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Bowl Projections
Celebration Bowl, December 14th, Atlanta, GA; 12 PM ET on ABC (SWAC Champ vs. MEAC Champ):
Florida A&M Vs Morgan State
Alabama State’s Celebration Bowl hopes took a devastating blow when star quarterback Andrew Body went down for the season.
Camellia Bowl, December 14th, Montgomery, Alabama; 9 PM ET on ESPN (Sun Belt vs MAC):
South Alabama 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):
Louisiana 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):
Marshall vs. FIU
LA Bowl, December 18th, Los Angeles, CA; 9:00 PM ET on ESPN (Mountain West vs. Former PAC-12 member):
UNLV vs. Cal
The LA Bowl is tricky. Normally reserved for the Mountain West champion, I have Boise State facing off against a Power Five team in an ESPN-owned bowl instead of making a repeat appearance in the LA Bowl. Instead, Conference runner-up UNLV plays in LA.
New Orleans Bowl, December 19th, New Orleans, LA; 7 PM ET on ESPN (Conference USA vs. Sun Belt):
James Madison vs. Liberty
With Northern Illinois notching a win against Notre Dame and Boise State narrowly losing to Oregon. I do not foresee 13-0 Liberty making the Playoff over either school if they finish with one loss.
Cure Bowl, December 20th, Orlando, FL; 12 PM ET on ESPN (Group of Five vs. Group of Five):
Toledo vs. Florida Atlantic
Gasparilla Bowl, December 20th, Tampa FL; 3:30 PM ET on ESPN (Group of Five vs. ACC):
South Florida vs. Florida State
Myrtle Beach Bowl, December 23rd, Conway, SC; 11:00 AM on ESPN (Group of Five vs. Group of Five):
Coastal Carolina vs. Miami (OH)
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, December 23rd, Boise, ID; 2:30 PM on ESPN (Sun Belt vs. MAC):
Colorado State vs. Buffalo
Hawaii Bowl, December 24th, Honolulu, HI; 8:00 PM ET on ESPN (Mountain West vs. Conference USA):
Nevada vs. New Mexico 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):
Iowa State vs. Maryland
68 Ventures Bowl, December 26th, Mobile, AL; 9 PM ET on ESPN (MAC vs. Sun Belt):
Georgia Southern vs. Jacksonville State
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. Texas Tech
Birmingham Bowl, December 27th, Birmingham AL; 3:30 PM ET on ESPN (Group of Five vs. ACC/SEC):
Appalachian State vs. Georgia Tech
After going 22 years without playing a Power Five school in a bowl, before Troy played Duke in the Birmingham Bowl, I have the Sun Belt playing two Power Four teams this year.
Liberty Bowl, December 27th, Memphis, TN; 7:00 PM ET on ESPN (Big 12 vs SEC):
West Virginia vs. Kentucky
Holiday Bowl, December 27th, 8 PM ET, Fox, San Diego, CA; (ACC vs. PAC-12):
UCLA vs. Clemson
Las Vegas Bowl, December 27th, Las Vegas, NV; 10:30 PM ET on ESPN (Former Pac-12 Member vs. SEC):
Washington vs. Mississippi State
Fenway Bowl, December 28th, Boston, MA; 11:00 AM ET on ESPN (AAC vs. ACC):
Syracuse vs. Tulane
Pinstripe Bowl, December 28th, Bronx, NY;
12:00 PM ET on ABC (Big Ten vs. ACC):
Nebraska vs. Boston College
New Mexico Bowl, December 28th, Albuquerque, NM; 2:15 PM ET on ESPN (Mountain West vs. Group of Five/at-large):
Utah State vs. North Texas
Pop Tarts Bowl, December 28th, Orlando, FL; 3:30 PM ET on ABC (Big 12 vs. ACC):
Oklahoma State vs. North Carolina
Arizona Bowl, December 28th, Tucson, AZ; 4:30 PM ET on The CW (MAC vs. Mountain West):
Bowling Green vs. Fresno State
Military Bowl, December 28th, Annapolis, MD; 5:45 PM on ESPN (American vs. AAC):
Memphis vs. Louisville
Memphis and Louisville have been rivals in the Missouri Valley Conference, Conference USA, and AAC. This would be the 44th meeting between the two schools. Louisville leads the series 24-19.
