PM ET on ESPN
1-seed Oregon vs. 8-seed Indiana
Quarterfinal #4: Sugar Bowl, New Orleans, LA, January 1st; 8:30 PM ET on ESPN
3-seed Miami vs. 6-seed Ohio State
Semifinal #1: Orange Bowl, Miami, FL; January 9th; 7:30 PM ET on ESPN
1-seed Oregon vs. 5-seed Texas
Semifinal #2: Cotton Bowl, Dallas, TX, January 10th; 7:30 PM ET on ESPN
6-seed Ohio State vs. 2-seed Georgia
National Championship Game, Atlanta, GA; January 20th; 7:30 PM ET on ESPN
1-seed Oregon Vs 2-seed Georgia