Alamo Bowl, December 28th, San Antonio, TX; 7:30 PM ET on ABC (Big 12 vs. Former PAC-12 member):
Kansas State vs USC
Independence Bowl, December 28th, Shreveport, LA; 9:15 PM ET on ESPN (Former PAC-12 member vs. Army):
Army vs. Oregon State
Music City Bowl, December 30th, Nashville, TN; 2:30 PM ET on ESPN (SEC vs. Big Ten):
Arkansas vs. Illinois
Reliaquest Bowl, December 31st, Tampa, FL: 12:00 PM ET on ESPN (SEC vs. Big Ten):
Iowa vs. Oklahoma
Sun Bowl, December 31st, El Paso, TX; 2:00 PM ET on CBS (ACC vs. Former PAC-12 member):
SMU vs. Arizona
SMU would surprisingly be the first team from Texas to play in the Sun Bowl since TCU in 1998.
Citrus Bowl, December 31st, Orlando, FL; 3:00 PM on ABC (Big Ten vs. SEC):
LSU vs. Michigan
Believe it or not, these two blue bloods have never met in a bowl. The Citrus Bowl looks like the path for two schools on on the outside looking in in their respective mega conferences.
Texas Bowl, December 31st, Houston, TX; 3:30 PM ET on ESPN (SEC vs. Big 12):
Kansas vs. Tennessee
Gator Bowl, January 2nd, Jacksonville, FL; 7:30 PM ET on ESPN (ACC vs. SEC):
Virginia Tech vs. Auburn
First Responder Bowl, January 3rd, Dallas, TX; 4:00 PM ET on ESPN (Group of Five vs. at-large):
Boise State vs. Washington State
Boise State gets a Power conference opponent and a spot in the First Responder Bowl to avoid a repeat appearance in the LA Bowl!
Duke’s Mayo Bowl, January 3rd, Charlotte, NC; 7:30 PM ET on ESPN (ACC vs. Big Ten):
Notre Dame vs. Rutgers
Buckle up for this explanation. Last year, the ACC allegedly directed its tier one bowls (Pop Tarts, Holiday, and Gator) to pass on Notre Dame. This, they landed in the Tier Two Sun Bowl. I project Notre Dame finishes 10-2 or 9-3 with the most likely losses coming against USC and Louisville. If the ACC pushes Notre Dame out of the tier 1 bowls again, the only logical destination is the Mayo Bowl since they already play Army at Yankee Stadium this year.
Bahamas Bowl, January 4th, Nassau, Bahamas; 11:00 AM ET on ESPN (MAC vs. Conference USA):
Eastern Michigan vs. Western Kentucky
College Football Playoff
First Round Matchup #1: 12-seed Northern Illinois vs. 5-seed Alabama
First Round Matchup #2: 11-seed Ole Miss vs. 6-seed Penn State
First Round Matchup #3: 10-seed Oregon vs. 7-seed Texas
First Round Matchup #4: 9-seed Penn State vs. 8-seed Missouri
Quarterfinal #1: Fiesta Bowl, Glendale, AZ, December 31st; 7:30 PM ET on ESPN
4-seed Utah vs. 5-seed Alabama
Quarterfinal #2: Peach Bowl, Atlanta, GA, January 1st; 1:00 PM ET on ESPN
1-seed Georgia vs. 10-seed Oregon
Quarterfinal #3: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA, January 1st; 5:00 PM ET on ESPN
2-seed Ohio State vs. 8-seed Tennessee
Quarterfinal #4: Sugar Bowl, New Orleans, LA, January 1st; 8:30 PM ET on ESPN
3-seed Miami vs. 6-seed Ole Miss
Semifinal #1: Orange Bowl, Miami, FL; January 9th; 7:30 PM ET on ESPN
1-seed Georgia vs. 5-seed Alabama
Semifinal #2: Cotton Bowl, Dallas, TX, January 10th; 7:30 PM ET on ESPN
6-seed Ole Miss vs. 2-seed Ohio State
National Championship Game, Atlanta, GA; January 20th; 7:30 PM ET on ESPN
1-seed Georgia Vs 2-seed Ohio State